|
AFRICOM – “Value Adding” To Whom?
by b real
lifted from a comment
(As an introduction consider reading b real’s earlier series Understanding AFRICOM: A Contextual Reading of Empire’s New Combatant Command)
The first press briefing for Gen. Ward since being named the commander
of AFRICOM was held on Monday. The occasion was the announcement of a
new effort at presenting a multilateral face on the U.S. naval presence
in the Gulf of Guinea, a hoped-to-become-permanent mission entitled
"The African Partnership Initiative," focused on ‘promoting maritime
security and safety.’ The DoD transcript is here.
It was a little rough for the commander, who sounded at times wooden
and awkward in his responses, yet he stayed mainly on message in spite of
fielding some direct and informed questioning on AFRICOM’s motives,
reception and obstacles on the continent (which surprised me a
little, as, after reading through so many of these transcripts, the press
generally sticks to throwing softball questions within the talking points
outlined in the briefer’s opening statements.)
One of those messages today was "we’re bringing value-added" to
investments in Africa. Foreign investments, primarily, which is what
the "partnership" in "The African Partnership Initiative" really is
about.
Last week the Corporate Council on Africa, a U.S. business lobby centered on creating and retaining wealth in Africa through private enterprise, hosted their second annual U.S.-Africa Infrastructure Conference: Building on Stability
in Washington DC, bringing together players from private enterprise, government and
military, to network and discuss infrastructure development
opportunities throughout Africa.
One of the plenary sessions was titled
"AFRICOM And Its Potential To Safeguard And Encourage New
Infrastructure Development In Africa," of which the description
promised attendees:
The focus of the discussion also will pertain to
infrastructure development priorities that will arise throughout Africa
as a result of AFRICOM’s presence. Panelists will overview the vital
role of the private sector in the development and success of those new
projects.
I haven’t found any transcripts of the panel yet, but there was a
DoS piece from the end of last week that gives us the general drift:
New U.S. Command To Take Broad, Inclusive Approach to Africa
Enhancing security and stability will foster conditions for economic growth
Washington — The new U.S. regional military command for Africa, an
integrated defense, diplomatic and economic organization, will enhance
U.S. efforts to advance security and prosperity in Africa, U.S.
officials say.
…
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, principal deputy assistant secretary of state
for Africa, said that the United States hopes its support for defense
reform and military capacity-building not only will help African
nations to manage conflicts and mitigate violent extremism but also
will create conditions conducive to further economic growth.
Thomas-Greenfield spoke at an October 9-10 conference on
infrastructure investment in Africa. Its private-sector participants
viewed stability as the critical precondition for investing in
telecommunication, transportation, power-generation and other
infrastructure projects.
Underdeveloped and dilapidated infrastructure has hampered efforts
by many African countries to sustain fast economic growth and engage
more fully in international trade.
Thomas-Greenfield said only private capital markets can bridge the
gap between what is required to fund costly infrastructure projects and
the scarce resources available to most African governments.
Despite significant improvements in the security and business
climates in Africa, many U.S. investors still consider long-term
infrastructure projects on the continent too risky because of what they
perceive as a lack of stability.
Thomas-Greenfield said that the formation of AFRICOM is an
acknowledgment that Africa warrants special U.S. attention, and thereby
helps boost the U.S. private sector’s confidence in the continent.
Security and stability not only make it possible to maintain
existing infrastructure, she said, but they also create the right
environment for the private sector to contribute to its expansion.
Now it’s an outrageous statement that Thomas-Greenfield makes when she
says that "only private capital markets can bridge the gap between what
is required to fund costly infrastructure projects and the scarce
resources available to most African governments" since those goverments have
every right and obligation to oversee and regulate the use of those
resources to benefit the people and could very well fund their own
infrastructure projects with the profits realized off such control, given
the opportunity. But then, the idea is the further opening of African
resources to private foreign investors so, as the late Johnny Carson
used to say, "buy the premise, buy the bit."
Which brings us back to General Ward and Monday’s press briefing. Leading off his opening statement Ward states:
First, let me thank you for coming this morning to listen
to Admiral Ulrich and I talk about the African Partnership Station. And
I think it provides a good example of what the newly established U.S. Africa Command is about as it relates to
helping out partner nations on the continent of Africa build their
capacity to better govern their spaces, to have more effects in
providing for the security of their people, as well as doing the
things that are important in assuring the development of the continent
in ways that promote increased globalization of their economies, as well as the development of their societies for the betterment of their people.
"Doing the things that are important in assuring the development
of the continent in ways that promote increased globalization of their
economies."
Economic globalization, of course, is just another form of
neo-colonialism – a neoliberal attempt at removing all barriers to
investment, trade, regulation, and capital accumulation for the benefit
of the moneyed classes. Africans know all about neocolonialism and
living in the periphery, so it’s surprising that AFRICOM would be
openly pushing the economic angle to their operations. Another poor PR
move for a newly-birthed enterprise that’s already largely still-born.
Ward stresses the phrase "value added" seven times throughout the
briefing, adapting a financial term to define a cornerstone of
AFRICOM’s mission that aims to advertise the command’s usefulness in
achieving a return on investment for all takers.
The State Department story stated that:
Despite significant improvements in the security and
business climates in Africa, many U.S. investors still consider
long-term infrastructure projects on the continent too risky because of
what they perceive as a lack of stability.
General Ward offered a reason why AFRICOM is focused on stability today:
.. we think that we have the best chance of doing work today
that helps bring stability so that we are not in a position of having
to do things 10, 20 years from now that are problematic for the
continent and as well for our global society.
Which brings us (via images of the Persian Gulf) right to the Gulf of Guinea.
Joining General Ward in the briefing was Admiral Henry Ulrich of EUCOM (nice picture of him flipping off the press here)
to discuss the dispatch of the USS Fort McHenry to the Gulf region, now
labeled as the aforementioned "African partnership station initiative." Ulrich gives some cockamamie explanation for the increased U.S. naval
presence in the oil-rich Gulf region — ranging from "it’s just a
matter of time before they use our maritime infrastructure against us"
(which is a strange claim to make considering we’re talking about West Africa here) to a consensual relationship with coastal nations there to
build maritime programs "to protect against ocean-related terrorists;
hostile, criminal and dangerous acts … with international
cooperation, … new partnerships, and so forth and so on", again all
in foreign territory.
Ulrich tells how they got African nations to sign on:
And at the same time that was going on [U.S. creating a
strategy defining the need for maritime security in the Gulf], the —
our African friends, the nations that have started getting together in
several symposium and other different fora — and they issued what is
also is in your package, called the Benin communique, this time last
year, where we said: We, the ministers attending the Gulf of
Guinea Maritime Safety and Security Conference, agree to commit to
address the following elements of maritime governance — partnership,
maritime domain awareness — and agree to continue engagement with
international maritime partners to improve our maritime safety and
security.
