United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 2 May 2012 USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning. Please see today's news review for May 2, 2012. This e-mail is best viewed in HTML. Of interest in today's report: -U.S. steps up training for African force in Somalia -Top U.S. Security Official Says 'Rigorous Standards' Used for Drone Strikes -Somalia MPs killed in al-Shabaab suicide attack -UN and Partners Issue 'Unambiguous' Warning Against Peace Process Spoilers -Dutch Anti-Piracy Policy to Set Foot On Somali Soil -Exercise Africa Endeavor final planning conference kicks off in Ghana U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Please send questions or comments to: publicaffairs@usafricom.mil DSN (314) 421-2687 or commercial +49-(0)711-729-2687 Headline Date Outlet

U.S. steps up training for 05/01/2012 Reuters African force in Somalia

SINGO, Uganda - At a training camp in Uganda, a dozen soldiers crouch, weapons raised as they make their way down a dirt road between shipping containers set up to look like buildings in the Somali capital.

Top U.S. Security Official Says 'Rigorous 05/01/2012 New York Times Standards' Used for Drone Strikes
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration on Monday offered its first extensive explanation of how American officials decide when to use drones to kill suspected terrorists -- a tactic that the government often treats as a classified secret even though it is ...

Suicide bomber kill six including lawmakers in Somalia

05/01/2012 AFP

Seven people, including two MPs, have been killed in a suicide attack in central Somalia, authorities in the town of Dusa Mareb have said.

UN and Partners Issue 'Unambiguous' Warning Against Peace Process Spoilers

05/01/2012 AllAfrica.com

The United Nations and its partners in Somalia today warned individual groups against jeopardizing a roadmap for ending the transition in the east African country, adding that sanctions and restrictions could be imposed on those who seek to obstruct the pe...

East Africa: Dutch Anti-

05/01/2012 Radio

Piracy Policy to Set Foot On Somali Soil

Netherlands

In line with European decisions, the Netherlands will intensify its anti-piracy policy off the Somali coast. The EU hopes to get a grip on the problem by tackling pirate munity on the shoreline itself. Started in 2008, the operation is to extend until at l...

One killed, 16 hurt in grenade attack at Kenyan 05/01/2012 Reuters church

A gunman detonated a grenade in a Nairobi church on Sunday, killing one worshipper and wounding 16 in the latest in a series of attacks in Kenya since it sent troops into Somalia to crush Islamist militants blamed for cross-border raids.

Ping Condemns Terrorist Ethiopian News 05/01/2012 Attacks in Kenya, Nigeria Agency (ENA)
ADDIS ABABA -- The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Dr. Jean Ping strongly condemned the terrorist attack perpetrated in Nairobi, Kenya and in Kano, Nigeria, on April 29, 2012, which resulted in the death of several worshippers, while injuring m...

Duty in Djibouti: National guardsmen assist African 05/01/2012 KSL Television nations
SALT LAKE CITY -- U.S. Army involvement in the campaign to track down rebel leader Joseph Kony of Uganda has thrown light on a little-known mission of U.S. troops in many countries across Africa. In the Kony operation, they're advising local forces engaged...

Nigeria: We Will Stabilise Nation's Democracy 05/01/2012 Leadership Obama

United States President, Mr. Barrack Obama has pledged that his administration would help the Nigerian government stabilise its democratic process.

Troops Battle in Mali; Junta Claims Control

05/01/2012

Associated Press

BAMAKO, Mali--After fierce fighting in Mali's capital Tuesday, troops loyal to the junta overran the main camp of the soldiers who tried to oust them in a countercoup.

Congo army clashes with 05/01/2012 Reuters wanted general, five dead
KINSHASA - At least five people have been killed in clashes between Democratic Republic of Congo's army and soldiers loyal to a renegade general wanted by the International Criminal court for war crimes, U.N. and military sources said on Monday.

Sorting through the defense distortions

05/01/2012

Washington Post

A Republican conference call on Thursday, titled "President Obama's Failed Foreign Policy," got me to thinking: How can voters hear an honest debate on national security and foreign policy issues in the presidential campaign when candidates or their suppor...

Planning Conference on military communications 05/01/2012 Business Ghana opens in Accra

ACCRA - Military communication experts from Africa, Europe and other Western countries are attending a one week-long planning conference to co-ordinate activities to improve security capabilities of African partners on standard military communications prac...

