United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

2 March 2012

USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning. Please see today's news review for March 2, 2012. This
format is best viewed in HTML.

Also, new material has been posted on the AFRICOM website relating to
General Carter Hams testimony before Congress, February 29-March 1,
2012:

ARTICLE: AFRICOMs General Ham Discusses Africa Security Before

House Committee
TRANSCRIPT: General Hams Opening Statement Before House Armed
Services Committee (Full transcript to be available later today)
2012 POSTURE STATEMENT: Statement of General Carter Ham Before
House Armed Services Committee
VIDEO: House Armed Services Committee Fiscal Year 2013 National
Defense Authorization Budget Request from U.S. European Command and
U.S. Africa Command

VIDEO: Senate Armed Services Committee Testimony

Of interest in today's report:

-Commander: Countering Extremists Tops AFRICOM's Priorities.
-Nigeria: Boko Haram Hits Four Primary Schools, Bank.
-UN backs open border policy to tackle Horn of Africa drought.
-Egypt sets May 23 for landmark presidential vote.
-Top US general for Africa says 3 main terror groups there seeking to
coordinate efforts.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs

Please send questions or comments to:
publicaffairs@usafricom.mil
421-2687 (+49-711-729-2687)

Headline Date Outlet

Commander: Countering
U.S. Department
Extremists Tops Africom's 03/01/2012
of Defense
Priorities
WASHINGTON, Feb. 29, 2012 In its mission to strengthen the defense capabilities of African
states, the U.S. Africa Command considers countering extremist organizations its top job, Army
Gen. Carter F. Ham, Africom commander, said today.

"In line with ...

Nigeria: Boko Haram Hits Four
03/01/2012 AllAfrica.com
Primary Schools, Bank
A police source told The Moment that the sect razed Gomari Costain Primary School, yesterday
morning, a section of the Maiduguri Experimental School, Kawanar Yobe, and went ahead to set
ablaze two other schools, Budum and Kulo Gomna Primiary Schools and Ab...

Thomson
Egypt says U.S. NGO workers
03/01/2012 Reuters - Africa -
cleared to leave
Online
CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. pro-democracy activists flew out of Egypt on Thursday after the authorities
lifted a travel ban, a move that is likely to defuse the worst row between Washington and Cairo in
decades. Egyptian authorities had accused the campaigners...

UN backs open border policy to Xinhua News

03/01/2012
tackle Horn of Africa drought Agency
NAIROBI, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Environmental Program(UNEP) has said the
Horn of Africa requires an "open borders" policy to decisively deal with the forced movement of
pastoralists escaping the effects of climate change. Peter Gilruth, dir...

Kenya police: British woman

Washington Post
wanted over charges of 03/01/2012
- Online
fundraising for terror groups
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Kenyan police are hunting for a British woman who has been using the identity
of the widow of one of the suicide bombers who attacked London's transport system, an official
said Thursday. Police suspect that she is fundraising for a terro...

Thomson
Egypt sets May 23 for landmark
03/01/2012 Reuters - Africa -
presidential vote
Online
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's presidential election will be held over two days starting May 23, the
state election committee said on Wednesday, as the country's military rulers prepare to hand
power to civilians after last year's overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. A...

Top US general for Africa says 3

Washington Post
main terror groups there seeking 03/01/2012
- Online
to coordinate efforts
WASHINGTON -- Terrorist groups in Somalia, North Africa and Nigeria are eyeing ways to
coordinate their training, funding and terror activities, triggering increased U.S. national security
worries, the top American commander for Africa told Congress on Wed...

Alias causes confusion as wrong Washington Post

03/01/2012
man detained in Cairo - Online
A flurry of excitement passed briefly through U.S. intelligence agencies early Wednesday when
Egyptian authorities announced they had arrested an al-Qaeda member wanted in connection with
the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa. Mohammed Ibrahi...

Kenya and Ethiopia to sign deals 03/01/2012 Africa Review

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi will Thursday witness
the signing of bilateral agreements between their two countries.

Africom to hold 2012 exercise in

03/01/2012 Africa Review
Cameroon
The 2012 edition of the US Africa Command's joint military exercises with African countries will
take place in June in Douala, Cameroon. The exercise dubbed; Africa Endeavour, will involve land,
air and naval forces from 35 African and Western countries.

Libya asks Egypt to hand over 40 Washington Post

03/01/2012
wanted Gadhafi backers - Online
CAIRO -- Libya's general prosecutor has demanded that Egypt hand over 40 men accused of
collaboration with former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi before and during an eight-month
uprising that toppled his regime. Abdel Aziz al-Hassadi, the Libyan prosecut...

UN peacekeeper killed in Darfur 03/01/2012 Thomson

ambush Reuters - Africa -
Online
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N.-African Union peacekeeper was killed and three others were
wounded in Sudan's conflict-torn western Darfur region on Wednesday when their patrol was
ambushed, the United Nations said. "A patrol moving from Nyala to Sheari...

Libya gives $100m to help Syrians 03/01/2012 News24

Tripoli - Libya announced on Wednesday that it will provide $100m in humanitarian aid to Syrians
in a bid to support their battle for "freedom" against the "dictatorial regime" of Bashar Assad.

Libyan politicians in rush to form Daily Nation -

03/01/2012
parties Online
There may be no law governing the formation of political parties in the new Libya, but political and
military personalities are wasting no time in launching their groups or coalitions. Two parties -- one
centrist and the other headed by a commander of a u...

Libya: Former Rebels Retain New York Times -

03/01/2012
Prisoners Online, The
Former Libyan rebels, some of whom have been accused of torturing detainees, still hold about
three-quarters of the people they arrested during the country's civil war, the United Nations said on
Wednesday.

Africa: 2012 Posture Statement -

Statement of General Carter Ham
03/01/2012 AllAfrica.com
Before House Armed Services
Committee
Stuttgart, Germany -- A statement by General Carter Ham, U.S. Army Commander of the United
States Africa Command to the House Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives: Africa Command protects and defends the national security interest...

Africa, the black man's burden 03/01/2012 Herald, (Online)

So much has been said of the "white man's burden" namely, how the collapsing American Empire
and bygone British Empire have shouldered the burden of civilising Africa and driving the global
economyfor centuries. The opposite is true. The fact of the matt...

United Nations
United Nations News Centre -
03/01/2012 News Centre -
Africa Briefs
Africa Briefs
-UN-backed court to deliver judgment in Charles Taylor trial next month
-ICC issues arrest warrant for Sudanese minister for alleged Darfur crimes
-South Sudan army officers receive UN-led human rights training
-UN to assess situation in areas where pol...

News Headline: Commander: Countering Extremists Tops Africom's Priorities |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: U.S. Department of Defense
News Text: WASHINGTON, Feb. 29, 2012 In its mission to strengthen the
defense capabilities of African states, the U.S. Africa Command considers
countering extremist organizations its top job, Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, Africom
commander, said today.

In line with the new defense strategic guidance, we've prioritized our efforts,
focusing on the greatest threats to America, Americans and American interests,
Ham told the House Armed Services Committee. Countering threats posed by
al-Qaida affiliates in east and northwest Africa remains my No. 1 priority.

Helping Africom partners responsibly address their own security challenges is

an integral part of the command's activities, as are strengthening regional and
peacekeeping capabilities and maritime security, the general said.

Our engagements are designed to be innovative, low-cost and have a small

footprint, Ham told the panel. In Africa, a small investment truly can go a long
way.

Over the past year, significant changes have swept the African continent, he
said.

The broad wave of democratic movements that began in Tunisia has spread
faster and more broadly than many forecasted, Ham said. And the Republic of
South Sudan is the world's newest nation, gaining its independence last July.

In Nigeria, an Islamist extremist organization called Boko Haram conducts

violent attacks and demonstrates a growing threat to western interests, the
general said. And in the Horn of Africa on Feb. 9, he noted, al-Qaida and its
Somalia-based terrorist cell al-Shabaab publicly formalized their long-standing
merger.

Strong relationships have long been suspected among al-Qaida, al-Shebab and
al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula across the Gulf of Aden, operating in the
country of Yemen, Ham said.

Some have postulated that the timing of the public announcement may
[indicate] that al-Shebab is under duress, Ham said. I believe they are very
much under duress by the African Union mission in Somalia, Ethiopia and
Kenya, which have joined in the effort to defeat al-Shebab and clear areas of
Somalia from al-Shebab control.

The announcement is not quite a last gasp, the general added, but I would say
[it is] an effort by al-Shebab to gain some international support.

While each group by itself is certainly dangerous, he added, what concerns me

more is at least the intent expressed by the leaders of those organizations to
more closely collaborate and synchronize their efforts. If they are able to
coordinate efforts, share funding and training and exchange weapons, the
Africom commander said, I think that presents a real challenge for us.

In October, President Barack Obama authorized the deployment to central

Africa of 100 combat-equipped U.S. forces whose mission was to help regional
forces fight the notorious Lord's Resistance Army and its leader, Joseph Kony.

Today, with the approval of the Ugandan government, about 100 service
members and civilians that include two combat-equipped teams and
headquarters, communications and logistics personnel, provide information,
advice and assistance to select partner nation forces and act as advisers to
partner forces that seek to remove Kony and other senior LRA leadership from
the battlefield.

The Lord's Resistance Army is an organization that creates through violence a

tremendous amount of instability in a four-country region of east and central
Africa, Ham told the House members. Initially beginning in Uganda but now
extending their efforts into South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the
Democratic Republic of Congo, they've displaced many thousands of African
citizens and brought terror and fear to families across the region.