"We said"? Other words that come to mind are "recommended" and "dictated".
We had our African friends on the west coast ask for some
help in developing their maritime safety and security. And so we in the
last year did a lot of exploration and meetings and discussions on how
we might do this. And we’ve sent some ships and airplanes down there to
work with our folks there and our new partners there to try to
understand where they were in their development and how we might help
them. And so we came to the conclusion that the way to do this is to
use a delivery vehicle. We use a ship — go figure — as we talk about
maritime safety and security. We went out to a lot of our European
partners that had an interest off the west coast of Africa. Six of them
agreed — six different nations agreed that this was important and they
would like to work with us.
We reached out to the other agencies and departments here, and our
own government, the State Department, USAID, NOAA, Coast Guard,
Homeland Security all wanted to work with us on this. And then we
reached out to NGOs that had an interest in the maritime domain.
And so we brought that together, and the ship leaves — sails from
Norfolk tomorrow. We’ll go to Spain to pick up all these riders, and
then we’ll travel a circuit down off the West Coast of Africa with
training teams that will work as a group. So we’ve, if you would,
convened a center of excellence. And we have a center of mass now on
this ship that can help these nations seek what they want, which is
maritime safety and security so that they can continue to develop
ashore in all the activities that we support, other nations
support. And so that’s kind of the long and short of what maritime
safety and security is, why we’re going to the West Coast of Africa and
why we decided to use a ship, called an Africa Partnership Station, to
work this problem.
Heh. Partner-ship. Get it? Funny guys.
Here’s why the Benin communique came about, according to the
priorities listed by the top DoS official on Africa, Jendayi Frazer, as
part of her keynote speech to the ministry:
Yesterday a reporter asked me what are U.S. interests in
the Gulf of Guinea? Achieving coastal security in the Gulf of Guinea is
key to America’s trade and investment opportunities in Africa, to our
energy security, and to stem transnational threats like narcotics and
arms trafficking, piracy, and illegal fishing – we share these
interests in common with our Gulf of Guinea partners.
…
Experts estimate that over the next 10 years, oil production in the
Gulf of Guinea will grow by 40%. By 2020, the Gulf of Guinea is
expected to be one of the world’s top oil-producing regions. Yet,
private companies are the vast majority of operations in the Gulf of
Guinea. If kidnapping of their workers and attacks on their facilities
continue, they are unlikely to make the necessary investments to
increase production, or even maintain current levels.
…
What we hope is that everyone here will be galvanized to return home
and impress upon your government the importance of Maritime safety and
security, including the economic and governance issues that are at its
very foundation.
…
Let me be clear, the purpose of American involvement is not to impose
our policy vision, but rather to alert you to our willingness to
support [our] well-conceived plans reflecting your government’s policy commitment and resources [which i have already provided to each of you in your "appreciation package"].
Toward that end, the United States and other donor partners are
committed to providing support for this initiative in the form of
seminars, training, and equipment. The U.S. government intends to
support African institutions as they develop political buy-in for
regional maritime security cooperation, whether that involves the AU,
ECOWAS, CEEAC, Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa
(MOWCA), the Gulf of Guinea Commission, or any others.
In other words, we’re going ahead with our plans, ya’ll figure out how you want to adapt.
Later on in Monday’s DoD briefing, someone asks Ulrich about naval
initiatives to build brown-water assets (riverine forces),
"particularly in Nigeria," to which the Admiral replies:
Well, I’m not going to talk about individual countries,
because we quite frankly haven’t been asked by those countries to help
them. Having said that, they are keenly aware that we’re developing a,
what you refer to as a brown-water capability. …
But if we were
asked, I would work very, very hard to comply with their request.
No doubt. Not sure how important it is anymore, since the oil
companies are definitely not complaining about the money they’re raking
in these days, but the price per barrel of crude has been affected by
events in Nigeria for some time now. The ongoing militant attacks on
pipelines and infrastructure supposedly costs up to 500,000 bpd in
missed production, affecting both prices availability (Nigerian imports
to the U.S. are down so far this year), and then a short strike at a Chevron facility last week raised global rates for a day or two. All
this has led to a near-permanent naval presence in the Gulf now, as Ulrich acknowledges:
.. we pretty much have a continuous presence, defined as
either a ship off the West Coast of Africa or some maritime patrol
aircraft off the West Coast of Africa or training teams that are
downrange in some of the West Coast. And we’re there 360 days a year
now.
AFRICOM – working to maximize everyone’s ROI …
from the international maritime bureau, a dept of the int’l chamber of commerce
Piracy attacks rise 14% as Nigerian and Somalian coasts become more dangerous
Piracy and armed robbery attacks against ships rose 14% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2006, the second consecutive quarterly increase in attacks, as the coastal waters off Nigeria and Somalia became ever more dangerous, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported today.
In the first nine months of the year, 198 attacks were reported versus 174 attacks reported in 2006 during the same time frame. A total of 15 vessels were hijacked, 172 crewmembers were taken hostage, 63 were kidnapped, and 21 were assaulted. If this trend continues, the decline in piracy attacks begun in 2004 will have bottomed out. Crew assaults, kidnapping and ransom rose dramatically from 2006.
Somalia remains a hotspot of great concern, with 26 incidents reported so far this year against eight the year before. This represents one of the highest numbers of attacks ever reported off the coast of this East African country, and highlights a blatant disregard for the law.
but, as this AP story reports, the increase in somalia can be attributed to the invasion/regime change there at the end of 06 & the ensuing chaos so far this year
Piracy increase off Somalia may be due to collapse of Islamic group
NAIROBI, Kenya: Piracy off Somalia is on the rise because an Islamic group that had cracked down on pirates was ousted, an official who tracks piracy cases off Africa’s side of the Indian Ocean said Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, an international watchdog reported maritime pirate attacks worldwide shot up 14 percent in the first nine months of 2007, with Somalia and Nigeria showing the biggest increases.
…
Somalia has had 16 years of violence and anarchy, and now is led by a government battling to establish authority even in the capital, and challenged by an Islamic insurgency. Its coasts are virtually unpoliced.
During the six months that an Islamic group known as the Council of Islamic Courts ruled most of southern Somalia, where Somali pirates are based, piracy abated, said Andrew Mwangura, the program coordinator of the Seafarers Assistance Program.
At one point, the group announced it was sending scores of fighters with pickups mounted with machine-guns and anti-aircraft guns to central Somali regions to crack down on pirates based there. Islamic fighters even stormed a hijacked, UAE-registered ship and recaptured it after a gun battle in which pirates — but no crew members — were reportedly wounded.
Mwangura said but piracy increased this year after Ethiopian forces backing Somali government troops ousted the Islamic courts in December.
“So it seems as if some elements within the Somali transitional federal government and some businessmen in Puntland (a northeastern Somalia region) are involved because you know piracy is a lucrative business,” Mwangura told The Associated Press.
