United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 3 October 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning. Please find attached news clips related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa, along with upcoming events of interest for October 3, 2011. Of interest in today's clips is an AP story based on General Ham's interview with AP reporter Lolita Baldor, articles from NPR, the Christian Science Monitor and Ghana Web discussing the development of democracy in Africa and reports from Al Jazeera and Nairobis Daily Nation on the weekends kidnapping of a disabled French tourist from a resort in Ras Kitau near Manda Beach. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Please send questions or comments to: africom-pao@africom.mil 421-2687 (+49-711-729-2687) -------------------------------------------Top News related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa AFRICOM commander sees end to Libya mission (AP) http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/10/ap-africom-commander-sees-end-to-libyamission-100111/ 1 October 2011 By Lolita C. Baldor WASHINGTON The military mission in Libya is largely complete and NATOs involvement could begin to wrap up as soon as this coming week after allied leaders meet in Brussels, according to the top U.S. commander for Africa. Strike on Aulaqi demonstrates collaboration between CIA and military (Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/strike-on-aulaqi-demonstratescollaboration-between-cia-and-military/2011/09/30/gIQAD8xHBL_story.html 1 October 2011 By Greg Miller Traveling from secret bases on opposite sides of Yemen, armed drones from the CIA and the militarys Joint Special Operations Command converged above Anwar al-Aulaqis position in northern Yemen early Friday and unleashed a flurry of missiles.

Questions and answers about Yemen-based al-Qaida (AP) http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Questions-and-answers-about-Yemen-based-alQaida-2197081.php 30 September 2011 By Kimberly Dozier WASHINGTON (AP) Based in the Yemeni tribal hinterlands but possessing global ambitions, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has become the most active and lethal of the affiliates to emerge from the shadow of Osama bin Laden's old network. Now the deadly U.S. attack on its leadership has complicated its prospects. US drone attack warfare plan for East Africa risky (The East African) http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/US+drone+attack+warfare+plan+for+East+Africa +risky+/-/2558/1246484/-/7ppmrqz/-/ 2 October 2011 By Kevin Kelley In moving to expand its use of pilotless surveillance and attack aircraft in East Africa, the Obama administration has calculated that the potential military benefits of intensified drone warfare outweigh the political risks of such a strategy. Libya And Touareg: Balance Changes Along Desert Routes Analysis (Eurasia Review) http://www.eurasiareview.com/02102011-libya-and-touareg-balance-changes-alongdesert-routes-analysis/ 2 October 2011 By MISNA The conflict in Libya has had only negative consequences on the Touareg community of the Sahel-Saharan region. This is an area of the future, that will increasingly be the focus of attention, for both great powers of terrorist or criminal networks.said Touareg, Ahmed Akol, former political secretary of the former Nigerian rebel movement Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ), adding that Northern Niger is directly involved, where the Touareg have lost control of the territory, losing the economic support of the Libyan regime, and are now presented as mercenaries in the pocket of Muammar Gaddafi. Some definitions do not help our cause. Gadhafi's hometown hit hard (AP) http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/10/02/2656564/gadhafis-hometown-hithard.html 2 October 2011 By Hadeel al-Shalchi and Maggie Michael TRIPOLI, Libya Two children and their parents were killed by machine-gun fire Saturday while trying to flee Moammar Gadhafi's hometown along with hundreds of other residents, as forces loyal to the ousted regime engaged in heavy clashes with revolutionary fighters surrounding the city. Red Cross says situation 'dire' in besieged city of Sirte (AFP)

http://www.france24.com/en/20111001-libya-gaddafi-sirte-arab-spring-nationaltransitional-counciil-red-cross 2 October 2011 By News Wires The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned of a medical emergency in Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, which is continuing to resist forces loyal to Libya's National Transitional Council. Democracy Steadily Takes Root In Africa (NPR) http://m.npr.org/news/front/140919689?singlePage=true 1 October 2011 By Alan Greenblatt The international spotlight has been on North Africa this year, where Arab autocrats have been overthrown by government opponents seeking democracy in three separate countries Libya, Egypt and Tunisia. Why dictators now face civilian revolt, from Syria to Swaziland (The Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2011/0930/Why-dictators-now-face-civilianrevolt-from-Syria-to-Swaziland 30 September 2011 By Scott Baldauf Authoritarian regimes are crumbling across North Africa; street protests are rocking capitals from Syria to Swaziland. Is the age of dictators finally over? Democracy or Prosperity, Which Comes First (Ghana Web) http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=220434 2 October 2011 By Kofi Akosah-Sarpong As Africas democracy gradually evolves, the arguments are whether Africa should concentrate on creating prosperity first and then grow its democracy later or build up its democracy first and then use it to develop its prosperity. This thinking has come about because of the on-going democratic revolutions occurring in Africa, in places such as Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, and multi-party democratic elections after elections have become recurring rituals. Kidnappers flee with French woman to Somalia (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/10/20111019325983270.html 1 October 2011 By Agencies Tourism minister says men made off with their elderly hostage after gun battle on Kenyan coast where she was kidnapped. Kenya Coastguard Surrounds Kidnap Boat (Daily Nation, Nairobi) http://allafrica.com/stories/201110010120.html 1 October 2011

By Galgalo Bocha Two Kenyan coastguard vessels have surrounded a boat carrying gunmen and an elderly French woman kidnapped early Saturday. AU forces in Somalia get 3,000-troop boost (The Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2011/0928/With-support-Malicould-provide-a-rare-democracy-success-story 30 September 2011 By Alex Thurston Somalias Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is battling Al Shabab, a Muslim rebel movement, for control of the southern part of the country. Assisting the TFG in this campaign is the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM), which has around 9,000 soldiers drawn primarily from Uganda and Burundi. In August, Al Shabab completed a tactical withdrawal from Somalias capital Mogadishu, allowing the TFG to extend its control over much of the city. Conquering the rest of southern Somalia, however, will prove very difficult. Nigeria marks independence amid bomb fears (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/10/201110111284141407.html 1 October 2011 By Agencies President vows to secure his country following deadly blasts that recently targeted a UN building in the capital Abuja. 43 Killed in Insurgent Fighting in Lower Jubba, Gedo Regions (Garowe Online, Garowe Puntland) http://allafrica.com/stories/201110010103.html 1 October 2011 By Garowe Online More than 43 people have been killed and 77 wounded in days of fighting in southern Somalia's Lower Jubba and Gedo regions this week, Radio Garowe reports. South Sudan Govt Says Khartoum 'Deliberately' Delaying Withdrawing From Abyei (Sudan Tribune, Khartoum) http://allafrica.com/stories/201110020005.html 1 October 2011 By Sudan Tribune Juba South Sudan on Friday said Khartoum is deliberately delaying the withdrawal of the armed forces from the contested oil region of Abyei, after Khartoum failed to withdraw it troops by an agreed deadline. South Sudan Govt Says Khartoum 'Deliberately' Delaying Withdrawing From Abyei (Sudan Tribune, Khartoum) http://allafrica.com/stories/201110020005.html 30 September 2011 By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

Addis Ababa Some 25,000 people have arrived in Ethiopia over the last three weeks to escape fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels in Blue Nile state, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday. Can Ghana Afford to Pay the Same Price As Pakistan? (Pambazuka News) http://allafrica.com/stories/201109300631.html 29 September 2011 By Cameron Duodu South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and those with good memories can attest to the lesson of history, which is that if you want to remain friendly with the USA, keep its military at arm's length.' So why would Ghana risk souring its relationship with the US, as Pakistan has already done, by allowing it to use Ghanaian territory for military purposes? ### UN News Service Africa Briefs http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA (Full Articles on UN Website) Security Council calls for increase in African peace force in Somalia to 12,000 30 September The Security Council today called on the African Union to urgently increase the strength of its peacekeeping force in Somalia to its mandated level of 12,000 to enable it to better carry out its UN-authorized mandate to stabilize the war-torn country. ### Upcoming Events of Interest: WHAT: House Armed Services Committees Panel on Defense Finbancial Management and Auditability Reform TOPIC: Is the Financial Management Workforce Positioned to Achieve DODs Financial Improvement Goals? WHEN: Thursday, October 6, 2011, at 8 a.m. BRIEFERS: Ms Sandra A. Gregory, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Office of Financial Workforce Management, U.S. Department of Defense; The Honorable Mary Sally Matiella, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), Department of the Army; The Honorable Gladys J. Commons, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller), Department of the Navy; The Honorable Jamie M. Morin, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller), Department of the Air Force WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building - 2118 MORE INFORMATION: http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/hearingsdisplay?ContentRecord_id=8a20a682-e6ab-41a4-8b2c-

cb8e036821e0&ContentType_id=14f995b9-dfa5-407a-9d3556cc7152a7ed&Group_id=13e47ffa-0753-47a7-ad5e1ba7592015c9&MonthDisplay=10&YearDisplay=2011 WHAT: Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights TOPIC: A Comprehensive Assessment of U.S. Policy Toward Sudan WHEN: Thursday, October 4, 2011, at 2 p.m. BRIEFERS: The Honorable Princeton Lyman, Special Envoy for Sudan, U.S. Department of State; Mr. Ker Aleu Deng, Emancipated slave from the Republic of South Sudan; Grard Prunier, Ph.D., Nonresident Senior Fellow, Michael S. Ansari Africa Center Atlantic Council; Mr. John Prendergast, Co-founder The Enough Project WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building - 2200 MORE INFORMATION: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1359 ### New on www.africom.mil Togo Native Returns to Africa as Part of CJTF-HOA Civil Affairs Team http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7276&lang=0 30 September 2011 By U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jarad A. Denton, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Public Affairs CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti, Sep 30, 2011 It was during a recent civil affairs mission through Djibouti that U.S. Army Reserve Corporal Kwami Koto was able to truly articulate his connection to the African continent and its people. WINDHOEK, Namibia, Sep 29, 2011 The first joint U.S. Africa Command, Joint Multinational Training Command (JMTC) and U.S. Embassy Environmental Security workshop was conducted in Windhoek, Namibia, September 27-30, 2011. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULLTEXT AFRICOM commander sees end to Libya mission (AP) http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/10/ap-africom-commander-sees-end-to-libyamission-100111/ 1 October 2011 By Lolita C. Baldor WASHINGTON The military mission in Libya is largely complete and NATOs involvement could begin to wrap up as soon as this coming week after allied leaders meet in Brussels, according to the top U.S. commander for Africa. Army Gen. Carter Ham, head of U.S. Africa Command, told The Associated Press that American military leaders are expected to give NATO ministers their assessment of the situation during meetings late in the week.

