United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

8 April 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

APS Gunston Hall Arrives in Dakar, Starts Final Phase (DVIDS)

DAKAR, Senegal – USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), the flagship for Africa Partnership
Station West, along with an embarked international staff, arrived in Dakar, Senegal,
April 6 for the start of the second and final phase of the ship's APS West deployment.

Obama follows in Bush’s footsteps, boosts military involvement in Africa (Business

Daily)
When President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, it was widely expected that
he would dramatically change, or even reverse, the militarised and unilateral security
policy that had been pursued by the George W. Bush administration toward Africa, as
well as toward other parts of the world.

Al-Qaeda Turns to Extortion as Funds Cut, U.S. Says (Bloomberg)

Al-Qaeda has been so weakened financially that the terrorist group’s affiliates have
turned to drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping to raise money, a U.S. Treasury
Department official said today.

US, Algeria Sign Legal Treaty (Voice of America)

The United States and Algeria have signed a legal treaty boosting cooperation in the
fight against terrorism and crime, the first law enforcement agreement between the two
countries.

Sudan's Sham Election Has U.S. Support (Wall Street Journal)

In Khartoum this past weekend, U.S. Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration expressed his
confidence that the April 11 elections in that country—the first since 1986—will be as
"free and fair as possible." However, no one in Sudan believes the elections will be
anything approaching free or fair.

Kenya seeks return of citizen held at Gitmo (Associated Press)

NAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenyan government is seeking the return of one of its citizens
held at Guantanamo Bay for questioning over his alleged involvement in attacks on a
hotel and an Israeli airliner in 2002, the foreign ministry said Wednesday in a letter to
the man's family.

Germany - Hotbed of Imperialism (The Herald - Zimbabwe)

Today, the same Germany -- the womb that gave birth to colonialism -- is unashamedly
hosting and developing AFRICOM, the United States of America superior military
command formed to superintend on America's milking of African resources, at the
expense of not only Africa but other fair dealing countries of the world.

US reports harassment and rape of gays in Zimbabwe (Associated Press)

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Gay Zimbabweans face widespread harassment and some have
even been raped by those intending to convert their sexuality, the U.S. State
Department said in a discussion of its annual human rights report in Zimbabwe.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
New radio station created in Sierra Leone as UN outlet and State broadcaster
merge
Upcoming Sudanese elections must be free, fair and credible, UN chief stresses
UN takes new security steps after deadly attack in north-western DR Congo
UN-backed survey finds alarming malnutrition rates in DR Congo
Preventing future atrocities best way to honour Rwandan genocide victims –
Ban
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, April 9; 12:30 p.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Woodrow Wilson Center: A Briefing on the Democratic Republic of Congo
WHO: UN Special Representative of the Secretary General Alan Doss
Info:
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.event_summary&event_id=607472

WHEN/WHERE: Monday, April 12; 8:30 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Council on Foreign Relations: A Conversation with Goodluck Jonathan
WHO: Goodluck Jonathan, Acting President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Info: http://www.cfr.org/member

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, April 13; 10:00 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Center for Strategic and International Studies: Prospects for Peace in the Niger Delta
WHO: David Goldwyn, Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, U.S. Department of State;
Dimieari Von Kemedi, Director General of Bayelsa State Due Process and e-Governance
Bureau; Thijs Jurgens, Senior Advisor for Shell
Info: http://csis.org/event/prospects-peace-niger-delta
WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, April 15; 6:00 p.m.; Washington, D.C.
WHAT: US Institute of Peace: Rebuilding Hope
WHO: Screening of "Rebuilding Hope" a film following three of Sudan's "Lost Boys" on a
journey back home to find surviving family members, and rediscover and contribute to their
homeland, followed by a panel discussion featuring the film's director, Jen Marlowe, and one of
central characters in the film.
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/rebuilding-hope-washington-dc-premiere
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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

APS Gunston Hall Arrives in Dakar, Starts Final Phase (DVIDS)

DAKAR, Senegal – USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44), the flagship for Africa Partnership
Station West, along with an embarked international staff, arrived in Dakar, Senegal,
April 6 for the start of the second and final phase of the ship's APS West deployment.

