|
|
Covert U.S. operations authorized in secret order
The Middle East and the Horn of Africa
 |
A senior U.S. military commander issued a secret order last year that laid the ground for an escalation of covert operations across the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, officials said on Monday.
Politics
Issued last September by General David Petraeus, the order authorized an escalation that included boosting military and intelligence assistance to help Yemeni forces strike al Qaeda targets, as well as deployment of more unmanned aerial drones to collect information and track high-value targets.
The order also authorized U.S. Special Operations units to work with local security forces to counter al Qaeda and other threats, a goal Pentagon officials have made no secret of.
As the head of the U.S. military's Central Command, Petraeus oversees U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and plays a major role in planning for any possible military action against Iran over its nuclear program.
The order was first reported by the New York Times, which quoted a document it obtained as saying the goal was to build networks that could "penetrate, disrupt, defeat or destroy" al Qaeda and other militant groups as well as "prepare the environment" for future attacks by U.S. or local military forces.
The newspaper said the directive also appeared to authorize specific operations in Iran, most likely to gather intelligence about its nuclear program or identify dissident groups that might be useful for any future military offensive.
Some of the covert military operations that followed the secret order have been reported. These include a September 2009 attack by helicopter-borne Special Operations Forces on a car carrying one of east Africa's most wanted al Qaeda militants, Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan.
Central Command has been positioning Reaper drones at a base in the Horn of Africa. Officials said the drones can be used against militants in Yemen and Somalia, and even against pirates who attack ships traversing the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
"They (the drones) are part of it but it is much broader than that," one U.S. official said of the order.
In February, Defense Secretary Robert Gates authorized $150 million in security assistance for Yemen for fiscal 2010, up from $67 million last year.
Officials told Reuters the money would be used in part to bolster Yemen's special operations forces to lead an offensive targeting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which claimed responsibility for a failed plot to blow up a U.S. passenger plane on Christmas Day.
The group has emerged as one of al Qaeda's most active affiliates, and the Obama administration recently took the extraordinary step of authorizing the CIA to kill a leading figure linked to the group -- American-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
Counterterrorism training to curb Al Qaeda threat in Africa
US and European troops train local militaries in counterterrorism tactics in the face of threats from Al Qaeda and criminals in West Africa.
 |
Thiès, Senegal; and Johannesburg, South Africa
In the bare and unremarkable desert town of Thiès, a platoon of commandos from Mali and Senegal are scaling a building's edifice, one handful of rope at a time. This is practice.
Their American, Dutch, and Spanish handlers call it Operation Flintlock – an annual, West Africa-wide counterterrorism exercise to prep local militaries.
According to the script, a carload of European sightseers on their way, perhaps, to a waterbuck-filled nature reserve, will be kidnapped by desert bandits, ransomed to Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, and whisked to Senegal's northeastern frontier. And that's where a bit of rope-climbing expertise could save the day, as Senegal's finest shimmy down from hovering helicopters to stage a rescue.
"This is designed as a rehearsal for a multinational coordination center or a mechanism to counter terrorism," says Lt. Col. Chris Call, deputy commander of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trans-Sahara, and operations commander for Operation Flintlock. "This is necessary against a regional transnational threat, which in this region [is] a violent Salafist jihadist movement."
"The challenge [for the partner nations] here is how do they control their territory in countries that own just vast swaths of territory in some of the most inhospitable remote locations in the world," says Call, speaking by phone from Flintlock's multinational coordination center near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. "Our focus is on basic tactical military techniques … and helping to build capacity in our partner nations. Success for us is putting us out of a job."
At one time, a military exercise like Operation Flintlock – which is now in its fifth year – would have set African opinion-page columns aflame and set a fair number of African politicians pounding on tables with their shoes. Some African nations worried that the newly announced but vaguely defined Africa Command (AFRICOM) of the US Army would herald a new colonial presence in Africa, complete with permanent military bases and political interference.
But today, AFRICOM's military exercises often pass with little notice, and increasingly with the support of African leaders. In part, this is because African leaders now see a common threat: armed violent groups such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which have carried out a series of murders and kidnappings from Mauritania to Algeria to Niger and threaten to topple any government that dares confront them.
For Senegal, for now, this threat is still hypothetical. Unlike Senegal's neighbors in the Maghreb – where Al Qaeda has been abducting tourists and aid workers, ransoming them off and profiting handsomely – the 50-year-old democracy here has never known Islamic extremism, only its home-grown Sufi mysticism, a permissive faith.
But for Senegalese brass patrolling the vast and remote flatlands, the threat could emerge at any moment. More than 500,000 tourists vacation here each year, touring ancient slave dungeons near Dakar or the hinterland's pristine riverbanks. Their souvenir-shopping and spa-surfing activities contribute 6 percent of the country's gross domestic product.
"We need to consider that tomorrow, that menace [in Mali and Mauritania] will be here," says Col. Ousmane Sarr of the Senegalese Army's public relations department. "Our economy counts so heavily on tourism that the state must ensure that the country remains secure."