Ham said the four African nations, with U.S. forces in a facilitating role, are
coming together in an increasingly collaborative approach to counter the LRA.

To date, what we have found is that presence of the U.S. mostly special forces
advisors that are working with the armed forces of those four nations are having
a very positive effect, the general said.

Though he is optimistic, he added, the effort is not yet to the point where we
see the end in sight.

Security in Africa, he said, continues to be influenced by external actors, by

rapid economic developments, population growth and the overall size and
diversity of the continent itself.

Ham said that as he travels across Africa, he's been encouraged by the
optimism of African leaders in confronting the challenges and embracing the
opportunities ahead.

Because he believes Africans are best able to address African security

challenges, and because a safe, secure and stable Africa is in the U.S. national
interest, the general added, we at U.S. Africa Command will continue to strive
to be the security partner of choice in Africa.

Return to Top

News Headline: Nigeria: Boko Haram Hits Four Primary Schools, Bank |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: AllAfrica.com
News Text: A police source told The Moment that the sect razed Gomari
Costain Primary School, yesterday morning, a section of the Maiduguri
Experimental School, Kawanar Yobe, and went ahead to set ablaze two other
schools, Budum and Kulo Gomna Primiary Schools and Abba Ganaram Primary
School, also in the state capital.

The spokesperson of the Borno State Police Command, Samuel Tizhe,

confirmed the burning of the school. 'We have started investigation but no arrest
made yet,' Tuzhe said.

The Moment also learnt that the sect shot dead four people and wounded six
others in an attack at Bundun Kahugu in Pingiriga Chiefdom of Lere Local
Government Area of Kaduna State.

An eyewitness said the incident occurred last night around 9:30p.m. when some
of the victims were about to close for the day's business.

He said the gunmen came with sophisticated weapons and started a shooting
spree that caused pandemonium with villagers fleeing to nearby bushes for
safety.

Confirming the incident, the interim chairman of Lere Local Government Area,
Alhaji Kabir Tahir Malali, described the attacks as unfortunate and inhuman.
He called on the people of the council to remain calm and not take the laws into
their hands, adding, adequate measures have been taken by government to
ensure safety of lives and properties.

The Chief of Piriga, Mr Silas Angai, in his reaction, called on government to

adequately equip the security agents to face the growing challenges of
insecurity bedeviling the state and the country.

The Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Aminu Lawal, said the
command has begun an intensive combing of the area and were closing on the
perpetrators of the dastardly act in both Lere and Kagoro.

'Our men have already commenced investigation into the recent killings in
Kagoro and Lere and we are optimistic that those who carried out the attack
would very soon be arrested and brought to book,' he assured.

The Moment learnt that the Boko Haram sect also attacked a police station and
one old generation bank, killing one policeman and injuring another in Bauchi
State.

An eyewitness who would not want to be mentioned said they heard the sound
of explosion around 9p.m, which made many of them to run and leave their
shops open in fear.

He said the explosion went off at the bank and police station, followed by heavy
gun exchanges between the policemen and the attackers, which lasted for over
one and a half hour, adding that 'the policeman who died was newly married.'

The Caretaker Committee chairman of Jama'are Local Government Area, Alhaji

Adamu Suleiman, said when he visited the scenes of the incident, the bank and
the police station were badly damaged by the explosion.

He said at least 12 undetonated bombs planted within the bank were also
discovered.

The chairman said normalcy has since returned to area, adding that bomb
experts have already arrived the scene of the incident. He called on the people
of the area to cooperate with the police to unravel those behind the dastardly
act.

The state Police Commissioner, Ikewachukwu Aduba, who confirmed the

incident on phone, said he was on his way from the place, adding that he would
later issue press statement on the incident.

Return to Top

News Headline: Egypt says U.S. NGO workers cleared to leave |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Thomson Reuters - Africa - Online
News Text: CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. pro-democracy activists flew out of Egypt
on Thursday after the authorities lifted a travel ban, a move that is likely to
defuse the worst row between Washington and Cairo in decades.

Egyptian authorities had accused the campaigners, including the son of U.S.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, of working for groups receiving illegal
foreign funding and prevented them from leaving the country.

U.S. officials said the case, as long as it was unresolved, jeopardised $1.3 billion
in annual military aid, a cash transfer that began flowing after Egypt made peace
with Israel in 1979. Washington's ties with Cairo were a pillar of its Middle East
policy under U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak, who was deposed last year.

A judge said on Wednesday the ban had been lifted. "They (the activists) have
left," an airport official told Reuters on Thursday.

The group of 15 people, included eight Americans, among them Sam LaHood,
three Serbs, two Germans, one Norwegian and one Palestinian, Egypt's official
news agency said. Airport sources said they left on a U.S. plane sent to get
them.

The group later arrived in Cyprus, where they were met by U.S. embassy staff
and driven away from Larnaca airport in a minibus without speaking to a Reuters
reporter. It was not clear where they were being taken and U.S. diplomats
referred questions to the State Department in Washington.

Cyprus airport sources said the group's aircraft was scheduled to depart on
Friday but there was no information on its destination or passengers.

The United States expressed continued concern over Egypt's crackdown on pro-
democracy groups.

"We are very pleased that the Egyptian courts have now lifted the travel ban on
our NGO employees. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in
Washington. The group were on their way home, she said.
"The departure of our people doesn't resolve the legal case or the larger issues
concerning the NGOs," Nuland said.

"We remain deeply concerned about the prosecution of NGOs in Egypt and the
ultimate outcome of the legal process, and we will keep working with the
Egyptian government on these issues."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said on Wednesday she expected a
swift resolution to the row.

Judge Abdel Moez Ibrahim told Reuters on Wednesday that, after an appeal by
those charged, the case was switched from a criminal court to one handling
misdemeanours where the maximum penalty was a fine, not jail.

With that, those involved could post bail of 2 million Egyptian pounds ($330,000)
each and the travel ban would be lifted. The NGOs posted bail for their
employees.

Sixteen of the 43 people charged are Americans. Some of the U.S. activists had
sought refuge in the U.S. embassy, which had no comment on the case.

Egyptian politicians and analysts said ties with the United States would likely
recover without major long-term damage. Relations have been strained at a
sensitive point when Egypt makes the transition from army to civilian rule.
STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

"There is a realisation on all sides that the relationship with the United States is
extremely important. For the United States, Egypt is a pivotal country," said
Mona Makram-Ebeid, a member of an advisory council appointed by the ruling
army and also a professor at the American University in Cairo.
"But this is a long-standing strategic alliance that I think the NGO case could not
jeopardise, although we do not agree to any interference or any threat of
removing the financial aid." She said the comments by U.S. officials that aid was
at risk had angered many Egyptians.

But NGO activists and diplomats said the saga could curtail NGO activities and
impact on democratic freedoms.

"The crisis over the NGOs (non-governmental organisations) is more about

trimming Egyptian civil society in the coming future. The case poses a threat to
Egyptian civil society," said Mohamed Mohie, head of an Egyptian NGO not
involved in the case, the Human Development Society.

Two of the groups involved, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the
International Republican Institute (IRI), are loosely affiliated with the major U.S.
political parties.

IRI, which employs Sam LaHood as its Egypt Director, welcomed the lifting of
the travel ban but said it remained concerned over Egypt's investigation of civil
society groups and hopeful that all charges would be dropped.

It said it remained very concerned about the situation "and the impact it will have
on Egypt's ability to move forward with the democratic transition that so many
Egyptians have sought."

One Western diplomat said the case may have been used, at least in part, to
divert attention from a faltering economy.

"Once ... the media spotlight moves on, the threat remains over the Egyptian
employees (of NGOs involved) as does a large question mark over the way that
NGOs and civil society are seen in Egypt," the diplomat added.

Alongside charges that NGOs received foreign funds without Egypt's approval,
the workers are also alleged to have carried out political activities unrelated to
their work and accused of failing to obtain necessary operating licences.
A judicial source said charges would not be dropped.

The first session of the court that was initially hearing the case took place on
Sunday. It had been adjourned until April 26, but a new date will now be set
since the case has been transferred to another court, the judge said.

(Additional reporting and writing by Edmund Blair and Michele Kambas in

Larnaca; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Return to Top

News Headline: UN backs open border policy to tackle Horn of Africa drought |
News Date: 03/01/2012
Outlet Full Name: Xinhua News Agency
News Text: NAIROBI, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Environmental
Program(UNEP) has said the Horn of Africa requires an "open borders" policy to
decisively deal with the forced movement of pastoralists escaping the effects of
climate change.

Peter Gilruth, director of the Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DESA),
said enhancing the cross-border movement of pastoralists and their livestock
was a better way of dealing with "climate refugees" than restricting movement.

"The governments of the region have to find solutions," Gilruth told Xinhua in a
recent interview. "Life is quite hard but it would be harder if you reduce
population mobility."

Gilruth, part of a team of 22 scientists who have rated the food crisis in the Horn
of Africa region as the world's third biggest environmental challenge, said
effectively managing food supplies and livestock was also of key importance.

"You are likely to create more problems trying to prevent the populations from
accessing the resources and especially from populations that are resource-
scarce," Gilruth said.

UNEP executives believe the drought in northern Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and
Djibouti, which ignites mass cross-border movements, is a natural disaster, but
that the hunger and starvation that comes with it is a man-made crisis.