United Nations News Briefs-Africa

05/01/2012 UN News centre

-Libya: UN mission voices concern over detainee deaths resulting from torture -UN official concerned over plight of South Sudanese stranded at river port

News Headline: U.S. steps up training for African force in Somalia |

News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: Reuters News Text: By Jocelyn Edwards SINGO, Uganda (Reuters) - At a training camp in Uganda, a dozen soldiers crouch, weapons raised as they make their way down a dirt road between shipping containers set up to look like buildings in the Somali capital. Standing by, observing the Ugandan troops at work, is a U.S. marine, Major Mark Haley. "Here is where we are going to teach urban warfare, how to fight building to building," Haley said as the Ugandans moved between containers scrawled with graffiti reading "City of Death" and "Hell Zone". The model of the Somali capital, or "Little Mogadishu" as it is known, was built by American military trainers to prepare the Ugandan soldiers to take part in the African Union mission propping up the Western-backed government in Mogadishu. After al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels pulled out of the capital last year, the United States has stepped up efforts to train Ugandan soldiers who will be part of the push by AMISOM to take more territory outside the capital. The United States and other Western powers have been backing efforts to crush al Shabaab as they worry Somalia has become a safe haven for Islamist militants seeking to wreak havoc in the region and further afield. Washington helps to fund the AMISOM force, provides assistance to the transitional institutions in Somalia and has carried out air strikes within the Horn of Africa nation to kill high-profile al Qaeda and al Shabaab suspects. However, the United States is reluctant to put boots on the ground ever since its humiliating retreat from Somalia following the October 1993 "Blackhawk Down" debacle in which 18 U.S. servicemen and well over a thousand Somalis died. Helped by AMISOM, the transitional government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed now controls most of Mogadishu for the first time since dictator Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. But Ahmed's government has little control over the rest of the country, where al Shabaab, clanbased militias and warlords control chunks of territory. Ethiopian and Kenyan troops are also battling al Shabaab inside Somalia. BEYOND MOGADISHU U.S. officials say they are hopeful the equipment and training they provide will help AMISOM push al Shabaab, which formally merged with al Qaeda this year, out of Somalia. "Because of these successes we see new targets that we need to help (the Ugandan forces) with, specifically mobility and counter-mobility as they move along these routes outside of Mogadishu," said Major Albert Conley, deputy chief of the office of security cooperation for the U.S. military in Uganda. Uganda supplies the majority of the AMISOM troops in Somalia, which the United Nations agreed in February to increase from 12,000 to 17,731 peacekeepers. AMISOM has sent a small contingent of troops to Baidoa, the former seat of Somalia's

parliament and hopes to send more soldiers their when the reinforcements arrive. A team of 30 marines deployed to Uganda in February for seven months to train combat engineers. The U.S. military is also providing Ugandan forces with equipment such as protective vests and mine detecting equipment. The marine program supplements training for Ugandans funded by the U.S. State Department already going on. Since 2007, U.S. military trainers have trained nine battle groups of Ugandan soldiers deployed to Somalia. About 3,500 Ugandan soldiers are now being trained by U.S. trainers at Camp Singo in areas such as patrolling, cordon and search operations and basic Somali language skills. British and French trainers also lead exercises at the camp for Ugandan forces preparing to go to Somalia. Standing outside the door of a first-aid training course, First Lieutenant Martin Orech, 30, said he was looking forward to getting the chance to serve in Somalia. "If they give me a chance to go I will go so that we can make our brothers live happily like we are living in Uganda," he said. "Why should I be nervous? I am trained to fight in such areas, I'm trained to do such work."
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News Headline: Top U.S. Security Official Says 'Rigorous Standards' Used for Drone Strikes |

News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: New York Times News Text: By Charlie Savage WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration on Monday offered its first extensive explanation of how American officials decide when to use drones to kill suspected terrorists -- a tactic that the government often treats as a classified secret even though it is widely known around the world. ''Yes, in full accordance with the law -- and in order to prevent terrorist attacks on the United States and to save American lives -- the United States government conducts targeted strikes against specific Al Qaeda terrorists, sometimes using remotely piloted aircraft, often referred to publicly as drones,'' John O. Brennan, President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, said before the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The use of armed drones to strike at suspected militants in places like Pakistan and Yemen has grown dramatically under the Obama administration, and the emergence of the new technology -- which has sharply reduced the cost and risk of warfare to its operators, making it easier to engage in sporadic combat in far-flung regions -- has led to growing concerns both about civilian casualties and about a future in which other countries also acquire drones. The United States government has been reluctant to talk openly about its use of drones, apparently in part because foreign governments that granted permission for strikes did so on the condition that the deals would remain secret.