Yet the US military wants Senegal to do more than lock down holiday spots from a few carjacking terrorists. Come 2011, the US hopes to run the entirety of Operation Flintlock from Senegal, a sign that the country can be the regional leader in parrying the Sahel's terrorism endemic.
[Correction: The original version misstated what operations the US hopes to run from Senegal.]
"I've worked in more than 24 countries, and Senegal's [military] is one of the most professional," says a US military official in Senegal, who asked not to be identified. "Senegal is an example to the subregion in its military competence, in its civilian control of the military, in its professionalism, and we'd like to learn from, replicate, and share those strengths across borders."
Whether the ex-colony would agree to accommodate such an influx of American and European marines is a thornier question. The perception of military sovereignty remains a salient political issue here.
The president is currently embroiled in a public feud with France's defense ministry, which has yet to abandon its military bases in Senegal. American proposals to build a central antiterror base were widely rejected throughout the region.
But, Sarr says, "If the world wants to help us have this dimension as a leader, we'd like that. We have an excellent rapport with AFRICOM."
Advancing Islamic Fundamentalism in the Sahel
Terrorism in Nigeria's Sahel is Real
 |
The strong streak of Islamic fundamentalism that is adavancing in much of Africa's Sahel and into northern Nigeria. Radical Islamist movements are thriving in a Nigeria, where at least 12 northern states reintroduced Islamic laws. In July, mainly young militants of the fundamentalist Boko Haram sect which seeks to unite Muslims under a Caliphate carried out simultaneous attacks in four northern states. The authorities' response was swift and brutal, killing at least 800 in a five-day crackdown. Boko Haram means "Western education is a sin" an attractive scape goat for many disenfranchised youths of the Muslim-dominated north, who see this as another way to gain usefulness in a poorly govern society where they otherwise have no better goals or programs to engage their development.
While the Nigerian government, continues to deny its reality, contends that terrorism is alien to the country."The Nigerian government has persistently turned a blind eye to Islamic extremists coming from Northern Nigeria, choosing instead to focus and waste its resources on military hardware and troop deployment in the Niger Delta." While the real issue is northern Nigeria borders with Niger and Mali, a battleground for Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the former Salafist Group which is Preaching and training Combat to its militants, who engages in kidnapping and killing of westerners. The threat from Islamist militants prompted Washington in 2007 to establish the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. No Question now that Africa's sahel and Northern Nigeria has problem with terrorism, Islamic militants and extremism. The world better wake up to this reality early and face it sooner, or face its consequences with more Abdulmutallabs and possibly and African Iraq.
West African Al-Quaeda Elements Attacked And Killed Three Saudis in Niger
Barbaric Attacked Deplored By Niger's Government
 |
Three Saudi tourists have been killed and three others injured after they were attacked by unidentified gunmen in Niger, officials there say.
The Saudis were travelling by car to Mali and were attacked near the border, according to a government spokesman.
The three Saudis who were wounded were taken to hospital in the capital, Niamey, he said. The attack was reported near Djambala, where both Tuareg rebels and militants linked to al-Qaeda are active. Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled bin Saud told Al-Arabiya TV that the tourists were assaulted after they stopped to perform morning prayers. Niger's Communication Minister Kassoum Moctar condemned the attack on state radio.
"Niger's government deplores these barbarous acts that were unfortunately perpetrated on its territory, and offers its condolences to the Saudi government," he said. Recent kidnapping was claimed by al-Qaeda's North African wing, al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb, though Niger's president blamed it on Tuareg rebels. On Monday, the al-Qaeda branch - which is based in Algeria but has been active in the north-west African Sahel region - also claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of two Italians in Mauritania earlier this month.
Improved Human Rights in Libya
Libyan Penal Code Still Punitive on Freedom of Speech
 |
There have been improvements in Libya's human rights record, including greater freedom of expression, New York-based Human Rights Watch has said.
The group said abuses by security agencies were still the norm, but the fact that it was able to present its report in Tripoli showed the progress.
This indicated some in the government were open to listening to criticism of its human rights record, it added.
On Monday, a prominent critic and former political prisoner was arrested.
Jamal al-Haggi had criticised the continued detention of political prisoners and denounced government abuses in a BBC interview in September.
Mr Haggi had only been freed following Western pressure earlier this year after serving two years of a 12-year sentence for organising a demonstration. "The government should revise its penal code to allow all Libyans the freedom to have such public discussion without fear of criminal sanction and stop jailing those who express criticism of the government.
The improvements in Libya's human rights record remained out of step with the image of change it had presented since Colonel Muammar Gaddafi brought the country out of international isolation by ending its development of weapons of mass destruction and support for militants. However, though Libyan law still curtails free speech, some journalists have been allowed to criticise some sections of the government in a way they would not have dared before.