During this phase, maritime professionals from Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, The
Gambia, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Togo will participate in 20 days of
in port and at sea training in maritime safety and security, and a team of U.S., Spanish
and Portuguese Marines will be training with the Senegalese armed forces in Thies.

"This is the most robust training hub we will have had during this APS mission," said
Lt. Cmdr. Tim LaBenz, APS operations officer. "There are a lot of moving parts. We
have more than 90 students who speak four different languages and will be partnered
into smaller groups for hands-on and classroom-based training. It takes a lot of
coordination, but we have a very strong and cohesive APS staff onboard Gunston Hall.
Plus, none of this would be possible without the continued support of the crew of
Gunston Hall. I've been very impressed with the way they've embraced the APS
mission and have been actively working with our African students. It's extremely
gratifying to see the entire APS team in action."

A team of maritime experts from a range of fields are also ready to interact with their
African colleagues. Small boat operations, maritime law enforcement, maritime domain
awareness, port security, fisheries management, combat life saver, basic first aid and
search-and-rescue are some of the topics that will be covered while the participants are
embarked.

"The last group of sailors were very enthusiastic and I am really looking forward to
working with this next group," said Petty Officer 2nd Class John Luther, a master at
arms and APS port security instructor from Marengo, Idaho. "It is going to be
challenging having four different languages, but we will work around it ... we find
ways to get the job done."
As part of the program in Senegal, 17 Navy and Air Force medical personnel will
conduct medical outreach programs at Tivouare and Noto Goury Health Centers,
providing medical and dental care to local Senegalese communities. The British,
Portuguese, Spanish and U.S. Marines assigned to the embarked Security Cooperation
Marine Air-Ground Task Force and Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction
Battalion 7 are ashore to conduct security cooperation training with the Senegalese
National Defense Force at the Thies training camp. On April 3, a smaller group of
Marines went ashore in Monrovia, Liberia, to conduct similar mil-to-mil training.

In addition, the U.S. Naval Forces Band "Five Star Brass Quintet" will perform at
various Senegalese schools, including a concert at the Thies Cultural Center, where
more than 300 children are expected to attend.

Sailors from Gunston Hall and APS staff members will also have the opportunity to
participate in a community outreach project at Pikine School where a wide range of
projects are slated to improve the overall condition of several on-site facilities.
Additionally, 45 pallets of material will be donated through Project Handclasp,
including high-nutrition meals, text books, medical supplies and desks that will be
distributed to local schools and clinics.

"I'm looking forward to getting out and seeing Dakar," said Seaman Corry Fishburn, an
engineman fireman and Gunston Hall Sailor. "While in port I am going to participate in
one of the two community relations projects the ship is conducting. I am also plan on
taking in some of the country by trying some of the local foods."

Gunston Hall, a Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock-landing ship, is on a scheduled

deployment in the 6th Fleet area of responsibility in support of APS West, an
international initiative developed by Naval Forces Europe and Naval Forces Africa that
aims to improve maritime safety and security in West and Central Africa.
--------------------
Obama follows in Bush’s footsteps, boosts military involvement in Africa (Business
Daily)

When President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, it was widely expected that
he would dramatically change, or even reverse, the militarised and unilateral security
policy that had been pursued by the George W. Bush administration toward Africa, as
well as toward other parts of the world.
After one year in office, however, it is clear that the Obama administration is following
essentially the same policy that has guided US military policy toward Africa for more
than a decade.

Indeed, the Obama administration is seeking to expand US military activities on the

continent even further.
In its FY 2011 budget request for security assistance programmes for Africa, the Obama
administration is asking for $38 million for the Foreign Military Financing programme
to pay for US arms sales to African countries.