Somali government officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
the TFG does appear to be all about the benjamins & i believe they took over the port in mogadishu from a private owner (could be wrong – can’t find any references right now). so who knows. maybe the private contractors play a role in this too.
back to the IBM press release
Attacks have also risen sharply in Nigerian waters, with 26 incidents reported to the IMB compared to 9 during the corresponding period in 2006 [emphasis added]. Criminal groups claimed to have political motives for the theft and abduction of crewmembers. Nigeria has set up a Maritime Guard Command to help increase safety and security along the country’s coastline.
it would be interesting to know how the traffic numbers stack up between periods & such, but the link to the report returns a 404 error.
the AP story continues
A Nigerian Navy spokesman, Capt. Henry Babalola, said criminals are now targeting the most vulnerable vessels — shipping trawlers — because authorities have cracked down on crude oil theft. The pirates seize ships’ valuable communications equipment.
Babalola said the Navy has only 15 patrol boats for the Rivers and Delta states, but there are hundreds of waterways where pirates can attack.
“That makes it impossible to cover all these places,” he told The Associated Press.
IMB director Pottengal Mukundan urged ships to stay as far as possible from the coasts of Somalia and Nigeria.
i’m betting that warning doesn’t apply to partner-ship cruises bound for the new persian gulf.
defensenews.com is reporting now that
AFRICOM Critic Nigeria Will Participate in Maritime Partnership: U.S. Admiral
The top U.S. Navy official in the African region says Nigeria, long opposed to the slowly developing increased American military presence on the continent, has accepted an invitation to participate in a new maritime security program.
U.S. officials, as they were planning the “Africa Partnership Station” (APS) effort, extended an invitation to a long list of African nations, including Nigeria and South Africa, which have both signaled opposition to the new U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). Both nations’ governments also have raised concern about Washington’s intention to focus more on the long-troubled continent.
South African leaders have not yet responded to an invitation “to at least send observers” for the first APS activities off the continent’s western coastline; Nigerian officials “initially showed no interest,” said Adm. Henry Ulrich, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and the Sixth Fleet.
But the Nigerian leaders recently altered course, the soon-to-retire four-star said during an Oct. 16 Center for Strategic and International Studies-sponsored forum in Washington, indicating the African nation will take part. The “level of that participation,” Ulrich said, has not yet been determined.
dropping (or forgetting) the ‘we responded b/c we were asked to help’ storyline which i pointed out in monday’s DoD briefing, the article quotes admiral bird ulrich a little less concerned now that the ship has set sail
Though Ulrich stressed it is vital for many African nations to participate, “we told countries, ‘You can do anything you want or you can do nothing at all.’”
and don’t look for uncle sam to foot the bill for any real naval buildup for your country
“We’re not going in there saying, ‘You need [numerous] ships, a couple subs and a B-2’” bomber, said Ulrich. “We’re telling [African nations], ‘keep it easy, keep it cheap. Use it and you’ll fall in love with it.’”
In terms of aid and training APS can provide, and potential ships and systems the countries might need to bring stability to their zones of interest, Ulrich said his staff will respond to requests. U.S. naval officials, however, are less inclined to have serious discussions if African officials simply show up with “lists” and expect Washington to automatically provide those things, he noted.
hey.. it’s a business decision now. cost-benefit analysis & all that stuff.
and, on the point i made of the african partnership station (APS) being a way to deflect a unilateral image of AFRICOM’s first initiative,
From Washington, Ulrich is heading to a sea-power conference featuring naval chiefs from across the globe. There, he said he wants to explain why the next ship that sails into the Gulf of Guinea for the APS effort “isn’t flying an American flag.” To that end, five European nations already have signed on, and “Spain, Italy, France are all very interested,” he said.
U.S. officials have been in early talks with nations along the east African coasts about bringing APS or a very similar initiative to that side of the continent, Ulrich said, adding nothing has yet been nailed down.
take your times, guys.
Not the right time to explore in Somalia, says oil minister
BAIDOA, Somalia Oct 16 (Garowe Online) – Somalia’s petroleum minister says he does not believe it is the “right time” to explore for natural resources in the East African country torn apart by 17 years of civil war.
Oil Minister Abdullahi Yusuf Mohamed “Harare” told Garowe Online in an exclusive interview that the conditions on the ground in Somalia are not ready for oil exploration.
“In many parts of the country [Somalia] there is insecurity. Foreign companies and their employees are the people who will be coming and it is a heavy responsibility to assure their safety,” Minister Harare said.
conflict is spreading in the north now, as the breakaway republics of puntland & somaliland — the regions where the majority of oil concessions lie — are battling over territory, borders & power.
and things are still bad in the south
but that’s not gonna stop the TFG from trying to grab some more USD
[The oil minister] pointed out that it is imperative that foreign oil companies who hold exploration contracts with the former Somali government meet with representatives from the ministry of energy and petroleum, which he leads.
Such meeting is necessary to see “if there is need to amend [past contracts] or adjust them to fit modern times,” he said.
He said the interim government prioritizes past agreements and will give foreign firms who hold prior contracts time to mobilize efforts to commence operations in Somalia.
But if the companies fail to comply within the agreed upon period of time, the government reserves the right to take “appropriate action,” Minister Harare warned.
which may very well precipitate ‘appropriate reactions’, should it ever get to that. however, the end of the TFG, at least in its present form, may be on its last legs. their international backers are slowly giving up on them & their internal divisions are rendering them even more ineffective.
Posted by: b real | Oct 17 2007 4:22 utc | 11
more on amd ulrich @ csis tuesday
EuroCom CO wants more attaches for Africa
To increase cooperation with African navies and boost joint maritime operations, the Navy must send more officers to Africa as naval attaches, the top U.S. admiral in Europe said Tuesday.
Adm. Harry Ulrich, commander of Naval Forces Europe, called for more naval personnel on the ground in Africa at a Washington think tank.
Ulrich explained that last year there were “only three” naval officers serving in Africa who weren’t assigned to a U.S. military installation in Djibouti. The number has since grown to 10, with “more to come”
He said the Navy needs more naval attaches and liaison officers in Africa to “build awareness of maritime operations around the continent.”
Many U.S. defense attaches in Africa are Army officers, with some from the Marine Corps and Air Force. Having more U.S. naval attaches would foster partnerships with African navies, Ulrich said, allowing the Navy to advise nations on maritime security and other matters.
one item on the agenda for the maritime security program is establishing a system for better tracking & monitoring of all sea traffic around the continent, esp in the gulf of guinea. (plans are also in effect for creating the same thing on land, tracking & controlling the flow of trade good and people, which i’ll have to write on at a later time.)
as ulrich stated in his introductory remarks in monday’s DoD briefing, this is one the gaps in asserting control over sea lines of communication
Now, it turns out that I, in my NATO hat, I’m in charge of air safety and security for the southern part of Europe and indeed also responsible for maritime safety and security. And when I looked at the contrast there, it was striking. I knew where every aircraft was flying over Europe in three dimensions to about 50 feet, real time. I knew where it was, where it was going, where it came from and what it was carrying. We were tracking 7,000 of these airplanes every single day. And at the same time, in the maritime domain I could only look you in the eye and say that we were tracking less than a hundred ships or even knew where the hundred ships were, and clearly there was a lot more out there.