Defending drone strikes as ''legal, ethical, and wise,'' Mr. Brennan said the president had directed officials to be more open about how they ''carefully, deliberately and responsibly'' decide to kill terrorism suspects -- including what he described as ''the rigorous standards and process of review to which we hold ourselves today when considering and authorizing strikes against a specific member of Al Qaeda outside the 'hot' battlefield of Afghanistan.'' Merely being a member of Al Qaeda or one of its allies is not enough to be targeted, Mr. Brennan said, because that describes many thousands of people. Rather, policymakers approve the killing of only those who pose a particular threat, he said, like operational leaders who are planning attacks against United States interests, lower-level militants training for such an attack, and those who possess ''unique operational skills that are being leveraged in a planned attack.'' Mr. Brennan also said the administration preferred capturing such suspects alive -- usually by telling a foreign government where to arrest them -- and would authorize a strike only if that was not feasible. ''We only authorize a particular operation against a specific individual if we have a high degree of confidence that the individual being targeted is indeed the terrorist we are pursuing,'' he said. ''This is a very high bar. Of course, how we identify an individual naturally involves intelligence sources and methods, which I will not discuss.'' But Mr. Brennan sidestepped a question about the use of ''signature strikes,'' in which drones are used to target unidentified people whose activities -- such as presence at a training camp -suggest they probably are militants. He said he was speaking only of ''targeted strikes against specific individuals.'' Mr. Brennan added, ''We only authorize a strike if we have a high degree of confidence that innocent civilians will not be injured or killed, except in the rarest of circumstances.'' But he acknowledged ''instances when -- despite the extraordinary precautions we take -- civilians have been accidentally injured, or worse, killed in these strikes. It is exceedingly rare, but it has happened. When it does, it pains us and we regret it deeply, as we do any time innocents are killed in war.'' The killing of civilians by drones has fueled anti-American sentiment, especially in Pakistan. The number of such deaths -- especially in remote regions where it is difficult for neutral observers to investigate -- has been hotly disputed. American officials have described such deaths as rare, while critics have said there are far more than the government acknowledges. Mr. Brennan said American citizens who join Al Qaeda may also be targeted -- after extra internal review, but he did not mention the killing of at least three Americans in drone strikes in Yemen last year, including Anwar Al-Awlaki, a radical cleric. The Obama administration is fighting to avoid disclosing information related to the targeted killing operations under the Freedom of Information Act, including lawsuits filed by The New York Times and by the American Civil Liberties Union. Jameel Jaffer, a litigator with the A.C.L.U., called Mr. Brennan's statement ''important,'' but said the administration should disclose ''the memo that authorizes the extrajudicial killing of American terrorism suspects'' and ''the evidence it relied on to conclude that an American citizen, Anwar Al-Awlaki, could be killed without charge, trial, or judicial process of any kind.'' Mr. Brennan listed four organizations that the United States government now considered to be part of the war against Al Qaeda: the ''core'' Al Qaeda, whose leadership he described as ''a shadow of its former self''; two of its affiliates in Yemen and in North and West Africa; and the

Shabab militia in Somalia, although he described it as ''in decline'' and mainly focused on parochial concerns. He also said the United States was monitoring the emergence in Nigeria of the group Boko Haram, which ''appears to be aligning itself with Al Qaeda's violent agenda,'' but he stopped short of calling it an ''affiliate'' of Al Qaeda.
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News Headline: Suicide bomber kill six including lawmakers in Somalia | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: AFP News Text: A suicide bomber killed at least six people including two lawmakers in an attack in the central Somali town of Dhusamareb, officials said Tuesday. "The explosion hit a hotel in the town and it killed several people, any others were also injured," said Mohamed Abudlahi Moalim, a senior commander with the Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa militia, which controls the area. Witnesses said a man entered a restaurant, where lawmakers were meeting with the public over lunch to discuss the setting up of a regional administration, before blowing himself up. "The people killed are two lawmakers and four civilians... among the wounded are two other MPs," a witness, Mohamud Ibrahim said. "They were meeting the civilians to discuss the setup of a local administration," said Hassan Abdulle, a businessman. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the Dhusamareb, a strategic town in the central Galgadud region, which was wrested back from Al-Qaeda allied Shebab insurgents by pro-government forces last month. Ahlu Sunna, an Ethiopia-backed force that follows Somalia's traditional Sufi branch of Islam, pushed the Shebab out of Dhusamareb in fierce battles in March. Lawmakers are struggling in efforts to achieve a "roadmap" signed by Somalia's disparate leaders for the formation of a government by August 20 to replace the weak transitional body in Mogadishu. Under the agreement, the latest among more than a dozen attempts to resolve the bloody civil war, lawmakers must agree on a system of government for Somalia's fragmented regional -and often rival -- administrations. The deal is opposed by the Shebab, who have vowed to topple the Western-backed government, launching repeated guerrilla attacks.
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News Headline: UN and Partners Issue 'Unambiguous' Warning Against Peace Process Spoilers | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: AllAfrica.com News Text: The United Nations and its partners in Somalia today warned individual groups

