United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

13 April 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Sudan Extends Voting to Address Complaints (Wall Street Journal)

In a sign that Sudan's government is working to address concerns about the legitimacy
of its elections, the country's electoral commission said Monday that it would extend the
voting period for nationwide elections by two days.

Call for Iwu`s Sack: Carson checks out…. As Jonathan Arrives (Modern Ghana)
Little wonder that Jonnie Carson, president Obama's adviser for African affair, who of
late has been very critical of Nigeria, particularly, INEC, would leave town a day before
the arrival of Ag. President Goodluck Jonathan.

U.S. On Missile Warpath (The Herald - Zimbabwe)

The United States of America has created a situation where no single country the world
over, from small nations like Zimbabwe to bigger countries like Russia and China is
safe from tentacles of its hegemony.

Security Council team to scrap Rwanda, Uganda visits (AFP)

UNITED NATIONS – A UN Security Council delegation has scrapped planned visits to
Rwanda and Uganda on an upcoming central African tour and will now take in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) only, diplomats said Monday.

Francophonie Officials in Niger to Evaluate Transition Program (Voice of America)

Officials from the international organization of French-speaking nations are in Niger to
evaluate the military government's plans for elections to return to civilian rule.

Central African Republic official expects elections to be postponed again (Xinhua)

YAOUNDE, Central African Republic - Already postponed from April 25 to May 16, the
presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic could be
postponed again, according to an official source.

Next commander of U.S. Air Forces Africa named (Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Margaret H. Woodward has been named the next commander of 17th Air
Force and U.S. Air Forces Africa, a command with headquarters at Ramstein Air Base,
Germany, the Defense Department announced late last week.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
Fears raised as four AU-UN peacekeepers go missing in Sudan's Darfur region
Ban recommends extension of mandate of UN mission in Western Sahara
UN agency expands credit farming scheme in West Africa
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

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

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, April 15; 9:00 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Implications for U.S. Security Interests in the Horn of Africa
WHO: Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Peace at the Brookings
Institution; Keynote address by Daniel Benjamin, Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State
Department; Panel discussion on "The Future of Yemen" with Victoria Clark, author of "Yemen:
Dancing on the Heads of Snakes"; Christopher Boucek, Associate at the Carnegie Middle East
Program; and former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Edmund Hull
Info: http://yemenconference.eventbrite.com/

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, April 15; 10:00 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: House Foreign Affairs Committee: Combating Climate Change in Africa
WHO: Jonathan Pershing, Ph.D., Deputy Special Envoy, Office of the Special Envoy for Climate
Change, United States Department of State; Mr. Franklin Moore, Deputy Assistant Administrator
Bureau for Africa, Office of the Assistant Administrator, United States Agency for International
Development; His Excellency Leon M. Rajaobelina, Chairman of the Board, Madagascar
Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity, (Former Malagasy Ambassador to the United
States); Fred Boltz, Ph.D., Senior Vice-President, Global Strategies, Conservation International
Info: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1170
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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Sudan Extends Voting to Address Complaints (Wall Street Journal)

In a sign that Sudan's government is working to address concerns about the legitimacy
of its elections, the country's electoral commission said Monday that it would extend the
voting period for nationwide elections by two days.

Voting Sunday got off to a slow start, party members and observers said, because many
people were unable to cast ballots in the amid the delayed opening of polling centers
and some missing election materials.

The election is an almost guaranteed victory for Mr. al-Bashir. The military general has
been in power since 1989 and faces no serious challengers. But Sudan analysts say that
it is important for the election to be peaceful, even if it isn't a true democratic vote, in
order for Sudan's lengthy peace process to continue. Mr. al-Bashir is anxious to present
at least the appearance of a fair vote, they say, and the commission's response to
opposition complaints marks a nod in that direction.

The polls, originally set to close Tuesday, will remain open until Thursday evening, a
spokeswoman at the commission said.