The administration is also asking for $21 million for the International Military
Education and Training Programme to take African military officers to the United
States, and $24.4 million for Anti-Terrorism Assistance programmes in Africa.

The Obama administration has also taken a number of other steps to expand US
military involvement in Africa.

In June 2009, administration officials revealed that Obama had approved a programme
to supply at least 40 tonnes of weaponry and provide training to the forces of the
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia through several intermediaries,
including Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, and France.

In September 2009, Obama authorised a US Special Forces operation in Somalia that

killed Saleh Ali Nabhan, an alleged al Qaeda operative who was accused of being
involved in the bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998, as
well as other al Qaeda operations in east Africa.

In October 2009, the Obama administration announced a major new security assistance
package for Mali - valued at $4.5 to $5.0 million - that included 37 Land Cruiser pick-up
trucks, communication equipment, replacement parts, clothing and other individual
equipment and was intended to enhance Mali’s ability to transport and communicate
with internal security forces throughout the country and control its borders.

Although ostensibly intended to help Mali deal with potential threats from AQIM (al
Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), it is more likely to be used against Tuareg insurgent
forces.

African hotspots

In December 2009, US military officials confirmed that the Pentagon was considering
the creation of a 1,000-strong Marine rapid deployment force for the new US Africa
Command (Africom) based in Europe, which could be used to intervene in African
hotspots.

In February 2010, in his testimony before a hearing by the Africa Subcommittee of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie
Carson declared, ―We seek to enhance Nigeria’s role as a US partner on regional
security, but we also seek to bolster its ability to combat violent extremism within its
borders.‖
Also in February 2010, US Special Forces troops began a 30-million-dollar, eight-month-
long training programme for a 1,000-man infantry battalion of the army of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the US-refurbished base in Kisangani.

Speaking before a Senate Armed Service Committee hearing in March 2010 about this
training programme, General William Ward, the commander of Africom, stated
―should it prove successful, there’s potential that it could be expanded to other
battalions as well.‖

During the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Ward also discussed Africom’s
continuing participation in Ugandan military operations in the DRC against the Lord’s
Resistance Army.

Despite the failure of ―Operation Lightning Thunder‖, launched by Ugandan troops in

December 2008 with help of Africom (included planning assistance, equipment, and
financial backing), Ward declared, ―I think our support to those ongoing efforts is
important support.‖

And in March 2010, US officials revealed that the Obama administration was
considering using surveillance drones to provide intelligence to TFG troops in Somalia
for their planned offensive against al-Shabaab.

According to these officials, the Pentagon may also launch air strikes into Somalia and
send US Special Forces troops into the country, as it has done in the past.

This growing US military involvement in Africa reflects the fact that counterinsurgency
has once again become one of the main elements of US security strategy.

This is clearly evident in the new Quadrennial Defence Review (QDR) released by the
Pentagon in February.

According to the QDR, ―US forces will work with the military forces of partner nations
to strengthen their capacity for internal security, and will coordinate those activities
with those of other US government agencies as they work to strengthen civilian
capacities, thus denying terrorists and insurgents safe havens.

For reasons of political legitimacy as well as sheer economic necessity, there is no

substitute for professional, motivated local security forces protecting populations
threatened by insurgents and terrorists in their midst.‖

Getting wacked

As the QDR makes clear, this is intended to avoid the need for direct US military
intervention: ―Efforts that use smaller numbers of US forces and emphasise host-nation
leadership are generally preferable to large-scale counterinsurgency campaigns. By
emphasising host-nation leadership and employing modest numbers of US forces, the
United States can sometimes obviate the need for larger-scale counterinsurgency
campaigns.‖

Or, as a senior US military officer assigned to Africom was quoted as saying in a recent
article in the US Air University’s Strategic Studies Quarterly, ―We don’t want to see our
guys going in and getting wacked...We want Africans to go in.‖

Thus, the QDR goes on to say, ―US forces are working in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel,
Colombia, and elsewhere to provide training, equipment, and advice to their host-
country counterparts on how to better seek out and dismantle terrorist and insurgent
networks while providing security to populations that have been intimidated by violent
elements in their midst.‖

Furthermore, the United States will also continue to expand and improve the network
of local military bases that are available to US troops under base access agreements.