against jeopardizing a roadmap for ending the transition in the east African country, adding that sanctions and restrictions could be imposed on those who seek to obstruct the peace process. "We have now entered a critical juncture of the transitional period of the peace process in Somalia," the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), the African Union peacekeeping mission in the country, known by the acronym AMISOM, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said in joint statement. "We have come too far and too much is at stake for us to allow the process to backslide at the exact moment Somalia has its best opportunity for peace in decades." "To this end, the United Nations, the African Union and IGAD are jointly issuing this unambiguous warning to all potential spoilers," it added, noting that any groups which do not comply or actively obstruct the roadmap will be referred to the IGAD Council of Ministers, with recommendations from the three entities to impose restrictions and sanctions on them. Somalia's Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) are in the process of implementing a roadmap - known as the Roadmap for Ending the Transition in Somalia - devised in September last year, that spells out priority measures to be carried out before the current transitional governing arrangements end in just a few months, on 20 August. "As we move closer to key benchmarks, such as the convening of the constituent assembly, adoption of a new federal provisional constitution, selection of a new parliament, we remain greatly concerned that the roadmap continues to be jeopardized by the actions of individuals and groups in and out of Somalia working to undermine the fragile progress we have collectively made in recent months," the statement said. Since 2007, AMISOM has been trying to bring peace to the country, which has had no functioning central government for the past 20 years, and which has been torn apart by factional fighting and has faced a series of humanitarian crises. UNPOS, AMISOM and IGAD emphasized that their statement was "both a warning and a final opportunity for those that stand against peace and progress in Somalia to cease immediately and desist any and all actions against the roadmap process." The statement was signed by the Special Representative of AMISOM, Boubacar G. Diarra, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Augustine P. Mahiga, and IGAD's facilitator for Somalia Peace and National Reconciliation, Kipruto arap Kirwa. Until last year, most of Mogadishu was, for several years, riven by a fluid frontline dividing the two sides - fighters belonging to the Al Shabaab movement and troops belonging to the Transitional Federal Government, with the latter supported by the peacekeeping forces AMISOM. Since the Al Shabaab withdrawal from the capital's central parts in August, the frontlines were pushed back to the city's outskirts. However, the use of roadside bombs, grenades and suicide bombers is still a regular occurrence, and outbreaks of fighting still take place.
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News Headline: East Africa: Dutch Anti-Piracy Policy to Set Foot On Somali Soil | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: Radio Netherlands News Text: By Saskia Houttuin In line with European decisions, the Netherlands will intensify its anti-piracy policy off the

Somali coast. The EU hopes to get a grip on the problem by tackling pirate munity on the shoreline itself. Started in 2008, the operation is to extend until at least late 2014. But just how far should the Netherlands get involved? It certainly won't be a walk on the beach. Dutch rescue missions Hans Lodder sailed to the Gulf of Aden in 2010 as a commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy's frigate Hr. Ms. Tromp. He looks back on what he describes as a "challenging time". It was under Captain Lodder's command that a team of special forces freed the crew of a German merchant vessel. "We went over there with a beautiful rescue team," said Lodder with pride. "We overpowered ten pirates. They were sent through the Netherlands to Germany, where the trial is still in progress." An excerpt of that mission was recorded and released on YouTube. In its total years of sailing, the Hr. Ms. Tromp apprehended 83 pirates. All but ten were picked up before they could conduct any act of piracy, so had to be let go - though not before their weapons and piracy tools were confiscated and the pirates were sent home. Setting foot on land The initiative to set foot on Somali soil is a precautionary measure. "In the past, we were not allowed to operate on land because it's a naval mission," said Lodder. "Pirates dump their ships and supplies and oil on the beaches. We noticed it would be easier to stop the pirates before they leave, by destroying these supply camps. That doesn't mean we're now allowed to actually operate land...it's just getting on shore, destroy the camps and get back on the ship." Rem Korteweg, a strategic analyst at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, is afraid the EU has failed to take the broader picture into account. "Once we start becoming involved on land, we also become involved in that very complex conflict dynamic. Of course, if you look from a military perspective, and you want to prevent pirates from hijacking, you necessarily need to be [open] to attacking them on land," he said. "The question is whether that leads to an escalation of Western nations becoming too much involved. When attacking them on land, they can take defence measures and move further back inland...then what do you do? That's where things start to become a mess." Piracy is a job Despite structural measures by naval forces, the EU seems to have a weak grasp of the problem. It is unclear how many pirates are active in the region. From a distance, they aren't distinguishable from fishermen. "Every pirate is different," said Captain Lodder. "They are of every age - from minors to sixty [years old] - and from different regions and tribes." "You have the petty criminal and you have the organized, well-structured form of piracy," added Korteweg. "Part of the Somali elite is involved in piracy because it's so financially rewarding. It's basically white-collar crime with a deadly accent." Dahir Alasow agrees. The Somali refugee who lives in the Netherlands is editor of Somalia's most popular online newspaper, Waagasucub. "It's all about money. It's been proven a lucrative business, now that pirates are more experienced and 'grown up'. They even cooperate and share money with terrorist organisations Al-Shebab and Al-Qaida." Get rich or die trying