Samson Kwaje, the campaign manager for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement,
the main southern opposition party, said his party had requested the polls remain open
for four more days because delays had made Sunday a "wasted day." The NCP's
candidate for state governor in Khartoum, Abdel Rahman Al Khadir, had said his party
would also submit an official request for an extension.

The election sets the stage for a vote next year on whether the south will secede from
the north, taking with it its vast oil wealth. If this April election is prolonged, erupts
into violence or is widely condemned by international observers, it could jeopardize the
south's chance to vote for its freedom and endanger negotiations over how to divide the
two countries' oil. After years of mistrust between the north and south, interference
with the referendum would pose a serious threat to the nation's tenuous stability.

In part for this reason, the SPLM, the main opposition party that also governs the semi-
autonomous south, chose to participate in the elections despite concerns about fraud.
International watchdog groups also have accused the northern government of
manipulating census and voter registration to ensure the result would be favorable to
Mr. al-al-Bashir before voting even began, a charge the government denies.

On Monday, polling center officials in the south said that voting was moving more
smoothly, and remained calm.
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Call for Iwu`s Sack: Carson checks out…. As Jonathan Arrives (Modern Ghana)
Little wonder that Jonnie Carson, president Obama's adviser for African affair, who of
late has been very critical of Nigeria, particularly, INEC, would leave town a day before
the arrival of Ag. President Goodluck Jonathan.

Mr. Carson in a media parley, last week, said, Independent National Election
Commission (INEC) Chairman Maurice Iwu had proven himself inadequate in
overseeing Nigeria's "deeply flawed" polls in 2007."If Nigeria is to move forward
improving its election process it probably needs to consider improving the level of
management at the top," Carson told a news briefing.” Nigeria is a democracy that is
moving forward. It deserves leadership appropriate to the task in the election
commission."

Against this backdrop, an internet media, (not huhuonline.com) erroneously reported

that Ag.President Goodluck Jonathan had promised President Obama that Nigeria will
not renew Maurice Iwu`s term in office when his tenure expires .However our checks
reveals that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan who is scheduled to meet with the US president on
Sunday made no such promise. Neither has President Obama asked Nigeria to remove
Prof. Maurice Iwu from INEC.

Ag. President Jonathan invitation by President Obama, huhuonline.com learnt is a

departure from the road travelled by his predecessor. According to Robert I. Rotberg,
“By neglecting Nigeria, the Bush administration has missed repeated opportunities to
strengthen democracy in Africa's most populous, most fractured and most important
country”.

However, the man calling for Prof Iwu`s head is not sticking around to personally
deliver his message to the Ag. President. Information obtained by huhuonline.com
reveals that .S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson will be traveling
to France , the Republic of Congo ( Brazzaville ), Democratic Republic of the Congo (
Kinshasa ), and the United Kingdom from April 8 to April 19.

“Assistant Secretary Carson will begin his trip in Paris , France where he will deliver a
speech to the French-American Foundation Symposium. The topic of the speech will be
Transnational Security Challenges in Africa . In addition, Assistant Secretary Carson
will meet with a number of senior French officials”.

“Upon departing from Paris , Assistant Secretary Carson will head to Brazzaville where
he has requested meetings with President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Foreign Minister
Basile Ikouébé, and members of the political opposition. He will also confer with
Embassy staff about the U.S. engagement plan for the Republic of Congo ”.

“In the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Assistant Secretary Carson has requested
meetings with President Joseph Kabila, Foreign Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba,
and various other senior Congolese officials. In addition to meeting with Embassy staff
on our engagement in the DRC, he will travel to Kisangani to visit a U.S.-funded
training mission for a Congolese light infantry battalion. The mission is a collaboration
between the State Department and AFRICOM as part of our effort to further the
professionalization of the Congolese military. Upon his return to Kinshasa , Assistant
Secretary Carson will participate in a signing ceremony for the President's Emergency
Plan for AID's Relief (PEPFAR) Partnership Framework with Prime Minister Adolphe
Muzito before departing the country”.