So we looked at how we did it in the air — you know, with little, tiny airplanes moving very, very fast in three dimensions — and why we couldn’t do it in the maritime domain with really, really fat ships that move very slow in normally in two dimensions.
And so we’ve changed our whole way of looking at this, and we’ve had some great success in this whole new discipline of maritime safety and security.
better vessel tracking will allow more accurate monitoring of where a ship/cargo/passenger is at all times as traffic in the region is expected to boom. it also functions in routing, preventing collisions, groundings, strandings, and even controlling port traffic to deny access/exit to/from unauthorized vessels. the latter can include anything from foreign fishing boats to ships commandeered for illicit transport. or even blocking national oil tankers from countries competing for that resource.
sounds like even the students at yale recognize the authentic context behind AFRICOM’s mission
Student examines U.S. interest in Africa
Competition with China — not the AIDS epidemic or corrupt governments — has encouraged America to increase its involvement in Africa, Robert Berschinski ’02 GRD ’08 said Tuesday.
Berschinski — who worked for the U.S. Army War College — outlined his ideas on America’s relationship with Africa while presenting his research on the United States Africa Command, or AFRICOM, a recently established U.S. agency that will act as a liaison between the Department of Defense and all 53 countries on the African continent.
…
“We are paying more attention to the continent because China is paying more attention to the continent,” Berschinski said.
…
Many African nations are also concerned with the presence of AFRICOM, and African leaders have said it resembles colonialism, Berschinski said.
[He] said African leaders are more than aware of U.S.-China rivalry and see AFRICOM as a reincarnation of the Cold War against China.
“There is a perception that U.S. actions after the Cold War have been sporadic and ineffective and that the U.S. is looking for a resource-grab,” Berschinski said
Paul Rubinson, a Yale predoctoral fellow in security studies, said he agreed with the sentiments of African leaders who say the United States is protecting its own interests in Africa.
“I personally believe current U.S. policy is about oil and economic interests,” he said.
well it’s not exactly a secret, is it. it’s just not polite to talk about dominating global trade and capital flows & having a national security strategy founded on [1] not allowing any nation to challenge u.s. preeminence and [2] world security rests upon accepting the u.s.’ GWOT narrative as a pretext in order for imperial expansion to proceed most efficiently.
– – – – –
a few reference materials on the u.s. in the gulf of guinea that i found helpful:
july 15, 2004 senate foreign relations committee hearing, The Gulf of Guinea and U.S. Strategic Energy Policy. the testimony by former u.s. assistant secretary of energy for international affairs david goldwyn is esp worth a look.
The region is a rising gas power as well. If current projects under development are brought to fruition, Nigeria, Angola and Equatorial Guinea will increase their liquefaction capacity from 9 million tons (M/T) per year to nearly 40 MT per year. These nations are growing as suppliers because they have opened their economies to Western investment. While most of the world’s oil reserves are closed to international oil companies, the Gulf of Guinea has offered nearly 15% returns on investment. These terms (and high prices) will attract $30- $40 billion in investment this decade.
two articles in the january issue of the naval postgraduate school’s publication strategic insights
– Enhancing Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea
– Insider’s Perspective: Creating a Culture of Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea
the online book Oil Policy in the Gulf of Guinea
mark sorbara’s “The United States and Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea”, available here
Posted by: b real | Oct 17 2007 19:18 utc | 18
the guardian has some more information on the story b picked up on in #17 re somali forces entering a un compound & kidnapping the head of the world food program operation in mogadishu. so far it’s the only source acknowledging a reason.
UN chief held over use of mosques in famine relief
Somali government troops stormed a United Nations compound in Mogadishu and arrested the country head of the World Food Programme (WFP), in protest at a decision to distribute food aid through a network of mosques.
…
No reason was given for the arrest, which prompted an immediate suspension of WFP work in the capital. But UN officials said it was linked to a new method of food distribution that began on Monday using 42 local mosques to get aid to more than 75,000 people in Mogadishu.
The WFP, which is struggling to deal with a growing hunger crisis in Somalia, had been unable to directly distribute food in the capital since June 25 due to violence and looting. “Going through the mosques guaranteed us a level of security the government cannot give,” said a UN official in Nairobi, who requested anonymity.
Although Somalia is almost completely Muslim, the transitional government views mosques, particularly in Mogadishu, with suspicion. The Somali Council of Islamic Courts, which took over the capital last year before being defeated by invading Ethiopian forces, used clerics to help draw in supporters. Remnants of the Islamists’ militant wing are behind a growing insurgency in the capital.
The authorities draw little distinction between civilians and the insurgents that live among them, so humanitarian assistance is often a source of tension. Mohamed Dheere, the mayor of Mogadishu and a government ally, recently accused aid agencies of giving food aid to terrorists.
that was the incident i pointed out several weeks back where dheere was threatening to attack idp camps, claiming they sheltered the wives & children of ‘terrorists’, which elicited outrage from NGOs who feared plans were underway to wipe out some camps. well, w/ the wfp chief kidnapped resulting in the suspension of food & such to the idp’s, some of the camper’s are indeed in jeopardy of being wiped out now.
and ethiopia appears actively involved now to prevent the TFG prime minister gedi from being sacked by parliament. over the past two weeks there was a motion to force gedi to face a no-confidence vote as the imposed govt has failed to achieve any improvements — quite the opposite, actually — and is acting in an unaccountable manner, esp wrt the somali people at large.
oct 11: Somalia: Ministers Demand Confidence Vote
Somalia’s transitional federal government (TFG) has been thrown into disarray after 22 ministers signed a letter demanding a vote of confidence in the government.
“We have given the letter requesting the confidence vote to the speaker of parliament [Sheikh Aden Madobe] this morning [11 October],” said Justice Minister Hassan Dhimbil Warsame.
Twenty-two out of 30 ministers signed the letter, he said.
Warsame said the ministers took the action “after it became very clear that this government was not up to the job and has failed to deliver what the Somali people wanted”.
…
A member of parliament who requested anonymity told IRIN that Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi “was in serious trouble, given that a majority in his own cabinet is lobbying for the no confidence vote”.
He said Gedi will need 139 votes out of the 275-member parliament to survive. “I honestly don’t see how he will marshal such numbers.”
yusuf is also said to be ready to dump gedi, having suffered a growing split recently esp over new oil draft legislation. a recent reuters story put it like this
Gedi and Yusuf, who both ascended to power via Ethiopian maneuvering, have long feuded. A truce since the last no-confidence vote in 2006 shattered earlier this year when they backed rival concerns looking for oil exploration rights.
