United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

20 May 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Questions Surround Third U.S. War Theater: AFRICOM (Salem-News)

(Pan Africa) Americans are keenly aware that their national and state troops have been
engaged in bitter, protracted wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for many years. But few are
equally knowledgeable of the third U.S. war 'theater' as they are known, in Africa.

Military Still Fumbling Humanitarian Projects (Huffington Post)

(Horn of Africa) The U.S. military has been conducting development-like activities in
Africa regularly since the Pentagon stood up the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of
Africa (CJTF-HOA) in 2002 - and we're still building white elephants.

U.S. Urges Sober Debate On New Law (Daily Nation)

(Kenya) The United States has urged politicians not exploit Kenya ethnic or political
affiliation to gain support for the proposed Constitution. US ambassador to Kenya
Michael Ranneberger appealed for sobriety during debate on the proposed new law
and urged politicians not to divide Kenyans.

Experts say US Government Walks Fine Line with Ethiopia (Voice of America)
(Ethiopia) U.S.-Africa experts say the United States has a difficult, but crucial
relationship with Ethiopia, as the Horn of Africa ally struggles with its democratic
credentials.

Somali Man Pleads Guilty in U.S. to Hijacking Ship Off Africa (Businessweek)
(Somalia) A Somali pirate captured by the U.S. military in April 2009 when Navy
commandoes freed an American container ship off the coast of Africa pleaded guilty to
hijacking charges, prosecutors said.

Cameroon attacks show pirates are heading south (Reuters)

(Cameroon) An attack by gunmen on two ships anchored off Cameroon's major port of
Douala shows pirates are extending their range in the Gulf of Guinea, an increasingly
important source of oil to western markets.

Chadian authorities deny entry to Darfur's rebel leader (Xinhua)

(Sudan) Chadian authorities on Wednesday barred leader of the Darfur rebel group
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) from entering its territories upon arrival at N'
djamena airport en route to Darfur region, and confiscated his passport.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
• Ban stresses need for all sides to adhere to ceasefire in Darfur
• UN peacekeepers rush to aid of landslide victims in eastern DR Congo
• New UN report calls for ‘green revolution’ by Africa’s small farmers
• African hot spots the focus of Security Council meeting
• UN agency uses European funding to boost food production in Lesotho
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, May 25, 8:30 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Council on Foreign Relations: A Conversation with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
WHO: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President, Republic of Liberia
Info: http://www.cfr.org/

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, May 25, 10:00 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs: The Great Lakes Region:
Current Conditions and U.S. Policy
WHO: The Honorable Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, 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; Mr. John Prendergast, Co-founder, Enough Project
Info: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1185

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, May 26, 2:00 p.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: U.S. Institute of Peace: The Nigerian Predicament: Strategies for Advancing Growth,
Governance and Security
WHO: Richard Joseph, Professor, Northwestern University; Oka Obono, Senior Lecturer,
University of Ibadan; Layi Erinosho, President, African Sociological Association; Dorina Bekoe,
Moderator, Senior Research Associate, U.S. Institute of Peace
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/the-nigerian-predicament-strategies-advancing-growth-
governance-and-security

WHEN/WHERE: Thurday, May 27, 9:00 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Brookings Institution: Ending Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS Pandemic
WHO: Ernest Aryeetey, Senior Fellow and Director, Africa Growth Initiative; Layi Erinosho,
President, African Sociological Association; Uche Isiugo-Abanihe, Professor of Demography
and REACH Chair, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Gbenga Sunmola, Principal Researcher,
REACH, Research Coordinator, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Nigeria; Oka Obono,
Principal Researcher, REACH, University of Ibadan; Jacques van der Gaag, Senior Fellow and
Co-Director, Center for Universal Education; Phillip Nieburg, Public Health Epidemiologist,
REACH, Senior Associate, Center for Strategic & International Studies; Nkem Dike, Associate
Project Director, REACH, Northwestern University; Gbenga Sunmola, Principal Researcher,
REACH, Research Coordinator, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Nigeria; Richard
Joseph, Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Principal Investigator, REACH;
John Evans Professor, Northwestern University
Info: http://www.brookings.edu/events/2010/0527_nigeria_aids.aspx