“Assistant Secretary Carson will conclude his trip in London where he has a meeting
scheduled with his counterpart in the Foreign Office. He will also participate in a press
roundtable”.
--------------------
U.S. On Missile Warpath (The Herald - Zimbabwe)

The United States of America has created a situation where no single country the world
over, from small nations like Zimbabwe to bigger countries like Russia and China is
safe from tentacles of its hegemony.

A cocktail of illegal instruments, regime change projects and missile defence systems
has made all other countries in the world less safe from US social, economic, political
and military attacks. Most of the targeted nations are defined as "rogue nations" for
their refusal to submit to US requirements.

Zimbabwe has been under economic and political attack, tiny Haiti has been under
social and political attack so has Cuba while Iraq, Afghanistan and many others have
been under military attack. The rest of the world is threatened with missile defence
systems as the US moves to cover every blade of grass and every cubic litre of water
within the reach of its superior weaponry.

Day in day out, the US is either crafting a law or working a military plan to ensure that
it can ultimately attack any "rogue nation" in the world with little or no retaliation at all.

Behind all these projects is the quest to make the US the richest country in the world by
gaining access to cheap natural resources that range from oil to land, gold, nickel and
uranium.

The strategy varies from country to country and from region to region, taking into
cognisance the economic, political and military importance of each country targeted.

In tiny Zimbabwe, the United States found it necessary to brazenly craft the Zimbabwe
Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, to force President Mugabe's revolutionary
Zanu-PF party from setting an example to other revolutionary parties across Africa that
a country's resources should be owned by the indigenous people.

ZDERA brought a sanctions regime that the US made sure was really hard-hitting and
deterrent to other African countries that might have bought President Mugabe's ideas
on black empowerment at the expense of the West.

I am sure to the Americans and their submissive allies in Europe, especially the British,
it is still a mystery how today, President Mugabe still stands firm and strong, albeit
with a bruised and battered economy whose recent recovery path is threatening to
neutralise ZDERA.

They are confounded by President Mugabe's secret to bursting the their sanctions and I
am sure they have gone back to the drawing board to launch another attack on the
African hero that President Mugabe has proved to be. Of course, the deterrent effects
are already there, as no other African leader would dare follow Zimbabwe's black
empowerment drive.

For other powerful nations alike Russia, China, Iran and Korea, the US has a cocktail of
measures centred on the construction of a missile defence system, where missiles point
at each potential threat.

The US Missile Defence System is the latest Pentagon project designed to assert global
US military dominance all over the world.

The US is now requires bases in Britain, the Czech Republic and Poland. The Pentagon
has tried to argue the system would defend Europe, but Ellen Tauscher, the chair of the
Congress Armed Services Strategic Forces Committee, was recently asked if it was
meant to protect Europe and stated, "No, and they now know that".

It is obvious that the US bases in Europe will become new targets for those seeking to
attack the US after America soiled relations with the Arab world.

The new system continues Reagan's Strategic Defence Initiative. The world should not
forget that in 2002 George Bush unilaterally withdrew the US from the Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty. The treaty had prohibited development of new missile defence systems
that had fuelled the arms race.

So, while the US now describes it as a defensive system it will in reality also enable the
US to attack other countries without fear of retaliation.

The world should oppose the latest military project from George W. Bush of which
Barack Obama is a willing accomplice or stooge.
Obama's problem is his failure to be his own man by keeping in office remnants of the
Bush administration, who have taken advantage of his lack of military knowledge and
misled him. He has become another G. W. Bush.

Initially, Obama cancelled plans to station an anti-ballistic missile system in Poland and
the Czech Republic in September after Bush had signed deals to base interceptor
missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic.

President Bush had planned it as part of a missile defence shield to counter what it
described as threats from "rogue" states such as Iran but a furious Russia objected.

Obama had said that any threat from Iran could be countered by shorter-range systems
but he has now been forced to change his mind and starting working on the missiles.

The US has been developing a missile defence system intended to destroy incoming
ballistic missiles potentially coming from North Korea and Iran. This involves using
radars in Alaska and California in the US and at Fylingdales in the UK. Another radar is
planned for Greenland.

