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The threat from the Sahel
As the United States grapples with its policy toward Africa, vast ungoverned territories in North Africa are being increasingly used by terrorists groups for training and criminal organizations for smuggling, a top military official said Thursday. But because of sanctions and legal restrictions, the United States is limited in what pressure and inducements it can bring to bear on the situation. "What I see is they are moving back into the ungoverned area," said Maj. Gen. Jonathan S. Gration, the director of strategy, policy and assessments for U.S. European Command. "More recently we are seeing extremists with battlefield experience coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan" to North Africa. "Terrorist continue to operate freely in ungoverned areas. The threat is becoming transnational," he said.It is not specifically an al-Qaeda presence in the Trans-Sahel region, but an amalgam of local extremists and terrorists, criminals, narco-traffickers and smugglers with increasingly transnational ties. American policies, however, prevent full engagement with the governments and the militaries of those countries. One of the chief limits is a law passed by Congress in 2003, the American Servicemembers Protection Act. That law prohibits U.S. military assistance and training and economic support funds from being provided to any country that is a member of the International Criminal Court and has not signed a bilateral immunity agreement exempting American service members from the ICC. "We're severely restricted in what we can do," said Gration, an Air Force general who grew up in Africa and speaks fluent Swahili. "The restrictions we're put on our ability to move in Africa may be hurting the very people we are trying to help." In North Africa, opportunities are being lost to train those militaries in English and in anti-insurgent tactics, as well as cutting off a primary avenue for learning about the cultures and developing close political relationships with their leadership. China is stepping into that breach, in many cases. Its rapidly expanding economy means it is on a global hunt for natural resources, and Africa has replete with them. According to Gration, Chinese aid to Africa has increased more than 50 percent since 2004. "They are focused, well financed and they know what they are trying to achieve," he said. "We can't give Kenya foreign military financing or (military training) but China offers it like crazy. Kenya doesn't have another option. They go in, give aid, and say what do you want? We go in and say, this is what you need and we can't give it to you." Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-02-17 |
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