"The pastoralists have to change their patterns of livelihood and learn to sell
their livestock. They should also learn to sell off harvests during excess crop
production. This is not culturally their practice, but it can provide a solution,"
Gilruth said.

He said the Masaai livestock farmers and their Rendille counterparts in

northeastern Kenya should be assisted to make regular livestock sales to avoid
massive herd losses.

Studies by the Nairobi-based institution showed pressure on land has been

increasing in recent years. In recent reports examining the state of the world's
environment, UNEP warns that land degradation and deforestation inflict a
bigger economic burden on the world than the effects of the 2008 financial crisis.

Gilruth said as representatives from around the world prepare to meet in June
(at the Rio+20 conference) to discuss the subject of sustainable development,
striking a balance between social, economic and environmental issues was all
the more necessary to reduce risks to forests.

Earlier, Valerie Amos, the UN humanitarian affairs coordinator, said it was still
too early to declare the end of an era among the region's pastoralist
communities.

The United Nations declared an official end to the famine in Somalia in early
February, but called for sustained aid to consolidate humanitarian gains since
millions still remain in crisis.

"There is no doubt there are differing views on the effects of climate change. I
can see the impact it is having on the land and livelihoods," Amos, a former
British minister, told Xinhua, after a recent tour of the African humanitarian
hotspots.

Amos said her consultations with the elders of pastoralist communities in

Ethiopia, showed a new demand for more sustainable livelihoods.

Return to Top

News Headline: Kenya police: British woman wanted over charges of

fundraising for terror groups |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Washington Post - Online
News Text: NAIROBI, Kenya Kenyan police are hunting for a British woman
who has been using the identity of the widow of one of the suicide bombers who
attacked London's transport system, an official said Thursday.

Police suspect that she is fundraising for a terrorist group, said the official who
spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the
information.

Personal Post .The suspect has been using a number of identities, including
those of Samantha Lewthwaite and Natalie Faye Webb, the official said.
Lewthwaite is the widow of Jermaine Lindsay, one of the suicide bombers who
killed 52 commuters in multiple bombings of London's transport system on July
7, 2005. British newspapers report that Faye Webb is the victim of identity theft.

The official said he cannot confirm if the woman is Lewthwaite herself. Police
are working closely with Scotland Yard on the case, he said.

Lewthwaite's father, a builder from the town of Aylesbury near London, said that
he and the wider family had not heard for some time from his daughter.

I just wish she would get in touch with us, Andy Lewthwaite, 57, told The Sun
newspaper. Samantha would not be involved in anything to do with terrorism.
She was badly affected by what happened before and would have nothing to do
with it. I am sure of that.

The police official said the woman is suspected to be part of a cell that had been
planning to bomb the Kenyan coast in December in retaliation for the Kenyan
military incursion into Somalia.

Kenya sent troops across the border in October after a series of attacks by
Somali gunmen on Kenyan soil. The Kenyan government blamed the attacks on
the al-Qaida-affiliated Somali militant group al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab threatened to carry out suicide bombings in retaliation, although it

has not done so thus far. But Kenya has been hit by a number of grenade and
small arms attacks. Police said recently they suspect the killings of over 30
civilians in the past five months were orchestrated by al-Shabab or its
sympathizers.

In January, Kenya police announced that they had thwarted a major terror attack
by al-Shabab over the Christmas vacation. On the same day, Britain warned its
citizens in Kenya to be extra vigilant because terrorists could be in the final
stages of planning an attack.

The police official said they suspect the British woman is a member of the cell
that was planning the attack. Other members allegedly include a British man,
Jermaine Grant, sentenced to three years in prison for immigration offenses and
lying to a government official about his identity. Grant is also charged with
conspiring to commit a felony and possessing explosive materials.

Prosecutors say Grant is linked to al-Shabab but his lawyer Chacha Mwita
dismissed the allegations and said his client has not told him anything about a
European woman.

The other suspected member of cell, according to the police official, is Aboud
Rogo, an Islamic preacher who was arrested in January during a raid at his
coastal home. Police say they recovered a cache of guns, ammunition and
detonators there but Rogo's family say police planted the weapons.

A court released Rogo on bail last week and his lawyer Mbugua Mureithi
challenged the police to produce evidence linking his client to a terrorist cell.
Mureithi said the allegations were part of smear campaign against his client.

Police have a big opportunity to prove their accusations against my client in

court, Mureithi said.

Rogo was acquitted on murder charges for the 2002 bombing of a tourist hotel
which killed more than dozen people and attempt shoot down an Israeli jetliner.
He is also facing separate charges of being a member of al-Shabab, which has
been outlawed in Kenya.

So far al-Shabab's biggest attack on foreign soil has been the July 2010 suicide
attacks in Kampala, Uganda which killed 76 people watching the World Cup
final. Al-Shabab said the bombings were in retaliation for the presence of
Ugandan troops in Somalia.

Return to Top

News Headline: Egypt sets May 23 for landmark presidential vote |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Thomson Reuters - Africa - Online
News Text: CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's presidential election will be held over
two days starting May 23, the state election committee said on Wednesday, as
the country's military rulers prepare to hand power to civilians after last year's
overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.

A run-off between the top two contenders will take place on June 16 and 17 if no
candidate wins outright in the first round and final results will be released on
June 21, the committee's head, Farouk Soltan, told reporters.

The military has faced street protests and widespread demands that it hand
power to civilians sooner than the end-of-June deadline it had set itself and
intense speculation has surrounded the date of the vote.

The committee said 21 days of campaigning would begin on April 30. Some
candidates have already been touring the country to drum up support, including
former Arab League chief Amr Moussa and ex-Muslim Brotherhood member
Abdel Moneim Abol Fotoh.

The Brotherhood, the once-banned Islamist movement that was Mubarak's chief
political rival, has taken a dominant position in Egypt's new parliament but has
not said who it would back for the presidency.

Current Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby is mooted as a

consensus candidate, but said he has no such plans.

The vote is seen as the first genuine contest for head of state since the
overthrew of King Farouk in 1952 ushered in a succession of strongman leaders
drawn from the military.

Mubarak clung to power for three decades, winning a succession of crushing

wins in elections condemned by his opponents as heavily rigged, and many
Egyptians believed he was preparing to hand power to his younger son Gamal.

Incensed by endemic poverty, corruption and police brutality, millions of

Egyptians took to the streets last January and February to demand an end to
Mubarak's rule and the army leadership nudged him from office.

The election committee set a spending limit for the upcoming presidential
campaign of 10 million Egyptian pounds per candidate.

Return to Top

News Headline: Top US general for Africa says 3 main terror groups there
seeking to coordinate efforts |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Washington Post - Online
News Text: WASHINGTON Terrorist groups in Somalia, North Africa and
Nigeria are eyeing ways to coordinate their training, funding and terror activities,
triggering increased U.S. national security worries, the top American
commander for Africa told Congress on Wednesday.

Army Gen. Carter Ham said terror leaders from al-Shabab, al-Qaida in the
Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram in Nigeria want to more closely synchronize
their efforts. If they are able to better share their training and funding, that
presents a real challenge for us, he told the House Armed Services Committee.

Personal Post .The three groups represent the greatest threats to security in the
region, and all three have strong ties to al-Qaida. And Ham laid out ongoing
efforts by the U.S. to provide training, equipment and support to a number of
nations across northern and east Africa where militants have launched a range
of dramatic attacks over the past year or more.

Increased U.S.-backed operations around Mogadishu, largely by Ugandan and

Burundian troops as part of an African Union force, have weakened al-Shabab.
And Ham said the recent announcement of al-Qaida's formal alliance with al-
Shabab suggests the Somalia-based insurgency has been weakened and is
looking for greater international support.
It's not quite a last gasp, Ham said, but it indicates that al-Shabab is under
duress by the military operations that are working to free swaths of Mogadishu
from the insurgents' control.

He added that the formalized merger of al-Shabab and al-Qaida, announced

Feb. 9 by al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri, may allow the groups to focus on
threats against American interests.

In other comments, Ham said there are small pockets of foreign fighters who
were involved in the resistance in Libya that ended up fighting against U.S. and
coalition troops in Iraq. And he said al-Qaida may be trying to re-establish those
insurgent networks.

Members of the committee questioned why the headquarters for U.S. Africa
Command is in Germany, and why the command has so much fewer resources
than U.S. European Command, when much of the emerging threats against
America come from Africa.

Ham said the African nations don't necessarily want a big U.S. presence in their
countries.

And Navy Adm. James Stravidis, head of U.S. European Command, said it is
important to keep a strong presence in Europe because those are the allies
America will turn to in a crisis.

The U.S. military is cutting the number of Army combat brigades in Europe from
four to two and pulling out two other smaller units a total reduction of about
12,000 troops. The cuts will leave about 68,000 U.S. forces in Europe, down
from a high of about 400,000 at the height of the Cold War.

Stravidis and Ham also told the committee that the forces in Europe can more
quickly get to hotspots in the region, including the Middle East, Eastern Europe
or Africa. They pointed to last year's Libyan conflict as an example.

Return to Top

News Headline: Alias causes confusion as wrong man detained in Cairo |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Washington Post - Online
News Text: A flurry of excitement passed briefly through U.S. intelligence
agencies early Wednesday when Egyptian authorities announced they had
arrested an al-Qaeda member wanted in connection with the 1998 bombings of
U.S. embassies in East Africa.

