http://www.airforcetimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2684344.phpU.S. to beef up military presence in Africa
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The United States is scaling up its military presence in Africa as concern mounts over terrorist threats — both immediate and future — on the continent, the deputy head of American forces in Europe said Friday. (more)
February 27, 2004
U.S. to beef up military presence in Africa
By Alexandra Zavis
Associated Press
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa —
The United States is
scaling up its military presence in Africa as concern mounts over terrorist threats — both immediate and future — on the continent, the deputy head of American forces in Europe said Friday. “The threat is not weakening, it is growing,” Air Force Gen. Charles Wald said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from Luanda, Angola. “We can’t just sit back and let it grow.” ....snip.....
The European Command oversees U.S. military activities in Africa excluding the Horn, site of a U.S. counterterrorism effort for northeast Africa and Yemen. Africa is a growing strategic interest to the United States because of its
terror links and its oil, which is seen as a possible alternative to Middle East fuel.
....snip....
U.S. forces have also negotiated access to a number of sites, including airstrips in Angola and Gabon, that can be used for stopovers, refueling, or to position troops and equipment. Wald said this will allow U.S. forces to respond with light, mobile troops — whether for peacekeeping, crisis response or a specific terrorist threat. “We’re actually going to get more capability with less force because of our ability to move around fast,” he said.
...snip...
Wald’s trip includes stops in regional military powers Nigeria and South Africa; oil-rich Angola, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe; and Algeria and Niger, whose vast desert expanses are seen as a potential haven for terrorists. ...snip....“We are going to do business differently,” Wald said.
“Waiting for a crisis to occur just isn’t the way to do business any more.” ...snip....
The United States is helping train and equip four Sahara nations — Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Chad — to better guard their porous borders against terrorists, arms and other trafficking. There are also agreements to conduct exercises and training in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, Wald said. Further south, the United States wants to
protect oil supplies in the Gulf of Guinea, where it gets 15 percent of its oil. There is also concern that Africa’s major humanitarian crises could develop into security threats for the United States and Europe.
...snip....
“Africa, we all know, has to work itself out of this situation, which is going to take time,” he said. “In the meantime, we have to respond to some specific threats.”
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