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, June 2, 9:30 a.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: U.S. Institute of Peace: Threats to Maritime Security
WHO: Donna Hopkins, Director, Office of Plans, Policy and Analysis, Bureau of Political
Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Bruce A. Averill, Ph.D., Founder and Senior Partner,
Strategic Energy Security Solutions; Michael Berkow, President, Altegrity Security Consulting;
Robert M. Perito, Moderator, Director, Initiative on Security Sector Governance, U.S. Institute
of Peace
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/threats-maritime-security
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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Questions Surround Third U.S. War Theater: AFRICOM (Salem-News)

SALEM, Oregon - Americans are keenly aware that their national and state troops have
been engaged in bitter, protracted wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for many years. But
few are equally knowledgeable of the third U.S. war 'theater' as they are known, in
Africa.

It truly is the WTC 7 of American wars; most people just have no idea.

In recent years, American corporate interests have completely invaded the

infrastructure of the African continent. It happened with the assistance from the last
Presidential administration, and the timely distraction of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

It's not colonizing, but the United States, now in all but one of Africa's 56 countries, has
sewn the seeds of its interests. Regions known to contain sought after material like
uranium, are now fully open to American exploitation, thanks to all of the signed
agreements.

Morally bankrupt American companies like Monsanto are being set up to force their
"mad scientist" seeds created in labs to replace natural seeds and food products, on poor
farmers who already have no other option.

Shifting Iraq's Peaceful Balance - Tim King reports from Iraq Sep-08

The United States proved to the world with the invasion of Iraq, that it is willing to start
and conduct war for the sake of business. The nation's last leaders demonstrated that
the U.S. is completely unpredictable, and capable of launching world level conflict
against a nation that is absolutely a zero threat to the U.S. That nation is the broken
country known as Iraq.

A place where America paid its enemies, then stopped paying them as soon as the
limelight from the positive press of a "surge" was over. I was in Iraq during the end of
the surge and it wasn't exactly pretty.

Talk about disillusioned people; welcome to Baghdad, where Sunni and Shi'ite people
were divided by Uncle Sam and forced to carry ID defining their religious sect as walls
were erected between neighborhoods, dividing the populace for the first time in history.
This will undoubtedly go down as an example of how unsafe it is for the residents of
any country to believe promises the U.S. makes. The American notion of liberation, is
simply a death sentence to hundreds of thousands.

If I lived in Africa, I would be concerned, especially with the history of the U.S.
adopting, funding and praising allies like Hussein and bin Laden, before turning
around and bombing them into submission. Hell, the U.S. even suckered Iraq into
invading Iran during the 1980's; that led to the deaths of countless thousands and years
of violence and unrest between the two countries. Some track record, and it continues.

The United States recently refused to aid Hmong refugees in Thailand, who helped the
U.S. during the Vietnam War. Also, the first Bush turned his back on the Kurdish
people after encouraging them to revolt during the first Gulf War. Of course most
Americans called Saddam Hussein's retaliation against them a war crime, but he never
came close to killing the number of innocent people that Bush has his name fixed to.

Now, as the U.S. inserts its military presence in Africa, something vital is missing.
Traditionally the Americans are only there to help the oppressed, the populations of the
needy, or so we are raised to believe. Today there is plenty of American help; help for
its greedy corporate layout, help for the shareholders, help for the top 2% of the
country's wealthiest citizens. They aren't complaining about this extreme yet quiet
American presence in Africa.

Today in Africa, children are still starving, AIDS is raging, people are dying in
genocidal violence, and the U.S. is backing political henchmen, seriously scary stuff.
But, we have our access to uranium and other African resources well under control.

The needs of the American business world, "American interests abroad", are clearly
accounted for.

Most Americans are unaware of the massive political unrest that is violently claiming
the lives of hundreds of people on the African continent every day. Our African Affairs
Correspondent Alysha Atma has been covering the Sudan elections through contacts on
the scene, and the ensuing attack of demonstrators who decried the supposed U.S.
funded 'reelection' of the country's genocidal Dictator al-Bashir. It is horrible, tragic and
systematic. Troops were going house to house to try to learn who in a particular city,
had sent the photos out to Salem-News.com.

