Glad to see that the U.S. is adopting a more active security posture towards Africa -- often forgotten but of great long-term importance.
The United States is scaling up its military presence in Africa as concern mounts over terrorist threats - both immediate and future - on the continent, the deputy head of American forces in Europe said Friday.Posted by Alan at February 28, 2004 07:09 AM"The threat is not weakening, it is growing," Air Force Gen. Charles Wald said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from Luanda, Angola. "We can't just sit back and let it grow."
The focus on Africa is part of major restructuring as U.S. forces in Europe reposition for the war against terror.
Africa is a growing strategic interest to the United States because of its terror links and its oil, which is seen as a possible alternative to Middle East fuel.
European Command is not looking to station large concentrations of troops on the continent, Wald said. But it intends to make its presence felt through joint exercises, training initiatives and other exchanges. U.S. forces have also negotiated access to a number of sites, including air strips in Angola and Gabon, that can be used for stopovers, refueling, or to position troops and equipment.
Wald said this will allow U.S. forces to respond with light, mobile troops - whether for peacekeeping, crisis response or a specific terrorist threat. "We're actually going to get more capability with less force because of our ability to move around fast," he said.
The al-Qaida terror network has already staged deadly attacks in East Africa, bombing U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and a Kenyan hotel in 2002.
Western military and security officials also worry about possible terrorist activity along ancient Sahara trading routes linking Arab and African nations. They suspect terror groups have already set up training camps in the remote deserts of Mali and Niger.
Of particular concern is the Algeria-based Salafist Group for Call and Combat, which allegedly has ties to al-Qaida. The group was blamed in the kidnapping of 32 European tourists in the Sahara last year.
The United States is helping train and equip four Sahara nations - Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Chad - to better guard their porous borders against terrorists, arms and other trafficking. There are also agreements to conduct exercises and training in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, Wald said.
Further south, the United States wants to protect oil supplies in the Gulf of Guinea, where it gets 15 percent of its oil.