South African Groups Unhappy As American Actress Jennifer Hudson Gets To Play Winnie Mandela
She is Hailed as Mother of South African Nation
 |
The news that a film is to be made of Winnie Mandela's life, with Jennifer Hudson, the American actress, playing the leading role has not be received well in many quaters in South Africa, including the South African Filming industry. Hailed as the “mother of the nation” by some, reviled as a corrupt and violent adulteress by others, Winnie Mandela is one of South Africa’s most prominent figures. At a stormy weekend press conference, the Creative Workers Union of South Africa said that using foreign actors to tell the country’s stories undermined efforts to develop a national film industry. “It can’t happen that we want to develop our own Hollywood, and yet we keep bringing in imports,” said Mabutho Sithole, the union’s president.
South Africa has lost thousands of jobs as a result of the global recession, while a strong rand, driven by soaring gold prices, has increased costs and badly hit the film industry. “This decision must be reversed. It must be stopped now,” Oupa Lebogo, the union’s secretary-general, told The Times. Udo Froese, a close friend of Madikizela-Mandela, agreed: “There’s a lot of good local talent, why not use them? Winnie herself is not involved in this, and in no way has given any sort of green light.” Quite harsh responses to the scotting choice of the film makers. No official responses has been received from the sponsors of the proposed film.
Mogadishu The World Most Hostile City
The Beginning of the Violence For 18 Years
 |
Corpses covered with sheets were being prepared for burial and the air was heavy with incense burned to cover the stench of death. A mortar bomb had landed in the compound, pots and pans stained with blood were still scattered around the retirement home in the Somali capital the day before, killing nine people and injuring 23. Scenes like this are a daily reality in Mogadishu, a city ravaged by almost 20 years of war and abandoned by half its population. Here, civilians bear the brunt of a war that has caused thousands of deaths and displaced 1.5 million people in the past three years alone, with no end in site. A generation of war children now 18 years and older, with no other knowledge of life and no hope of finding peace. The war is elusive, so is any possible solution. There is no simple just cause to sttract the attention of any peace mission, its just a culture and a lawless society of war.
Once full the colonial Italian architecture dating from its years as the capital of Italian Somaliland, the city centre of Mogadishu is now rubbish with destroyed buildings. This morning, two militias allied with the TFG are clashing for control of the port, civilians are caught in the crossfire. You must call your friends before venturing out and keep your cell phone with you to receive updates on clashes. That's the only way to survive living in this hell on earth called Somaliland.
African Prostitution Ring Leaders Jailed in Europe
Alleged Voodoo Curse Scheme To Force Girls into Prostitution
 |
Two Nigerians accused of using voodoo curses to force about 140 Nigerian girls into prostitution in Europe were sentenced to jail terms of four years. Four other defendants received terms of one or two years while three were found not guilty by a court in Zwolle in the central Netherlands Thursday. Prosecutors had asked for eight years in jail for the two main accused and up to four years for the others. The trial, on charges of human trafficking and membership of a criminal organisation, opened in March.
Prosecutors said about 140 Nigerian girls brought by the gang into the Netherlands as asylum seekers had disappeared from asylum centres in 2006 and 2007. About a dozen of the girls were traced, while the rest were thought to have been forced into prostitution in Italy, Spain and France. Most were minors at the time, their ages ranging from 16 to 23. The Netherlands allegedly served as a transit point for the girls, sent by the suspects from Nigeria with false identity papers and instructions for an asylum application. "The suspects used voodoo to influence the girls," said a prosecution statement. "They had to give blood, nails or a piece of clothing and make a promise to a voodoo priest to repay the 'debts' incurred for their travel to Europe" -- between 30,000 euros (44,400 dollars) and 60,000 euros each. The suspects were arrested in the Netherlands in October 2007 after an investigation by Dutch police in collaboration with Nigerian and some European counterparts.
South Africa's Economy Begins To Grow Again
The 2009 Economic Recession is Now Over
South Africa's the African Continent's biggest economy returned to growth by an annualised, seasonally adjusted rate of 0.9% during the quarter, compared with the previous three months. This signifies the end of the country's first recession since 1992.
A strong manufacturing sector was largely responsible for the return to growth. Manufacturing grew by 7.6% during the quarter compared with the previous quarter. Construction also performed well, growing by 6.1%. The upcoming World Cup, which takes place in South Africa next year, can be credited for the construction growth. This is good news for the African Continent, when now depends a lot on South Africa in propelling its economic growth.
Sea Pirates Problem Spread To West Africa
Armed Bandits Around Africa Have Learned They Can Make Big Bucks Like the Somalians
Pirates have attacked an oil tanker off the coast of west Africa, killing a Ukrainian seaman, the commander of Benin's naval forces says. Cdr Fernand Maxime Ahoyo says the Cancale Star's chief engineer was killed and one other crewman wounded. The pirates attacked the vessel some 18 nautical miles (33km) off the coast of Benin in West Africa, in what correspondents say is the country's first such attack.
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) says piracy in the waters of west Africa is on the rise, with 100 such incidents recorded last year. The IMB has previously warned of heightened piracy risks along shipping routes in Nigeria and Ghana, to the east and west of Benin. It said attacks usually took place while ships were at anchor or close to coastal areas, unlike in eastern Africa, where Somali pirates strike ships hundreds of miles out to sea.
|
|
|
|