The history of genocide in Africa in recent years, can largely be attributed to the
European colonization of yesterday. It was Germany that first moved into Rwanda in
the late 1800's. The Germans sided with the lighter complected Tutsi people, and helped
them on several occasions to fight uprisings from inhabitants who were Hutu. By 1933,
residents had to carry ID cards that designated their tribal status.

1933; a year forever associated with the launch in Germany, of the Third Reich. By this
point in Rwanda's history however, Germany was out and Belgium was in. That had
come about as a result of Germany's loss of WW1. Still, the light skin people of Rwanda
were favored by the Europeans, and animosity naturally grew.

Interestingly, one of the tragic realizations of the U.S. war in Iraq, is that residents in
Baghdad suddenly, for the first time, had to carry ID cards designating them as Sunni
or Shi'ite. Iraq, where dozens of civilians continue to die in mass suicide bombings.
Baghdad, a city divided with huge walls installed by American contractors, to divide
the residents by religion. It obviously didn't help Rwanda, where multiple genocides
have taken place in recent years, some of the most horrific attacks on civilian
populations in recent history.

According to the U.S. government, the U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) was
installed to broaden American ability to bring peace to Africa. So far it hasn't worked
for a lot of Africans.

In fact, since the 6 February 2007 launch of AFRICOM, the United States has actually
'taken sides' in this continent's complex political upheaval, and the U.S. Special Envoy
to Sudan, Scott Gration, decided to back the election of Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir
(Arabic: ‫ ﺃﺡﻡﺩ ﺡﺱﻥ ﻉﻡﺭ‬‎‫)ﺍﻝﺏﺵﻱﺭ‬, the 'president' of Sudan and the head of the National
Congress Party.

Right on cue, demonstrations in Sudan that called foul on the nation's elections,
perceived as rigged, were attacked by forces loyal to Bashir. Salem-News.com was the
only agency in the world who had someone on the ground there, the photos and video
were taken as demonstrators were under attack.

When former U.S. President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the
creation of U.S. Africa Command, they said the decision was the culmination of,
according to the AFRICOM Website, "a 10-year thought process within the Department
of Defense (DOD) acknowledging the emerging strategic importance of Africa". The
command operates under the leadership of General William "Kip" Ward[1].
The statement recognized the need for "peace and stability" but also noted the
importance of, "the interests of the U.S. and international community". There had only
been a U.S. presence in three locations on the African continent. Now there is reportedly
a cooperative agreement between the U.S. and all nations there except for Egypt.

"The creation of U.S. Africa Command enables DoD to better focus its resources to
support and enhance existing U.S. initiatives that help African nations, the African
Union, and the regional economic communities succeed. It also provides African
nations and regional organizations an integrated DoD coordination point to help
address security and related needs."

"Security" to a Palestinian or a Baghdad resident, can carry sinister overtones. It is

another simple term for enhanced military presence.

According to a mission statement approved by the Secretary of Defense in May 2008:

"United States Africa Command, in concert with other U.S. government agencies and
international partners, conducts sustained security engagement through military-to
military programs, military-sponsored activities, and other military operations as
directed to promote a stable and secure African environment in support of U.S. foreign
policy."

U.S. foreign policy of course is of a different nature than in previous years. Today it
involves unilateral strikes on nations like Iraq, constant posturing toward unproven and
undocumented threats of alleged nuclear weapon development in Iran, two million
dollars of U.S. taxpayer support for Israel every day as that nation/state systematically
attempts to eliminate the native Palestinian people from their own land, enacting and
increasing apartheid laws clearly in violation of countless international laws.

That, is U.S. foreign policy these days. Along with Scott Gration's backing of al Bashir. It
hardly seems like advocacy for Africa. Based on the history of western influence here, it
is hard to visualize where an American presence that is so military in nature, could be
the needed answer.

And it is important to remember that Africa is a vast, diverse place. There was dissent
over the formation of AFRICOM, and one nation against it was Nigeria. STRATFOR
reported on 14 December 2007 that Nigerian President Umaru Yaradua yielded on his
government's opposition to the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).