The resurgence of Vietnam War-era counterinsurgency doctrine as a principal tenet of

US security policy, therefore, has led to a major escalation of US military involvement in
Africa by the Obama administration that seems likely to continue in the years ahead.

Volman is the Director of the African Security Research Project in Washington, DC. He
is the author of numerous articles and reports and has been studying US security policy
toward Africa and African security issues for more than 30 years.
--------------------
Al-Qaeda Turns to Extortion as Funds Cut, U.S. Says (Bloomberg)

Al-Qaeda has been so weakened financially that the terrorist group’s affiliates have
turned to drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping to raise money, a U.S. Treasury
Department official said today.

Al-Qaeda ―is now in the worst financial shape it has been in for years,‖ Assistant
Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said. Al-Qaeda
branches in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula ―have taken up independent fund-raising
activities to sustain themselves.‖

U.S. success in keeping donors from funding al-Qaeda became apparent last year when
the group’s leaders began making public appeals for money, he said.

―We have seen financial networks that were the source of Al-Qaeda’s financing,
particularly out of Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf, increasingly disrupted,‖
Cohen said.
Cohen, who spoke at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that
international efforts to stymie the flow of money to the group haven’t bankrupted it. He
also said that the Taliban, one of al-Qaeda’s most important allies, has financing that’s
sound enough to pose a threat to civilians and U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.

―The Taliban still has the funding necessary to hold territory, buy allegiance and
fundamentally challenge our core national security objective‖ of bringing stability to
Afghanistan, Cohen said.

Freezing Assets

U.S. Treasury officials have been freezing the assets of al-Qaeda members and their
allies. The initiative dovetails with that of the U.S. military, which in recent years has
targeted financial networks bankrolling insurgents, terrorists and drug traffickers.

The military and Treasury are setting up a task force to disrupt Taliban financing
similar to an operation established in Iraq that targeted insurgents’ funding, Cohen
said.

Marti Adams, a Treasury spokeswoman, said the department has ―more than a dozen‖
people in Afghanistan and ―that number is expected to grow in the future.‖

Cohen said the U.S. must do more to team up with other countries to clamp down on
terrorist financing.

―Our success depends in significant part on the extent to which we are able to engage
our international partners in a cooperative effort to combat terrorist financing,‖ he said.

On April 1, Treasury announced it would freeze the assets of two Europeans -- Ahmad
Khalaf Shabib al-Dulaymi and Atilla Selek -- for supporting al-Qaeda and similar
groups.
--------------------
US, Algeria Sign Legal Treaty (Voice of America)

The United States and Algeria have signed a legal treaty boosting cooperation in the
fight against terrorism and crime, the first law enforcement agreement between the two
countries.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder met with his Algerian counterpart, Justice Minister
Tayeb Belaiz, on Wednesday in the capital, Algiers, where the two signed the treaty.
In a statement, Holder called Algeria an "important partner" in the fight against
terrorism and transnational crime. He said the treaty will ensure that terrorists and
other criminals cannot escape justice by simply hiding in another country.

The agreement will allow law enforcement officials from the two countries to obtain
testimonies and statements, retrieve evidence, and provide a way for individuals to
testify in the requesting country. The treaty covers terrorism, cybercrime, financial
crimes and other offenses.

The United States has 50 such bilateral treaties worldwide.

--------------------
Sudan's Sham Election Has U.S. Support (Wall Street Journal)

In Khartoum this past weekend, U.S. Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration expressed his
confidence that the April 11 elections in that country—the first since 1986—will be as
"free and fair as possible."

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir should be plastering "We Love Gration" posters all
over the capital. No one in Sudan believes the elections will be anything approaching
free or fair.