So if piracy still appears lucrative, how has the European mission so far failed to scare them off? Is this problem even solvable? "They're not afraid of foreign vessels," said Alasow. "A pirate thinks about one thing: he's going to get money or die. It's like a suicide attack." "We've been there for some years now and the problem is increasing," explained Korteweg. "So obviously, we are not solving the problem. I would even argue that we aren't really managing it either." According to Alasow, the only solution for the Netherlands and the EU is to interfere in the country of Somalia - on land. But whether this is something they still want to do after the bloody events of the 1990s remains questionable.
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News Headline: One killed, 16 hurt in grenade attack at Kenyan church | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: Reuters News Text: By James Macharia A gunman detonated a grenade in a Nairobi church on Sunday, killing one worshipper and wounding 16 in the latest in a series of attacks in Kenya since it sent troops into Somalia to crush Islamist militants blamed for cross-border raids. Nairobi has said al Shabaab militants, who merged with al Qaeda earlier this year, are behind the surge in violence and kidnappings that has threatened tourism in east Africa's biggest economy and wider regional destabilization. Police said the pastor of the church was concluding the service when a man who had "camouflaged" himself as a worshipper threw the grenade and then ran out into the street. Some worshippers pursued the man who then drew what police said was a 9mm pistol and fired at pursuers before escaping in a maze of alleys in a busy market and residential area known as Ngara a few km (miles) away from downtown Nairobi. "One person has been confirmed dead and sixteen others including the presiding pastor were injured. The motive of the attack has not yet been established," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said in a statement. A bloodied footstep marked the entrance of the God's House of Miracle Church, an edifice of corrugated iron sheets which police estimated could accommodate more than 200 people. The pastor's glass stand was shattered and shards from the stand and stained-glass windows were strewn about the floor next to a mangled flower arrangement and overturned plastic chairs. A male worshipper sobbed as he covered his face with a brown handkerchief, shaking his head at a request for an interview. Worshippers carried the wounded to cars that rushed them to hospitals, and later huddled speaking in hushed tones as armed police ring-fenced the church to keep a curious crowd at bay.

"It just happened, we do not know actually how it started but we just heard a blast," said Hebo Hamala, a church elder. The blast resembled two separate attacks at different bus stations and a bar in the capital that killed a total of 10 people and wounded many more last month and in October, a week after Kenyan troops swept into southern Somalia. THROW GRENADE AND RUN "We have seen similar attacks before, where people throw grenades and run," deputy police spokesman Charles Owino said. In late March, one person was killed when a grenade was tossed at an open-air Christian gathering near the port city of Mombasa, a major tourist destination. Minutes later a grenade went off at a bar near Mombasa's main stadium but no casualties were reported. Al Shabaab stopped short of claiming responsibility for the coastal attacks, but said in a statement at the time that Kenya's security depended on its military activities in Somalia. "The more Kenyan troops continue to persecute innocent Muslims of Somalia, the less secure Kenyan cities will be; and the more oppression the Muslims of Somalia feel, the more constricted Kenyan life will be," it said. There have been similar attacks near the border with Somalia since Kenya's military incursion. Ethiopia has also dispatched forces into Somalia to support the anarchic country's shaky government, which barely holds the capital Mogadishu with the help of the African Union's force. Somalia has been in shambles since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Fighting has killed more than 21,000 people since al Shabaab launched its insurgency in 2007, and possibly over one million in 20 years. The rebels are fighting to topple the Mogadishu government and impose a harsh brand of sharia (Islamic law) on Somalia.
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News Headline: Ping Condemns Terrorist Attacks in Kenya, Nigeria | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) News Text: ADDIS ABABA The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Dr. Jean Ping strongly condemned the terrorist attack perpetrated in Nairobi, Kenya and in Kano, Nigeria, on April 29, 2012, which resulted in the death of several worshippers, while injuring many others. The Chairperson expresses AU' s condolence to the Governments, peoples of Kenya and Nigeria as well as the families of the deceased and wished early recovery, according to AU statement sent to ENA on Monday. The Chairperson has assured both countries the full support of the AU in their efforts to fight

terrorism, intolerance and extremism. Accordingly, he reiterates the commitment of the AU to continue working with Member states and all other stakeholders, towards the effective implementation of AU' s and international instruments relating to the prevention and combating of terrorism.
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News Headline: Duty in Djibouti: National guardsmen assist African nations | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: KSL Television News Text: By John Hollenhorst SALT LAKE CITY U.S. Army involvement in the campaign to track down rebel leader Joseph Kony of Uganda has thrown light on a little-known mission of U.S. troops in many countries across Africa. In the Kony operation, they're advising local forces engaged in the hunt. In other African nations, U.S. troops play similar roles, assisting local governments as they attempt to achieve security and stability. A Utah National Guardsman has just returned from one of those missions in the Horn of Africa. In the nation of Djibouti, U.S. troops are building relationships that could pay off years from now. Dubbed "Duty in Djibouti," Americans are training local soldiers and helping out with humanitarian causes, like building clinics. "If we're able to provide those kind of things, then they're less likely to embrace terrorism," said Utah National Guard Lt. Col. Hank McIntire. McIntire just returned from a six month tour in Djibouti. A longtime spokesman for the Utah National Guard, he appeared on KSL's Doug Wright show as the hunt for Uganda rebel leader Joseph Kony was making news. McIntire says U.S. troops are in many African nations, not to take direct military action, but to help local governments establish stability. "We're not going to go in and be the whole show," McIntire said. "We are going to partner with, train and provide assistance and expertise so that they can stand on their own, to keep their own individual countries and situations safe." The Kony rebel group, the LRA, in Uganda and surrounding nations has captured attention around the world, especially since the "Invisible Children" video went viral a few weeks ago. The video exposed the LRA's kidnapping and exploitation of children in the past 26 years. Djibouti has different issues and challenges. McIntire was stationed just six miles from Somalia, where pirates and Al Qaeda terrorism have been major concerns. He believes humanitarian projects and military training missions build nation-to-nation partnerships and in the long run, that's good for the USA. "If they feel like we're going to do what we say we're going to do, they're more likely to trust us in the future if we're called upon to be involved in some situation in that area," McIntire said. McIntire was deployed to Djibouti individually. But the Utah National Guard as a whole is assigned to develop a partnership with another African nation, Morocco. If that ever becomes a world trouble spot, Utahns could play a major role.