Mohammed Ibrahim Makkawi was taken into custody at Cairo International

Airport after a flight from Pakistan. His name appears on the FBI's most- wanted
terrorist list as an alias for Saif al-Adel (sword of justice in Arabic), an Egyptian
who once served as Osama bin Laden's security chief and is under indictment in
the Southern District of New York for his alleged role in the embassy bombings.

But it soon became clear that the man detained in Cairo was not the one in the
Wanted poster plastered on the FBI Web site for nearly a decade, and
Makkawi was released Thursday, according to the prosecutor's office, after
being held overnight and interrogated.
Arabic names have long been a source of confusion for intelligence officials in
the United States and elsewhere because different spellings along with the
use of honorifics, nicknames and noms de guerre make for multiple
variations. Lists of alleged terrorists often include many aliases under individual
names.

There are fugitives all over the place who have numerous a.k.a.'s, said FBI
spokeswoman Kathleen Wright. Why someone chooses one name over
another, I can't answer.

University of Exeter political science professor Omar Ashour, an expert on

Islamist movements, said Adel's real name is Mohamed Salah al-Din Zaidan.
Both he and Makkawi served as officers in the Egyptian army, Ashour said, but
they were born at different times and places and have different connections to
al-Qaeda.

He said the FBI photograph of Adel shows the right man Zaidan, not
Makkawi.

Yet confusion still ensued Wednesday.

Makkawi told news services in Cairo that he returned to Egypt

to clear his name. I decided to return to Egypt to live in peace, without making
any deal with the Egyptian authorities and to
confirm my innocence of all charges directed against me, he said. I am not the
wanted Saif al-Adel.

Makkawi was dishonorably discharged from the Egyptian military for joining
jihadist
fighters in the 1980s, according
to Nizar Ghorab. Makkawi was arrested and imprisoned by Egyptian authorities
but later fled and eventually was connected to al-Qaeda for a short time in
Pakistan. He split from the group in 1989, said Ghorab. Makkawi sought to clear
his name in a 2009 letter to United Nations officials in which he explained the
mistaken identity.

Other than as a possible alias for Adel, Makkawi's name does not appear on
public U.S. terrorist lists.

Gen. Marwan Mustapha, an Interior Ministry spokesman, told CNN that Makkawi
was wanted on charges of terrorism and conspiring to topple the regime.

The arrest of Adel, for whom the State Department has offered a $5 million
reward, would have been a far more important development. He was briefly bin
Laden's security chief, overseeing al-Qaeda's military operations.

Adel remains a senior member of the organization and was considered a chief
rival of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over as commander of al-Qaeda after bin
Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in a raid last year.

Fadel reported from Cairo

Return to Top
News Headline: Kenya and Ethiopia to sign deals |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Africa Review
News Text: Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi will Thursday witness the signing of bilateral agreements between their
two countries.

Thereafter, a joint communiqu will be issued at a press briefing and media

opportunity at State House Nairobi.

Ethiopia and Kenya are both involved in fighting Al-Shabaab, the insurgents
opposed to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

The two countries have sent their forces to the troubled Horn of Africa state.

Return to Top

News Headline: Africom to hold 2012 exercise in Cameroon |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Africa Review
News Text: The 2012 edition of the US Africa Command's joint military
exercises with African countries will take place in June in Douala, Cameroon.

The exercise dubbed; Africa Endeavour, will involve land, air and naval forces
from 35 African and Western countries.

The goal is to test the communication links and the procedure used in
sustaining the African Standby Force deployed to give humanitarian assistance
and to respond to other crises in the African continent, according to Colonel
Gabriel Mvogo of the Cameroon military.

The intention also is to reinforce the inter-operational ability as concerns human

assistance and to install a climate of confidence and mutual cooperation among
the forces involved, he added.

Africa Endeavour is an annual joint exercise overseen by the US military's Africa

Command (Africom).

Following deep African misgivings about Africom's aims when it was launched
some years back, the US has moved to market it as a humanitarian and security
support force.

Since its launching in 2006, the exercise (Africa Endeavour) intends to

ameliorate the security capacities of its African partners and assist in the
development of standard practices and military communications to better
support future operations in the African arena, says a communiqu from US
embassy in Cameroon.

The planning stage of the exercise, which ends on Friday, would finalise the
groundwork already laid during the conference that was held in Lesotho in
November 2011.

Return to Top
News Headline: Libya asks Egypt to hand over 40 wanted Gadhafi backers |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Washington Post - Online
News Text: CAIRO Libya's general prosecutor has demanded that Egypt
hand over 40 men accused of collaboration with former Libyan dictator
Moammar Gadhafi before and during an eight-month uprising that toppled his
regime.

Abdel Aziz al-Hassadi, the Libyan prosecutor general, said Wednesday that the
40 face corruption allegations as well as accusations of complicity in killings
during the uprising.

Personal Post .Among those wanted are Gadhafi's cousin, Ahmed Gadhaf al-
Dam, former Foreign Minister Ali al-Treki, military intelligence chief Bouzeid al-
Jabou and Ali al-Kelani, who was said to be responsible for torture. Al-Hassadi
said he was waiting for an Egyptian response.

Gadhafi's daughter, Aisha, her mother and two of her brothers fled to
neighboring Algeria, while another son, al-Saadi, and dozens of senior military
officers escaped to Niger.

Return to Top

News Headline: UN peacekeeper killed in Darfur ambush |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Thomson Reuters - Africa - Online
News Text: UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N.-African Union peacekeeper
was killed and three others were wounded in Sudan's conflict-torn western
Darfur region on Wednesday when their patrol was ambushed, the United
Nations said.

"A patrol moving from Nyala to Shearia in south Darfur was ambushed at Baraka
village. The initial reports indicate that three peacekeepers were wounded and
one was killed," said U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky. No further details were
available.

Violence in Darfur, where the United Nations and the African Union maintain a
huge joint peacekeeping operation, has subsided since its peak in 2003 and
2004, but rebel and tribal fighting and banditry still plagues the territory.

Mostly African insurgents in Darfur took up arms against the Arab-dominated

government in 2003, accusing authorities of neglecting the remote territory.
Khartoum mobilized troops and allied Arab tribes to quell the rebellion, and the
United Nations estimates some 300,000 people have died in the conflict.

The International Criminal Court has indicted Sudan's President Omar Hassan
al-Bashir and other officials for war crimes in the region. Khartoum has put the
death toll at 10,000 and dismissed the charges as politically motivated and
baseless.

Separately, the U.N. peacekeeping department will brief the Security Council
later on Wednesday about reports that rebels killed some 130 members of the
Sudanese army near the border with South Sudan.

Rebel groups in Sudan claimed credit on Monday for the previous day's attack,
saying they had captured a Sudanese army garrison near the border with the
south in an operation that Khartoum blamed on the south's army.

The South Sudan government said none of its forces were involved, but the
assault has fueled tensions between the neighbors already at odds over oil
exports and border disputes. Any involvement of southern forces would have
violated a non-aggression pact signed by the two sides this month.

The clashes on Sunday took place in the South Kordofan province on Sudan's
side of the ill-defined border with South Sudan, a flashpoint between the two
countries.

South Sudan seceded from the north last July in line with a referendum held in
accordance with a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war.

Return to Top

News Headline: Libya gives $100m to help Syrians |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: News24
News Text: Tripoli - Libya announced on Wednesday that it will provide $100m
in humanitarian aid to Syrians in a bid to support their battle for "freedom"
against the "dictatorial regime" of Bashar Assad.

Libya government spokesperson Mohammed al-Harizi said the opposition

Syrian National Council opened a bank account for the funds which will be used
to "provide financial support for humanitarian purposes, equivalent to $100m".

He said Libya backs Syrians in their twin "goals of freedom and getting rid of the
dictatorial regime".

The announcement comes a day after Libyan leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil
promised to help Syria with humanitarian aid, noting that "the tragedy of our
Syrian brothers surpasses what we saw in Libya".

Jalil and Harizi made no mention of providing military support for anti-regime
fighters in Syria.

Libyans are encouraged to support the relief effort by making donations to aid
agencies focused on Syria, including the Libyan Red Crescent, Harizi added.

Return to Top

News Headline: Libyan politicians in rush to form parties |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Daily Nation - Online
News Text: There may be no law governing the formation of political parties in
the new Libya, but political and military personalities are wasting no time in
launching their groups or coalitions. Two parties one centrist and the other
headed by a commander of a union of revolutionary brigades were formally
launched in Tripoli on Monday alone and a third party focused on reform was
due to be inaugurated on Tuesday.

In a country where political organisations of any kind were banned for decades
under the iron-fisted rule of Muammar Gaddafi, ousted in last year's popular
uprising, these are crucial steps on the path to political development.

More than 1,000 people attended the grandiose launch of former interim oil and
finance minister Ali Tarhuni's National Centrist Party on Monday, where they
were fed and provided with sleek information packages on the party.

The programme of the party, part of a coalition formed last week by Mahmud
Jibril, former interim prime minister, puts a heavy emphasis on educating
citizens and creating economic opportunities for Libyan men and women.

The presence of a centrist party will help protect women's rights and empower
women, Ahlam al-Haj, an endorser of Tarhuni's party, said, adding it could
counteract movements with stricter interpretations of Islam.

We are in the middle and any radicalisation is something we oppose, Tarhuni

said on the sidelines of the launch, adding he hopes the party will grow along
the lines of a grassroots movement.

At a separate event, Abdullah Nakir, head of a Tripoli-based union of

revolutionary brigades, launched the Summit party in a small gathering featuring
a live band trumpeting the new national anthem.