On 15 May 2009, Online Journal reported from Asmara, Eritrea, that, "The USA African
Command (AFRICOM) is building their new African megabase in the tiny Horn of
African country of Djibouti. The first phase is costing $2 billion, according to reports,
and eventually another $4 billion will be spent. This latest expansion of USA imperial
might, this time on African soil, is turning into a fiasco for the Pentagon and US State
Department."

The Online Journal reporter, Thomas C. Mountain, considered himself 'the last white
man living in Eritrea' just one year ago,discussed how Ethiopia, with the USA’s
instigation and funding, "invaded Somalia in Dec 2006 after the Union of Islamic Courts
began to defeat the Ethiopian/USA-backed Somali warlords and started to build a new
government is Somalia for the first time since 1991."

The article cites how almost no one in the West seems to know that Ethiopia, equipped
and funded by the USA and other Western countries, started a war with Eritrea in 1998
and carried out an invasion of Eritrea in 2000 in an attempt to regain their former
colony[3].

The deal for Ethiopia? With a little help from the West and particularly the USA, gets a
major port and international airport in Assab. This is a strategic location, situated close
the entrance to the Red Sea. Under the arrangement, Ethiopia regains the use of Port
Assab, something dear to the heart of Ethiopian nationalists.

Wikipedia states:

"Prior to the creation of AFRICOM, three Unified Commands had divided

responsibility for U.S. military operations in Africa. The United States Navy´s Naval
Postgraduate School noted in January 2007 that U.S. policy towards Africa, at least in
the medium-term, looks to be largely defined by international terrorism, the increasing
importance of African oil to American energy needs, and the dramatic expansion and
improvement of Sino-African relations since the turn of the century." [4]

Huffington Post writer Charles Rukuni, reported in January 2009, that Obama had a lot
of eyes from Africa watching, and waiting, to see what this black U.S. President held for
them in terms of real promise[5].

In his article, “Understanding AFRICOM” Author Bryan Hunt, said, "the real objective
is the procurement and control of Africa's oil and its global delivery system."

In the same article, US foreign policy towards Africa according to Letitia Lawson seems
to be largely defined by "international terrorism, the increasing importance of African
oil to American energy needs, and the dramatic expansion and improvement of Sino-
African relations".

Alexander von Peleske said the establishment of AFRICOM means that U.S.
consumption of African oil will rise from 18 percent, to 25 percent by 2015. The specific
information is attibuted to the African Oil Policy Initiative Group report.
It is hard to get excited about practices that so closely resemble the exploitation of
yesterday. This is an informational report, meant to serve as an introduction to
Americans who know nothing about their nation's current role in Africa.
--------------------
Military Still Fumbling Humanitarian Projects (Huffington Post)

The U.S. military has been conducting development-like activities in Africa regularly
since the Pentagon stood up the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-
HOA) in 2002 - and we're still building white elephants.

Today the Government Accountability Agency released a report evaluating CJTF-

HOA's activities, finding that though most of its activities revolved around "civil affairs
projects such as community medical care and bridge construction," the command
doesn't evaluate the effects of these programs. Its rapid personnel turnover rate, at
times as little as 4 months, lead to cultural missteps, and difficulties tracking projects.

Recently CJTF-HOA discovered they had previously built a school only to lose track of
it, now finding that it had fallen into disrepair. On another occasion a well had been
constructed but the local community hadn't been trained to maintain it. CJTF-HOA has
now added to its internal program nomination form a description of who will maintain
the project in the long-term. Again, CJTF-HOA has been stationed in Djibouti since
2003.

The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has had responsibility for CJTF-HOA since
October 2008 when it was transferred from U.S. Central Command. AFRICOM's
broader responsibility is for long-term security engagement in Africa, with a special
focus on conflict and crisis prevention.

Many analysts are hopeful that the AFRICOM model of preventive engagement will be
the wave of the future. By arming partner nations and training them to conduct
counterterrorism operations in their own backyard, the U.S. hopes to avoid a repeat of
the expensive and drawn out entanglement in Afghanistan. Simultaneously the U.S.
provides development and humanitarian assistance to ease resentment against the U.S.,
and shore up the legitimacy of the partner nation's government, ultimately making for
greater stability and less human suffering.

