The United Sates is realizing a greater military and counter-terrorist involvement in Africa. The U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM operates from Europe, however since its inception and America’s exit from Somalia in 1993, AFRICOM now has vast amount of operational bases and personnel in every part of Africa. The Sahara Desert is receiving a great amount of attention and since the Uganda bombing by the Al-Shaba, Somalia is back on America’s military radar.

Our lead article outlines the AFRICOM‘s role as presented by the U.S. Defense Department, followed by testimony given by the U.S. State Dept. about AFRICOM, providing the Government’s stance on their responsibilities. Followed by two reports, which provide a broader on-the-ground background of the U.S. military presence and plans in Africa.

United States Africa Command - AFRICOM

United States Africa Command, AFRICOM, one of six of the Defense Department's regional military headquarters, was declared a fully unified command on October 1, 2008. As such, Africa Command has administrative responsibility for U.S. military support to U.S. government policy in Africa, to include military-to-military relationships with 53 African nations.

Commander of AFRICOM is General William E. "Kip" Ward, United States Army, he reports to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, who reports to the President of the United States.

AFRICOM Mission: United States Africa Command, in concert with other U.S. government agencies and international partners, conducts sustained security engagement through military-to-military programs, military-sponsored activities, and other military operations as directed to promote a stable and secure African environment in support of U.S. foreign policy.

ARICOM supports the U.S. Department of State in the achievement of US foreign policy objectives in Africa. In addition and where appropriate, U.S. Africa Command provides personnel and logistical support to State Department-funded activities. Command personnel work closely with U.S. embassies in Africa to coordinate training programs to improve African nations’ security capacity.

AFRICOM Strategic Objectives:

• Defeat the Al-Qaeda terrorist organizations and its associated networks;

• Ensure peace operations capacity exists to respond to emerging crises, and continental peace support operations are effectively fulfilling mission requirements;

• Cooperate with identified African states in the creation of an environment inhospitable to the unsanctioned possession and proliferation on WMD;

• Improve security sector governance and increased stability through military support to comprehensive, holistic and enduring USG efforts in designated states;

• Protect populations from deadly contagions.

U.S. Dept. of State AFRICOM Testimony

Following are AFRICOM excerpts from a testimony the U.S. State Department presented to the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs House Committee Oversight and Government Reform. The remarks were delivered by Thomas Countryman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Political-Military Affairs and provide a closer understating of AFRICOM and its current operations. Our editors highlighted the pertinent points of the testimony.

“After General Ward took command, AFRICOM welcomed the Department of State’s input and further developed its mission statement to where it now states it will work with other U.S. government agencies through military programs, activities, and operations to support security engagement and U.S. foreign policy. On finding a permanent location for AFRICOM headquarters, Secretary Gates opted to defer the decision until AFRICOM established itself, built its operations, and became more comfortably known to our African partners.

“...I lead, for the U.S. government, diplomatic efforts to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia. AFRICOM provided a ship to conduct operations off the Horn of Africa, which offered assistance in transferring pirate suspects as decided by interagency processes, and counter-piracy reconnaissance and surveillance with unmanned air assets based out of Seychelles. Also, (U.S.) facilities in Djibouti frequently are used to fulfill logistics requirements for operational units.

“Department of State collaboration with AFRICOM in maritime security issues is a good example of a true partnership. We continue to work together to evolve U.S. maritime engagement in Africa from one of individual, isolated efforts to a more comprehensive and sustained approach. Early and close collaboration for programs such as the Africa Partnership Station and Africa Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership contributes to a whole-of-government approach.

“The Africa Partnership Station is a strategic program designed to build the skills, expertise, and professionalism of African militaries, coast guards, and mariners. We actively work with AFRICOM in all phases of this very successful and well-received program, including planning and execution. AFRICOM also conducts the Africa Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership, which is a combined operation between the U.S. Coast Guard and host nation law enforcement detachments that deploy from U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels to support enforcement of the host nation’s maritime domain.

“Our programs are developing our partners’ maritime enforcement capabilities to: better respond to piracy, illegal fishing, illegal dumping, illegal immigration, terrorist activity, and trafficking in drugs, arms, and persons; protect their natural resources; and participate in peacekeeping operations, humanitarian and disaster relief, and stability operation initiatives. Our collective efforts continue to develop and support a comprehensive approach that encompasses maritime governance, criminal justice, defense, safety and security, response, and the economy.