The launch of Nakir's party marks one of the first instances of a military
personality throwing his hat into the political ring. Nascent parties typically turn
to regionally organised brigades and even sports clubs for supporters.

Like the dozens of other parties formed in the last few months, the Summit party
lists Islam as the religion of the state and primary source of legislation but is
accommodating of other religions.

Return to Top

News Headline: Libya: Former Rebels Retain Prisoners |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: New York Times - Online, The
News Text: Former Libyan rebels, some of whom have been accused of
torturing detainees, still hold about three-quarters of the people they arrested
during the country's civil war, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

As many as 6,000 detainees, many of them Africans suspected of having fought

for the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, remain under the control of the
former rebels. The government has taken control of eight detention centers, Ian
Martin, the United Nations' special envoy for Libya, told the Security Council, but
he said the government needs to step up the pace at which it takes over jails
from the former rebels.

Return to Top
News Headline: Africa: 2012 Posture Statement - Statement of General Carter
Ham Before House Armed Services Committee |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: AllAfrica.com
News Text: Stuttgart, Germany A statement by General Carter Ham, U.S.
Army Commander of the United States Africa Command to the House Armed
Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives:

Africa Command protects and defends the national security interests of the
United States by strengthening the defense capabilities of African states and
regional organizations and, when directed, conducts military operations, in order
to deter and defeat transnational threats and to provide a security environment
conducive to good governance and development.

Introduction

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the accomplishments and future efforts
of the men and women of U.S. Africa Command. During the past year, we
worked closely with U.S. Government agencies and many international partners
to address emerging and ongoing threats to security and stability in Africa. Our
operations, exercises, and security cooperation programs continue to support
U.S. policy objectives in Africa, strengthen partnerships and reduce threats to
America, Americans, and American interests emanating from Africa.

This year, with the continued support of Congress, we will strive to build upon
existing relationships and develop new partnerships in Africa in order to
strengthen the defense capabilities of partner nations to better enable them to
provide for their own security while increasingly contributing to regional security
and stability. Guided by the Defense Strategic Guidance, we will continue to
sharpen our focus, particularly in the realm of countering violent extremist
organizations. We will seek new ways to work with and through the African
Union and its regional organizations and to support their leadership in
preventing and responding to African security challenges. We will continue to
develop innovative, low-cost, and small footprint approaches consistent with the
blueprint for the Joint Force of 2020.

Throughout Africa, small teams of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines,

Coastguardsmen, and DoD civilians and contractors, along with teammates from
many other U.S. government agencies, conduct a wide range of engagements in
support of U.S. security interests. I believe that with a comparatively small
resource investment, we can continue to achieve tangible results in Africa.

In order to realize success in our mission we must: PREPARE, in cooperation

with our partners and allies, to respond to future crises and contingencies;
PREVENT future conflicts by continuing to strengthen our partners' defense
capabilities; and PREVAIL in current and future operations.

Strategic Environment

Despite numerous challenges, Africa is a continent where significant progress

can be found and great potential exists. The United States is increasingly
connected to African states and regional organizations through shared
economic, political, and security interests, including commitments to
consolidating democratic and economic progress achieved in recent years. U.S.
Africa Command supports these efforts through our operations, exercises, and
security cooperation activities. In the past year we have seen considerable
progress in the capabilities and cooperation of regional partners in addressing
threats to regional security, including the operational gains made by African
Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces working alongside Somali, Kenyan,
and Ethiopian troops against al-Shabaab, and the cooperative efforts of Algeria,
Niger, Mali and Mauritania in combating AQIM.

With six of the world's fastest growing economies in the past decade, combined
with democratic gains made in a number of African nations in 2011, Africa's
strategic importance to the United States will continue to grow. This year will
almost certainly be yet another dynamic year for Africa, with 20 national
elections scheduled to occur across the continent, including five elections
prompted by peace facilitation, post-conflict, and presidential successions.
Some elections may result in new political and security dynamics in Africa.
Through all of these changes, U.S. Africa Command will remain flexible as we
move forward with our engagements in order to accomplish our strategic
objectives.

The Defense Strategic Guidance notes the need for adaptable and strategically
targeted approaches to meet the increasing complexity of the 21st century
global security environment. Africa's sheer size, diverse population, and many
fragile states are emblematic of this complexity. Africa accounts for 14 of the
world's 20 weakest states in Foreign Policy's 2011 "Failed States Index." Many
of its fragile states lack the capacity or political will to effectively address
demographic, political, social, and economic challenges, including population
growth, rapid urbanization, persistent internal conflicts, widening income
inequality, burgeoning political demands, widespread disease, and increasing
demands for essential resources.

Key security challenges of concern to U.S. Africa Command and our partners
include the activities of al-Qa'ida and its affiliates in East Africa, the Maghreb,
and the Sahel. Across the continent, illicit trafficking and its nexus with violent
extremist organizations (VEOs) pose significant threats to regional stability and
U.S. national interests. Illicit trafficking across the spectrum, from weapons
proliferation to trafficking in narcotics and humans, contributes to instability by
eroding governance and development. Many Man Portable Air Defense
Systems, or MANPADS, disappeared from unsecured storage sites in Libya
during the conflict last year and could potentially be trafficked to extremist
groups. Also of concern are the Qadhafi regime's stock of chemical weapons
and precursor chemicals, the destruction of which was interrupted by the
conflict. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
verified the presence of previously undisclosed chemical weapons in a visit to
Libya in January 2012, and will continue to coordinate with the government of
Libya on the destruction of all chemical weapons.

U.S. Africa Command Strategy

U.S. Africa Command's strategy is fully in line with key elements of U.S. foreign
policy and the recent Defense Strategic Guidance. Applying resources in a
thoughtful and effective manner to strengthen the defense capabilities of our
partners in Africa also remains a critical element of the Department of Defense's
new Strategic Guidance. For the foreseeable future, the United States will
continue to take an active approach to countering the threat posed by al-Qa'ida.
Monitoring threats, working with African nations to establish control over
undergoverned spaces, and taking an active approach to disrupting al-Qa'ida,
are key elements of our efforts in Africa.

Due to the vast challenges and opportunities on the continent, as well as current
fiscal realities, we have prioritized regions in Africa to better focus our exercises,
operations and security cooperation activities. The Command's regional
alignment corresponds with the African Union's regional approach. Our highest
priority is the East Africa region which is the nexus for transnational threats to
our nation's security. These threats include violent extremist organizations, illicit
trafficking and piracy. In prioritizing engagement with individual partners, Africa
Command considers our common interests, compelling U.S. national security
interests, and each nation's role on the continent.

All of our efforts are guided by two principles; first that a safe, secure, and stable
Africa is in our national interest, and second that Africans are best suited to
address African security challenges. The United States can best address the
security challenges and opportunities of the African continent by employing all of
the elements of national power in cooperation with our African partners. Our
strategy synchronizes our activities with those of our U.S. Government, allied,
and African partners. It also details our focus areas, prioritizes regions, and
ensures our activities produce sustainable effects.

U.S. Africa Command Priorities

Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremist Organizations (VEO)

Our national defense strategy stresses countering terrorism by transnational

VEOs as a critical mission. We conduct operations, exercises, and theater
security cooperation programs to prevent attacks against the U.S. homeland or
its personnel and facilities abroad and to reduce the threat to our partners and
allies.

In Somalia, al-Shabaab represents both a terrorist threat to U.S. and regional

interests and an insurgent problem to the Somali Transitional Federal
Government (TFG) as well as Somali regional administrations. In a video
released on 9 February 2012, al-Qa'ida and al-Shabaab jointly announced their
formal merger.

Al-Shabaab continues its attempts to overthrow the TFG and gain control of
Somali territory. The TFG remains dependent on international support and the
presence of AMISOM peacekeepers for its survival. AMISOM successes in
Mogadishu, as well as TFG, Kenyan, and Ethiopian operations in south-central
Somalia, have the potential to consolidate gains against al-Shabaab and foreign
fighters. Somalia faces a significant transition point in August 2012 when the
TFG's mandate will expire. Current military operations provide the security
necessary for progress in the political process.

Of concern in North and West Africa is the terrorist organization al-Qa'ida in the
Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which uses the undergoverned spaces of
the Maghreb and Sahel as a safe haven. Originally focused on overthrowing the
government of Algeria, AQIM evolved and now has a stated intent to attack
western targets. AQIM continues to increase its activities in North and West
Africa, including collecting large sums of money through kidnapping for ransom.
In August 2011, AQIM claimed responsibility for the bombing of an Algerian
military school that killed 18 people. There are clear indications that AQIM is
now involved in trafficking arms from Libya. In addition, the upheavals in Libya
and Tunisia have created opportunities for AQIM to establish new safe havens.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and the source of 8-11% of U.S. oil
imports, has very recently experienced a significant decline in security, including
a steep increase in the number of terrorist attacks by Boko Haram. Historically,
Boko Haram focused on Nigerian government targets but in August of 2011, it
bombed the United Nations mission in Abuja, killing 25 and injuring more than
80 individuals. Violence has escalated in the last several months with 40 killed in
Christmas 2011 attacks and over 180 killed in January 2012 in Kano in a series
of coordinated attacks against government and police facilities.