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News Headline: Nigeria: We Will Stabilise Nation's Democracy - Obama | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: Leadership News Text: By Abiodun Oluwarotimi United States President, Mr. Barrack Obama has pledged that his administration would help the Nigerian government stabilise its democratic process. Obama who spoke through Ambassador Don Yamamoto, a top official of the State Department, during the week added that it was imperative for Nigerian democracy to grow as the giant of the African Continent. He also promised that the United States government would help other African countries build strong and stable democracies in their respective countries. Talking on promoting good governance, the US top official said that President Obama's first priority for Nigeria and other African nations is to help them build strong and stable democracies, stressing that the security engagement of the government of his country with Africa could not be separated from its long-term goals of good governance, civilian control over security forces, and respect for human rights. Alleging that Boko Haram had carried out attacks on Nigerians and international interests, the US Diplomat said that the United States government is carefully watching the security situation in northern Nigeria. Boko Haram is not a monolithic group, he said, adding that attacks ascribed to members of this group have improved in sophistication and increased in number over the last few years, and we take the potential threat to American lives and interests very seriously. He also noted that President Barrack Obama's government is careful not to conflate this terror group hence it is monitoring the situation closely. The United States official also said in the reports that USAID and the State Department are supporting projects to increase civilian protection, enhance early warning capabilities, deliver humanitarian relief, and strengthen the overall resiliency of communities in Nigeria and other African countries.
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News Headline: Troops Battle in Mali; Junta Claims Control | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: Associated Press News Text: BAMAKO, MaliAfter fierce fighting in Mali's capital Tuesday, troops loyal to the junta overran the main camp of the soldiers who tried to oust them in a countercoup. Gunfire echoed across Bamako as Malian government troops battled each other, killing at least 12 people. Mali's coup leaders who took power over a month ago and ostensibly handed control over to an interim civilian government on April 12, said they control the state broadcaster, the airport

and a military base, fending off attacks by opposing forces. Coup leader Capt. Amadou Sanogo told a private radio station Monday night that the countercoup had failed and that his soldiers have captured foreign fighters. A senior Western diplomat based in Bamako told the Associated Press that the fighting apparently started Monday when forces loyal to the junta tried to arrest the former head of the presidential guard. The presidential guard is part of Mali's parachutist regiment, known as the Red Berets, part of the faction that was seen as the most reluctant to submit to the authority of the junta. The regiment was the most loyal to ex-President Amadou Toumani Toure when he was in power. Residents near the Red Beret's camp said there had been heavy fighting there Tuesday, and that pro-junta troops were overrunning the camp. "Captain Sanogo's troops have made it into the main camp of the Red Berets in Djicoroni," a resident who lives near the camp said. The resident asked for anonymity for fear of reprisals. "They are going from building to building looking for any of the troops left but I think everyone has left already," he said. Another resident in the Djicoroni camp in Bamako earlier said Capt. Sanogo's forces were trying to capture the anti-junta forces living there. "Most of the families who live here and most of the military personnel have fled, but they still come to attack the camp," the resident said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said he was afraid to leave his house. Antijunta forces tried to take over the country's state broadcaster and attacked the airport and the junta's main military base on Monday. Yaya Konate, the head of the broadcast station, said that troops arrived at the station at around 6:30 p.m. on Monday firing in the air and told all personnel working there to leave. He said the soldiers who took charge of the building were from the Red Berets. Soldiers loyal to Capt. Sanogo, however, appeared on state television early Tuesday and said the important installations remain in their hands after fighting. But heavy gunfire across Bamako suggests that the leaders of the March coup don't yet have total control over the capital. A dozen bodies had been brought to the hospital since the fighting started Monday evening, said a hospital official. "Some are military and some are civilians who must have got caught up in the fighting. They were all killed by gunshot wounds in areas around where the conflict was going on," Adama Traore said. Mr. Traore said that the hospital had treated around 30 injured people. He said most of the military personnel had been given treatment and then returned to their bases. A source close to the junta told AP that reinforcements were coming from other major Malian towns to strengthen the junta's position. "The first reinforcements have already arrived and others will be in Bamako soon," the soldier said. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the press. State television showed a small group of prisoners along with guns, ammunition and grenades supposedly belonging to the captured troops.