NATO could decide to end the mission even though ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi is still at large and his forces are still entrenched in strongholds such as Sirte and Bani Walid. NATOs decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, agreed on Sept. 21 to extend the mission over the oil-rich North African nation for another 90 days, but officials have said the decision would be reviewed periodically. Ham said that the National Transitional Council and its forces should be in reasonable control of population centers before the end of the NATO mission, dubbed Unified Protector. He said they are close to that now. When NATO makes its decision, Ham said he believes there would be a seamless transition of control over the air and maritime operations to U.S. Africa Command. At least initially, some of the military surveillance coverage would remain in place. We dont want to go from whats there now to zero overnight, Ham said. There will be some missions that will need to be sustained for some period of time, if for no other reason than to offer assurances to the interim government for things like border security, until such time that they are ready to do all that themselves. U.S. intelligence and surveillance assets, such as drones, will likely stay in the region also to keep watch over weapons caches, to prevent the proliferation of weapons from Libya into neighboring countries. But Ham said air strikes would likely end, unless specifically requested by the Libyan transitional government. NATO took over command of the mission in March, after it was initially led by the U.S. in the early days of the bombing campaign. The mission was designed to enforce a U.N. resolution allowing the imposition of a no-fly zone and military action to protect the citizens. The aggressive bombing runs that battered Gadhafi forces, weapons, air control, and other key targets, gave the revolutionary forces the time and breathing room to organize and begin to push into Gadhafi strongholds. A key turning point came about a month ago when the fighters were able to seize Tripoli, effectively ending Gadhafis rule. The National Transitional Council has taken over the leadership of the nation and is promising to set up its new interim government, even as it continues to fight forces still loyal to the fugitive leader. Ham said NATO need not wait until Gadhafi is found and forced out of the country before ending the Libyan mission.

The fact that he is still at large some place is really more a matter for the Libyans than it is for anybody else, said Ham, adding that President Barack Obama and other leaders made it clear that the object of the mission was about protecting the people, not killing Gadhafi. The goal now, said Ham, is for the U.S. to eventually establish a normal, military-tomilitary relationship with Libya, including embassy staff and discussions about what security assistance the Libyans might want from America. He said he doesnt see a major U.S. role in training or other military assistance, because other Arab nations are better suited for that. He added that the U.S. may be able to help re-establish Libyas Coast Guard and maritime domain. Any U.S. military footprint in the country would remain small probably less than two dozen troops at the embassy to work as staff and perform security.

### Strike on Aulaqi demonstrates collaboration between CIA and military (Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/strike-on-aulaqi-demonstratescollaboration-between-cia-and-military/2011/09/30/gIQAD8xHBL_story.html 1 October 2011 By Greg Miller Traveling from secret bases on opposite sides of Yemen, armed drones from the CIA and the militarys Joint Special Operations Command converged above Anwar al-Aulaqis position in northern Yemen early Friday and unleashed a flurry of missiles. US officials said the CIA was in control of all the aircraft, as well as the decisions to fire, and that the operation was so seamless that even hours later, it remained unclear whether a drone supplied by the CIA or the military fired the missile that ended the al-Qaeda leaders life. Aulaqis death represents the latest, and perhaps most literal, illustration to date of the convergence between the CIA and the nations elite military units in the counterterrorism fight. President Obama described Aulaqis death as a tribute to our intelligence community and gave credit to Yemeni security forces who, he said, had worked closely with the United States over the course of several years.

But after a decade of often inconclusive efforts against al-Qaeda, the Obama administration has relied on new levels of collaboration between the CIA and JSOC to push the terrorist network closer to collapse. In May, U.S. Navy SEALS who serve under JSOC killed Osama bin Laden during a raid deep into Pakistan that relied on intelligence and covert action authority from the CIA. At the same time, the administration has sought to put new pressure on al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen and Somalia by surrounding those countries with a constellation of drone bases. These include a new CIA facility in the Arabian peninsula that played a key role in Fridays operation. U.S. drones also fly from military installations in Djibouti, Ethiopia and the Seychelles. Even leadership ranks have begun to blur: Former CIA director Leon E. Panetta is now secretary of defense; David H. Petraeus, previously the military commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, is just weeks into his new assignment as head of the CIA. The attack on Aulaqi blended capabilities from both sides and was carried out under CIA authority that allowed for greater latitude in conducting lethal operations outside conventional war zones. The military aircraft came across the Gulf of Aden from Djibouti, which has been the primary base for JSOC drones patrolling Yemen for much of the past year. U.S. officials said that CIA drones involved in the strike took off from an agency base in the Arabian peninsula so new that it had become operational only in recent weeks. The opening of that base was part of a two-pronged strategy by the administration to exploit JSOCs ability to work closely with Yemens counterterrorism units on the ground while pushing the CIA to replicate aspects of its lethally efficient drone campaign in Pakistan. The Post has agreed not to disclose the exact location of the new CIA drone base at the request of the Obama administration. Even before that facility was completed, the agency was escalating pressure on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as the groups Yemenbased offshoot is known. Last year, the CIA created a new counterterrorism unit known as YSD, or the YemenSomalia Department, in which dozens of targeting specialists comb over raw intelligence and other data searching for clues to the whereabouts of al-Qaeda figures. A senior U.S. official briefed on Fridays operation said that the CIA and JSOC had Aulaqi under intermittent surveillance for roughly two weeks before the strike. It was unclear what caused the delay in firing the missiles, but the officials cited concerns about civilian casualties and collateral damage in Yemen.

Aulaqi had survived previous strikes, including a near-hit in May in which the Americanborn operative, who was described Friday as al-Qaedas external operations chief in Yemen, switched vehicles just in time to see the one he had abandoned be destroyed. The recent strikes followed a long lull in U.S. attacks after an initial flurry of bombings in Yemen in late 2009 and early 2010. Last year, senior Obama administration officials said that leading al-Qaeda figures, including Aulaqi, had gone deep into hiding after those preliminary attacks and that intelligence on their whereabouts was scant. That picture began to change this year, driven by developments on several key fronts. As AQAP began to eclipse the core al-Qaeda group in Pakistan as a national security threat, the CIA and JSOC significantly ramped up their presence in Yemen to bolster the intelligence hunt. The agency also expanded its liaison relationship with Saudi Arabia, which closely tracks Yemens neighboring clans. At the same time, internal turmoil prompted Yemens beleaguered government to see AQAP as a more potent internal threat. U.S. officials said that Yemens cooperation improved in recent months even as the nations president, U.S. ally Ali Abdullah Saleh, was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment after being severely burned in a bombing. White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said earlier this month that counterterrorism cooperation with Yemen is better than its been during my whole tenure. Officials said that new cooperation has included better intelligence on AQAP and the locations of its operatives. Aulaqi became a priority target for the CIA and JSOC and the first U.S. citizen to appear on the agencys secret kill list largely because of the reach of his fiery English-language sermons online and his efforts to direct AQAP attacks on the United States. The native of New Mexico had direct links to a series of plots. He had corresponded by email with Nidal Hasan, the U.S. Army major accused of a deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Tex. U.S. officials said Aulaqi also directed a Ni-ger-ian student who smuggled a bomb aboard a Detroit-bound airliner in 2009 to wait to detonate the device until the plane had entered U.S. airspace. In addition to Aulaqi, a second U.S. citizen, Samir Khan, 25, a propagandist who helped produce al-Qaedas Inspire magazine, was killed in Fridays drone strike. ### Questions and answers about Yemen-based al-Qaida (AP) http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Questions-and-answers-about-Yemen-based-alQaida-2197081.php

30 September 2011 By Kimberly Dozier WASHINGTON (AP) Based in the Yemeni tribal hinterlands but possessing global ambitions, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has become the most active and lethal of the affiliates to emerge from the shadow of Osama bin Laden's old network. Now the deadly U.S. attack on its leadership has complicated its prospects. Some questions and answers about the group, the attack that killed the radical U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki along with three other operatives, and the latest on al-Qaida's world franchises: Q: What is al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula? A: Formed in 2006 after two dozen al-Qaida members escaped from a Yemeni prison, the organization, then known as al-Qaida in Yemen, pulled off its biggest attack two years later. Two vehicle bombs exploded outside the U.S. Embassy compound in the capital, killing 19 people including six terrorists. This followed a period of small-arms attacks on tourists and mortar attacks against the U.S. and Italian Embassies, the presidential compound and Yemeni military fortifications. In 2009, the organization became al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, uniting Yemeni and Saudi operatives under the same umbrella and signaling its intention to serve as a hub for regional attacks against local, U.S. and other Western interests in both countries. U.S. officials say this is when the group began pursuing a global strategy. ___ Q: Why was the U.S. so intent on killing al-Awlaki, just one of the group's leaders? A: They considered him the group's prime figure both in directing and inspiring plots within the U.S. They also saw him as a potent recruiter of Americans willing to carry out terrorism inside the country. U.S. officials have said they believe al-Awlaki inspired Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is charged in the attack that killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas. The two exchanged as many as 20 emails, U.S. officials say. In New York, the PakistaniAmerican who pleaded guilty to the attempted Times Square bombing last year said he was inspired by al-Awlaki after making contact over the Internet. They also say he assumed direct planning duties in the foiled bombing aboard a Detroitbound airliner and in a failed attempt to crash two U.S. cargo aircraft by detonating explosives inside two packages mailed to the U.S. "His sole purpose was to attack the U.S.," said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Rogers said al-Awlaki was "trying to devise ways around U.S. security procedures at all levels."