In response to these attacks, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a

state of emergency in some areas and sent additional military forces to northern
Nigeria. We seek to work with our Nigerian partners to strengthen their capability
in civil-military affairs to facilitate interaction between military forces and civilians
in northern Nigeria and to improve their ability to counter improvised explosive
devices. These tailored efforts will enhance Nigerian capabilities to effectively
provide security to the Nigerian people and to address conditions conducive to
the growth of Boko Haram. The insecurity in northern Nigeria will not be solved
solely by military action. An enduring solution will require addressing the
underlying conditions which lead individuals to support Boko Haram.

We actively counter these threats through a mix of security force assistance,

assisting African states to establish control over undergoverned territories and,
in some instances, direct military activity. Our programs and activities support
and complement the Department of State's Partnership for Regional East
African Counter-Terrorism (PREACT) and the Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism
Partnership (TSCTP). Our engagements focus on border security, intelligence,
and tactical training. We also assist in properly equipping partner nation forces
as well as encourage regional cooperation and intelligence sharing as methods
to increase effectiveness.

I believe our strategy for countering-VEOs and emphasis on regional

cooperation are having positive effects. In June of 2011, the nations of
Mauritania and Mali, whose forces have both trained in a variety of ways
including in our annual FLINTLOCK exercise designed to help build
counterterrorism capacity, collaborated to destroy an AQIM camp in northern
Mali. The nations of Niger and Algeria are both aware of the threat of weapons
trafficking from Libya, and are now cooperating to secure their borders. In
January 2012, Algeria stopped a four vehicle convoy which was carrying over
100 assault rifles, two rocket propelled grenades (RPG), and ammunition
suspected of being of Libyan origin. Furthermore, our sustained support for the
troop contributing countries to the African Union Mission in Somalia has resulted
in that organization being increasingly capable of countering al-Shabaab's
influence.

The potential for support and strengthening of ties between these three groups
(al-Shabaab, AQIM and Boko Haram) with al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula
and al-Qa'ida senior leaders in Pakistan, is of particular concern and requires
continued monitoring.

Countering Piracy and Illicit Trafficking

Instability on land contributes to the growth of both VEOs and other criminal
activity. The free flow of commerce through the global commons is essential to
U.S. economic and security interests. Piracy and other maritime crimes
negatively impact the security and freedom of access for all nations to critical
waterways and continue to threaten U.S. security in the waters off the East and
West coast of Africa. The international community, including NATO and the
European Union, is actively combating piracy in the waters off of the African
continent. However, many African partners presently lack the maritime capability
and capacity to effectively address piracy. Our goal is to help partner nations
build their capacity to increase maritime domain awareness and security in
Africa as part of the broader USG and international effort.

In the waters off the Horn of Africa and into the Indian Ocean, Somali-based
piracy is a persistent threat. Pirates have demonstrated the ability to operate
small watercraft at distances greater than 100 nautical miles from the coast. As
the pirates move further east into the Indian Ocean and south into the
Mozambique Channel, the challenges and cost associated with interdicting
pirate vessels will grow due to a larger area to patrol, making vessels more
vulnerable. According the Office of Naval Intelligence, the number of attempted
pirate attacks decreased from 186 in 2010 to 166 in 2011; similarly, the number
of successful attacks in 2010 dropped from 51 to 27 in 2011. This decline is
attributed primarily to the presence of armed security teams on commercial
vessels and increasing pressure from the international community in the form of
naval patrols.

Somali pirates enjoy sanctuary and freedom of movement on land relatively

unimpeded by regional forces. The emergence of armed security teams on
commercial vessels, which is reducing the number of successful attacks, may be
forcing Somali pirates to adopt new tactics to earn ransoms. A growing concern
regarding Somali clan based criminal networks is land-based kidnapping for
ransom.

Piracy and armed robbery at sea are also a persistent and growing threat in
West Africa's Gulf of Guinea. The International Maritime Bureau statistics
document an increase in reported attacks from 28 in 2010 to 39 in 2011. Unlike
piracy in the waters off East Africa, attacks in the Gulf of Guinea tend to focus
on theft of cargo and kidnapping of individuals crewmembers for ransom, and
more frequently result in the injury or death of crewmembers.

Our objectives for maritime security include developing maritime domain

awareness, increasing response capabilities, and fostering regional integration
and cooperation. Our activities are carried out pursuant to a variety of DoD (title
10) and State (title 22) authorities. Some of these are military-to-military
authorities like 10 U.S.C. 1051 and 2010. While others are carried out in
cooperation and coordination with Department of State pursuant to authorities
such as International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Sales and
Financing, and Peace Keeping Operations. Our flagship maritime security
engagement program is Africa Partnership Station (APS). APS provides
sustained engagement using mobile training teams, interagency, and
international trainers, working from U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and
international partner nations' vessels. Beginning this year, APS will have a
construct of "training African trainers" to enable African maritime forces to
provide the same level of instruction without U.S. personnel. To date, APS
engagements have involved 21 nations and trained more than 7,700 maritime
security professionals.
U.S. Africa Command also works closely with African regional organizations to
promote and facilitate enhanced regional dialogue and cooperation on maritime
security issues. In July 2011, U.S. Africa Command along with the African
Center for Strategic Studies sponsored the Maritime Safety and Security
Seminar with subject matter experts from the Economic Community of Central
African States (ECCAS) and the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS). The seminar provided a venue for the two groups to discuss the
wide range of maritime security threats and to align their strategies to confront
maritime threats. U.S. Africa Command was able to provide a neutral venue and
foster the development of a draft agreement between the two organizations that
delineates legal roles and promotes interregional cooperation.

Increasingly, African states are taking ownership of security challenges and are
working together to combat shared threats. In response to the piracy threat in
the Gulf of Guinea, Benin and Nigeria are conducting joint maritime patrols. The
nations of Togo and Ghana are expected to join in these patrols as well. ECCAS
is also conducting joint patrols in the Gulf of Guinea, with Cameroon, Sao Tome
and Principe, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. In November 2011, ECOWAS
conducted a conference to discuss further regional cooperation to combat piracy
in the region. Activities conducted to increase maritime security, also contribute
to reducing the potential exploitation of undergoverned maritime space by
violent extremists or criminal organizations.

Many of the same conditions conducive to VEOs and maritime crime are also
exploited by criminal elements for illicit trafficking across the spectrum, from
sales of weapons to potential trafficking in narcotics and humans. The
emergence of complex networks of transnational criminals, narcotics traffickers,
VEOs, and other actors necessitates a greater emphasis on countering illicit
trafficking (CIT) on land and at sea. The primary objective of our CIT efforts is
the development of legitimate, effective, and accountable security forces
capable of combating narcotics, weapons trafficking, and other forms of illicit
trafficking. We prioritize support to partner nations whose efforts prevent or
disrupt the convergence of illicit trafficking and VEOs.

Last year we conducted 71 CIT training events with 24 African partner nations
using both section 1033 of the FY 1998 NDAA (support to counter-drug activities
of certain foreign governments) and section 1004 of the FY 1991 NDAA (support
to counter-drug activities of other government agencies). We supported bases of
operation in Ghana and Liberia used to enhance maritime security operations in
the Gulf of Guinea. Additionally, we implemented five projects to facilitate
information sharing with our partner nations. Through increased information
sharing, Cape Verde successfully executed its largest drug seizure valued at
$100 million. These modest efforts relative to demand are paying dividends in
increased cooperation and effectiveness against illicit trafficking capabilities.

Partnering to Strengthen Defense Capabilities

U.S. Africa Command assists African partners to develop the capabilities

required to combat VEOs, piracy, illicit trafficking, and prevent conflict.
Increasing the ability of Africans to prevent, mitigate, and resolve conflicts leads
to increases in stability and can create the conditions conducive to development.
Building partner capacity is also important because it promotes the sharing of
costs and responsibility for security on the African continent.

Our capacity building activities complement Department of State programs and

are planned with the embassy country team and the partner nation. We focus on
the development of professional militaries which are disciplined, capable, and
responsible to civilian authorities and committed to the well being of their
citizens and protecting human rights. Our efforts focus on increasing the
capability and capacity of African partner nations to serve as trained, equipped
agents of stability and security on the African continent.

The majority of our engagements are conducted by small teams led by our
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Special Operations Components at a low
cost and with a small footprint. African militaries are very receptive to this
approach which allows us to cultivate the personal relationships that are so
important to our efforts to deepen institutional relationships and build capacity.
Given the imperative to reduce costs, we have focused our exercise program on
multilateral exercises to make judicious use of resources. An added benefit of
multilateral exercises is they develop relationships between nations and
contribute to regional cooperation.

One of our primary foci is support to African nations who are willing and able to
provide forces to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and other
peacekeeping operations. In support of the Department of State's Global Peace
Operations Initiatives (GPOI) and the African Contingency Operations Training
and Assistance (ACOTA) programs, we provide military mentors to support pre-
deployment training. We work extensively with the nations of Uganda and
Burundi as they provide the majority of forces to AMISOM to date. Last year we
assisted the forces of Djibouti in preparing for their deployment to support
AMISOM. Despite some challenges, Djibouti deployed a 100-man advance
element of its pledged infantry battalion of over 800 troops. This year we look
forward to assisting Sierra Leone as it prepares peacekeeping forces for
deployment to Somalia, and we would also look for ways to assist Kenyan
forces, consistent with our prior trainings and as appropriate, given AMISOM
plans to incorporate Kenyans into the mission.

In the Great Lakes Region of Africa, the United States is engaged in a number
of efforts to help address violent armed groups and to promote security. For
several years, the people and Governments of Uganda, the Central African
Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan have worked
to eliminate the threat posed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), one of
Africa's most violent and persistent armed groups, which has brutalized civilians
in the region for a quarter-century.