Intimidation, vote rigging, manipulation of the census, and bribing of tribal leaders are
rampant. Most of the 2.7 million displaced Darfuris are living in refugee camps. They
are unable or unwilling to be counted at all. All of this, plus the ongoing violence in
Darfur, have caused key opposition candidates including Yassir Arman of the Sudan
People's Liberation Movement to withdraw from the election.

The Carter Center, the only international observer mission in Sudan, announced that
the election process is "at risk on multiple fronts" and requested a modest delay of the
election. Mr. Bashir threatened to oust the observers, saying on state TV last month: "if
they interfere in our affairs, we will cut their fingers off, put them under our shoes and
throw them out."

Taking an unusually edgy stance, the Save Darfur Coalition—an alliance of more than
190 faith-based, advocacy and human-rights organizations—is urging the U.S. and the
international community not to legitimize Sudan's presidential election. "We believe the
election is not going to be free and fair, and it's not even going to be credible," said
Robert Lawrence, the Coalition's director of policy. "The last thing we want is for the
results to legitimize the dictatorial rule of President al-Bashir."

Hope is rare in Darfur, but when Barack Obama became president the refugees had
reason to be hopeful. As a junior senator in 2006, Mr. Obama made his feelings about
the evils in Darfur quite clear. "Today we know what is right, and today we know what
is wrong. The slaughter of innocents is wrong. Two million people driven from their
homes is wrong. Women gang raped while gathering firewood is wrong. And silence,
acquiescence and paralysis in the face of genocide is wrong."

A year later, then-candidate Barack Obama said: "When you see a genocide, whether it's
in Rwanda or Bosnia or in Darfur, that's a stain on all of us. That's a stain on our souls."

Darfuris were listening, and they hoped anew when President Obama said the
Sudanese regime "offended the standards of our common humanity." They believed he
would appoint an envoy who would take their plight seriously and serve as an honest
broker between warring rebel groups and the Sudanese regime.

And how is his appointed envoy dealing with the perpetrators of those atrocities that
have stained our souls? "We've got to think about giving out cookies," Mr. Gration told
the Washington Post last fall. "Kids, countries—they react to gold stars, smiley faces . . ."

Cookies for a regime that is as savvy as it is cruel? Smiley faces for a thug who seized
power by coup in 1989 and has retained it only through iron-fisted brutality? Gold stars
for an indicted war criminal responsible for the murder, rape and displacement of
millions?

This spectacularly naïve perspective—and accompanying policy of appeasement—has

further terrified Darfur's refugees, who feel increasingly abandoned by the U.S. and
marginalized within their country.

With the support of Mr. Gration and the U.S., the bogus Sudanese elections will move
forward with what the International Crisis Group has labeled "catastrophic
consequences."

"Since the April vote will impose illegitimate officials through rigged polls, Darfuris
will be left with little or no hope of a peaceful change in the status quo," warns EJ
Hogendoorn, the Crisis Group's Horn of Africa project director. "Instead many will look
to rebel groups to fight and win back their lost rights and lands."

Following this Sunday's election, there is little doubt as to who will be the president of
Sudan. So it is crucial that international observers, world governments, the African
Union and the U.N. Security Council acknowledge the deeply corrupt voting process
that will reinstate President Omar al-Bashir. They should declare publicly that Mr.
Bashir, a man indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes
against humanity, will rule without a genuine democratic mandate.

His regime must not be granted the legitimacy he craves.

--------------------
Kenya seeks return of citizen held at Gitmo (Associated Press)

NAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenyan government is seeking the return of one of its citizens
held at Guantanamo Bay for questioning over his alleged involvement in attacks on a
hotel and an Israeli airliner in 2002, the foreign ministry said Wednesday in a letter to
the man's family.

Mohamed Abdulmalik, 37, is accused by U.S. officials of involvement in the 2002 hotel
bombing that killed 13 people and the failed attempt to shoot down the airliner. The
U.S. says Abdulmalik is a member of al-Qaida.

