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| Africa: East |
| Inside the U.S. Force Fighting Terrorism in the Horn of Africa |
| 2003-12-22 |
| AP takes a look at multilateralism in the WoT in Africa--severely EFL CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti - Three high-definition television screens, a bank of green military radios and detailed maps line the walls. Laptop computers cover three rows of tables. And military officers like Lt. Cdr. Victor Cooper keep 24-hour vigil, tracking terrorists from afar. The Joint Operations Center, tucked inside a former French Foreign Legion post, is the heart of the Bush administration’s quiet battle against Islamic militants operating in six nations in East Africa and Yemen. From here, the U.S. military monitors Marine beach landings, Navy warships, Army infantry maneuvers and Air Force flights, keeping in close communication with Central Command headquarters in Qatar and troops in the field. And there are secret operations no one will talk about. The goal: to detect, disrupt and defeat the bad guys. On a recent day, U.S. soldiers trained with local troops in rural Ethiopia, civil affairs officers helped with rehab projects in Kenyan towns and Marines landed on a deserted beach in Djibouti. Offshore, NATO ships coordinated their operations with the task force, searching ships in international waters for weapons and terrorists. "We are the gathering point and dissemination point for all information," Cooper, of Jackson, Miss., said, his calm, friendly demeanor a reflection of how U.S. forces fight terrorism here. Sometimes his job gets boring, he complained, but then that’s the idea. A day without terrorist activity is a successful day, troops say. The task force uses military training, humanitarian aid and intelligence operations to keep northeastern Africa and Yemen from becoming the next Afghanistan by strengthening local security forces and keeping terrorist groups from operating in the predominantly Muslim region, said Brig. Gen. Mastin Robeson, commander of the task force. The 1,800 personnel at Camp Lemonier coordinate U.S. military operations in Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Yemen and Djibouti, a region largely ignored before the war on terrorism. The region is now one of the war’s main theaters. Big Snip, read the rest at the link "This is a closed society," Robeson said. "But it was the same case with the (Ku Klux) Klan, and the same case with the Mafia. Infiltrating those two was tough; it is tough to get people on the inside." Robeson said the ultimate goal is for all seven countries in the region to have their own modern methods of protecting their borders and coordinating their customs and intelligence activities so that terrorists have no chance of staging attacks or taking shelter in the region. "In truth, this is more of the model of how the global war on terrorism should be fought, not Iraq and Afghanistan," Robeson said. These troops are also spending the holidays away from home. Good hunting and come home safe! |
| Posted by:seafarious |
| #3 Big Snip - is this another testicle joke? |
| Posted by: Raj 2003-12-22 8:23:41 PM |
| #2 Etritia and Ethiopia seemed to be quiet with us so close by. Our presence in Dijibouti, unknown to most Americans, might calm things down in some of these areas. Somalia and Yemen are probably lost causes. It must be like watching lions at play for the locals. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-22 8:08:30 PM |
| #1 "In truth, this is more of the model of how the global war on terrorism should be fought, not Iraq and Afghanistan," Robeson said. Hell Yes! Go get some! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-12-22 7:49:12 PM |