The death of the charismatic cleric was not the only blow to the organization's ability to spread its message and in English. Samir Khan, editor of the polished Jihadi online magazine and another U.S. citizen, also was killed in the assault. ___ Q: How did this attack differ from the raid that killed bin Laden inside his Pakistani compound? A: Once again, the U.S. counterterrorism unit known as the Joint Special Operations Command crossed into a sovereign nation's territory to kill a wanted man. But there the similarities end. U.S. forces flew into Pakistan and placed themselves on the ground without the foreknowledge of the Pakistani government. The drone attack on al-Awlaki's convoy unfolded with crucial assistance from Yemeni intelligence, which pinpointed and continued to monitor his location. U.S. fighter jets were also part of the mission, ready to strike quickly if the drones missed their mark, as they did the last time they targeted alAwlaki, on May 5, just days after the bin Laden raid in Pakistan. Why were the Yemenis so helpful? Yemeni authorities have come under increasing attack from al-Qaida in their midst and in turn have expanded their cooperation with U.S. counterterrorism operations. The attack's command structure also was unusual, with the counterterrorism unit and the CIA working side by side, sharing intelligence and tracking and ultimately firing on the target. Both fly armed drones. The CIA directed the bin Laden raid. ___ Q: How much is the U.S. attack likely to hurt the capabilities of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula? A: It's too soon to know. Some intelligence officials say it should immediately cripple the organization's ability to carry out attacks on the United States, but it won't stop the movement's internal fight against the Yemeni government. Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official, called it a serious setback for the organization but not a fatal blow. "In fact alQaida is getting stronger every day in Yemen as the country descends into civil war and breaks apart," he said. At least for the short term, the attack is a striking propaganda defeat for the organization, and one that crimps its ability to communicate with those in the West and recruit them. Al-Awlaki was a galvanizing figure who could motivate Westerners to take action on their own, said Christopher Boucek, a Yemen expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "I don't want to say he's irreplaceable, but I don't know who else could fill his shoes." ___ Q: What is the state of other terrorist organizations operating under the al-Qaida banner and devoted to attacking Americans and the West?

A: Yemen's al-Qaida branch may be the leading threat, but it's not the only one. The original group, now led by bin Laden successor Ayman al-Zawahiri, continues to plot and train would-be suicide attackers in Pakistan's tribal areas though those efforts are hampered by a barrage of CIA drone strikes. Other splinter groups such as Africa-based al-Qaida in the Islamic Magreb, Somaliabased al-Shabaab and Boko Haram pose a "significant threat" in the African continent, but also to the United States, according to Army Gen. Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command. "Those three organizations have very explicitly and publicly voiced an intent to target Westerners and the U.S. specifically," Ham said. "I have questions about their ability to do so; I have no question about their intent to do so, and that to me is very worrying." An even bigger concern, he said, is that the three are looking for ways to work together more closely. He said this is most apparent in efforts by al-Qaida in the Islamic Magreb, which is focused mainly on North Africa, and Boko Haram, a radical Muslim sect that wants strict Shariah law in Nigeria. ### US drone attack warfare plan for East Africa risky (The East African) http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/US+drone+attack+warfare+plan+for+East+Africa +risky+/-/2558/1246484/-/7ppmrqz/-/ 2 October 2011 By Kevin Kelley In moving to expand its use of pilotless surveillance and attack aircraft in East Africa, the Obama administration has calculated that the potential military benefits of intensified drone warfare outweigh the political risks of such a strategy. The Washington Post reported that the US is building bases for drones in Ethiopia and on the Arabian Peninsula while arming Somalia-focused drones launched from the Seychelles. The US is also continuing to fly drones from its long-established base in Djibouti. In addition, the Pentagon has supplied Ugandan and Burundian troops in Somalia with at least four hand-launched reconnaissance drones. These moves reflect the Obama administrations decision to escalate its war on militants in Somalia and Yemen who it identifies as terrorists. Increasing reliance on drones also enables the US to fight this war at a distance that will ensure its own forces do not sustain casualties that would cause political problems at home.

The US will likely be criticised in global forums on the grounds that it is undermining international human rights law by carrying out remote-control killings in countries with which it is not formally at war. PlayStation mentality to killing Philip Alston, an international law expert employed by the UN to investigate extrajudicial killings, warned earlier this year that because drones make it easier to kill without risk to a states forces, policymakers and commanders will be tempted to interpret the legal limitations on who can be killed, and under what circumstances, too expansively.

Alston further cited the risk of developing a PlayStation mentality to killing. He noted that drones are controlled by technicians thousands of miles away who rely on computer programs and video feeds in carrying out push-button missile launches. There is also the danger that drone strikes will turn civilian populations in East Africa against the US, as has occurred in Pakistan. Revulsion over this type of warfare stems in part from the collateral destruction that the drones are said to have caused in Pakistan villages. The Pentagon claims that its drone attacks on targets in Pakistan have killed hundreds of Al Qaeda fighters while sparing civilians. That assertion of 100 per cent accuracy has been met with scepticism on the part of some investigators. The British Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports, for example, that the number of Pakistani civilians killed by drone-fired weapons is somewhere between 385 and 775 out of as many as 2863 deaths due to drone attacks. ### Libya And Touareg: Balance Changes Along Desert Routes Analysis (Eurasia Review) http://www.eurasiareview.com/02102011-libya-and-touareg-balance-changes-alongdesert-routes-analysis/ 2 October 2011 By MISNA The conflict in Libya has had only negative consequences on the Touareg community of the Sahel-Saharan region. This is an area of the future, that will increasingly be the focus of attention, for both great powers of terrorist or criminal networks.said Touareg, Ahmed Akol, former political secretary of the former Nigerian rebel movement Niger

Movement for Justice (MNJ), adding that Northern Niger is directly involved, where the Touareg have lost control of the territory, losing the economic support of the Libyan regime, and are now presented as mercenaries in the pocket of Muammar Gaddafi. Some definitions do not help our cause. The media, especially the French, have so far concentrated on speculation that Muammar Qadhafi is near the Libyan border protected by the Touareg. Some sources also report that the Touareg have recently received a lot of weapons from Libya. Libya Qaddafis support for the Touareg movement in fact is no secret. In the past some of their movements fighting against their governments, especially in Niger and Mali, passed through Libya. In the mid 90s, the Colonel was a mediator in the peace process between governments and their rebellions. According to Akola, The area of Agadez, which has always been disparaged and ignored by the central government in Niamey, (which) has received investment from Tripoli. The local market is supplied primarily on products that come from Libya. The first conflict was a direct result of higher prices and greater economic hardship for the population. Akola said that Its not just for this reason that the fate of the Touareg is at risk despite changes in power and representation in institutions, those who really hold power in Niger, or the army, remains in the hands of Zarma. And there will be some time before we see the benefits of small improvements made in local development. In this context, many young people without prospects, eventually taking up arms. The biggest fear is that they should do this while exploited by criminal groups that are native to our area, I am referring for example to the Salafists, groups linked to al-Qaida, which have nothing to do with the Touareg movements, Akola said. The borders of the desert are very lucrative for smugglers and criminals. The biggest business, says the leader of the MNJ, is that of drugs. We are on a route that carries the drugs coming from Latin America to Europe. The area is of strategic importance. It is also important for the great powers, from Paris to Beijing, for the control of natural resources. The Sahara desert contains uranium, oil and gas. Energy resources that prompt Tchangari Moussa, Secretary General of the network Alternative Espace Citoyen to say that the true purpose of the destabilization of Libya was to gain control over the entire range Saharan Africa, from the north of Chad and Mauritania. According to Moussa, The area could also be of interest to Washington, looking for a

solid foundation for Africom, the U.S. military command that should serve Africa, officially, for counter terrorism. Before the decolonization France wanted to found a state of the Sahel, which would cut off the countries of those regions where the resources are, added Moussa. For this reason and others, the nomadic Touareg rebellions, once masters of the desert, were once considered legitimate by the same forces that today are accusing (them). Apparently now the Touareg have lost any support in this country, according to Moussa, who does not belong to the Touareg community and is the chief editor of Alternative Hebdo. The new game that is emerging on the Sahelian chessboard does not portend to a future of peace and stability. Both Moussa and Akol said that the first beneficiaries of the conflict will be organizations such as Al Qaeda, who will find thanks to western occupation reason to spread insecurity and a motivation to enter the territory. That said, so far, few voices are being raised in the local Touareg community, a proud community, but also one that is volatile. Reports or complaints that come up in the international media often come from the diaspora and are difficult to verify. Additionally, some people talk about the massacre of Touareg in Libya by the insurgency. However, it is not easy to distinguish who among the sub-Saharan groups, was in Libya serivng in Qadhafis armed forces and who was there to work and seek a life of dignity, having unfairly suffered abuse and discrimination. In this story the media have a great responsibility here too, in Niger, we see the same rehashed news, untested, without weighing the consequences, Moussa said. ### Gadhafi's hometown hit hard (AP) http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/10/02/2656564/gadhafis-hometown-hithard.html 2 October 2011 By Hadeel al-Shalchi and Maggie Michael TRIPOLI, Libya Two children and their parents were killed by machine-gun fire Saturday while trying to flee Moammar Gadhafi's hometown along with hundreds of other residents, as forces loyal to the ousted regime engaged in heavy clashes with revolutionary fighters surrounding the city.

