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| Africa Horn |
| U.S. support key to Ethiopia's invasion |
| 2007-01-10 |
| The United States has quietly poured weapons and military advisers into Ethiopia, whose recent invasion of Somalia opened a new front in the Bush administration's war on terrorism. A Christian-led nation in sub-Saharan Africa, surrounded almost entirely by Muslim states, Ethiopia has received nearly $20 million in U.S. military aid since late 2002. That's more than any country in the region except Djibouti. Last month, thousands of Ethiopian troops invaded neighboring Somalia and helped overturn a fundamentalist Islamic government that the Bush administration said was supported by al-Qaeda. The U.S. and Ethiopian militaries have "a close working relationship," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said. The ties include intelligence sharing, arms aid and training that gives the Ethiopians "the capacity to defend their borders and intercept terrorists and weapons of mass destruction," he said. Advisers from the Guam national guard have been training Ethiopians in basic infantry skills at two camps in Ethiopia, said Maj. Kelley Thibodeau, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces in Djibouti. There are about 100 U.S. military personnel currently working in Ethiopia, Carpenter said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 Well said TW, the teams would rather their involvement never come up. It's part of the Foreign Internal Defense, FID doctrine. The objective is to train, advice, and in some cases assist a nationÂ’s military in its defense. Other than the obvious of arming and Tactics Techniques, and Procedures, TTPÂ’s, they focus of professionalizing their military. By this I mean building an NCO corps and cleaning up the officer corps. Most third world militaries do not have a competent NCO corp. The NCO corps is the hands down reason our military is so great and is the defining factor in any successful army. This type of program can take a few years to reach payoff. ItÂ’s interesting the first two programs of this type after the WOT started are both really hitting pay dirt, this one and the PI. This low level, but critical interaction between nations is the best way for America to influence and support countries without the perception of them being a US puppet. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2007-01-10 10:11 |
| #4 Why wasn't it sooner? You can have it fast, or you can have it done right. Take your pick. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2007-01-10 09:51 |
| #3 Ethiopia has received nearly $20 million in U.S. military aid since late 2002. That's more than any country in the region except Djibouti. What do you mean by "sooner", bigjim-ky? Shieldwolf and others have said we've been training and equipping the Aethiops for quite some time for anti-Al Qaeda work, and in the countries around Sudan as well. The Special Forces guys have been working long and hard behind the scenes, as far as I can see. This is just the first visible payoff... and an impressive one it is, too. Well done, guys! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-01-10 08:30 |
| #2 I knew we'd take an official hand in this sooner or later. Why wasn't it sooner? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-01-10 08:04 |
| #1 According to Debka it's the biggest al Qaeda hunt since Afghanistan 2001. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-01-10 07:00 |