His family has been seeking an order to force the Kenyan government to use all
diplomatic channels with the U.S government to immediately release Abdulmalik from
the U.S. military prison and organize his repatriation.

In a March 2 letter addressed to lawyers representing Abdulmalik's family, the foreign

ministry says the government "has initiated the process of addressing the case of
Abdulmalik's repatriation back home."

Foreign ministry official Binsai Chepsongol, who signed the letter, wrote that the
ministry is consulting with "relevant authorities on this matter." The Associated Press
was shown the letter by Al-Amin Kimathi, a Kenyan human rights activist.

Abdulmalik's family maintains that he was held in Kenyan custody without charge
longer than Kenyan law allows and was tortured by Kenyan officials. Abdulmalik's
family said he told them that U.S. officials later took him from Kenya to the Horn of
Africa nation of Djibouti, which hosts a U.S. military base. He told them he was then
taken to Afghanistan and from there to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The case has raised questions about the legal justifications for Abdulmalik's U.S.
detention, and why, if true, the Kenyan was flown to so many U.S. bases.

Last year, the family sued the Kenyan government for wrongful detention and torture
and demanded $30 million in damages.
--------------------
Germany - Hotbed of Imperialism (The Herald - Zimbabwe)

The hodgepodge of geometric boundaries that today divide Africa into 50 plus irregular
nations under Eurocentric subjugation all started in Berlin, Germany on November 15,
1884.
The infamous Berlin Conference still remains Africa's greatest undoing in more ways
than one, where colonial powers superimposed their domains on the African continent
and tore apart the social, political and economic fabric that held the continent together.

By the time independence returned to Africa between 1956 and 1994, the African realm
had acquired a colonial legacy of political fragmentation that could neither be
eliminated nor made to operate wholly independent from the former colonial masters.

Some Africans had been too much battered, some bruised, some undignified and others
brainwashed so much that up to today, Africa is battling to remain united due to
continued and uncalled for interference, at every opportunity, by the imperialist hawks.

Today, the same Germany -- the womb that gave birth to colonialism -- is unashamedly
hosting and developing AFRICOM, the United States of America superior military
command formed to superintend on America's milking of African resources, at the
expense of not only Africa but other fair dealing countries of the world.

There is no doubt that Germany is seeking re-colonisation of Africa, this time, creating
space for its big brother, the United States of America.

The giant military project is not only an affront to African democracy but an insult to
African humanism as it seeks to reverse all the gains brought about by independence --
from sovereignty to control of natural resources and self governance.

Africa will not forget that in 1884 at the request of Portugal, German chancellor Otto
Von Bismarck called together the major western powers of the world to negotiate
questions and end confusion over the control of Africa. Africa itself was not invited
because Europe believed Africans had no meaningful contribution to make towards
shaping their own destiny.

Bismarck saw an opportunity to expand Germany's sphere of influence over Africa and
desired to pitch Germany's rivals to struggle with one another for territorial integrity.
Today, current Chancellor Angela Mickel is playing exactly the same role, pitching
America against other economic powers in a battle to control Africa's strategic natural
resources.

Before the Berlin Conference 80 percent of Africa and its natural resources had
remained under traditional and local leadership but thereafter the new map of the
continent was superimposed over the one thousand indigenous cultures and regions of
Africa. Concurrently, Africa's wealth -- as pronounced by its vast human and natural
resource base -- was appropriated by the colonisers.
As a result, the new countries lacked and still lack rhyme or reason and divide coherent
groups of people and merged together disparate groups that really did not get along.

All in all, 14 countries were represented: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France,

Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-
Norway (unified from 1814-1905), Turkey, and the United States of America.

France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major players in the conference,
controlling most of colonial Africa at the time.

At the Berlin Conference the European colonial powers scrambled to gain control over
the interior of the continent. The conference lasted until February 26, 1885 -- a three-
month period where colonial powers haggled over geometric boundaries in the interior
of the continent, disregarding the cultural and linguistic boundaries already established
by the indigenous African populace.