Anti-missile missiles, or interceptors, are being based in Alaska -- 40 of them -- and

California, four.

There would also be 130 interceptors based on ships. The interceptors work by
physically hitting the ballistic missile in mid-flight. There would also be missiles to try
to destroy incoming rockets in the final stages.

However, the US also planned to install 10 more interceptors in silos in Poland, and
build a radar station in the Czech Republic.

It envisaged that construction of the Czech facility -- using a radar currently located at
Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands -- could begin next year, with the first
interceptors in place in Poland by 2011 and the system fully operational by 2012.

European countries are quaking in their boots because they are also a target for US since
no military base has a single purpose in world were attack is the best defence.

The US says there was a gap in its anti-missile defences in Europe which brings into
contention a threat from North Korea could be countered with the US and sea-based
systems.
But European allies or US forces in Europe could be threatened by Iran one day,
Washington argues, or indeed some other country, so there needed to be a system based
in Europe as well.

The objective of the National Missile Defence (NMD) programme is to develop and
maintain the option to deploy a cost effective, operationally effective, and Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty compliant system that will protect the United States against limited
ballistic missile threats, including accidental or unauthorised launches or Third World
threats.

The primary mission of National Missile Defence is defence of the United States (all 50
states) against a threat of a limited strategic ballistic missile attack from a rogue nation.
Such a system would also provide some capability against a small accidental or
unauthorised launch of strategic ballistic missiles from more nuclear capable states.
--------------------
Security Council team to scrap Rwanda, Uganda visits (AFP)

UNITED NATIONS – A UN Security Council delegation has scrapped planned visits to

Rwanda and Uganda on an upcoming central African tour and will now take in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) only, diplomats said Monday.

Japan's UN Ambassador Yukio Takasu, who chairs the 15-member body this month,
told reporters that because of the council's busy schedule this month, the team would
leave Friday for Kinshasa and would return to New York Tuesday of next week.

"Because of the pressing work of the council for this month, the Council this morning
decided to shorten" the tour, he noted. "They are leaving as planned this coming Friday
but coming back Tuesday."

The delegation, including at least seven of the council's 15 ambassadors, had initially
planned to visit the Rwandan capital Kigali on April 20, after a two-day stay in DRC for
talks with President Joseph Kabila and a side trip to the eastern DRC town of Goma,
and Kampala on April 22.

The council delegation now plans to arrive Saturday for a two-day stay in Kinshasa,
including talks with Kabil and other DRC leaders Sunday.

Depart from the DRC capital for New York was set for late next Monday.

"There are too many things to deal with here in New York," said another diplomat,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
He was referring, among other things, to ongoing negotiations by six major powers on a
new round of UN sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment which
the West sees as a cover to acquire nuclear weapons.

The six powers are the five permanent members of the Council -- Britain, China, France,
Russia and the United States -- plus Germany.

The delegation's African tour is mainly aimed at staking stock ahead of a planned
drawdown of the 20,000-strong UN mission in DRC (MONUC), the UN's largest
peacekeeping mission.

Kinshasa has asked for a complete pullout of MONUC by August 30, 2011, with the first
departure of a contingent before next June 30, when the huge, mineral-rich central
African country will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence from Belgium.

In a report issued last week, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said UN troops can begin leaving
the west of DRC in late June but further drawdowns elsewhere would depend on
whether civilians can be protected and stability maintained.

He said a complete pullout would depend on whether a series of strategic goals can be
met. These include protecting civilians, including from sexual violence, increasing the
number of trained DRC police units and reducing the threats posed by armed groups
such as Rwandan Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda
(FDLR) and Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

Ban also recommended that the Security Council extend the deployment of MONUC for
a further 12 months from May 31.
--------------------
Francophonie Officials in Niger to Evaluate Transition Program (Voice of America)

Officials from the international organization of French-speaking nations are in Niger to

evaluate the military government's plans for elections to return to civilian rule.

Delegates from the International Francophonie Organization are in Niamey to follow

up on the military government's promise to restore constitutional order following their
February coup against President Mamadou Tandja .