Consistent with the bipartisan legislation on the LRA passed by Congress in

2010 and signed into law by the President, the United States continues to
pursue a comprehensive, multi-year strategy to help our regional partners
mitigate and eliminate the threat posed by the LRA. As part of that strategy,
President Obama reported to Congress in October that he had authorized a
small number of U.S. forces to deploy to the LRA-affected region and to act as
advisors to the militaries that are pursuing the LRA. About 100 U.S. personnel
deployed to support the regional effort. These U.S. forces do not have an
operational role and are focused on assisting and advising host nation forces.
An important aspect of their mission is to enhance the capacity of our partners to
coordinate and fuse intelligence with effective operational planning so they are
better able to plan and conduct operations with the goal of removing from the
battlefield Joseph Kony and other senior leadership of the LRA.

Our military advisors are sensitive to the challenges of civilian protection and are
incorporating protection considerations into training and operational planning
support. U.S. Africa Command is also implementing a rewards program
intended to enhance information-gathering efforts throughout LRA-affected
areas. Our support to addressing the LRA threat is embedded within a broader
strategy and complemented by civilian efforts to include encouraging members
of the LRA to defect and peacefully surrender, and we are working closely with
the Department of State and USAID as a result.

Ultimately, success in countering the LRA will depend upon the continued
resolve and partnership of the affected countries as they work together to
remove the LRA's top leaders from the battlefield and seek to encourage the
defection and disarmament of others.

In East Africa, the Republic of South Sudan continues efforts to improve its
capabilities addressing immediate security and humanitarian concerns.
Tensions between Sudan and South Sudan have been and remain a source of
regional instability. Disagreements between the two nations remain over the
contentious issues of border demarcation, wealth sharing primarily related to oil
revenue, and debt forgiveness. Ongoing violence remains a challenge to both
governments and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

As of February 2012, the two Sudans are engaged in difficult negotiations

related to transit fees for oil. The two sides remain deeply divided over these
issues but the future of both nations will depend on their ability to peacefully
address this and other post-referendum issues.

Our activities in South Sudan will focus on assisting with the development of the
Ministry of Defense and the transformation of their military. We will concentrate
on developing the institutional processes of the Sudan People's Liberation Army
(SPLA) general headquarters and mission critical forces focused on command
and control, discipline of the force, and mobility. Our efforts in security force
assistance are expected to begin in 3rd quarter fiscal year 2012.

In our efforts to strengthen defense capabilities of African partners, the National

Guard State Partnership Program is an incredibly important component.
Currently, there are eight partnerships in Africa (Botswana and North Carolina,
Ghana and North Dakota, Liberia and Michigan, Morocco and Utah, Nigeria and
California, Senegal and Vermont, South Africa and New York, Tunisia and
Wyoming). The Michigan National Guard is providing 24 personnel in support of
Operation ONWARD LIBERTY to conduct training in defense sector reform. I
have asked General McKinley, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, to consider
adding two State Partnerships this year and to continue to explore future growth.

Our Component Commands bring valuable assets and tailored experience

necessary for successful capacity building efforts. One example of this is the
United States Marine Corps Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force
(SPMAGTF) which established a rotational presence in Sigonella, Italy, in
October 2011 to support the command.

Managed and tasked by U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Africa, the SPMAGTF is
tailored to conduct theater security cooperation engagements. The SPMAGTF
consists of just under 200 Marines, organized in five-14 man teams, with two
KC-130 aircraft. These teams will deploy in support of PREACT and ACOTA
missions. The SPMAGTF is an invaluable asset for the command and increases
our ability to engage on the continent. In addition, the SPMAGTF provides the
command a limited crisis response capability for natural disasters, evacuations,
and other crises.

Beginning this year, we will begin Africa Partnership Flight or APF. Modeled
after the Navy's successful Africa Partnership Station, APF features low
footprint, short duration, high-impact, sustainable and predictable engagement
with our African partners. APF will become the primary Air Force program for
conducting building partnership capacity and will enable committed African
states to enhance their aviation capabilities, foster greater regional cooperation,
and increase air domain safety and security in Africa. The first event under APF
is scheduled for March 2012, in Ghana.

Finally, the Department of the Army has selected United States Army Africa
(USARAF) to conduct the pilot Regionally-Aligned Brigade (RAB) rotation in
FY13. This brigade, a tailored Army General Purpose Force, is designed to help
support U.S. Africa Command's validated requirements for security cooperation
activities throughout Africa.

Preparing and Responding to Crisis

U.S. Africa Command is always prepared to conduct humanitarian, disaster

relief, and other operations as directed. The dynamic security environment on
the continent requires the command headquarters and our components to be
trained and ready to plan and

responses for a wide range of contingencies. Our operating locations on the

continent support our operations and provide the ability to rapidly respond if
required.

We demonstrated our ability to respond to a crisis in the spring of 2011 when the
command directed coalition military operations in Libya, which prevented the
Qadhafi regime from committing mass atrocities against the citizens of
Benghazi. After the end of NATO Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR on 31
October 2011, we established a joint task force to command and control post
conflict U.S. operations related to Libya. Joint Task Force ODYSSEY GUARD,
commanded by U.S. Army Africa, was instrumental in providing support to the
Department of State as it reopened the U.S. embassy in Tripoli.

Joint Task Force ODYSSEY GUARD also provided explosive ordnance disposal
assistance and monitored the security of the chemical weapons in the Waddan
storage complex.

Critical Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) assets based in

Sigonella, Italy, and Souda Bay, Greece, were used in Operation ODYSSEY
DAWN and NATO Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR and continue to be used
today to monitor illegal trafficking and violent extremist organizations.

ISR assets are a key enabler for many of our operations and engagements. The
information provided by these assets is used to develop a full picture of the
activities of VEOs and other activities of interest. Without operating locations on
the continent, ISR capabilities would be curtailed, potentially endangering U.S.
security. We currently operate ISR assets from various locations and continue to
explore additional operating locations in order to improve access and on-station
times for our ISR missions. Given the vast geographic space and diversity in
threats, the command requires increased ISR assets to adequately address the
security challenges on the continent.

On the African continent, we have strategic locations that provide a hub and
spoke operational reach that covers the continent with C-130 aircraft operational
capability. Our only enduring presence on the continent is Camp Lemonnier,
Djibouti, which provides an essential command and control and logistics hub for
Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) to plan and support
operations, exercises and security cooperation activities throughout East Africa.
Camp Lemonnier is also an essential regional power projection base that
enables the operations of multiple combatant commands; U.S. Transportation
Command, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command and
U.S. Africa Command. The requirements for Camp Lemonnier as a key location
for national security and power projection are enduring.

New mission requirements at Camp Lemonnier necessitate new facilities and

upgrades. We will take measured steps to move from expeditionary and
temporary facilities which have been cobbled together over time to an enduring
austere footprint. Additionally, we will prudently evolve to improve force
protection, safety, and energy standards. We continue to work with the
Department of the Navy to update the existing master plan. I very much
appreciate the continued support the Congress has provided for military
construction projects at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti.

In addition to Camp Lemonnier, the command leverages support from U.S.

European Command's and Defense Logistics Agency's military infrastructure to
support operations in a time of crisis. U.S. bases in Europe provide geographic
proximity, infrastructure, maintenance support and flexibility. European based
forces were absolutely critical to operation ODYSSEY DAWN; simply stated, we
could not have responded on the timelines required for operations in Libya had
air and maritime forces not been forward-stationed in Europe.

The value of our operating locations on the continent and the readiness of the
command's headquarters and its components were further demonstrated in
January 2012 when the command, at the request of the Department of Justice,
planned and conducted the successful hostage rescue of an American citizen
and a Danish citizen who were held captive in Somalia.

Our headquarters location in Stuttgart, Germany, has been a topic of discussion

since the command was established. The final decision on location was deferred
until 2012 by then Secretary of Defense Gates. The Office of the Secretary of
Defense is leading a comprehensive study of the factors involved in the
headquarters basing, and we are providing complete data and information to
support their analysis of the comparative costs, benefits, and risks of various
basing options. Until a final decision is made, we will continue to accomplish our
missions from Stuttgart, where our proximity to Africa, both geographically and
in terms of time zones, facilitates our ability to build relationships with our African
partners, and provides a location where our service members, civilians, and their
families are well supported.

Fiscal Responsibility

U.S. Africa Command recognizes the national security imperative of deficit

reduction and continues to seek innovative, low-cost concepts for activities and
functions across the command. I have directed the staff to look beyond the
assigned reductions with a goal of further efficiencies in the command's budget
requirements. We conducted a study of the headquarters functions to seek
further efficiencies and improve effectiveness. Through this study, we found
areas where we believe we can combine functions and reduce manpower
requirements with a minimum of risk.

To reduce fuel costs at Camp Lemonnier, the containerized living units (CLU)
will be renovated through a $1 million project funded by the DoD Operational
Energy Plans and Programs Office. The CLUs will be redesigned incorporating
energy efficient air conditioning units, increased insulation, and reflective
exterior coatings. As part of the project, a highly energy efficient SuperCLU will
be developed. The projected energy saving are 54% for CLUs and 82% for
SuperCLUs thus reducing fuel costs for the camp.