Their bodies were brought to a makeshift hospital outside Sirte, said a doctor there, Nuri Naari. They were hit by machine-gun fire as they drove toward the positions of revolutionary forces on the edges of the city, he said. It was unclear who killed them. Sirte is one of the last cities to remain in loyalist hands. After months of stalemate in Libya's civil war, anti-Gadhafi forces swept into the capital in August and their leaders set up a transitional government. But the continued fighting in holdout cities and the failure to find and capture Gadhafi has kept Libya's new leaders from being able to declare victory. Revolutionary forces had given families inside Sirte two days to leave the city starting Friday, said Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, head of the National Transitional Council that now runs the country. They tried to keep a safe corridor open for civilians fleeing the coastal city. Hundreds of cars carrying Sirte residents formed long lines at revolutionary forces' checkpoints leading out of the city, calmly waiting to be checked by the fighters as explosions echoed in the distance. Also Saturday, the International Committee of the Red Cross sent a team including a doctor into Sirte to deliver medical supplies to a hospital. In a press statement, the ICRC said there were 200 wounded people at the Ibn Sina hospital, which had shortages of fuel for its generator, as well as body bags and dressing kits. Because of security conditions the ICRC said the team had to leave before assessing the humanitarian needs of civilians, but was able to speak to Sirte representatives who reported water and food shortages. After weeks of fighting Gadhafi's loyalists inside Sirte, the fighters now hold positions about three miles from the city center, said commander Mustafa al-Rubaie. Last week, the Libyan Defense Ministry announced that Sirte's port, airport and military base were all under their control. ### Red Cross says situation 'dire' in besieged city of Sirte (AFP) http://www.france24.com/en/20111001-libya-gaddafi-sirte-arab-spring-nationaltransitional-counciil-red-cross 2 October 2011 By News Wires AFP - People are dying due to lack of basic medical care in Sirte, the Red Cross said Saturday after it visited Moamer Kadhafi's besieged hometown and saw the hospital there hit by rockets.

"It's a dire situation," Hichem Khadhraoui of the International Committee of the Red Cross told AFP, adding that a team he led had delivered 300 "war wounded kits" and about 150 body bags. Medical personnel at the city's Ibn Sima hospital told the Red Cross that "because of lack of oxygen and fuel for the generator people are dying," he said from his base in the nearby city of Misrata.

Other wounded or ill people cannot get to the hospital because of the fighting and NATO airstrikes, Khadhraoui said. "Several rockets landed within the hopsital buildings while we were there," he said. "We saw a lot of indiscriminate fire. I don't know where it was coming from." After the ICRC team went in, National Transitional Council fighters launched a ferocious attack with rockets, anti-tank cannons and machine gun fire from a position less than a kilometre from the hospital. Kadhafi loyalists responded with mortar and sniper fire. "We were surprised" that the attack took place while the Red Crosss team was visiting, Khadhraoui said, adding that they had "contacted all parties to say we were going in." The hospital's water tower has been hit and they have to bring in water from outside, he said. The war wounded kits delivered include drips, drugs, gauze and other medical equipment, Khadhraoui said. The Red Cross has been has been trying for weeks to enter Sirte. It sought to bring medical supplies in by boat but abandoned that idea because of security concerns. Khadhraoui's team on Saturday included a doctor, a first aid medic and a logistician, he said. "Oxygen is the main thing they asked for," he said. The ICRC did not carry out a full assessment of the hospital's medical needs and not visit the wards. They hope to return soon to bring in more aid. Sirte, one of the last two hold-outs of Kadhafi loyalists, has been besieged by NTC fighters since mid-September. Thousands of residents have fled the city. ### Democracy Steadily Takes Root In Africa (NPR) http://m.npr.org/news/front/140919689?singlePage=true

1 October 2011 By Alan Greenblatt The international spotlight has been on North Africa this year, where Arab autocrats have been overthrown by government opponents seeking democracy in three separate countries Libya, Egypt and Tunisia. But farther south on the continent, a less dramatic democratic trend has been playing out for years. Seventeen of the 49 nations in sub-Saharan Africa are holding national elections this year. That's partly an accident of timing. But it's also a sign that holding power in Africa these days increasingly requires a leader to hold regular elections. To cite just one recent example, longtime opposition leader Michael Sata won the presidency in the Sept. 20 election in Zambia. "Once you have an opposition winning elections and assuming power, then that's a quantum leap toward democracy and the rule of law," says John Campbell, a senior fellow in Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Not All Elections Are Equal Many African countries lack independent media and election commissions or competitive opposition parties. Several countries have been ruled by the same autocrat for decades or have a leader who succeeded his own father. Even when open elections are held, things don't always go smoothly. In countries where ethnic, religious or geographical differences have political resonance, elections can exacerbate those tensions. That was the case in Ivory Coast last year. The November election was seen as fair, and the opposition candidate, Alassane Ouattara, defeated the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo. But Gbagbo refused to give up power, triggering months of fighting that left some 3,000 people dead before he was ousted. Ouattara, who is now president, was in Washington a week ago at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank. He said the 2010 crisis could be traced back to 2000, when the country failed to settle political differences with a vote. "This led to rebellion and agreements that were never fully implemented until we finally got to a national election" last year, he said. Elections Become More Common

Before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, only five countries in Africa held competitive elections on a regular basis, according to Staffan Lindberg, a political scientist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. But the arrival of democracy in Eastern Europe and elsewhere also had an impact on Africa. "Something like 40 of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa now have regular, multiparty elections," says Nicolas van de Walle, a government professor at Cornell University. In some cases, elections are held mainly for show, van de Walle says, something that both domestic constituencies and the international community demand. "Even the worst dictators have accommodated themselves to the new expectation that you're supposed to be democratic," he says. Where Democracy Succeeds Some countries, such as Zimbabwe and Djibouti, hold elections that are essentially meaningless, according to analysts. Many others have taken only halting steps toward elections that can be considered free or fair. But elections can also be part of a process that trains citizens of a nation to resolve their conflicts peacefully, says Lindberg. Countries such as Liberia and Sudan have used elections as a bridge out of periods of civil war toward reconciliation. In Zambia, building up the institutions that support and succor a democracy has been a slow process. But the baby steps Zambia took may have led not only to a "change election," but also to something more enduring than the cycle of elections followed by conflict or coups seen in many African nations. North Africa Catching Up Democracy is difficult. It can sometimes take a generation or longer for a country to move from dictatorship to a stable democracy that is upheld by new leaders and stronger institutions. "North Africa and the Middle East are only embracing democracy now," says Denis Kadima, director of the Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa, based in Johannesburg. "The revolution has taken place, but democratization is still to come." What protesters in places such as Egypt and Tunisia have been clamoring for this year changes in leadership and real elections are already becoming more the norm in subSaharan Africa.

It's good to think of Tahrir Square the heart of the protest movement in Cairo "as catching up, rather than leading," says John Stremlau, vice president for peace programs at the Carter Center. Elections might be faulty and often unfair, but each time one is held, it opens up the opportunity for citizens to demand better processes the next time around, says Lindberg, the Swedish professor, who also teaches at the University of Florida. "The Arab Spring is wonderful," he says, "but history seems to suggest that this slow process of democratization is better than a fast, revolutionary one." [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio] ### Why dictators now face civilian revolt, from Syria to Swaziland (The Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2011/0930/Why-dictators-now-face-civilianrevolt-from-Syria-to-Swaziland 30 September 2011 By Scott Baldauf Authoritarian regimes are crumbling across North Africa; street protests are rocking capitals from Syria to Swaziland. Is the age of dictators finally over? Certainly dictators have been around for thousands of years, and for every strongman turned out of office in the past few months, there are dozens still holding onto power. And yet, what protests in a growing number of countries show is that citizens have a greater sense of courageous solidarity and more tools at their disposal to throw their dictators off balance, if not out of power. "I think the statement, 'The age of dictators is over,' is a bit dramatic and too simplistic, but we have certainly reached a key point in our history," says Gene Sharp, author of an influential book for nonviolent protest, "From Dictatorship to Democracy." "The knowledge of how to get rid of dictators is spreading," Mr. Sharp says, noting that nonviolent techniques are now being used in Africa, the Middle East, and even militaryrun Burma (Myanmar). "Nonviolent struggle is not intuitive. It's not spontaneous. It's learning how to think about the problem of authoritarianism, and what to do about the problem. And that knowledge is spreading." Ousting dictators: It takes more than a smartphone It takes more than a smart phone to take on an authoritarian regime, of course.

In addition to courage, it requires organization and discipline, coordination and communication, and clever techniques to keep a regime guessing about what will come next. For this reason, protests have worked best in North Africa, where citizen networks had prepared their civil disobedience campaigns well in advance, and then adapted their methods to stay one step ahead of the security forces. They have not worked as well in sub-Saharan Africa, where citizen groups are less organized and often associated directly with political parties rather than the citizens themselves. In the early days after the Tunisian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fell, many eyes turned to Zimbabwe because of the similar factors of strong civil society on one side and the long-ruling reign of President Robert Mugabe on the other. Mr. Mugabe's own security forces were looking for signs of this revolt, going so far as arresting college students for the simple act of watching a video about the Egyptian and Tunisian revolts. The detainees were later released, although some of the charges are still pending. Citizen revolts in surprising places But citizen revolts have arisen in some surprising places. A prime example today is Swaziland's: Protests against Africa's last monarch began well before the Arab Spring erupted, and have proved more enduring than many expected thanks in part to international support. In September, Swazi citizens groups and South African labor union organizers conducted a week-long campaign of protests against the Swazi regime and against South Africa's 2.4 million rand loan to Swaziland's King Mswati III, whose government has run out of money. In the provincial town of Siteki, nearly 3,000 protesters were reported on the streets on Sept. 8, a remarkable feat in a country with just under 2 million people. And in the nation's commercial capital, another 5,000 marchers brought the city to a halt. Their anger is aimed primarily at King Mswati, who spends lavishly on himself and his family including at least a dozen wives and loads up Africa's most bloated bureaucracy with personal supporters and friends. His country is currently in arrears of about $180 million (roughly the same amount as the king's personal fortune), has failed to pay teacher and other civil servant salaries for months, and has been urged by the International Monetary Fund to get its finances in order through massive cuts in public spending. Swazi citizens simply demand a government that functions. "In the past, in the late 1990s, we would just hold demonstrations and sit-ins, but then we realized we weren't getting much progress in terms of the government making changes, so we took it to the second level, with border blockades to try to frustrate the economic

relations between Swaziland and South Africa, and we did that in coordination with trade unions in South Africa," says Sikhumbuzo Phakathi, secretary-general of the banned People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO). The movement has steadily gathered force. At first it was citizens groups protesting, Mr. Phakathi adds. Now civil servants and teachers are joining in, along with churches. In mid-September senior members of South Africa's top labor movement, which supports South Africa's ruling government, were arrested and deported after appearing at a protest rally in Manzini. Their eyewitness report of police using rubber bullets, tear gas, and live bullets to disperse protesters has helped to amplify the accusations of groups like PUDEMO. "What this has done is it brought the attention of the world to Swaziland," says Phakathi. "When we say that there is corruption and brutality by the regime, and people don't see it, then people won't do anything. But these protests show the world that the regime responds with violence." Malawi, too, has seen a well-coordinated series of protest marches in cities and towns across that impoverished country challenge the authority of President Bingu wa Mutharika. The protests seemed to take Mr. Mutharika by surprise, and he responded by firing his security chief for failing to shut down the protests and by reshuffling his cabinet. Overcoming fear is only a first step For Sharp, who has become a mentor for liberation movements as far away as Burma, Lithuania, Serbia, and, more recently, Syria, the beginning of the end for a dictatorship is when citizens stop fearing the regime. But that's not enough. "It all depends on what you are going to do when you are not afraid," he says. "Dictators depend on our cooperation and obedience. All you have to do is cut the source of their power, and the dictatorship starves; and you do that by peeling away the civil servants, the police, and the military. Without the obedience of these people, the regime has no control, and it will crumble." ### Democracy or Prosperity, Which Comes First (Ghana Web) http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=220434 2 October 2011 By Kofi Akosah-Sarpong