“Yusuf has said Gedi must go, legally or illegally. It’s not a secret,” said a Somali expert with close ties to the Gedi and Yusuf camps.
Yusuf’s side argues Gedi’s term has expired under the transitional federal charter. Gedi insists he has the law and time behind him.
But Yusuf’s allies arrested the chief justice of the supreme court on corruption charges late last month, leaving no legal arbiter to interpret the constitutional question.
Whether Gedi stays or goes, the vote likely means a delay in moving the interim government closer to its goal of building up institutions amid a persistent insurgency in Mogadishu, and growing conflict with breakaway Somaliland in the north.
“What we want is people to start working in the right direction. The way things are, we consider it disastrous,” said a Western diplomat on condition of anonymity.
“They have to realize the international community is becoming more and more fed up, because we have the impression that they are manipulating us.”
at first, gedi tried to line up some fellow hawiye clan leaders to support him, but that effort proved too little too late & pressure continued building for another confidence vote (he’s survived one previously, but that was before the TFG was restored to a position of power by u.s.-backed ethiopian forces at the turn of the year.)
so the external actors are getting more involved.
as the date for the confidence vote arrived on wednesday, gedi either was suddenly called to or decided to run to addis ababa, the capital of ethiopia, for either some consultation or protection.
Somalia parliament postpones debate over prime minister’s future
BAIDOA, Somalia Oct 17 (Garowe Online) – Somali legislators meeting in the southwestern town of Baidoa postponed debate Wednesday over the fate of Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi in light of his sudden trip to Addis Ababa.
…
Prime Minister Gedi flew from Baidoa today to the Ethiopian capital. According to Speaker Madobe, the Somali Prime Minister was invited to Addis Ababa by the African Union and the Ethiopian government.
“His [Gedi’s] trip is related to efforts by the African Union and our Ethiopian friends to find peaceful resolution to the dispute,” Madobe said, referring to growing political discord between Gedi and President Abdullahi Yusuf that has resonated throughout the government.
Yusuf and Speaker Madobe have also been invited to Addis Ababa to partake in discussions, reliable sources in Baidoa said.
The Somali president wants Prime Minister Gedi to face a vote of no confidence motion proposed by members of parliament.
But Gedi has refused to appear in front of lawmakers and warned last week that attempts to unseat him might spark civil unrest in Somalia.
and then on thursday there was this story
Ethiopian soldiers halt Somalia Cabinet meeting
BAIDOA, Somalia Oct 18 (Garowe Online) – Ethiopian military officers in the Somali town of Baidoa ordered local police to stop a meeting of Cabinet ministers who have expressed their opposition to the administration of Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi.
Some 22 Somali Cabinet ministers were supposed to hold a meeting in Baidoa Thursday, but the meeting was shut down prematurely by police, sources said.
The order to stop the meeting came from Ethiopian commanders, government sources in Baidoa said.
“They [Ethiopians] said the Cabinet cannot meet without [Prime Minister] Gedi present,” said a local security source familiar with the incident.
The 22 Somali government ministers issued a statement last week threatening to resign if Premier Gedi refuses to appear in front of parliament and face a vote of confidence motion, a move many believe is supported by President Abdullahi Yusuf.
gedi is scheduled to return on saturday, when the vote is to be taken up, though whether that actually happens remains to be seen. however, w/ the kidnapping of the u.n. chief, the northern regions on the brink of civil war, and relentless attacks by the insurgents throughout mogadishu & the south, the TFG is quickly gonna lose the public support of its international backers & is more than likely to wash their hands of both gedi & yusuf, despite ethiopia’s efforts.
Posted by: b real | Oct 19 2007 6:15 utc | 23
thank you for comments, david. (david’s blog african news analysis is a good resource, esp on current events in central africa, and his investigative reports & research are very valuable & knowledgable.) you’re correct about USAID, i’d wager, as they’ve been heavily involved in AFRICOM’s transition & agenda setting since last november.
_ _ _
another journalist assassination in mogadishu today, this time the acting head of radio shabelle, bashiir noor gedi
SOMALIA: Radio Shabelle manager assassinated
The acting manager of the independent Somali station Radio Shabelle was assassinated outside his home in Mogadishu today by unknown gunmen, according to station employees and local journalists.
Bashiir Noor Gedi was attempting to return to his home in the Hamar Jadid neighborhood after he and other Radio Shabelle employees had been holed up in the station for roughly a week because of a series of threats, according to journalists who spoke with his family. More than a dozen Radio Shabelle staffers were still inside the station’s headquarters tonight, fearful of leaving the premises, according to Radio Shabelle Chairman Abdimaalik Yusuf, who is in exile in London.
“We condemn the brutal killing of Bashiir Noor Gedi and extend our deepest condolences to his family and colleagues,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “The Somali transitional government must conduct a thorough and transparent investigation and ensure that all Radio Shabelle staff can return to their respective homes safely.”
Shabelle, considered one of the leading stations in Somalia, has been harrassed, threatened, and attacked by both government security forces and insurgents because of its critical reporting of the ongoing violence in Mogadishu. Shabelle was forced to close for 15 days this fall before resuming its broadcasts on October 3.
shabelle media has really been harassed & intimidated by the somali govt over the course of this year, being shot at, shot up, invaded & closed multiple times, and w/ employees being detained, abused, & threatened by the deputy head of national security, soldiers, military officers, govt officials, and others. the govt has been repeatedly trying to shut down these radio stations, which are the sole source of news (in lieu of newspapers & other print) in the country, most recently having declared that all media must be registered & approved w/ the TFG in order to operate in somalia. they’ve also tried to make it illegal to report anything critical about the TFG or their operations.
on sept 18 soldiers detained all the workers at the shabelle media HQ & then shot up the equipment, putting the popular station off the air for the next 15 days & serving as the last straw for many of the employees there, fleeing finally, as their lives were undeniably in danger.
even jendayi frazer has had to admit that the TFG’s stance on press freedom is intolerable, so that’s really saying something.
today’s assassination of the head of shabelle media network marks the 8th journalist to be killed in somalia in ’07 and comes only 17 days after smn returned to the airwaves.
and today, in puntland
Radio Garowe Closed, three of its Journalists Arrested
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) today condemns the closing of Radio Garowe in Puntland, northeastern Somalia, and the subsequent arrest of three of its journalists.
Heavily armed security forces of Puntland Regional State stormed the premises of Radio Garowe, and ordered the management to shutdown the radio around 17 hours local time, according to journalists in Garowe and Garoweonline.
The security forces also arrested three journalists of the radio whose names and titles are: Abdi Farah Jama Mire, Director of the Radio; Isse Abdullahi Mohammed, Editor of the Radio; and Mohammed Dahir Yusuf, a Producer.
