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Rumsfeld In East Africa To Consolidate Western Military Control
News
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1) US War Secretary In Horn Of Africa To Consolidate
US Military Control
2) Againt Backdrop Of Joint US-Kenyan Military
Exercises, US Military Presence In East Africa To
Increase
3) Target Democratic Arab Saharawi Republic: US To
Train Moroccan Counterinsurgency Forces
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/ba/Qhorn-us.RxlN_CDA.html
US defense secretary visits strategic Horn of Africa
-More than a 1,000 US troops, mostly special
operations forces and Marines, have been assembled in
Djibouti
-Washington believes that Eritrea's 175,000-man
military and Ethiopia's 200, 000-strong will be useful
in stabilizing the Horn region, riven by conflict and
mired in poverty.
-Rumsfeld said countries in the region are assisting
the US in the fight against terrorism by providing
overflight rights, access to bases, intelligence and
maritime security.
-Rumsfeld likened US interests in the Horn of Africa
to Central Asia, where the US military moved quickly
to establish bases after the September 11 attacks.
ASMARA, Dec 10 (AFP) - United States Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld arrived Tuesday in the Eritrean
capital at the start of a four-day trip to the Horn of
Africa region, seen as an strategic ally in
Washington's war on terrorism.
"We know there are al-Qaeda in this area in several
countries in varying numbers," Rumsfeld told reporters
on the flight from Washington.
"We also know to the extent we put pressure on them in
one place, they tend to be disrupted and have to find
other locations, which is not always easy to do," he
said.
Rumsfeld's visit comes amid warnings by the US State
Department of increased risks of terrorist attacks in
the Horn of Africa following twin attacks on an
Israeli-owned hotel and the attempt to shoot down an
Israeli airliner on November 28 in the Kenyan resort
of Mombasa.
Headed by Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda network has
been blamed for the attacks in Kenya and for the
September 11, 2001 attacks in the US which left some
3,000 people dead.
Eritrea is the first stop on Rumsfeld's four-day tour
of the region in east Africa, which will also take him
to neighbouring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Qatar, where
the US military's Central Command has installed a new
forward headquarters for the Gulf region.
General Tommy Franks Army, the commander of US forces
in the Gulf, arrived last week in Qatar to lead a
major exercise called "Internal Look" from the new
headquarters.
As the US military prepares for a possible war against
Iraq, Franks has deployed a separate task force to
focus on resurgent al-Qaeda activity in the region.
More than a 1,000 US troops, mostly special operations
forces and Marines, have been assembled in Djibouti
and are ready to launch rapid strikes against al-Qaeda
operatives in the region.
Washington believes that Eritrea's 175,000-man
military and Ethiopia's 200, 000-strong will be useful
in stabilizing the Horn region, riven by conflict and
mired in poverty.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a war over their border
from 1998 to 2000, and the strengthening of ties
between Asmara and Washington has increased tensions
with Sudan, Africa's largest country which has been
wracked by a civil war since 1983.
Early this month, Washington stepped up its contacts
with Sudan's warring parties -- the Islamic government
in Khartoum and mainly Christian and animist rebels in
the south -- as it prepares to host peace talks
between the two sides later this month.
The Horn of Africa region sits across the Red Sea and
Gulf of Aden from the Saudi peninsula. The tiny
country of Djibouti sits on the key maritime passage,
the Bab al Mandab straits, at the mouth of the two
strategic bodies of water.
Rumsfeld said countries in the region are assisting
the US in the fight against terrorism by providing
overflight rights, access to bases, intelligence and
maritime security.
"They can backfill in one country if we need to move
forces from that country to some place else," Rumsfeld
said.
Rumsfeld likened US interests in the Horn of Africa to
Central Asia, where the US military moved quickly to
establish bases after the September 11 attacks.
"I'm not here to engage in transactions," Rumsfeld
said. "I'm not here to put pressure on anybody.
"I am here to demonstrate that the United States
values what these countries are doing. We value what
they've offered to do and we recognize the importance
of it," he said.
-------------------------------------------------------
http://www.cnsnews.com/ForeignBureaus/archive/200212/FOR20021209f.html
US Military Presence in East Africa May Increase
By Stephen Mbogo
CNSNews.com Correspondent
December 09, 2002
-"The U.S....might win a more permanent (military)
arrangement, such as a naval base for stationing U.S.
military forces in East Africa."
-The meeting came at a time when U.S. Marines and
Kenyan soldiers were operating from the Mandala Naval
Base on the island of Lamu north of Mombasa,
continuing with military exercises that began just
days before the Mombasa attacks. The exercises are to
last two weeks.
The U.S. military maintains a newly established naval
base in nearby Djibouti with over 2,000 troops.
Media reports said the amphibious assault ship USS
Mount Whitney will arrive in Djibouti later this month
to serve as the floating headquarters in the Red Sea
for the Combined Joint Task Force in the Horn of
Africa.
-Stratfor said Washington is likely to use Kenya as
its southern anchor for an encirclement of
Somalia...and an expansion of naval control over the
western half of the Indian Ocean basin and the
southern parts of the Arabian Sea.