As Africas democracy gradually evolves, the arguments are whether Africa should concentrate on creating prosperity first and then grow its democracy later or build up its democracy first and then use it to develop its prosperity. This thinking has come about because of the on-going democratic revolutions occurring in Africa, in places such as Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, and multi-party democratic elections after elections have become recurring rituals. Despite its global hypothesis, in the African context, the democracy-or-prosperity arguments wheel around Africas largely enviably untapped wealth and the continents painful dark political history where totalitarianism of all brands had been the order of the day. So whether prosperity first, democracy second, or the other way around will be determined by Africas political history in the past 50 years. In most parts of Africa independence from colonial rule saw authoritarian one-partysystems and military juntas dominating the political scene. The erroneous thinking, as Kofi Abrefa Busia, a former Prime Minister of Ghana, explained, was that democracy was thought to be alien to Africans thought and way of life, and that the only language Africans understands is despotism that emanates from the African culture. As Ghana under Kwame Nkrumah witnessed, the argument was that authoritarian one-party system will bring rapid prosperity by controlling all dissent and freedoms. Still, as military juntas in Southeast Asia such as South Korea or South America such as Brazil had done, the thinking was that Africas then mushrooming military juntas such as Uganda under Gen. Idi Amin will either be able to use their military discipline for either speedy advancement or laid the foundation for swift progress. In all this, the so-called rapid prosperity didnt happen Africa became more backward materially than before despite its immensely endowed human and natural wealth. Rather, the military juntas and the one-party systems left in its wake muddled thinking, oppression, deaths, confusion, state paralysis and state collapse, civil wars, endemic corruptions, tribalism, and constant fear and threats. In Libya, a key face of Africas current democratic revolution, despite is immense oil wealth with a population of only 6.6 million; its problem is that for 42 years it has been despotically rule by Muarmmar Gaddafi. Despite having per capita income of about US$13,000, average life expectancy of 77 years, UN Human Development Index at 53th position out of 170 countries graded (high at 2010 rankings) and literacy rate of about 90 percent, the schisms between democracy and prosperity saw a civil war for democracy and freedoms break out in the face of dictatorial practices where freedoms were brutally suppressed. On the other hand, Botswana, Africas longest democracy star, has about a third of Libyas population, and a little better than Libyas per capita income (at US$15,489). Botswanas UN Human Development Index is at the 98th position (medium at 2010 rankings). But Botswana has been able to balance democracy and prosperity ever since it got independence from Britain in 1966 and its people enjoy greater peace, freedoms and democratic tenets for the past 44 years under the long-ruling Botswana Democratic Party.

Unlike Libya, Botswanas democracy has come with it sound accountability and transparency. Transparency International reports that Botswana is the least corrupt country in Africa. In the course of the Libyan democratic revolution, an anti-corruption worker who spoke to Transparency Internationals Arab branch said, It wasnt safe to fight corruption. If you opposed the government, you would disappear. We were careful. But now we are ready to work. The lesson from the Libyan and other African states perturbations is that when a country is prosperous its people want more freedoms. Libya had been undemocratic for the past 42 years. Till the democratic revolution, Libya had put economic development first for prosperity but missed out in opening the democratic field (as South Korea, Chile and Taiwan did) and saw Gaddafi blew its authoritarian regime into pieces. Most Africans states, after gaining independence from European colonial rule had put democracy ahead of economic development but didnt prosper and went back to despotism that sent most into turbulence. Botswana and Mauritius experiences teach that there have to be skillful grafting of prosperity and democracy if holistic advancement is to take place without recourse to dictatorships. Botswana and Mauritius show that African governments who put democracy ahead of economic development do not slip back into tyranny. The 2009 Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, limited to sub-Sahara Africa, measures the health of African governance practices using different variables. The Indexs 2009 report revealed that Mauritius has the highest rank of participation and human rights and sustainable economic opportunity. With a per capita income of US$14,097, Mauritius came second in the rule of law. In the UN Human Development Index, Mauritius ranked 72nd out of 170 countries measured (high in the 2010 rankings). The African understanding indicates that democracy and prosperity should be simultaneously affixed in the proposition for Africas sustainable progress. The Botswana and Mauritius successful models that are gradually been replicated Africa-wide is captured in The Prospects for Democracy in Africa (1961) by Kofi Abrefa Busia when he asked: The question which we cannot avoid asking is whether economic development and nation building must mean authoritarianism and denial of freedom. Is it true that roads, railways, houses, harbours, factories and the like can only be quickly built under dictatorial forms of government? ### Kidnappers flee with French woman to Somalia (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/10/20111019325983270.html 1 October 2011 By Agencies Tourism minister says men made off with their elderly hostage after gun battle on Kenyan coast where she was kidnapped.

Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima said yesterday, that a top commander of the deadly sect, Boko Haram has been arrested alongside five other members. With the arrest, a relieved Governor Shettima who confirmed it to the Associated Press said, "I believe the worst is over". Somali kidnappers have escaped into Somalia with their French hostage hours after a gun battle with Kenyan security forces who were trying to free the elderly and disabled woman, a cabinet minister said. "They've crossed the border into Ras Kamboni. There are two aircraft on top of them monitoring their position," Najib Balala, the tourism minister, told the Reuters news agency on Saturday. Earlier, Kenyan coastguards had mounted a search for 66-year-old Marie Dedidue Manrd's, who was kidnapped in the early hours of Saturday from the north Kenyan coast in Ras Kitau near Manda Beach. Balala said some of the kidnappers had been wounded in the gun battle. "We can see that a few of the [kidnappers] are injured. They are 25km away from the Kenya border," he said, confirming the group were now on land. Residents said the abduction, the second in three weeks involving a foreigner, appeared to have been a planned, targeted attack, according to witnesses. The armed gang landed on Manda island by boat and fired several gunshots before ordering the woman, her boyfriend and the house-helps to lie face to the floor. One of the gunmen grabbed the victim and carried her to an awaiting boat. Her Kenyan boyfriend, John Lepapa, said: "All they were saying was 'where is the foreigner, where is the foreigner?'". Lepapa, 39, said he had been questioned by counter-terrorism police several hours after the attack and that he and his partner had returned two days earlier from France, where they spend part of the year. "My girlfriend pleaded with them and told them to take whatever they wanted from the house, including the money and to spare her life," said Lepapa. "But they would not listen." The French foreign ministry had no immediate comment. 'Commotion on water channel'

Gunmen with links to Somalia have kidnapped foreign visitors on the Lamu archipelago, raising fears that organised criminal networks across the border are increasing their reach. Abdallah Sadili, who has rented out the cottage to the woman for about eight years and lives on neighbouring Lamu island, said he was woken by at least two cracks of gunfire from across the narrow channel of water. "At first I prayed and then tried to go back to sleep, but there was such a commotion across the water that I couldn't," Sadili said. "I went across the channel by boat and realised she was gone." Abu Chiaba, the legislator for Lamu East, said the gunmen raided the house under the cover of darkness. "Armed people came into Manda by boat in the middle of the night. The elderly French woman is well known in the area, she comes to Manda regularly," Chiaba told reporters. In early September, gunmen attacked British tourists at a camp resort a short speedboat ride away from Lamu, killing the man and kidnapping his wife. Somali pirates said the woman was being held in Somalia. "We have deployed a contingent of police officers to the area. The army is already there and a police helicopter is in the air," said provincial police officer Adoli Aggrey. The latest kidnapping risks dealing a serious blow to Kenya's tourism sector, a major source of foreign exchange. ### Kenya Coastguard Surrounds Kidnap Boat (Daily Nation, Nairobi) http://allafrica.com/stories/201110010120.html 1 October 2011 By Galgalo Bocha Two Kenyan coastguard vessels have surrounded a boat carrying gunmen and an elderly French woman kidnapped early Saturday. Tourism minister Najib Balala told the Reuters news agency that the standoff was taking place near the border with Somalia. "Two boats of the Kenyan coastguard have surrounded the boat which the gunmen and woman are on," said Mr Balala. The woman was kidnapped by suspected Somali pirates close to the resort island of Lamu in the Kenyan coast.