The motive behind the closure is not known, but Puntland journalists told NUSOJ that it is all about news report of a member of National Security Agency of Somalia who escaped from the agency and afterwards spoke to the media by criticising the behaviour of security agency in Mogadishu, which Radio Garowe reported.
— — — — —
also, south african reggae star lucky dube was shot & killed thursday night by unknown gunmen as he was shuttling his children around johannesburg
Posted by: b real | Oct 20 2007 4:50 utc | 26
reuters: Nigerian militants preparing oil attacks – U.S.
LAGOS, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Militant group MEND is preparing attacks on Nigerian oil facilities that could be preceded by hostage-taking, the U.S. embassy said in a security notice on Friday.
It was unclear why the embassy issued the notice to its citizens almost four weeks after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) itself made the same threat. A spokesman for the embassy declined to comment.
The consular notice said the embassy had received information that MEND was preparing attacks against unspecified oil installations and pipelines in three southern states of Nigeria.
“These attacks may be preceded by the taking of hostages to be used as human shields,” it said.
It provided no more information.
The MEND itself said in an e-mail to the media on Sept. 23 that it would resume attacks on oil installations and abduct foreign workers in response to the arrest of one of its leaders in Angola. It has yet to carry out the threat.
it’s pretty clear to me. the embassy is generating propaganda for its own political ends.
the sept 23rd communique that the reuters article mentions is only partially correct. while there was another stmt by MEND on that date, they made the same claim a month and-a-half prior to that.
Nigerian Militant Group MEND Vows New Oil Attacks
LONDON, (Dow Jones Newswires), Aug 09, 2007 (Dow Jones Commodities News) The main Nigerian militant group behind a wave of attacks on energy facilities and abductions of foreign oil workers vowed Thursday to renew attacks on oil pipelines in coming weeks and said it had still not held talks with the country’s new government.
…
“We will resume our attacks at the end of this month with greater ferocity,” MEND said in an e-mail response to Dow Jones Newswires, without elaborating. “Before then however, we will give the oil industry a reminder of some sort.”
“We are not in talks with the Nigerian government,” said the group through its representative who goes by the pseudonym Jomo Gbomo and who communicates with the media by e-mail.
MEND also pledged to continue its long-running tactic of abducting foreign oil workers in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer and a big source of crude for U.S. and European markets. “We will never stop hostage taking until we achieve our goal,” Gbomo said.
the u.s. embassy created a controversy a month ago right before sept 11 when it made another vague announcement about information pertaining to attacks on u.s. citizens in nigeria, issuing a warning to all foreign nationals to be cautious over where they went & so forth, though they quickly backpeddled by the next day, w/ the state dept having to clarify that there was no specific information which led to this announcement & that instead, it was meant as just good common-sense advice. needless to say, many nigerians were pissed, seeing ulterior motives thru such transparent tactics.
it’s likely that this new warning is more of the same.
interestingly, nigeria’s vanguard did run an article today on an alleged new claim from MEND
MEND threatens bombing beyond creeks
The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND says it will extend its bombing campaigns beyond the creeks of the region to other parts of the country if the Federal Government “accedes to the military’s request to raid militant camps” in the Niger Delta.
The group said in a statement, signed by Jomo Gbomo and posted on the internet that its first target would be the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, stating that it had the expertise to detonate car bombs and other structures considered impossible to destroy.
“The JTF or military has claimed victory in the on-going operations in Port Harcourt and other areas but it is not victory against the emancipators but victory against those criminals that have hijacked the operations of the freedom fighters.
Our field operatives who carry out car bombings, commandos and fighters are on stand by.”
now first, the u.s. embassy warning is reportedly that of MEND “preparing attacks on Nigerian oil facilities that could be preceded by hostage-taking” and says nothing about attacks on non-oil infrastructure, so i doubt this is related.
second, the vanguard article posts the txt of the alleged “statement, signed by Jomo Gbomo and posted on the internet,” yet a web search yields no other matches for any of the txt. also, according to rpts over the past few weeks, the individual using the alias jomo gbomo is still in custody somewhere, after having been arrested in early sept in angola. it could be that someone else in MEND has taken up the handle & is issuing MEND stmts in his absence, either from w/i the alliance or, hmmm, from outside. the stmt is certainly different from previous communiques in that it threatens to put non-oil personnel in harms way. is it not convenient that, while their official spokesperson is in detention, MEND suddenly talk of car bombs (iraq-style IEDs, perhaps?) and brag that
We have a stockpile of recently delivered heavy weapons to counter any air or amphibious attack the Nigerian military forces are also acquiring weapons, so the match is even.
Better still, we have the expertise to detonate car bombs that can divide the Lagos third mainland bridge into two.
is this a psyop?
just doesn’t sound right
Posted by: b real | Oct 20 2007 5:51 utc | 27
more on #34, the attack on the oil field that’s been down since feb 2006
at least we can probably confirm that the hostages (assuming they were actually hostages) have been returned to shell. as for who’s behind it, well, for now it depends on who you wanna believe
reuters reports
ABUJA, Oct 22 (Reuters) – All seven hostages seized by gunmen from an offshore Nigerian oilfield were released on Monday after two days in captivity, a state government spokesman said.
“All seven have been freed. They are in a government house,” said Ebimo Amungo, a spokesman for Bayelsa state government, where the kidnapping had taken place.
…
The attack had no immediate impact on oil output because the field was halted after an earlier militant attack in February 2006. It had been expected to resume production of 115,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the middle of next year.
A spokesman for a prominent militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), claimed responsibility for the abduction.
However, industry and security sources said the claim did not ring true. It was more likely an attempt by a delta warlord to gain relevance with local authorities, they said.
but why would anyone bother w/ a field that was already out of service and 6-8 months away from even resuming operations?
the afx news limited rpt at rigzone states
Seven oil workers — three foreigners and four Nigerians — seized off the coast of southern Nigeria at the weekend were released Monday, a state government spokesman said.
“They were released to state government this afternoon and the government handed them over to Shell officials,” Edimo Amungo, press secretary to the governor of Bayelsa state told AFP, without saying how the men’s release was obtained.
…
They were seized from a production, storage and offloading facility owned by the Anglo-Dutch giant Shell.
No party claimed responsibility for the attack, which industry sources say is one of the most daring in the five months that President Umaru Yar’Adua has been in power.
vanguard rpts
Meanwhile, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) said, yesterday, that despite the release of the four hostages, four Nigerians and three foreign oil workers, kidnapped on Saturday, its fighters would continue the attacks, adding that the release of the hostages was made possible due to the personal intervention of its leader, Henry Okah.
In a press statement, last night, signed by Jomo Gbomo, the movement stated, “Firstly, we want to dissociate ourselves from the statement purported to have been issued from MEND and signed by one Don Pedro regarding the current attack on the Shell EA fields”.