“AFRICOM is actively contributing to the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) by providing military mentors and trainers on the African continent to supplement contract peacekeeping trainer teams provided under the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance Program, as well as leading specialized training activities such as counter- improvised explosive device training for units deploying to Somalia. The range of AFRICOM-led training activities under GPOI is also expanding to include training and technical assistance to the African Union and regional standby brigades.

“Finally, AFRICOM is actively participating in broader USG efforts to combat sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and AFRICOM has provided funds for military training and construction of health facilities in DRC, complementing current State and AID efforts.”

U.S. Seeks Ways to Boost AU Forces in Somalia

The United States is preparing to step up assistance to AU forces in Somalia and take more aggressive action against al Shabaab Islamist rebels who acknowledged their recent and deadly bombings in Uganda, U.S. officials reported.

The expanded U.S. military assistance to AU forces would include additional equipment, training, logistical support and information sharing, said General William Ward, Commander of U.S. Africa Command.

A U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested lethal operations targeting al Shabaab could expand as well. "Our efforts are aggressive and have intensified."

AU troops from Uganda and Burundi make up the roughly 6,300 strong AU force protecting key sites in Mogadishu and there have been calls for their mandate to be widened so they can go on the offensive against the insurgents.

At least 21,000 civilians have been killed since the start of the insurgency. Aid agencies and rights groups have become increasingly concerned about indiscriminate shelling and some have accused combatants on all sides of war crimes.

Meanwhile, the town of Beletweyne in central Somalia's Hiiraan region has recorded a marked increase in pupils returning to school following relative calm in the region over the past six months, thanks to a lull in fighting between government troops and Islamist insurgents.

Beletweyne has been a battleground between forces allied to the Transitional Federal Government and Islamic insurgents and has changed hands about four times since 2009. Currently the town is under the control of Al-Shabab, with the government forces about 25km away.

"I hope that the back-and-forth struggle for control of the town ends and we get a real peace that lasts," one resident said. The people are tired "and don't really care any more who controls it, as long as they don't have to flee again".

Ambaro Guled, a resident of Beletweyne, said, "All we want is to live in peace and have our children go to school without being afraid of getting killed."

Sahara States to Triple Anti-al-Qaeda Force

To combat the growth of the al-Qaeda threat in the Sahara region, four North African states, Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger opened a joint military headquarters in the southern Algerian town of Tamanrasset. A joint command was created to coordinate anti-al-Qaeda operations throughout the Sahara desert. Initial troop strength is 25,000, and is planned to triple to 75,000 within two years.

"There are now 25,000 soldiers from several countries at the disposal of the Tamanrasset command headquarters," a spokesperson stated. "The figure will reach 75,000 by 2012."

No details have been released on what authority the joint headquarters has been given, and it was not clear if the troops would be under its direct command.

There are significant extremist forces in North Africa. Security experts say better regional cooperation is key to containing al-Qaeda in the Sahara because insurgents evade capture by slipping from one country into another.

In addition, western military presence in North Africa has been steadily increasing year after year. In particular, American Special Forces and military aviation have been fighting African Islamist groups under the Operation Enduring Freedom — Trans Sahara OEF-TS for six years. Initially, the program was aimed at training anti-terrorist personnel, but now the officers participate in operations designed to intercept weapons and drugs contraband channels. The training participants are Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal.

At a recent meeting of AU Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade urged African leaders and the West to join forces in the fight against al-Qaeda's North African branch, saying it has to be done to prevent the Sahara from becoming a “terrorism desert.”

The main part of al-Qaeda, in North Africa is the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, created in Algeria in the late 1990s. Since then, the group has expanded its military actions and is not limited to Algerian territory. The group’s militants were seen all over North Africa, especially in Chad, Nigeria and the Republic of Mali.

Since 2005, the US Special Forces have been conducting specialized anti-terrorist training under the state program The Trans - Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP).

Americans spent over 0.5 billion dollars for the anti-terrorism effort. Yet, the situation has only worsened with the increased number of terrorist attacks.

The situation has particularly worsened in the past two years. These years were marked with both the increased frequency of terrorist attacks as well as their impudence, i.e., police station attacks and embassy shootings. The leaders of the Maghreb Muslims appeal for jihad against all the ruling governments of North African countries.

As the situation intensifies, the experts do not rule out the situation where the U.S. declares the region its strategic zone, as it happened in the Persian Gulf and with similar commitment.

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