Ms Marie Dedidue Manrd, 66, a former journalist was attacked by the gunmen at Ras Kitau at around 3am Saturday. Ms Manrd, who is disabled, returned two days ago from Paris with her Kenyan partner Lepapa Ole Moiyio. Unconfirmed reports indicated that the gunmen have been cornered by the Kenyan Navy at Kiunga where there is fierce exchange of fire. The latest abduction comes three weeks after a British couple were attacked in Kiwayu. The assailants shot dead the husband and kidnapped his wife. The woman, Judith Tebbutt, was taken across the border to Somalia where she is still being held. ### AU forces in Somalia get 3,000-troop boost (The Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2011/0928/With-support-Malicould-provide-a-rare-democracy-success-story 30 September 2011 By Alex Thurston Somalias Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is battling Al Shabab, a Muslim rebel movement, for control of the southern part of the country. Assisting the TFG in this campaign is the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM), which has around 9,000 soldiers drawn primarily from Uganda and Burundi. In August, Al Shabab completed a tactical withdrawal from Somalias capital Mogadishu, allowing the TFG to extend its control over much of the city. Conquering the rest of southern Somalia, however, will prove very difficult. AMISOM commanders have long asked for greater international support and for reinforcements. In July, Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, the head of AMISOM, wrote in Foreign Policy: Virtually everything we do at AMISOM revolves around donor support. If that support were to stall now, amid our biggest gains to date, the results for Somalia would be disastrous. The extremists, now on the brink of defeat, would regroup and renew their campaign of terror not just in Somalia, but as they have shown, across the region and potentially the globe. The support AMISOM most wants is more men. Now AMISOM is slated to get some of the reinforcements it wants. The BBC reports that some 3,000 troops will join the force over the next six months, coming primarily from Sierra Leone and Djibouti. But the reinforcements will not necessarily solve AMISOMs problems, nor is their deployment

an indication that international doubts regarding the TFG and AMISOM have been allayed. The subtle skepticism toward AMISOMs claims evident in the BBCs language is interesting to see, and likely reflects broader skepticism regarding the force: AU commanders have long complained they have do not have sufficient numbers. Their current force deployment is too small to hold the whole of the city, they argue, even though the Islamist insurgents of al-Shabab have pulled back from some areas they held until early August. [...] Now they are promised the reinforcements they say they need. One reason for skepticism toward the AMISOM (and I suspect there are many in Washington, London, and elsewhere feeling skeptical) is the math. If AMISOM needs 3,000 more soldiers just to hold Mogadishu, how many will it need to take territory beyond Mogadishu? (20,000, at least?) And what are the chances that those forces are available? And how long, given problems within AMISOM such as soldiers complaints about unpaid salaries, will existing troop commitments last? Taking Mogadishu was a major accomplishment for AMISOM, and the TFG almost certainly could not survive without AMISOM, but the barriers to future success are huge, even with the scheduled reinforcements. Alex Thurston is a PhD student studying Islam in Africa at Northwestern University and blogs at Sahel Blog. ### Nigeria marks independence amid bomb fears (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/10/201110111284141407.html 1 October 2011 By Agencies President vows to secure his country following deadly blasts that recently targeted a UN building in the capital Abuja. Nigeria has marked 51 years of independence in a low-key ceremony, prompted by security fears that followed a series of deadly blasts across Africa's most populous nation. In a broadcast to the nation on Saturday, Goodluck Jonathan, the president, pledged to secure the country, saying his administration "will spare no effort in buildng peace, and securing our homeland against internal threats and infiltration by violent groups from outside our borders".

Massive security was deployed in the capital, Abuja, as Jonathan, dignitaries and foreign diplomats watched soldiers parade in a ceremony at the presidential villa. Nigeria typically holds memorial ceremonies at the capital's Eagle Square parade ground, open to the public, but authorities moved the event to the secure villa amid fears that the Muslim group known as Boko Haram could carry out fresh attacks. The group has claimed responsibility for an August 26 deadly bombing of UN headquarters in Abuja, and there has been mounting speculation over it has formed links with outside groups such as al-Qaeda's north African branch. The nation faces other security threats as well. Last year, the main armed group in the country's oil-producing southern delta claimed responsibility for a dual car bombing outside the capital's Independence Day celebration that killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more. "We condemn all acts of violence and declare that such acts of mindless savagery shall not be allowed to define our country. We will not be deterred. Our resolve is strong," Jonathan said in his speech. He said he had put in place a new national security strategy, but did not provide details. At the end of the ceremony the president took a dove into his hands and threw it into the air, as other birds released from a cage flew into the sky. As the television broadcast ended, the state-run broadcaster aired a commercial showing ambulances and the aftermath of bombings, asking mothers to stop the "wanton killing of innocent people". "Nigeria is not at war," the female announcer said. "It is a country of peaceful people.'' Nigeria gained its independence from Britain in 1960, and struggled for decades under its military rulers, with poverty and endemic corruption. The problems persisted after Nigeria became an uneasy democracy in 1999. ### 43 Killed in Insurgent Fighting in Lower Jubba, Gedo Regions (Garowe Online, Garowe Puntland) http://allafrica.com/stories/201110010103.html 1 October 2011 By Garowe Online More than 43 people have been killed and 77 wounded in days of fighting in southern Somalia's Lower Jubba and Gedo regions this week, Radio Garowe reports.

Heavy fighting rocked towns in Gedo region, neighboring the Kenyan border. The fighting was between pro-government militias nominally allied to the UN-recognized TFG administration in Mogadishu and Al Shabaab insurgents. At least 28 people including many civilians were killed in two days (Sep. 28 and Sep. 29) of fighting in Beled Hawo and Luuq towns of Gedo region, sources added. More than 47 persons were wounded during the armed clashes Pro-government militias maintain control of both towns after Al Shabaab insurgents retreated, according to local sources. Separately, on Sep. 30, more than 1,200 Al Shabaab insurgents attacked Dhobley town in Lower Jubba region. More than 15 people were killed and 30 wounded during the heavy fighting between insurgents and pro-government militias led by Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Ahmed Madobe) and the Ras Kamboni fighters. Local sources confirm that Ras Kamboni fighters, who are nominally allied to the TFG, tactically retreated from Dhobley town only to retake the town from Al Shabaab insurgents. Southern Somalia is embroiled in decades of lawlessness and violence, but since 2007 a bloody insurgency has led further instability that threatens the entire Horn of Africa region. ### South Sudan Govt Says Khartoum 'Deliberately' Delaying Withdrawing From Abyei (Sudan Tribune, Khartoum) http://allafrica.com/stories/201110020005.html 1 October 2011 By Sudan Tribune Juba South Sudan on Friday said Khartoum is deliberately delaying the withdrawal of the armed forces from the contested oil region of Abyei, after Khartoum failed to withdraw it troops by an agreed deadline. In a statement on Friday, Luka Biong, a senior member of South Sudan's ruling SPLM also accused Khartoum of blocking the return of 110,000 people who had been displaced when Sudan's military took control of the area in May. On Saturday a Sudanese government official in Khartoum confirmed to AFP news agency that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) had not pulled out of the volatile border region. A referendum was supposed to decide the fate of the region in January but it did not go ahead over Khartoum's insistence that the Misseriya tribe, who enter the area with their

cattle for a few months each year, be accorded full voting rights. South Sudan maintain that only residents of the area, largely the South-aligned Dinka Ngok be allowed to vote. Speaking to AFP the official said that only after the Ethiopian peacekeeping force (UNISFA) has been fully deployed, SAF would pull out. According to the United Nations less than half have arrived so far. On 30 September South Sudan and Sudan officials were supposed to hold a meeting of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC) but Khartoum canceled. Biong said that this confirmed suspicions that Khartoum did not intend to withdraw its forces from Abyei. He said that Khartoum was "not keen in working with the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) to bring a lasting peace to Abyei area, but in continuing its occupation and ensuring that the Area's true residents never return". The meeting was originally scheduled for the September 17. The senior member of the South Sudan's ruling party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) said the cancelation of the meeting also conveniently coincided with the missed deadline for troop withdrawal. ### South Sudan Govt Says Khartoum 'Deliberately' Delaying Withdrawing From Abyei (Sudan Tribune, Khartoum) http://allafrica.com/stories/201110020005.html 30 September 2011 By Tesfa-Alem Tekle Addis Ababa Some 25,000 people have arrived in Ethiopia over the last three weeks to escape fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels in Blue Nile state, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday. "Since 3 September, when the influx into Ethiopia started, an estimated 25,000 refugees have found refuge in Ethiopia," said Adrian Edwards, UNHCR spokesperson. Fighting between government forces and rebels from the northern wing of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement broke out earlier this month, after the SPLM-N refused to disarm. After South Sudan seceded in July the SPLM-N were supposed to disarm of move south of the new international border. A peace deal recognising the SPLM-N as a legal political party was later rejected by Sudan's ruling National Congress Party.

Some 3,000 refugees have been moved into existing Sherkole camp, where tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees who fled Sudan's North-South civil war were sheltered. Sudan's second North-South civil war (1983-2005) ended with a peace deal that allowed South Sudan to secede through a referendum. As the influx of refugees continues the Ethiopian government is constructing two transit centers near the key border entry points where newcomers are temporarily hosted. "With hostilities still ongoing in Sudan's Blue Nile State, we expect the numbers to continue rising," Edwards said noting fresh reports of more aerial bombardment. UNHCR said many of the Sudanese refugees are coming with their families and livestock. Following the clashes, a number of international aid groups along with UNHCR have dispatched emergency relief to western Ethiopia and to other villages along the entry border to assist arriving refugees. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been providing water and medical supplies while World Food Programme is providing food items. The UNHCR has appealed for $18.3 million to assist refugees from the troubled Blue Nile state. According to UNHCR the number refugees fleeing to Ethiopia are expected to reach 35,000. When while, a Sudanese bishop, Daniel Adwok joined to the growing calls for end to fighting in Sudan's Blue Nile State. "People are having to walk a long way to find safety. The only things they have are what they can carry. We need to pray for peace. We need to appeal for peace." Bishop Adwok, who is also coordinating an emergency aid to people fleeing the violence, said. ### Togo Native Returns to Africa as Part of CJTF-HOA Civil Affairs Team http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7276&lang=0 30 September 2011 By U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jarad A. Denton, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Public Affairs CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti, Sep 30, 2011 It was during a recent civil affairs mission through Djibouti that U.S. Army Reserve Corporal Kwami Koto was able to truly articulate his connection to the African continent and its people.