Yemen - itself within CJTF-HOA's area of operations - has recently been highlighted as
a target for this kind of engagement following revelations of the underwear bomber's
training there. This indirect approach, called irregular warfare, isn't just for
counterterrorism though. The Navy is also seeking to secure the Gulf of Guinea from
smugglers and pirates through its Africa Partnership Station program. Given the U.S.
can expect 20% of its oil imports from the region by 2020, there are clear national
interests at stake.
It's an attractive prospect, wedding together humanitarian and national security
concerns, creating a potential bipartisan space in foreign policy. This is the dominant
model for the future among national security elites.

Others analysts, most recently Tom Ricks, have begun to question how realistic this
ostensibly cheap and legitimate approach really is.

Three key questions:

1) Given our current economic crisis will continuous global engagement be politically
sustainable in the U.S.? This year the Senate Budget Committee cut the Obama
Administration's request for the International Affairs Budget by $4 billion. It is unclear
whether or not a State and Foreign Operations funding bill will even make it to the floor
of the House of Representatives before November.

2) How dependable can partner/client states like Yemen be? We've nearly 100,000
troops in Afghanistan and we can't get Karzai to run a clean election, much less reduce
corruption among his own allies.

3) Can the DOD and State Department institutionally adapt to the requirements of
irregular warfare? The DOD has shown an amazing capacity to learn and adapt to
counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan, but hasn't been entirely willing to change
personnel practices to meet the needs even of those conflicts, much less for other
regions where cultural knowledge is important. I'll leave aside discussion of State's
challenges, and the question of roles and missions, for another time.

The DOD has shown the ability to change, but it took the pressure of two wars and an
exceptionally skilled Secretary of Defense to drive it. It remains to be seen whether or
not the exigencies of irregular warfare in places the Philippines, Indonesia, the Gulf of
Guinea and the Horn of Africa will be sufficient to drive the Pentagon to get irregular
warfare right.

If the Pentagon can't get it right, a crumbling schoolhouse may become an excellent
metaphor for U.S. stabilization efforts world-wide.
--------------------
U.S. Urges Sober Debate On New Law (Daily Nation)

NAIROBI, Kenya — The United States has urged politicians not exploit Kenya ethnic or
political affiliation to gain support for the proposed Constitution.

US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger appealed for sobriety during debate on

the proposed new law and urged politicians not to divide Kenyans.
"All Kenyans need to stand up and refuse to be manipulated based on ethnicity or
political perspective. I am particularly confident that young people will do this. I
believe the Kenyan people want to see fundamental change and a new constitution is
crucial to that," he said during an online discussion with journalists Tuesday.

Mr Ranneberger said the constitutional review process was a historic opportunity to

bring Kenyans together and it would be tragic if the political leadership stoked ethnic
animosity to achieve their ends.

He was, however, categorical that a vigorous debate based on the facts is healthy and
important for the country.

Reform agenda

The US envoy said President Barack Obama is following developments in Kenya "very
closely" and wants to see the reform agenda fully implemented.

But Mr Ranneberger was quick to clarify that his government is not trying to tell
Kenyans how to vote. He, indeed, said that the US will respect the decision made by the
Kenyan people through a transparent and credible referendum.

"Each Kenyan voter must decide how to vote based on his analysis, judgment, and
conscience," he said.

As a sign of its commitment to reforms, the US has provided over Sh150 million for
civic education. The money will be channelled to non-governmental groups and the
Committee of Experts.

He urged the government to ensure that the CoE receives the funds it needs at the
required time.

"I am confident that this will be the case. The process of civic education is already
underway and the referendum is on track to be held in early August," he said.

On the issue of whether ministers opposed to the proposed Constitution should be

sacked on account of collective responsibility in the Cabinet, Mr Ranneberger remained
noncommittal.

"Leaders of the Coalition Government have made clear the position of the government
with respect to the Constitution. I would not presume to say how the President and
Prime Minister should deal with specific ministers," he said.