"Those arrested come from different origins and were supported by hidden internal forces," a statement read by soldiers Tuesday said. "Some of these people have been detained by the armed forces and an in-depth investigation will take place. We remind you that everyone involvedwill be tracked down and brought before the competent jurisdictions." In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the fighting is "detrimental to Mali," and is "causing a massive refugee flow and greater instability for the country as a whole." "We had seen some progress last week in putting in place an interim government that was moving on a timeline towards civilian elections, and we want to see that interim government back in place," he said. Capt. Sanogo has signed a deal with Ecowas, the West African regional bloc, to return the country to constitutional rule. The deal gave the junta a supervisory role in the transition. But Sanogo said Sunday that Ecowas had gone back on that deal and that he rejects a plan to send Ecowas troops to Mali to protect the president's and prime minister's office. Mali is also battling insecurity in its desert north where separatist rebels have declared independence, and militants are trying to impose strict Islamic law. Tuareg separatist fighters and Islamic militants took advantage of the chaos caused by the coup in Bamako last month to quickly advance and capture the three main towns in the north of Mali at the end of March. Mali government forces fled south without putting up any major resistance.
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News Headline: Congo army clashes with wanted general, five dead | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: Reuters News Text: By Jonny Hogg KINSHASA - At least five people have been killed in clashes between Democratic Republic of Congo's army and soldiers loyal to a renegade general wanted by the International Criminal court for war crimes, U.N. and military sources said on Monday. The fighting in the Masisi region of North Kivu began late on Sunday and forced thousands of residents to flee their homes, some of them into neighbouring Rwanda, said aid groups. General Bosco Ntaganda fought the government as a rebel before he was integrated into the army alongside other insurgents as part of a 2009 peace deal. But clashes erupted again after President Joseph Kabila announced in mid April that he would try to arrest Ntaganda, a divise figure who has been at the heart of the region's instability, "because the whole country wants peace". "We're in control of the situation, we're managing everything," a senior military source told Reuters, asking not to be named. "The population should flee so they don't get caught in the crossfire," He said at least five soldiers loyal to Ntaganda were killed on Sunday in Congo's east - an area that remains haunted by myriad rebel groups left over from a devastating 1998-2003 war.

The source said Ntaganda's forces had seized some territory from the government during the clashes. Thousands of civilians in the region were fleeing toward the town of Goma, said Alexandre Essome, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo known as MONUSCO. "There's still fighting ongoing. MONUSCO are deployed in all the villages around Masisi to ensure the protection of the population," Essome said by telephone from Goma. By early Monday evening more than 1,500 refugees had crossed into Rwanda, according to the United Nations, and more were waiting at the border according to Jean Claude Rwahama, the Rwandan director of refugee affairs. The ICC has been seeking Ntaganda's arrest for six years on charges he recruited children to fight in a bloody ethnic conflict in northeastern Congo that grew out of the broader civil war. Ntaganda denies involvement in war crimes. Kabila had previously resisted international calls for his arrest, saying Ntaganda was a lynchpin in the fragile peace deal that integrated his fighters. In recent weeks hundreds of soldiers loyal to Ntaganda have defected from the armed forces. "He's flexing his muscles. If other (soldiers) decide to join him, then yes, this could spread," said a western observer, who asked not to be named. Analysts and rights groups have accused Ntaganda of operating criminal networks in eastern Congo responsible for much of the instability that has troubled the region in recent years.
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News Headline: Sorting through the defense distortions | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: Washington Post News Text: By Walter Pincus A Republican conference call on Thursday, titled President Obama's Failed Foreign Policy, got me to thinking: How can voters hear an honest debate on national security and foreign policy issues in the presidential campaign when candidates or their supporters provide false or misleading information? Actually, they can't. In fact, foreign policy and defense have been among the most distorted issues in nearly every presidential election I can recall. In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower and the GOP used Democratic coddling of communists and the veiled threat of nuclear weapons to end the Korean War as tools to defeat Adlai Stevenson. In 1960, John F. Kennedy used the missile gap with the Soviet Union America actually had more ICBMs than Russia to help defeat Richard M. Nixon. Republicans then made the buildup of nuclear weapons against the Soviet threat a hallmark of Ronald Reagan's campaigns. Back in 1980, when President Jimmy Carter proposed building 200 MX ICBMs and putting them on railroad cars to deter a Soviet first strike, the Republicans said that was not enough. Once in power, however, the Reagan administration built 100 MXs in fixed silos and said not to worry, that there were two other legs to the nuclear triad: strategic