"You see those kids playing soccer, barefoot," the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Civil Affairs team 4902 information manager said to his team chief as their vehicle passed by children running around on a dirt field. "That used to be me." Koto, a resident of Denton, Texas, was born in the Republic of Togo, located in West Africa. In the wake of a military coup d'etat and cultural turmoil nearly 10 years ago, he and his wife fled their homeland as political refugees to seek asylum in the U.S. "Human rights in Togo were being systematically violated," he said. "As a journalist, I started writing about it - denouncing the military regime's abuses." Koto and his family began to receive threats against their lives. He weighed his options carefully: stay in Togo and likely be killed while reporting on the unfolding situation, or flee to America. "I chose the latter." After coming to the United States, Koto went to work as a program manager for a marketing company. He attended graduate school in his free time, earning his master's degree in journalism in the spring of 2005. Four years ago Koto decided to demonstrate his pride for his adoptive country. He became a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve. "It is a pride not only for myself, but for my family -- my parents and my entire hometown back in Togo," he said. "They are all proud to have a son who serves in the most prestigious, and by far the best, Army in the world." The U.S. Army Reserve decided Koto was best suited to build relationships with villages and government leaders throughout the Horn of Africa. To him, the journey has been an astonishing one. "Thirty-five years ago I was playing here as a kid -- kicking an orange because we couldn't afford a soccer ball," he said as a proud smile grew on his face. "Now I wear the uniform of a U.S. Army soldier. I never could have imagined it years ago. It's indescribable, the feeling I get when I travel to African villages and help bring about change." As an Army civil affairs soldier, Koto said returning to Africa has been a life-changing event for him. "I had seen Americans before, when I was in Togo," he said. "I learned English from a Peace Corps teacher. I never forgot those lessons or the interactions I had with the Americans. I make sure to treat the people I meet now the way I want them to remember me."

Army civil affairs is responsible for assessing and engaging local leaders at both the village and government level. They build relationships with the people through a spirit of cooperation facilitated by African leaders. U.S. Army Reserve Captain Justin Lev, CJTF-HOA CAT 4902 chief, said having Koto on the team in Africa has been invaluable. "From day one, he's been working with us on understanding the African people," said Lev. "The reason we are able to work so well with them is because of Koto." Lev said Koto brings a unique perspective to their mission, and expresses his perspective on Africa's potential. "The African people are very resilient to live the way they live. They are happy with what they have," said Koto. "However, I constantly wrestle with the way some of the African people accept their situation without trying to improve it. Every living thing has to grow and evolve. Africa, after 50 years of independence, is ready to move to the next stage of its development." Koto said African development must first begin with its people. An infrastructure cannot be built if the citizens are living in squalor. He said the first step is to build long-term, positive relationships with the people of Africa. Whether meeting with a village elder, partnering with locals to construct buildings or playing soccer with the children of Djibouti, Koto explained he would love for people in the United States to see Africa the way he sees it. "This is a land of opportunity," he said. "Africa presents people with both an opportunity to help and an opportunity to learn. Just like all the opportunities we have in the United States, the ones here should not be taken for granted." Lev said working in civil affairs with Koto and seeing those opportunities presented on a daily basis, has changed the way he views the world. "When we travel to these villages, we see real examples of people living in extreme poverty," he said. "All of the standards we have in the United States don't apply here, but the people are happy. It really shows that happiness is achievable no matter what you have or where you are." With another smile, Koto acknowledged what his commander had said. As an American, who earned his citizenship in February 2009, he has strong and passionate feelings for both his home and adopted countries. "I love Africa," he said. "I love it in the same way I love the United States - with my whole heart." ###

DOD Reviews Energy Strategy, Explores Energy Reduction Methods http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7275&lang=0 29 September 2011 By Danielle Skinner, U.S. AFRICOM Public Affairs STUTTGART, Germany, Sep 29, 2011 Sharon Burke, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs, visited U.S. Africa Command September 20, 2011 to discuss ways military forces can improve military readiness and capability by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of their energy consumption. During her visit to the command, Burke briefed AFRICOM personnel on the Department of Defense's Operational Energy Strategy and implementation plan, which was developed to "transform the way the DOD consumes energy in military operations." The U.S. Department of Defense, Burke explained, is the largest single institutional consumer of fuel in the world, spending over 15 billion dollars in 2010, or the equivalent of 5 billion gallons of petroleum. The Operational Energy Strategy was established to guide how the DOD uses energy and develop a strategy and implementation plan to make energy use more efficient and effective. The strategy incorporates a variety of methods, such as reducing the DOD's overall demand of energy, diversifying its energy sources, and integrating operational energy considerations into DOD planning. Reduction of energy consumption is only part of the strategy, explained Burke, as she emphasized the correlation between efficiency and effectiveness. Reducing energy demand will not hinder military forces' abilities to perform their missions, rather an improvement in energy efficiency should make the military more effective--allowing them to travel farther, refuel less often, and carry less equipment, among other benefits. "The mission of DOD now and going forward is a complex mission, a global mission," said Burke. "We're going to be a force that deploys globally and rapidly for a large range of missions. We have to be prepared for everything--from humanitarian assistance to counterterrorism and counterinsurgency missions all over the world. All of this means we will continue to demand a lot of energy." Fuel logistics is of particular concern to the military at the operational and tactical levels, making units more vulnerable to attack and weighing down service members with batteries and other heavy equipment. Some of the projected positive outcomes for the DOD's energy strategy include reducing the number of lives lost while protecting fuel in war zones, improving the range, endurance, and reliability of ground, air, and naval assets, lightening the logistics load, and reducing the vulnerability of fuel supply lines. "Reducing demand, expanding supply, and building an energy-secure force will mean a military that uses less energy, has more secure energy sources, and has the energy

resources it needs to protect the American people," according to the DOD's official report, "Energy for the Warfighter: Operational Energy Strategy." The impetus for this initiative came in response to the needs of forces in Iraq and Afghanistan who were responsible for protecting and transferring fuel on undeveloped roads where they were especially vulnerable to attack. However, it also applies to missions around the world, such as those carried out in Africa by U.S. Africa Command. According to Angela Sherbenou, U.S. Africa Command's USAID/Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) advisor, energy security is of high importance during humanitarian assistance/disaster response missions in Africa. As of September 2011, there were 22 US Government declared disasters in Africa. A major concern, Sherbenou said, is how to move the fuel, especially in rural areas lacking roads or infrastructure. AFRICOM is also working with other combatant commands to evaluate energy efficiency and reduce the "supply chain footprint" at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, where its sub-component, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, is based. In May 2011 the U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command installed and tested the first group of flexible solar cells on the base, an experimental project which could eventually save the DOD millions of dollars in Army fuel costs. The system includes solar cells which are connected to a sun shelter and to a system of batteries, which together produces two kilowatts of power, requires little maintenance, and eliminates the need for transporting fuel or other parts. CJTF-HOA plans to not only keep the equipment but to also use it in other locations and in missions in Africa. See related article: www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=6645&lang=0 U.S. Africa Command was the first regional command to incorporate an advisor from the Department of Energy into its operations to interface between the Department of Energy and AFRICOM and coordinate on how the command incorporates energy and related security issues in its operations and planning. Carolyn Gay, AFRICOM's energy advisor, said it is important to factor energy strategy into its operations and training. The purpose, she said, is to "ensure armed forces have the energy resources they need for challenges they face and reduce the demand for energy, not just the consumption." She added, "We are looking at trying to build energy security into the future by making it more sustainable." Other U.S. military services are also testing new technology and alternative sources of energy in their day-to-day missions. Burke talked about the U.S. Navy's USS Makin Island, which uses hybrid electric technology and is estimated to save the DOD 250 million dollars worth of fuel over a lifetime on that platform. "At a platform level, that may or may not be significant, but when talking about putting it into a fleet so that you have a lot of ships saving that amount of fuel, then you have a mission effect," Burke said.

The Marines have begun using solar panels with battery backup to power patrol bases in Afghanistan and other areas. Additionally, the Air Force's Air Mobility Command has led the way in several initiatives to save hundreds of millions of dollars in fuel costs, including changes with routing, loading, flight management, altitude, and other factors. The Los Angeles Air Force Base recently unveiled a plan to establish the first federal facility to replace 100 percent of its general purpose fleet with plug-in electric vehicles. Burke emphasized that building energy security into the future force is key to long-term mission success. She said that as the Defense Department plans ahead and develops new technology, energy efficiency should be a significant consideration. "By building systems that require more energy, not less, we are actually building in a bigger problem for ourselves," she said. "We need to get into force development and force planning and think about how energy affects mission success." ### Environmental Security Workshop Conducted in Namibia http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7273&lang=0 29 September 2011 By U.S. AFRICOM Public Affairs WINDHOEK, Namibia, Sep 29, 2011 The first joint U.S. Africa Command, Joint Multinational Training Command (JMTC) and U.S. Embassy Environmental Security workshop was conducted in Windhoek, Namibia, September 27-30, 2011. Key objectives of the workshop included information exchange and capacity building in the area of environmental considerations in military activities, and especially sustainable management of military training ranges, and environmental outreach for mission sustainability. Environmental considerations in military operations, including AU/UN Peacekeeping Operations, comprise a broad spectrum of issues that require integration into the everyday lives of service members. There is an increasing appreciation for the interdependence between the military mission, the community, and the environment. The integration and application of environmental values into the military mission helps sustain readiness, protect quality of life, strengthen civil relations, and conserve valuable natural resources. The Sustainable Range Program (SRP) is comprised of two programs; Integrated Training Area Program (ITAM) and the Range and Training Lands Program (RTLP). The mission of SRP is to maximize the capability, availability, and accessibility of ranges and training lands to support training, mobilization and deployments.