“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) hereby confirm that the raid on the EA oil fields operated by Shell and the capture of seven (7) oil workers was indeed carried out by its gallant fighters on Saturday, October 20, 2007 in Bayelsa State of Nigeria.
nigeria’s thisday is also rpt’ing that it was MEND
a statement from the Movement for the Emnaci-pation of the Niger Delta (MEND) issued late last night confirmed the raid on Shell facility.
“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
(MEND), hereby confirm that the raid on the EA oil fields operated by Shell and the capture of seven (7) oil workers was indeed carried out by its gallant fighters on Saturday, October 20, 2007 in Bayelsa State of Nigeria.
searching google on a fragment of txt from that msg — “hereby confirm that the raid on the EA oil fields operated by Shell” — only yields a link to the last two articles above. (&, no, MEND did not set a cookie on my machine)
Posted by: b real | Oct 23 2007 3:58 utc | 36
Nigeria: FG May Review PSCS With Oil Companies
Former president, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Dr Rilwan Lukman, has hinted that government may reconsider some of the generous terms in the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), Memoranda of Understanding and Joint Venture operations, which currently favour multinational oil companies operating in Nigeria, as part of on-going reforms in the oil and gas sector.
The idea, which may also include review of extant laws, is to ensure Nigeria gets more value-added benefits.
The former OPEC boss also warned that the enactment of the legislation designed to outlaw OPEC by the United States of America was not in America’s best interest, as it would turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory.
Describing the No-OPEC law as unfortunate, Lukman, who is also Special Adviser to President Umaru Yar’Adua on Energy, told local and international media in Abuja yesterday, that should the US succeed in eliminating OPEC, there would be no group to moderate in bringing down oil prices on the international market, as the organisation has always done when prices were getting too high.
He said as a result of the current soar-away prices of crude on the international market, which has gone beyond the all-time high of $85 per barrel, the OPEC has already ordered a cut of 500,000 barrels per day by its member-states, adding that once there is no OPEC, individual nations would be at liberty to produce whatever volumes it desires as is presently done by non-OPEC members.
Lukman, therefore, advised the U.S. to rethink its action, as it was in its interest for the OPEC to continue to exist and play its noble role.
Nigeria considers oil contracts review
Nigeria wants to review its contracts with international oil companies as part of a major shake-up in the energy sector, perhaps imposing tougher conditions to exploit soaring global crude prices.
Rilwanu Lukman, chairman of Nigeria’s oil and gas reform committee, said in his first public remarks since taking the job in August that the country might have to revisit some of the ”generous terms” granted to Western majors.
President Umaru Yar’Adua has pledged sweeping changes in the energy sector after winning elections in April, hoping to increase production and solve Nigeria’s chronic fuel and power shortages.
The president appointed Mr Lukman, a former OPEC secretary-general, as a special adviser, hoping he will steer the reforms in Africa’s biggest crude exporter.
Speaking at the Abuja headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the state oil company, Mr Lukman said Nigeria needed to take a new look at agreements with international energy companies.
…
”We have used the oil and gas industry as a kind of national cash cow. Now we want to take a conscious decision to use this resources for an intelligent and pro-active means of actually driving our economy forward.”
Nigeria: Why U.S. Troops’re in Gulf of Guinea, By Azazi
Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. General Andrew Owoye Azazi yesterday allayed the fears of Nigerians on the continued presence of United States military in the Gulf of Guinea.
Speaking at a forum in Abuja on Tuesday, the Defence chief said that Nigerians should not get unnecessarily worried over the matter as the troops are there just to give peace in the area. General Azazi said that US likes to have relative peace anywhere they have business interest.
“US wants relative peace to be able to undertake their business” he said pointing out that there is no other motive behind their troops presence to worry anybody.
Africa: Private Security Firms Seek Greater Peacekeeping Role
Private military contractors (PMCs) are seeking to play a greater role in peacekeeping in Africa to make up for what they claim to be the inability of UN missions and state militaries to ensure the continent’s security and humanitarian development.
During a three-day conference in Nairobi that brought together UN agencies, NGOs, officials of numerous governments and several private sector companies, PMCs said they had much to offer in terms of logistics, personnel and expertise.
Doug Brooks, the president of the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), an industry body for PMCs, said that while such contractors would not replace existing peace missions, they could enhance peace and stability in regions plagued by protracted conflict such as Sudan’s Darfur and Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) North Kivu.
“The West has been an unreliable peacekeeping operations partner in Africa and this has made the peace missions diverse, unsupported and ineffective,” said Brooks.
“It is significantly cheaper to hire expertise and equipment from companies than it is for militaries to attempt to maintain them for years or decades.”
— reminder —
…a dinner and conference organised by an influential group of US “private military companies”, the IPOA (International Peace Operations Association).
Ms Whelan told the group the Pentagon was keen to see them operate in Africa, saying: “Contractors are here to stay in supporting US national security objectives overseas.” They were cheaper, and saved the use of US forces in peacekeeping and training.
She added: “The US can be supportive in trying to ameliorate regional crises without necessarily having to put US troops on the ground, which is often a very difficult political decision _ Sometimes we may not want to be very visible.” [link]
Posted by: b real | Oct 24 2007 18:51 utc | 40
Nigeria to Revise Foreign Company Oil Deals
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, is looking to renegotiate several contracts with foreign oil companies, senior Nigerian oil officials said Wednesday, in a move to boost the government’s share of oil revenues.
The planned changes will make it harder for foreign firms to pocket energy profits and to book crucial crude oil reserves in the West African nation.
The surprising development comes after a long period in which Nigeria had been a beacon of honoring contracts and not mimicking other oil nations around the world in recent years, like Venezuela, where the government has forced unfavorable contract changes on foreign operators.
“The oil contracts in place provide for periodic review and renegotiation. That time has arrived and the Nigerian government is doing that now,” Rilwanu Lukman, an energy advisor to Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Rewriting those contracts will take months to complete and will affect several major oil companies, such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA), Chevron Corp. (CVX), Total SA (TOT) and Eni SpA (E).
Shell, the biggest foreign oil operator in Nigeria, and Total are the most exposed to changes in contracts in Nigeria in terms of reserves, analysts at ING said in a research note. “Any actual change to fiscal terms in Nigeria would be negative for (Shell’s) stock in particular, albeit there is perhaps a long way to go yet before any actual impact is proposed, negotiated or confirmed,” ING said.
Governments Demand a Bigger Share of Oil
TORONTO (AP) — The oil industry is under assault globally by nations and even provinces who want companies like Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Suncor to cough up more royalties they can use to address issues like poverty and education.
First it was Venezuela. Now, Nigeria is reviewing its relationships with international oil companies and the oil-rich Canadian province of Alberta is set to announce a decision Thursday on increasing royalties from the energy industry. It’s a move the industry warns could devastate Alberta’s oil patch.