According to him, a new constitution will strengthen democracy and sharing of wealth
by creating structures that protect interests of all Kenyans.
Without such a framework in place, Kenyans will never be able to receive the justice
they deserve and the economic development that is crucial to improve their lives.
--------------------
Experts say US Government Walks Fine Line with Ethiopia (Voice of America)

U.S.-Africa experts say the United States has a difficult, but crucial relationship with
Ethiopia, as the Horn of Africa ally struggles with its democratic credentials.

Pro-democracy activists in the United States had hopes for democratic improvement in
2005 in Ethiopia, when parliamentary elections were fiercely contested, and opposition
leaders attracted huge rallies.

But when results were announced, the ruling party was awarded a clear victory.
Opposition leaders cried foul and their supporters spilled onto the streets of major
cities. About 200 people were reported killed in riots, while their leaders, some of them
election winners, were jailed.

Five years later, foreign election observers have described conditions before Sunday's
parliamentary election as anything but fair. Observers report shortcomings that include
ruling party control of the media, the imprisonment of dozens of opposition leaders and
journalists, as well as a lack of independent election monitors.

Severe criticism is also coming from Congress. Several U.S. lawmakers have warned
that Ethiopia's government is becoming increasingly authoritarian.

Oberlin College foreign policy teacher Eve Sandberg says the recently appointed U.S.
Ambassador to Ethiopia, Donald Booth, told lawmakers he would seek progress in
terms of democracy and human-rights protection.

"The Ethiopians have heard this before from U.S. ambassadors and the question is
whether or not Mr. Booth will be able to find some leverage with the Ethiopian
government to move them toward a better record on human rights," she said.

Sandberg, who has worked as a political consultant in Ethiopia, says the U.S.
government faces a dilemma about how much to push in terms of democracy, since
Ethiopia is such an important security ally.

"On the one hand, the Ethiopian military was largely responsible for establishing and
preserving a Somali government that in the West's eyes is the lesser of many evils,
because the opposition to it is an al-Qaida aligned rebel group. Ethiopia is seen also as
an important ally because we are reliant on their intelligence services to know what is
going on in the Horn [of Africa] and so Ethiopia knows that we need them," she said.
A recent U.S. Embassy deputy chief of mission in Ethiopia, Thomas Hull, agrees.

"Ethiopia is in a very key geo-political situation plus it is the host of the headquarters of
the African Union so all those factors make it very difficult for the United States to exert
more than moral force on Ethiopia to try to improve its practices," he said.

Hull, who is now an international relations professor at Simmons College, believes

competing interests in Africa also make it difficult for the U.S. government to exert
leverage.

"Our business relations are not great in terms of volume," he said. "They certainly do
not compare to what the Chinese, the Indians and Saudis are doing in Ethiopia. Most of
our assistance to the country is humanitarian in terms of food assistance, HIV/AIDS,
and so forth."

But a George Mason University professor, Terrence Lyons, believes the Obama
administration is trying to change the relationship from what it was under former
President Bush.

"Under the prior administration, security concerns, counterterrorism concerns were

overwhelmingly dominant in how the United States approached Ethiopia," he said.
"Now, I think the administration is looking to re-calibrate this relationship so that the
security relationship will certainly remain, but a greater importance will be placed on
democracy, human rights and some of these other issues that relate to the democracy
and governance side of the ledger."

Lyons says it could take a decade or more to change the relationship. He says U.S.
officials need to engage with the new generation of officials from Ethiopia's ruling
party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front.

In 1991, when that group had taken over the capital Addis Ababa during a rebellion,
thousands of supporters stormed the U.S. embassy. They alleged the U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for African Affairs at the time, Herman Cohen, had facilitated the
rebel takeover as well as a referendum for the breakaway of Eritrea during peace talks
in London.

Cohen said he was acting in the interests of restoring stability, but warned Ethiopia's
new leaders they should not expect international cooperation without democracy.

