Latest press release from the US Commandement in Africa:
U.S. AFRICOM Commander Reports Progress Against al-Shabab in Africa
08:14 GMT, August 23, 2012
THEBEPHATSHWA AIR BASE | Calling the elimination of safe havens and
support for terrorist groups in Africa his top priority, the commander
of U.S. Africa Command reported that U.S. support for Somalia’s military
has had a direct impact in degrading the al-Shabab terror organization
there.
“The performance of African militaries in Somalia … has been
extraordinary,” Army Gen. Carter F. Ham told Soldiers Radio and
Television Service reporter Gail McCabe during closing ceremonies for
exercise Southern Accord here.
Ham noted the U.S. government role in training and equipping these
forces and the impact it has had in increasing the African partners’
counterterrorism capabilities.
“They really have degraded the capability of al-Shabab, an al-Qaida
affiliate operating in Somalia, where most of Somali territory is no
longer receptive to al-Shabab,” he said. “They certainly still have some
strong points, but are [al-Shabab is] greatly diminished over the last
year, because of the role of Africans.”
While holding up Somalia as a positive trend on the continent, Ham
acknowledged progress elsewhere remains mixed. He noted Mali, where
about two-thirds of the country “is essentially outside the control of
the interim government … and is largely controlled by transnational
terrorist organizations.”
Ham called the terrorist threat his most pressing challenge. “In fact, I
would say it is my highest priority, as the geographic combatant
commander, … to protect America, Americans and American interests from
threats that emerge from the continent of Africa,” he said. “And at
present, the most dangerous of those threats are transnational
terrorists.”
Countering this threat is the common denominator that drives Ham’s
theater engagement strategy and its broad array of operations, exercises
and security cooperation programs. This includes teaching partner
nations how to improve their border security, intelligence and tactical
capabilities and equipping African nations so they can operate more
effectively.
It’s an effort Ham said involves the entire U.S. interagency – the
departments of State, Commerce, Treasury and Justice, the U.S. Agency
for International Development and other organizations – as they
coordinate efforts to help address the underlying causes that create an
environment where terrorists can operate.
The president’s recently released policy directive for sub-Saharan
Africa recognizes the importance of security in advancing economic
development that lays the foundation for democracy, Ham noted.
“The two are interrelated,” he said. “You can’t really have good, strong
economic development if there is not security and stability.”
So Africom focuses on helping African partners promote security and
stability. “We think it is important that we help African nations
develop their own capabilities to provide their own security and also to
begin the capability to contribute more expansively to regional
security,” Ham said.
U.S. engagements in Africa, such as Southern Accord, are tailored to
help partners build capacity and to respect the rule of law, the general
said. "What we are really trying to do is help you build security
forces that are not only tactically capable, but forces that are
genuinely responsive to legitimate civilian control – that operate
according to the rule of law and see themselves as servants of that
nation,’” he explained. “And we are seeing that over and over again, and
we certainly see that here in Botswana.”
Promoting that kind of engagement requires close relationships that are
built over time. “It is all about relationships,” Ham said. “It is the
ability to talk to a chief of defense or minister of defense and in some
cases, heads of state to convey to them what it is that we are trying
to do, and make sure they understand that we … don’t want to do anything
that they don’t want us to do.”
A true partnership benefits all the participants, Ham said, recognizing
the gains both U.S. service members and Botswana Defense Force members
received as they worked together during Southern Accord.
Ham said he’s sometimes asked why what the United States needs a
combatant command focused on Africa and why what happens in Africa
matters to the United States. “I could easily say there are a billion
reasons,” he said, recognizing the African continent’s population.
But also citing global economies and the global nature of security
challenges, Ham emphasized that “what happens in Africa affects us in
the United States.”
“So I think there is a whole host of reasons why America and Americans
should care about advancing our interests in Africa,” he said. “And
security is one component of an overall U.S. approach.”
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Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