The U.S. team of technical experts included Art Kolodziejski , AFRICOM, Jeff Andrews and Nate Whelan, Joint Multinational Training Command, and Clare Mendelsohn, director of the AF Western Regional Environmental Office. ### Education Officials Seek Feedback to Shape Way Ahead http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7261&lang=0 28 September 2011 By Elaine Sanchez, American Forces Press Service STUTTGART, Germany, Sep 28, 2011 AFRICOM PA Note: During an All-Hands meeting July 29, 2011, General Carter Ham, AFRICOM commander, encouraged staff members to provide feedback and suggestions for improvement on education in DOD schools. The online feedback form is now available at http://cspfeedback.dodea.edu/. Additional information is included in the article below. Defense Department officials are inviting military and community members to share their thoughts on the quality and continuity of education in DOD schools and their suggestions for improvements. This feedback will be used in the development of a new Department of Defense Education Activity Community Strategic Plan, a document that will help to shape the activity's way ahead -- including mission, vision, guiding principles, goals and initiatives -- through 2016. The current plan expires at the end of this year. "We hope through this effort that we demonstrate the value we place on the input of our community," said Marilee Fitzgerald, the education activity's acting director. "We want to be sure we hear the voices of those we serve." Officials would like to hear from parents, students, principals, staff members, teachers, military leaders, students and any community member who interacts with the school system, such as child care or health care providers, Fitzgerald explained. Topics of interest include consistency of communication from schools, strategies to improve support for students and families through transitions, and feedback on curriculum, instruction and assessment in DOD schools. People can provide feedback online at http://cspfeedback.dodea.edu/. Fitzgerald said she'd also like to hear from people involved with non-DOD schools. "We're interested in knowing how we can, as a school system, help provide a continuity of education to our children," she said. This continuity often comes into play for military kids who switch schools, on average, six to eight times over the course of a parent's military career. The department would like

to minimize education disruptions for students in transition between DOD and public schools, Fitzgerald explained. For example, military students who take Japanese while living overseas may return to a public school without that offering. However, it's possible that the education activity's virtual courses can help to fill that gap for students, even if they're enrolled in a public school. "We're interested in knowing from parents what they might like to see from the DoDEA school system, and DOD generally, to help students continue, for example, with a language when they come back," she said. "Can they stay connected in some way to the DoDEA virtual learning program so their educational plan and aspirations are not interrupted by that move back?" Other useful feedback centers around standards between DOD and public schools, Fitzgerald noted. After a stint overseas, for example, "were (students) ahead when they went back, catching up or behind?" They'd also like to hear people's thoughts on how to improve the social and emotional support provided to students and their families during deployments or assignments that leave one parent running a household, she said, whether it's related to a DOD or public school. "We want our students that come into DoDEA to receive a top-notch education and return to public school systems with not only the academic competencies, but the social and emotional competencies," Fitzgerald said. Students often cite a sense of community and acceptance in DOD schools that's unmatched anywhere else, she noted. Officials would like to see that carry through to a public school, she added, "so that when a student arrives, they feel welcome, they feel appreciated" and their military challenges are understood. All feedback will be combined with the information officials already have gathered during more than 75 interviews with teachers, principals, counselors, administrators, teacher association representatives, headquarters staff and nonprofit partners, Fitzgerald explained, along with data combed from numerous customer and climate surveys, and reports to Congress. Officials also will look externally -- to the U.S. Department of Education and school systems similar to the DOD's -- to see what they're doing in terms of mission, vision and goals, she said. A steering committee comprising representatives from the education activity, the services, the Pentagon's office of military community and family policy, and the U.S. Department of Education will meet later this month to develop the plan.

Once complete, the plan will serve as a roadmap of sorts, Fitzgerald said, as well as a performance agreement with stakeholders. Education officials will take on a set of goals and then publicly report their progress against these goals. "It's a very transparent way of communicating what our plan will be for driving reform in the Department of Defense Education Activity," she said, and "a major movement on our part to reach out to our community so our students can have the best education we can provide." ### Can Ghana Afford to Pay the Same Price As Pakistan? (Pambazuka News) http://allafrica.com/stories/201109300631.html 29 September 2011 By Cameron Duodu I would never have believed it, but after 54 years of independence - and despite the noise we have made about our national sovereignty and how we adopted the policy of nonalignment in the Cold War in order to safeguard our sovereignty - there are still people in Ghana who believe that it would be in Ghana's interest to allow the United States to operate a military base on Ghanaian soil. And that includes a base from which drones can be flown to kill the enemies of the US who operate in neighbouring countries. The issue is far from being theoretical because Ghana is surrounded by countries in which there are large Muslim communities - the Ivory Coast, Togo and Burkina Faso. Ghana's own Northern, Upper and Upper West regions also contain significant numbers of Muslims. And we all know that someone's fervent adherent of Islam, is another person's fanatic, waiting to be recruited into Al Qaeda or some other sinister Islamic sect. Yet despite Ghana's possession of all the ingredients for a potentially lethal demographic cocktail, there are individuals in the country who would tolerate the use of Ghanaian territory by the US for military purposes. Their view can be represented by this posting to a Ghanaian Internet forum: President John Atta Mills could get Ghana a US base, 50 miles from Tamale, in Northern Ghana, which would build 'a state of the art military hospital that the residents could use as well.' Ghana could also get an airport that had 'a civilian wing the country can use.' And an infrastructure plan to be put in place to support an army of Ghanaian businesses, ranging from hotels to food production outfits, to support the complex. 'The security agreements to be negotiated would permit us to secure our interests, wherever they maybe, as we help the America effort.' The posting betrays ignorance about the troubled relations that exist between local populations and the personnel of American bases - such as are often reported even from such American close allies as Japan (Okinawa). And to imagine that an American

hospital meant for the personnel of a military base would necessarily be available to locals, borders on naivety. In any case, Africans will probably be called upon to make judgements on such issues sooner than they think. For a report in the Washington Post tells us that that the US has stationed drones (pilotless military aircraft) in the Seychelles Islands that have a range of about 800 miles. It also has some drones in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa. The purpose of the drones, it is assumed, is to protect the seaways in the area from pirate activity, usually carried out from Somalia. But since the Somali pirates are generally suspected to be affiliated with Al Qaeda or other militant groups that hostile to the US, the use of the drones in Africa will open a new front in the worldwide 'war on terror' the US and its allies are waging. Even in the West, some people have doubts about the waging of a 'war on terror' that encompasses the entire globe. Can Africa afford to 'sleepwalk' into the centre of such a conflict? For I haven't heard, for instance, of a parliamentary debate in the Seychelles about the stationing there of US drones. Even in Ghana, the exact nature of cooperation with the US AFRICOM objectives have not been adequately thrashed out publicly. Before we know it, we could be experiencing something of a 'mission creep': We conduct joint training sessions with US troops; some troops stay to train our soldiers; then equipment arrives; and finally we find that some of the equipment can be assembled in to drones! It is easy to see why Ghana would be a welcome addition to the American bases from which drones can fly to combat Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (North Africa) is known to operate in Mauritania and Niger, and probably Chad as well. The Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso cannot be dismissed out of hand, either. No one will know for sure, until they strike - if they ever do. That is what is baffling the Nigerians at the moment. It appears as if there is now a link between the deadly Boko Haram Islamic sect, which has been killing scores of Nigerians, and Al Qaeda in Somalia. (Shortly before it carried out a dastardly attack on the UN headquarters in Abuja in August 2011, Boko Haram boasted, through an operative, that the organisation had sent people for training in Somalia, and that they had just returned to Nigeria). The question is this: If Al Qaeda were to suspect that that it was being targeted by drones flown from Ghana, would Ghana be safe from its retaliation? Quite frankly, I shudder to think of the situation that would confront us. For Nigeria, whose security budget is probably bigger than our entire gross domestic product (GDP) is currently floundering in its attempt to combat Boko Haram. A government report has recommended that arrested Boko Haram suspects should be granted an 'amnesty'. But a newspaper war has broken out, in the meantime, between the Nigerian police and the country's Defence Intelligence Agency, over how a suspected Boko Haram operative

was handled by both organisations, with each is accusing the other of not treating the alleged operative seriously enough. This is a sign that the intelligence organisations in Nigeria are under enormous pressure over their inability, so far, to check the activities of Boko Haram. In one instance, Boko Haram sent a suicide bomber to blow up the police headquarters in Abuja. The InspectorGeneral of the Nigerian Police was saved from death by the skin of his teeth. So, if it is doing nothing at all, Boko Haram is destabilising Nigeria. And if seeing what is going on in Nigeria, our government creates a situation that can be seized upon to see Ghana with hostile eyes, our government would have broken the oath it has sworn to protect and defend Ghana. One thing that cannot be ignored is the possibility that the disarray in the Nigerian security services is caused by officials within the organisations who are sympathetic to the ideals preached by Boko Haram. That situation could be duplicated in Ghana, with unimaginable consequences. So far, Ghana has been fortunate in not having encountered religious intolerance. Religion does not interfere much in our social interactions. But we should not tempt our luck. No one can convince an American to allow him to station his country's troops or weapons on American soil - for any reason. Why can't we learn from the Americans and tell them plainly that we cannot consider them as our friends, if they ask us to expose ourselves to attack, in order to assist in America's 'war on terror'? The same disease that is plaguing Nigeria - a divided national security system - is also affecting Pakistan, a country which the US has been considering as an ally in its war on Al Qaeda. Pakistan dies indeed receive US$3.16 billion a year from the US as aid. Yet a few days ago, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, accused Pakistan of supporting a militant group called the Haqqani. This was the group that carried out a deadly attack on the US embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, recently, in which 25 people died. What could be a worse indictment of a supposed ally? Admiral Mullen told the US Senate at a public hearing: 'The Haqqani network acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency.' He added: 'With ISI [Pakistani intelligence] support, Haqqani operatives planned and conducted a truck bomb attack [on 11 September], as well as the assault on our embassy. We also have credible intelligence that they were behind the 28 June [2011] attack against the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul and a host of other smaller but effective operations.' This type of situation - a 'love affair between two countries that has turned sour' - is not new. Mention South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and those with good memories can attest to the lesson of history, which is that if you want to remain friendly with the USA, keep its military at arm's length. Pakistan must now be badly regretting that it didn't learn

from what happened between the US and other countries in southeast Asia. But it is too late for Pakistan to regret its past mistakes. It will continue to pay for those mistakes in blood. Any African country that takes the risk of becoming another Pakistan, needs to have its head examined. ### END REPORT