Experts say 20 years later the same U.S. dilemma of simultaneously trying to promote
democracy and stability in the Horn of Africa remains.
--------------------
Somali Man Pleads Guilty in U.S. to Hijacking Ship Off Africa (Businessweek)
A Somali pirate captured by the U.S. military in April 2009 when Navy commandoes
freed an American container ship off the coast of Africa pleaded guilty to hijacking
charges, prosecutors said.

Abduwali Muse admitted in federal court in Manhattan yesterday to two counts of

hijacking maritime vessels, two counts of kidnapping and two counts hostage taking,
according to a statement issued by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

The U.S. said in an indictment filed in January that Muse and others hijacked two other
ships before the Maersk Alabama.

“What we did was wrong,” Muse said in court, according to a transcript of his remarks
translated into English. “I am very sorry for all of this. It happened because of the
situation in Somalia.”

Prosecutors said Muse was the leader of the group of pirates who overtook the Maersk
Alabama on April 8, 2009, and held its captain captive for five days. Muse was the first
pirate to board the ship, fired at Captain Richard Phillips from the deck, forced him to
stop the ship, and demanded that he hand over $30,000 from the ship’s safe, according
to court papers filed by prosecutors. The group later kept Phillips in a lifeboat off the
Somali coast.

Recommended Sentence

Muse could face as long as life in prison on the charges of hostage-taking and
kidnapping. Prosecutors said in a plea agreement that they wouldn’t seek a sentence of
longer than 33 years and nine months, with a minimum term of 27 years. Muse is
scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 19 by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska.

Muse’s lawyer, Philip Weinstein, declined to comment after yesterday’s hearing.

Muse “led the hostage-taking of crew members, threatened them with firearms and in
at least one instance, an improvised explosive device,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan
McGuire said at a hearing in January.

Muse, who prosecutors say was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, was taken aboard
the USS Bainbridge for treatment of his injured arm and was apprehended by U.S.
sailors when Navy snipers shot dead the three kidnappers in the lifeboat, the military
said.

He was transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which

brought him to New York.
Prosecutors allege that in March 2009, Muse and others boarded an unidentified ship in
the Indian Ocean armed with weapons and took hostages. Muse is accused of
threatening to kill everyone aboard with an improvised explosive device if the
authorities came.

The U.S. says Muse and others left the first ship on a small boat and met a second
unidentified ship that was also in the area. Muse and three others left that second ship
and boarded the Maersk Alabama, prosecutors said.

The Alabama is owned by Maersk Line Ltd., a Norfolk, Virginia-based unit of

Copenhagen-based A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S.

The case is U.S. v. Muse, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
(Manhattan).
--------------------
Cameroon attacks show pirates are heading south (Reuters)

DAKAR, Senegal - An attack by gunmen on two ships anchored off Cameroon's major
port of Douala shows pirates are extending their range in the Gulf of Guinea, an
increasingly important source of oil to western markets.

Two Russian nationals from the cargo ship North Spirit and a Lithuanian captain from
another vessel, Argo, were seized in the back-to-back raids May 16, according to the
Russian Seafarer's Union and the owner of Argo.

RSU spokesman Vadim Ivanov said there had been no contact as yet with the attackers.

Lithuania-based Limarko Shipping, which owns the Argo refrigerated vessel, said in a
statement that gunmen robbed the ship's safe and abducted the captain.

Cameroonian authorities were not immediately available to comment.

The raid was the latest in a string of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea -- which
stretches from the Guineas in the northwest to Angola in the south -- and marked a shift
beyond the Cameroon-Nigeria maritime frontier where most attacks have been
clustered.

"There seems to be a pattern emerging. They are moving south," said Rolake Akinola,
Africa analyst at Eurasia Group. "It is obviously a real concern. Douala is the hub for the
CEMAC (Central African Economic and Monetary Community) region. Insecurity
appears to be following increased investor activity."

Douala's port serves land-locked Chad and Central African Republic, as well as some
parts of the two Congos.
Cameroon last month blamed piracy for part of a 13 percent slide in oil production in
2009. The country's output averaged 73,000 barrels per day last year, down from 84,000
bpd in 2008.

The Gulf of Guinea is also home to major oil producers Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, and
Equatorial Guinea as well as soon-to-be exporter Ghana.