We recognize our security cooperation engagements must be innovative, low-

cost, and if sustained, yield more than immediate budgetary savings. The
outcomes of our security cooperation programs are twofold, first as African
partners become increasingly capable of addressing their own security and
countering violent extremist organizations, the burden of addressing those
threats is shared, reducing budgetary and personnel costs to the United States.
Second, while it is difficult to prove that we have prevented a crisis by working
with partners in peacetime, we know that the cost of intervention far exceeds
that of prevention.

How Congress Can Help

The African continent has many challenges which require collaboration and
support of all the agencies of government and the support of Congress. At this
time, the command is properly resourced; however, Intelligence, Surveillance
and Reconnaissance (ISR) continues to be a challenge to satisfy mission
requirements. We are working with the Department of Defense to gain additional
ISR to monitor the activities of al-Qa'ida affiliates in East Africa, the Maghreb,
and the Sahel and the Lord's Resistance Army in Central Africa.

In order to conduct many of our programs we use a mix of Department of State

and Department of Defense authorities. One example of this is the APS program
where DoD Title 10 authorities pay for the movement of ships and personnel
while State Department's PKO funding pays for the actual training activities of
African personnel. An example of how Congressional support provided critical
authority at an appropriate time is the Global Security Contingency Fund
(GSCF), approved in the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. This was
a first step in streamlining State and DOD authorities for security assistance and
the two departments are working closely to utilize the GSCF in the coming year.

The Department of State's ability, through security assistance funding, to work

on the same problem set from a different angle is beneficial and would suffer if
its funding were reduced, weakening overall U.S. government abilities to
advance U.S. objectives on the continent. We will work with our interagency
partners to ensure the resources you provide are appropriately tied to our
highest defense and foreign policy priorities. I thank this committee and
Congress for its continued support of our team and our mission.

Another example of how Congressional support provided critical authority at an

appropriate time is the new authority of section 1207(n) in the FY12 National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Pursuant to that authority, we are working
with the Department of State to plan our support to build the capacity of the
counter-terrorism forces of Ethiopia and those countries engaged in AMISOM.
This is an opportune time to exercise this authority as al-Shabaab in Somalia is
facing a fight on three fronts with forces from AMISOM and the Somali
Transitional Federal Government, Kenya, and Ethiopia actively engaged. We
appreciate the additional authority and believe it will enable AMISOM forces to
continue their progress against al-Shabaab.

We also appreciate the new authority under section 1206 of the FY12 NDAA to
provide logistics support, supplies, and services for countries participating in
counter-LRA operations.

We feel this authority will enable continued steady progress by our regional
partners toward our mutual goal of defeating the LRA and bringing Joseph Kony
to justice.

Finally, we welcome visits by you and by your staffs. The Members and staff
who have had the opportunity to travel in Africa gain a deeper appreciation for
both the challenges and the many opportunities that are presented in this large
and diverse continent.

Conclusion

U.S. Africa Command will continue its operations, exercises, and security
cooperation in order to protect America, Americans, and American interests from
threats emanating from the African continent and advance U.S. policy goals. We
will prioritize and focus our engagements to counter the most significant threats
to U.S. security. We look forward to being the security partner of choice for
African nations by building lasting, beneficial partnerships. Our success is
dependent upon close collaboration with our interagency partners, embassy
country teams, African regional organizations, and African nations.

We believe that over the long run, it is Africans who should address African
security challenges and that we most effectively advance U.S. security interests
through focused and sustained engagement. In strengthening African defense
capabilities and capacities, we enable African states to take ownership of their
challenges and strengthen their leadership roles. We believe that for a relatively
low resource cost, our programs are making a positive difference.

Our past successes would not have been possible without the dedication of the
entire U.S. Africa Command team -- Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines,
Coastguardsmen, civilians, contractors, and our interagency teammates -- and
their families.

During my travels throughout my first year with U.S. Africa Command, I have
heard many great African proverbs, however, I have learned one which I think is
particularly applicable to U.S. Africa Command:

"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

We, at U.S. Africa Command, choose to go far. We choose to go together, with

our Africa partners as well as together with our many interagency partners, to
better meet their security interests and to advance the security interests of the
United States.

Return to Top
News Headline: Africa, the black man's burden |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: Herald, (Online)
News Text: So much has been said of the white man's burden namely, how
the collapsing American Empire and bygone British Empire have shouldered the
burden of civilising Africa and driving the global economyfor centuries.

The opposite is true. The fact of the matter is that not only was Western
civilisation invented by black Africans in ancient Egypt, Africa has driven global
economic growth for centuries. African natural resources, labour, land, slavery
and skilled migr as any decent economic historian will tell you have
fuelled the world's economy for many, many decades.

To this day, Africa is the world's engine-room for growth. In short, driving global
economic growth abroad, whilst benefiting little at home is the black man's
burden. That Africans know that there are immense riches just beneath their
feet as well as just above their heads in high office, only adds to the burden. The
roots of Western civilisation, technology, religion, culture and science are to be
found not in Greece, but in Black Egypt.

In fact as early as 9 000 BC to 500 AD black empires, from the prehistoric Zingh
Empire of Mauritania to ancient Khemet of Egypt, were at the forefront of
development in technology, politics and culture. Far from civilising the natives,
Europeans replaced communitarianism, co-operation and spirituality that
prevailed across Africa with a corrupt, aggressive and inhumane form of
civilisation.

First there was the brutal kidnapping of millions of Africans, so as to replace the
indigenous Americans that Europeans had wiped out. The slave trade broke the
back of African economies whilst creating capital for plantation owners that kick
started Europe's industrial revolution. Africans were stripped of their land and
forced down gold mines and onto rubber plantations. The naked theft of African
land and minerals including gold, copper, rubber, ivory and tin continued
ravenously throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This culminated
in the infamous Berlin Conference of 1884, where Europe gleefully divided up
Africa and formalised the Scramble For Africa.

After World War II, Europeans were severely weakened by years of unremitting
industrial slaughter of each another. To make matters worse, liberation
movements were gaining momentum. This ultimately made the cost of
containing restless natives greater than the benefits Europeans could extract
from them.

As British power waned the baton of colonialism was passed to American

imperialism. Poverty and disunity have been the essential ingredients that have
allowed this neo-colonial exploitation to continue. But, thanks largely to soaring
mineral prices and Chinese win-win investments, poverty levels are beginning to
tumble. Disunity, however persists.

America is making sure of it. Washington is fomenting disunity by funding

reactionary neo-liberal political parties across the continent as well as the odd
good dictator. A bad dictator, however named, Muammar Gaddafi, was hunted
down and assassinated by Washington. Not least because of his plans for an
African IMF, gold backed Afro-currency and a United States of Africa. In
essence, Colonel Gaddafi's plans for African unity were as good as a hand
written suicide note addressed directly to NATO. By losing Gaddafi, Africa may
also have lost Libya. For, NATO will ensure that Col Gaddafi's plans for African
unity will be smothered in their crib.

Then of course there is United States Africa Command (Africom) which will
almost certainly establish a military base in Libya. Infact any African government
that America offered money to host Africom, Col Gaddafi would offer double the
amount to refuse.

President Obama would have us believe that hundreds of highly trained US

Special Forces are braving tsetse flies, dengue fever and are running around in
the African bush to flush out Ugandan rebels. All for freedom and democracy.
Coincidentally in one of the most oil rich enclaves on earth. Home to Sub-
Saharan Africa's biggest onshore oil discovery in 20 years of two billion barrels.

The new Cold war between America and China will be over resources, not
ideology. Africa will take centre stage. Should America's hard power and divide-
and-rule approach triumph, Africa may descend into one large theatre of war
with many actors, chapters and a tragic ending. Should China's soft power and
win-win economic approach triumph, this may end up becoming a truly African
century.

To this day, Africans produce cheap, often slave labour and ship raw materials
north for peanuts. In return Africans purchase finished products at a premium
from the north. This skewed trade relationship is what helped build the west and
underdeveloped Africa for centuries.

Reversing this trend would allow the black man to free himself of a centuries old
burden. Reversing this trend is this generation's struggle. That said, Africa's
future looks bright, for the ingredients are present for an economic boom, which
actually benefits Africans favourable demographics, a commodities boom, a
burgeoning middle class and growing enthusiasm for technology with more than
600 million mobile-phone users more than America or Europe.

Garikai Chengu is a research scholar at Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and

Science.

Return to Top

News Headline: United Nations News Centre - Africa Briefs |

News Date: 03/01/2012

Outlet Full Name: United Nations News Centre - Africa Briefs
News Text: UN-backed court to deliver judgment in Charles Taylor trial next
month
1 March The United Nations-backed court set up to try suspects indicted for
war crimes in Sierra Leone announced today that the judgment in the trial of the
former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, will be delivered on 26 April.

ICC issues arrest warrant for Sudanese minister for alleged Darfur crimes
1 March The International Criminal Court (ICC) today issued an arrest warrant
against Sudanese Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein on 41
counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in
Darfur.

South Sudan army officers receive UN-led human rights training

1 March South Sudanese army officers received training on human rights,
democracy and the rule of law, among other subjects, during a session led by
the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country (UNMISS).

Cte dIvoire: UN to assess situation in areas where poll results are on hold
1 March The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cte dIvoire
(UNOCI) said today that it will assess the situation in two constituencies where
there were some incidents during last weekends legislative by-elections.

UN-backed climate forum forecasts erratic rainy season in Horn of Africa

29 February The main rainy season in the Greater Horn of Africa is likely to
receive near normal to below normal rainfall over much of the region
between March and May, a United Nations-backed climate forecasting forum
reported today.

Return to Top