By 1914, the conference participants had fully divided Africa among themselves into 50
countries.

Great Britain targeted a Cape-to-Cairo collection of colonies and almost succeeded

through its control of Egypt, Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan), Uganda, Kenya (British
East Africa), South Africa, and Zambia (Southern Rhodesia), Malawi (Nyasaland),
Zimbabwe (Northern Rhodesia), and Botswana. They also controlled Nigeria and
Ghana (Gold Coast).

France took much of western Africa, from Mauritania to Chad (French West Africa) and
Gabon and the Republic of Congo (French Equatorial Africa).

Belgium and King Leopold II controlled the Democratic Republic of Congo (Belgian
Congo) while Portugal took Mozambique in the east and Angola in the west.

Italy took Somalia (Italian Somaliland) and a portion of Ethiopia while Germany took
Namibia (German Southwest Africa) and Tanzania (German East Africa). Spain claimed
the smallest territory -- Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni).

Today, Africa has stood firm against the hosting of AFRICOM and the same Germany
has offered an alternative and will host AFRICOM until 2012, when it is envisaged the
US would have found a suitable base in Africa.

Sadc in particular and the African Union in general, have said no to this project but the
Americans are not resting on their laurels. They are still working out ways of
penetrating African governments in order to get a strategic African country to host
AFRICOM.
The truth, however, remains that once Africa allows the hosting of AFRICOM, it will
have subcontracted all its powers to AFRICOM, to USA and its exploitative military
ventures.

After a review of numerous potential locations for the establishment of AFRICOM

headquarters, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has elected to keep the new command
in Stuttgart, Germany at least for now, Pentagon officials say.

"Secretary of Defence Gates decided to delay a decision on the permanent location of US

Africa Command headquarters until early 2012," said Defence Department
spokeswoman Lt. Colonel Elizabeth Hibner, last week.

Until then, AFRICOM'S headquarters will remain in Stuttgart, "the decision has been
delayed until US Africa Command has more experience in working with partner nation
militaries and thus a better understanding of its long-term operational requirements,"
wrote Hibner.

After fierce resistance from Africa, which should continue through experienced leaders
like President Mugabe, Hosni Mubarak, Omar al-Bashir, Teodoro Obiang Nguema
Mbasogo and new but progressive thinking ones like Jacob Zuma, Bingu waMutharika
and Rupiyah Banda, AFRICOM seems to have hit a brick wall on finding an African
host.

"We certainly looked at a number of alternatives," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman

said in a news release. "But at the end of the day, it was determined that for now, and
into the foreseeable future, the best location was for it to remain in its current
headquarters."

In Stuttgart, AFRICOM officials say the focus now is on building up the new command.

Though it was officially activated on October 1, there has been a steady stream of
speculation worldwide about where AFRICOM would eventually set up its
headquarters. Potential sites have ranged from Charleston, SC, to Morocco and
Monrovia, to other locations in Europe such at Rota, Spain.

"It's become a phenomenon that the discussion of AFRICOM always hinges on where
it's going. Where we're going is here (Stuttgart). What's important for us is to build the
command," said Vince Crawley, AFRICOM spokesman. "Looking for office space
stateside is something that is well-intended, but something way down the road."

But whether the Pentagon's latest statement on AFRICOM will quell the speculation
remains to be seen. For instance, despite repeated statements that the initial plan to
place AFRICOM headquarters in Africa was shelved, reports routinely crop up
asserting otherwise. The most recent case occurred a couple weeks ago with Moroccan
media outlets reporting that a deal was struck for AFRICOM to locate its headquarters
in the port city of Tantan.

It will be folly for Africa to think that AFRICOM commanders have rested their case on
finding a compliant African country to host them because keeping the new command in
Stuttgart will allow it to gain greater operational experience and foster relationships
with both African and European partners.