submarines and bombers. More recently, George W. Bush capitalized on Americans' fears after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to help win reelection in 2004. That victory came in spite of the White House's use of cherry-picked intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq. As Norman J. Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann said Sunday in a Washington Post essay on political gridlock, it's time for the press to stop just presenting evenhanded, unfiltered opposing views and ask: Which politician is telling the truth? Thursday's GOP conference call seemed a good place to start. It was designed as a counterstrike against Vice President Biden's foreign policy speech before he even made it. One Republican on the call was John F. Lehman, a secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration, member of the 9/11 Commission and current co-chairman of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's defense panel. Lehman offered questionable facts to support his claim that, under Obama, the United States is abdicating leadership for keeping stability in the world. He said the administration is proposing reductions down to 300 nuclear weapons. That is a warped version of a news story that the White House in studying arms-reduction talks with the Russians has asked the Pentagon for the implication of three alternatives: keeping warheads at the currently agreed level with Moscow of 1,550 deployed, cutting to 1,000, or dropping to anywhere from 300 to 800 warheads. The administration is not proposing 300 warheads in any offer. That did not stop Lehman. He told reporters that foreign military leaders are looking at, in effect, unilateral disarmament that is going on with the Obama administration now with the latest budget having proposed cuts of over $1 trillion to our defenses. The administration has proposed no cuts totaling that amount. Under the bipartisanapproved Budget Control Act of 2011, there was agreement on a $487 billion reduction in defense spending over the next 10 years. That same act required an additional $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over that period. It also specified that if no agreement was reached by Dec. 31, 2012, there would be an automatic sequestering of funds, including roughly $500 billion more from defense. Obama did not propose that second round of $500 billion in defense cuts. In fact, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has opposed them, and he and Obama have called on Congress to produce a package of revenue and reductions to avoid sequestration. Decrying the decline of the number of ships in the Navy, Lehman used as an example that we did not have a single combatant in the Mediterranean Sea when the Libya crisis broke in March 2011. In fact, hours after the first French bombs dropped, the first U.S. Tomahawk missiles hit Libya, launched from among three U.S. Navy nuclear attack submarines in the Mediterranean. Two Navy surface ships also were there. Lehman also noted that the Chinese had two ships in the area. One was a frigate that had been monitoring pirate activity off the Somalia coast, a main Chinese shipping lane. It traveled through the Red Sea and Suez Canal into the Mediterranean to be available as part of a major

air-and-sea rescue effort to evacuate 36,000 Chinese workers from Libya. Another failure of U.S. leadership Lehman cited was the joint anti-piracy effort off Somalia. Conducted since 2008 under United Nations, NATO and European Union agreements, it is considered by most countries as an example of how world powers can collaborate on a collective problem. Instead, Lehman described the joint anti-piracy effort as having opened up a very attractive opportunity for the Russians. Even the Chinese have two ships there, he said. The issues of leadership, Lehman said, represent a serious crisis and perhaps the central issue in the campaign. The more serious crisis is how voters can make sense of either candidates' foreign policy and national security positions when Lehman or others provide such distorted facts.
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News Headline: Planning Conference on military communications opens in Accra | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: Business Ghana News Text: ACCRA - Military communication experts from Africa, Europe and other Western countries are attending a one week-long planning conference to co-ordinate activities to improve security capabilities of African partners on standard military communications practices in Accra. The conference, which precedes the annual Exercise Africa Endeavour (EAE) 2012 scheduled to be held in June at the Cameroonian city of Doula, is expected to provide participants the platform to engage in knowledge sharing and experiences of best military communication practices. This years EAE, which is a joint event sponsored by United States (US) Africa Command and supported by the Africa Union , is expected to focus on communications interoperability among African partner nations. At an opening ceremony organised in Accra on Monday, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Christian Edem Kobla Dovlo, Commandant, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, underscored the importance of interoperability in all multinational integrated operations stressing that effective and efficient communication was crucial for the success of missions. Communication is critical glue that holds all operations together at all levels, he said. AVM Dovlo said preparedness and training was important to serve as a deterrent posture to any who would want to thwart peace and security efforts. At a press conference organised later after the opening ceremony, Brigadier General Joseph K Kwankye, Director General, Defence Communications and Information Systems, Ghana Armed Forces, described the African Endeavour Exercise as very useful adding that Ghana had benefited immensely from the successes of the programme since 2006. US Navy Commander Bryan McRoberts, lead planner for Africa Endeavour 2012, said the hands-on exercise was useful to establish and build on the human interoperability that must take place between partner nations for an operation to be successful. He said: Often times it is the human factors that prove the most critical during a crisis or contingency event, and exercises like this one allow us to establish key relationships between

forces before a crisis actually develops. Col Gabriel Mvogo, Head of the Cameroonian delegation, said the country was ready to host the event in June 2012. He added that they learnt from the success stories from other countries that had hosted the event and allay the expectation of participating countries. The Africa Endeavour event focuses on communications interoperability (ability for the officers to work together based on shared meaning) among African partner nations. Since its inception in 2006, the event had sought to improve the security capabilities of African partners by assisting in the development of common, standard military communications practices that would help offer better support for future operations in the Africa. The event is expected to bring together more than 200 participants from 35 African countries, including Ghana, US, Canada, Netherlands, African Unions, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the European Union and Economic Community of West African States.
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News Headline: United Nations News Briefs-Africa | News Date: 05/01/2012 Outlet Full Name: UN News centre News Text: Libya: UN mission voices concern over detainee deaths resulting from torture The United Nations mission for Libya has expressed its concern to the country's authorities over the recent deaths of three people in a detention centre in the north-western city of Misrata, saying it believes that the deaths were the result of torture. UN official concerned over plight of South Sudanese stranded at river port The top United Nations humanitarian official in Sudan today voiced concern over the plight of thousands of citizens of neighbouring South Sudan who are stranded at the Kosti river port on the While Nile, where they have been waiting for barges to take them back to their country.
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