Henri Lopes, who heads the Francophonie mission, says officials are in Niger to look at
the path the country has taken and understand in what way authorities have been
working to open a dialogue with civil society groups. He says they are hoping to see a
timetable for a transition to civilian rule, but there are many obstacles and hastily
announcing or deciding on a way forward could be harmful.
Francophonie delegates met with military ruler Commandant Salou Djibo, who last
week named a 131-member consultative council drawn from civil society groups,
political parties, trade unions, and members of defense and security forces. It is lead by
opposition politician Marou Amadou and will consider changes to a constitution
passed by President Tandja last year that expanded his powers and extended his rule.

Mr. Djibo says those changes may include the electoral code and the charter for political
parties. He says the consultative council will put in place an independent electoral
commission and determine the length of a transition to civilian rule.

Lopes says there should not be too much delay in this transition, but it is up to the
consultative counsel to make its own suggestions for that timetable as it would be
irresponsible for outsiders like the Francophonie to get involved in haggling over
timing.

Lopes and his delegation met with former President Tandja who remains under house
arrest.

Lopes says the former president is relaxed and in good health. He made no particular
demands of the delegation from the Francophonie and spends a lot of time reading.

Niger's military last week released 14 allies of the former president who were detained
for questioning in connection with what soldiers say were subversive activities. The
military says there will be no impunity for crimes by the previous government, and
former ministers now released will remain under constant surveillance.
--------------------
Central African Republic official expects elections to be postponed again (Xinhua)

YAOUNDE, Central African Republic - Already postponed from April 25 to May 16, the
presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic could be
postponed again, according to an official source.

The source close to the presidency told Xinhua on Sunday on telephone from Bangui,
the capital of the Central African Republic, the new postponement had been justified by
the authorities as a necessary guarantee for the success of elections.

Outgoing President Francois Bozize and ex-president Ange Felix Patasse, who came
back from exile in Togo, had previously agreed on the polls will other politicians in an
inclusive political dialogue held in Dec. 2008.

The election process has since met with disturbances from issues like persistent rebel
movements, which still occupy parts of the territory, especially the north.
In addition, a boycott has been announced by opposition parties, which are calling for
the return of peace before any voting operation is launched.

Bozize came to power on March 15, 2003 in a military coup to topple Patasse, who is
today considered as a formidable opponent. Bozize was elected in May 2005 and is to
run for his second term.
--------------------
Next commander of U.S. Air Forces Africa named (Stars and Stripes)

Brig. Gen. Margaret H. Woodward has been named the next commander of 17th Air
Force and U.S. Air Forces Africa, a command with headquarters at Ramstein Air Base,
Germany, the Defense Department announced late last week.

Woodward, the vice commander of 18th Air Force, Air Mobility Command, at Scott Air
Base, Ill., is poised to become only the second commander of 17th Air Force since the
command was reactivated at Ramstein in October 2008 as the air component of U.S.
Africa Command.

Woodward will replace Maj. Gen. Ronald R. "Ron" Ladnier, who will be retiring,
according to 17th Air Force officials.

No date has been set yet for the change-of-command ceremony.

More than 300 airmen are assigned to 17th Air Force. The unit is responsible for all Air
Force activities in the Africa theater, spanning 53 countries and more than 900 million
people, according to the 17th Air Force Web site.
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Fears raised as four AU-UN peacekeepers go missing in Sudan's Darfur region

12 April – Four peacekeepers serving with the joint African Union-United Nations force
in the western Sudanese region of Darfur have not been seen or heard from in more
than 24 hours, sparking serious concerns over the welfare of the group.

Ban recommends extension of mandate of UN mission in Western Sahara

12 April – Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today recommends that the Security Council
extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western
Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April next year, saying it is indispensable for the
maintenance of the ceasefire in the dispute.

UN agency expands credit farming scheme in West Africa

12 April – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today
that its credit-based farming project in Niger has been so successful that the agency
plans to scale it up and expand into Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal, which are also
suffering food shortages.