At least once analyst compared Alberta to Venezuela last month after a government-appointed panel called for the province to boost its total take from the energy industry by 20 percent a year, or roughly $2 billion.
Under President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela raised royalty and tax rates on foreign oil companies, then later took majority control of all oil projects as part of a larger nationalization drive of “strategic” economic sectors. Chavez says those policies are ensuring that oil benefits Venezuelans instead of foreign corporations and governments.
Russia and Bolivia have also asserted greater state control over their oil or natural gas assets in recent years.
ExxonMobil Cranks Up Again Offshore Angola
ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Ltd., successfully started up production from the Marimba North project offshore Angola. Ahead of schedule and within budget, the project is expected to develop 80 million barrels of oil.
…
ExxonMobil holds interest in four blocks offshore Angola that span an excess of 3 million gross acres. The company’s subsidiary Esso is the operator of Block 15 with 40% interest.
Africa’s gendarme France not hanging up baton yet
DAKAR, Oct 25 (Reuters) – France is trying to shed its reputation as “Africa’s policeman” but, despite efforts to involve European partners in peacekeeping missions, there are no signs it will hang up its baton just yet.
France won backing last month for an EU force to be deployed soon in east Chad and Central African Republic, where it already has troops stationed. The EU force will protect civilians from a 4-year-old conflict spilling across from Sudan’s Darfur region.
This marks progress in Paris’ new policy of involving European allies in a region it once regarded as its “backyard”. But France will still provide the bulk of the troops of the up to 3,000-strong EU contingent, and its logistical backbone.
…
France has five bases on mainland Africa — in Ivory Coast, Senegal, Gabon, Chad and Djibouti — with 11,000 men there. The United States, by contrast, has 1,800 troops in Djibouti and Britain only has training missions in Kenya and Sierra Leone.
…
France’s bases in Africa do not overlap with her commercial interests, which lie in oil producers Angola and Nigeria, and in South Africa. But France’s military and political sway in Africa are important to its claims to be a world power, analysts say.
President Nicolas Sarkozy, who took office in May, has pledged to end France’s cosy ties with Africa’s ruling elites, known as “Francafrique”. But on his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa, he courted a pillar of this system, Gabonese President Omar Bongo, installed by French troops in 1964.
Gordon Brown and Africa
Where does this concern for Africa come from? Mr. Brown is the son of a Presbyterian Church of Scotland minister and grew up in a poor part of Glasgow and later in the small Scottish town of Kirkcaldy. From his father he inherited his ideals; strictly moral, puritanical and serious, careful with money and caring for others. As a youth he had to sneak out of home to buy the Sunday papers and hide them because his father disapproved of shopping on the Sabbath. Some might call this upbringing typically Scottish. In the mid-nineteenth century, David Livingstone, another Scottish Presbyterian minister and explorer of Africa, had called for missionaries to bring Christianity to “:the Dark Continent.” The Church of Scotland had responded enthusiastically, sending thousands of young idealistic Christians to Africa for more than a century to bring their religion and education to Africans. Their feed-back through the Church increased Scotland’s sense of international mission, particularly for Africa. It affected subsequent generations including the young Gordon Brown. Aged 11, he organized a sale to raise money for refugees.
A precocious child, he was pushed through school to Edinburgh University at the age of 16, but was badly injured in a rugby game and suffered a loss of sight. An operation and two months lying in a darkened room saved one eye but he is blind in the other. That experience, friends say, made him a man in a hurry, driven by almost missionary zeal.
…
The missionary background of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries turned into the aid agency and volunteering movement after the Second World War. Many of those who founded and ran organizations such as Oxfam, Christian Aid, and Save the Children Fund came from church backgrounds. In the 1960s and 1970s, their workers went off to Africa as volunteer teachers, nurses and technicians in the same spirit that their grandfathers had gone to “evangelize the natives”. They may have been humanitarian rather than explicitly religious, but the basic concept was that Africans needed their help to make life better and transform the continent.
To raise money for their campaigns, they promoted the vision of Africa as a poor backward continent beset by wars and famines and in need of saving. Since media coverage of other aspects of Africa was scarce, this became the common perception of the continent. It was picked up by rock stars such as Bob Geldoff and Paul Hewson aka Bono. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown also embraced this view of Africa. Blair described Africa as a “scar on the conscience of the world”. The politicians also embraced the rock stars, sending their ratings sky high. But while people were inspired to care about poverty and give money, few dug deeper into the causes of Africa’s present distress. The Make Poverty History campaign, funded indirectly by the government, promoted the idea that if everyone gave money to Africa, its problems would be solved. Nor did many ask what Africans felt about this perception of their continent. They did not listen to Africa’s burgeoning middle class which resents deeply the image of Africa as a starving child.
…
Posted by: b real | Oct 26 2007 4:40 utc | 41
owl –
here’s some more info re your #4 & my #5, on foreign military training of african troops, according to daniel volman, who monitors these things.
International Military Education and Training Program (IMET)
The IMET program brings African military officers to military academies and other military educational institutions in the United States for professional training. Nearly all African countries participate in the program—including Libya for the first time in FY 2008—and in FY 2006 (the last year for which country figures are available—it trained 14,731 students from the African continent (excluding Egypt) at a cost of $14.7 million.
the figure i cited earlier of the 2007 forecast for IMET trainees, short by a factor of 10 compared to 2006, came from a congressional research service report for congress. go figure.
volman also points out, in this latest analysis, that budgets for some of the programs for africa are impossible to get at. on the ACOTA program, which i brought up in #6, volman writes
ACOTA is officially designed to provide training to African military forces to improve their ability to conduct peacekeeping operations, even if they take place in hostile environments. But since the training includes both defensive and offensive military operations, it also enhances the ability of participating forces to engage in police operations against unarmed civilians, counter-insurgency operations, and even conventional military operations against the military forces of other countries. By FY 2007, nineteen African countries were participating in the ACOTA program (Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia). New budgetary methodology makes it impossible to ascertain the levels of funding for ACOTA, since the program’s funding is subsumed within the budget for the Global Peace Operations Initiative.
on another program, the trans-saharan counter-terrorism partnership (TSCTP), partnering algeria, chad, mali, mauritania, morocco, niger, nigeria, and tunisia w/ the u.s. military, volman does have some numbers to cite
The TSCTP also involves smaller, regular training exercises conducted by U.S. Army Special Forces throughout the region. Although changing budgetary methodology makes it difficult to be certain, it appears that the TSCTP received some $31 million in FY 2006, nearly $82 million in FY 2007, and is expected to receive approximately $100 million annually from FY 2008 through FY 2013.
if those figures pan out, you’re talking $713 million in eight years for that one program alone. what’s the expected ROI?
Posted by: b real | Nov 10 2007 3:32 utc | 46
|