Nairobi, Kenya (CNSNews.com) - The United States is
likely to increase its military presence and access to
state intelligence information in East Africa
following last week's meeting of President George
Bush, Daniel arap Moi of Kenya and Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.
According to an analysis by U.S.-based global
forecasting firm Stratfor, "The U.S. also might win a
more permanent (military) arrangement, such as a naval
base for stationing U.S. military forces in East
Africa."
During the Dec. 5 meeting in Washington, Bush said the
best thing the United States can do to secure
countries like Ethiopia and Kenya from terrorist
attacks is to "help chase the killers."
He pledged that the U.S. government would share
intelligence with both nations if they were threatened
by terrorist attacks.
"And we must continue this war, to hunt these killers
down one at a time, to bring them to justice, which
means information sharing," he said.
Moi said Kenya stands with the United States in the
war on terror and will try to improve security to make
Kenya safer for its people and more attractive for
visitors and investors.
"Kenya and the United States are united in the fight
against terrorism, and I am determined to protect the
people and visitors against such heinous crimes," Moi
said.
The three leaders discussed new anti-terrorism
measures as well as drought, AIDS and other problems
facing Africa.
The Washington meeting was arranged well before last
month's terrorist attacks in the Kenyan coastal city
of Mombasa.
An attack at a hotel popular with Israelis killed ten
Kenyans, three Israelis, and three suicide bombers. In
addition, terrorist failed in an attempt to shoot down
an Israeli chartered plane.
The meeting came at a time when U.S. Marines and
Kenyan soldiers were operating from the Mandala Naval
Base on the island of Lamu north of Mombasa,
continuing with military exercises that began just
days before the Mombasa attacks. The exercises are to
last two weeks.
Called "Operation Edged Mallet," the exercise involves
about 750 U.S. marines and naval personnel along with
240 Kenyan soldiers. They are training in "small"
operations such as tactics for seizing airfields.
The U.S. military maintains a newly established naval
base in nearby Djibouti with over 2,000 troops.
Media reports said the amphibious assault ship USS
Mount Whitney will arrive in Djibouti later this month
to serve as the floating headquarters in the Red Sea
for the Combined Joint Task Force in the Horn of
Africa.
The Stratfor analysis said Bush likely agreed with the
Kenyan leader to "look the other way" while Moi tries
to maintain power behind the scenes in Kenya in
exchange for expanded U.S. access to al Qaeda stomping
grounds in East Africa.
The 74-year-old Moi, who has been in power for 24
years, will retire on Dec. 27, the date of
presidential elections. Moi is trying to position a
young ruling party member, Uhuru Kenyatta, as his
successor.
The United States is interested in having greater
access to Mombasa, a Muslim city, which provides a
recruitment ground and a community within which al
Qaeda operatives can move freely without attracting
attention.
"Moreover, the United States needs Kenya's cooperation
to prevent other al Qaeda activities, including money
laundering and drug- running," Stratfor said.
"Kenya is a key transit point for Afghan heroin and
other South Asian drugs destined for the United States
and Europe," the analysis said.
Stratfor said Washington is likely to use Kenya as its
southern anchor for an encirclement of Somalia - a
suspected sanctuary for al Qaeda militants - and an
expansion of naval control over the western half of
the Indian Ocean basin and the southern parts of the
Arabian Sea.
Analysts here said that if the opposition coalition
candidate, Mwai Kibaki, wins the Dec. 27 elections, he
is likely to continue with positive cooperation with
the United States regarding military and other
anti-terrorism issues.
An opinion poll released on Monday by the U.S.-based
International Republican Institute (IRI) said Kibaki
is leading the race with 68.6 percent, followed by
Kenyatta with 28.2 percent.
"If all things remain the same to the date of polls,
even rigging in favor of Kenyatta, the opinion poll is
not likely to change much," said Fredrick Nzwili, a
journalist with the Catholic World Report.
-------------------------------------------------------
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2002/december/12_08_2.html
Middle East Newsline
December 9, 2002
U.S. HELPS TRAIN MOROCCAN SECURITY
-[A]n FBI delegation has been training Moroccan
officers in counterinsurgency techniques as well as
the use of advanced electronic surveillance equipment.
CAIRO [MENL] -- The United States is quietly training
Moroccan security officers.
Arab diplomatic sources said an FBI delegation has
been training Moroccan officers in counterinsurgency
techniques as well as the use of advanced electronic
surveillance equipment. The sources said the training
began over the summer and is meant to include courses
held in Morocco and the United States.
One course is taking place in the Moroccan police
academy in Quneitra, about 40 kilometers north of
Rabat. A six-month course has begun in the United
States near Washington D.C., sponsored by CIA.
The sources said the training is meant to bolster
skills of Moroccan security forces in
counterinsurgency as well as encourage coordination
and cooperation with the United States. The officers
were also briefed by U.S. counter-terrorism experts on
Al Qaida and its aligned groups.
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