Attacks in the Gulf of Guinea are not on the scale of those off Somalia, where pirates are
earning tens of millions of dollars from seizing merchant vessels, but analysts say the
insecurity off West Africa could affect shipping and investment.

"Oil companies won't stop doing business because of piracy but we may see much more
caution," Akinola said. "It could exacerbate an already downward trend of production."

The U.S. military is training West and Central African navies and coast guards to
combat piracy, drug smuggling and illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea -- a region
Washington estimates will supply a quarter of U.S. oil by 2015.

Ivanov said the seized Russians included chief engineer Igor Shumik, who was among
the 15 sailors aboard the Arctic Sea vessel that vanished for nearly a month last summer
and which Russian authorities said had been hijacked by pirates near Sweden before
being intercepted by the Russian Navy.

The other missing Russian is Boris Tersintsev, the North Spirit's captain, Ivanov said.
--------------------
Chadian authorities deny entry to Darfur's rebel leader (Xinhua)

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Chadian authorities on Wednesday barred leader of the Darfur

rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) from entering its territories upon
arrival at N' djamena airport en route to Darfur region, and confiscated his passport.

"JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim arrived in N'djamena airport on Wednesday morning from
Libya on board an Afriqiyah Airways flight, but we were surprised that the Chadian
authorities prevented Ibrahim and the accompanying delegation from entering Chad,
confiscated their passports and ordered them to return to Libya," Mansour Arbab, JEM
secretary of presidential affairs, told Xinhua by phone.

"Until now, Khalil Ibrahim and the accompanying delegation are staying inside the
plane in N'djamena airport, unable to go anywhere after their passports have been
confiscated. We do not have any explanation for this procedure," he added.

Arbab refused to term the procedure as "detention," saying that "we do not expect Chad
to make such a move."
Chad "knows that detaining JEM leader will have its consequences," he expounded

He said the move came as an expansion of, what he said, a conspiracy against JEM, in
which "the Chadian government and the international mediation for Darfur peace talks
are involved to force the JEM to return to the negotiating table sponsored by Qatar."

Arbab called on the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki- Moon to intervene to
transport Khalil Ibrahim to "the liberated areas" in Darfur.

"We asked the international mediation and Qatar to intervene to end the holding of the
president in N'djamena airport, but they did nothing so far," he said.

"This stance proves our viewpoint that the joint mediation is not neutral and not
qualified to mediate to end the Darfur conflict. Now we are closer than before to fully
withdraw from Doha talks," he added.

JEM is the biggest armed group in Darfur, which has recently suspended its
participation in the Darfur peace talks hosted by Qatar.

Sudan earlier has requested the Interpol to distribute arrest warrants against Ibrahim
for his involvement in a JEM attack against Omdurman in 2008. Until now, it is not clear
whether the Chadian procedure has anything to do with Sudan's request or not.
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Ban stresses need for all sides to adhere to ceasefire in Darfur

19 May – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed concern over continued
recent reports of a military build-up and violence between armed groups and
Government forces in the war-wracked Sudanese region of Darfur.

UN peacekeepers rush to aid of landslide victims in eastern DR Congo

19 May – United Nations peacekeepers today rushed in all-terrain vehicles and other
relief after an overflowing river caused a landslide on the slopes of a major volcano in
the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), burying at least 46 people and
washing away 200 homes.

New UN report calls for ‘green revolution’ by Africa’s small farmers

19 May – A “green revolution” led by Africa’s small farmers, and harnessing the latest
technologies and innovations, is vital if the continent is to reduce extreme poverty and
hunger by 2015, just two of the eight globally agreed Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), according to a new United Nations report.
African hot spots the focus of Security Council meeting
19 May – The simmering tensions and continued instability in both the Horn of Africa
and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were under the spotlight today as the
Security Council met to discuss peace and security on the continent.

UN agency uses European funding to boost food production in Lesotho

19 May – The United Nations food and agriculture agency said today it is helping
36,000 farmers in Lesotho boost food production in the southern Africa country where
the soaring prices of seeds, fertilizer and tools have greatly reduced producers’ capacity
to grow food.