Once AFRICOM moves to African soil, Africa is doomed and finished. It will have to
religiously follow the American exploitation gospel and the founding fathers of the
African revolution will turn and wince in their graves from anger and disappointment.
--------------------
US reports harassment and rape of gays in Zimbabwe (Associated Press)

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Gay Zimbabweans face widespread harassment and some have
even been raped by those intending to convert their sexuality, the U.S. State
Department said in a discussion of its annual human rights report in Zimbabwe.

Gay men were forced into heterosexual acts and lesbian women were raped, sometimes
by male relatives, to teach them to change their ways, said Amanda Porter, political
officer at the U.S. Embassy in Harare and compiler of the report.

"Some families reportedly subjected men and women to corrective rape and forced
marriages to encourage heterosexual conduct," she said Tuesday.

Homosexuals reported widespread discrimination in 2009, the year under review. But
the report notes that the conservative southern African country has long frowned on
homosexuality.

Hate speech by politicians against the nation's small gay community fueled social
pressures on families, Porter said. And crimes against human rights and sexual abuse
against gays were rarely reported to police.

"Victims are afraid to speak out," she said.

Same-sex acts are illegal in Zimbabwe and while there have been no reported
prosecutions related to consensual homosexuality in recent years, the offense carries a
penalty of up to a year in jail or a fine of up to $5,000.
President Robert Mugabe last month vowed gay rights would not be protected in a new
constitution being drawn up under a power sharing deal ahead of new elections,
possibly next year. Mugabe once described homosexuals as "lower than pigs and dogs."

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said he personally shared an abhorrence of

homosexuality, but called for tolerance toward all minority groups.

"There can be no place in the new Zimbabwe for hate speech or the persecution of any
sector of the population based on race, gender, tribe, culture, sexual orientation or
political affiliation," he said in debate on constitutional reform earlier this month.

Condemnation of gays is common in Africa. In Africa, only South Africa has legalized
same-sex marriage, and even so the gap between the liberal constitution and societal
attitudes can be wide.

Ugandan lawmakers have proposed imposing the death penalty on some gays. A gay
couple is on trial in Malawi, charged with unnatural acts and gross indecency and face
up to 14 years in jail.

Ugandan clerics have accused President Barack Obama of "exporting" homosexuality to

Africa under the guise of human rights.

Porter said the annual U.S. rights review presented to a discussion group in Harare late
Tuesday gave greater emphasis to gay rights than in previous years, reflecting concerns
in Obama's administration about homophobia.

She said attitudes and laws in Zimbabwe made gays feel unsafe. Many did not seek
medical care, for fear of being shunned by health providers and others who were
stigmatized, reported abandoning their education early and suffering higher rates of
unemployment and homelessness than other groups.
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

New radio station created in Sierra Leone as UN outlet and State broadcaster merge
7 April – Sierra Leone’s State radio broadcaster has merged with the United Nations
station in the West African country to form a new entity that aims to become an
independent and professional provider of news and entertainment across the nation.

Upcoming Sudanese elections must be free, fair and credible, UN chief stresses
7 April – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on all parties in Sudan to ensure
that next week’s national elections are free, fair and credible, while voicing concerns
about security and logistics for the polls – the first of their kind in 24 years.

UN takes new security steps after deadly attack in north-western DR Congo

7 April – United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
and the national army are adopting new security measures after a deadly attack in a
hitherto more stable region of the vast strife-torn country highlighted the potential for
local conflicts to rapidly escalate.

UN-backed survey finds alarming malnutrition rates in DR Congo

7 April – A United Nations-supported survey has revealed alarming acute malnutrition
rates among some 530,000 children under five and more than one million pregnant
women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Preventing future atrocities best way to honour Rwandan genocide victims – Ban
7 April – Securing justice for the victims of genocide and preventing future atrocities are
the best ways to honour the hundreds of thousands of people slaughtered in Rwanda 16
years ago, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed today as the United Nations
observes a global day of remembrance for the tragedy.