United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

21 July 2010

CSIS hosted a Military Strategy Forum with Gen. William E. Ward

July 20. Below are event - related news stories.

VIDEO FILES RELATED TO GENERAL WARD'S SPEECH AT THE CENTER FOR

STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

http://csis.org/event/us-africa-command-partnership-security-and-stability

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

US to boost training, aid for troops in Somalia (Associated Press)

(Somalia) The U.S. military is looking for ways to expand the training and equipping of
African forces to help battle al-Shabab militants in Somalia who claimed responsibility
for recent bombings in Uganda, a top commander said Tuesday.

General: US Military to Boost AU Somalia Force (VoA)

A top U.S. general says the military is ready to give more assistance to African Union
forces in Somalia.

General William Ward, head of the U.S. military's Africa Command, says the U.S.
hopes to provide more training, transportation, and logistical aid to the AU mission,
known as AMISOM.

UPDATE 1-US seeks ways to boost African forces in Somalia (Reuters)

(Washington) The United States is prepared to step up assistance to African Union
forces in Somalia and take more aggressive action against al Shabaab Islamist rebels
who carried out deadly bombings in Uganda earlier this month, U.S. officials said on
Tuesday.

General Outlines U.S. Mission, Challenges in Africa (American Forces Press Service)
(Washington) As U.S. Africa Command matures and strengthens ties with African
nations, American interests on the continent become more stable, the command’s top
officer said today.

U.S. Keen On Extending Support To African Union Forces In Somalia (AHN)

(Washington) – Just a week after suicide bombings in Uganda made headlines across
the world, the United States has expressed its willingness to expand support to African
Union peacekeepers in Somalia.
AFRICOM chief: Skepticism of command is fading (Marine Corps Times)
The U.S. Africa Command chief, Army Gen. William Ward, says his talks with African
leaders increasingly focus on what the still-developing American military organization
can do for them, leading him to conclude that skepticism on the continent about
AFRICOM is waning.
Dozens killed in clashes between Somali government forces and Islamist militants
(Washington Post) (NAIROBI) Intense clashes between U.S.-backed Somali government
forces and Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda killed at least 53 civilians and wounded
scores over the past week, a Somali human rights group said Tuesday.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

US to boost training, aid for troops in Somalia (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is looking for ways to expand the training and
equipping of African forces to help battle al-Shabab militants in Somalia who claimed
responsibility for recent bombings in Uganda, a top commander said Tuesday.

Army Gen. William "Kip" Ward said that the African nations who are contributing
forces in Somalia are still committed to the peacekeeping effort there despite the attacks
last week that killed 76 people.

Al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaida, has threatened more attacks in what worried
officials see as the first moves to expand its violence beyond Somalia's borders. The
group has said that the bombings were revenge for Uganda's deployment of
peacekeepers in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu with the African Union force, known as
AMISOM.

Speaking to a gathering at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Ward said
that the unrest in Africa creates a security threat to other nations, including the United
States.

"Violent extremism can grow unchecked in the Horn of Africa and across the Sahel,
leading to attacks against U.S. persons and interests around the world, or, in the worst
case, against the U.S. homeland," said Ward, who is the head of U.S. Africa Command.

The U.S., which maintains troops at a base in the nation of Djibouti, has not sent forces
into Somalia, but instead works through the African Union. Direct U.S. or other foreign
involvement in Somalia's internal affairs, said Ward, would be "an irritant and a
distraction."
But Ward acknowledged that while a number of African nations are willing to
participate in peacekeeping efforts, they may be overburdened. The U.S., he said, must
help those countries beef up their security capabilities.

Somalia has been without a functioning government for nearly 20 years, and militants
control much of the country's southern and central regions, including large portions of
Mogadishu.

U.S. officials say insurgents, including a number of foreign fighters from the
Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, gather and train in Somalia's vast lawless regions.

The Pentagon, said Ward, is looking for ways to expand the aid it is already providing
the African nations, including additional training, equipment, logistical support and
transportation for the troops there. He did not provide details and said decisions have
not yet been made.

The leader of al-Shabab, Sheik Muktar Abu Zubayr, released an audio message saying
that more attacks would be carried out in Uganda and Burundi. There are currently
more than 5,000 AU troops in Mogadishu from those two nations. African officials have
said that as many as 20,000 more troops are needed.

The twin bombings struck as people watched the World Cup final on television.
--------------------
General: US Military to Boost AU Somalia Force (VoA)

A top U.S. general says the military is ready to give more assistance to African Union
forces in Somalia.

General William Ward, head of the U.S. military's Africa Command, says the U.S.
hopes to provide more training, transportation, and logistical aid to the AU mission,
known as AMISOM.

Ward made the comments Tuesday while addressing the Center for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington.

The United States currently provides training and supplies to AMISOM, which
consists of several thousand troops from Uganda and Burundi.  The troops clash
frequently with Somali insurgents who are trying to topple the Somali government.

AMISOM has helped the government keep control of key areas of Mogadishu, notably
the airport, seaport, and presidential palace.

In a briefing to reporters last week, a senior Obama administration official said the
U.S. wants to "build up the capabilities" of AMISOM and the government.
The United States has repeatedly expressed concern about insurgent groups al-Shabab
and Hizbul Islam seizing control of Somalia.  Officials say if that happens, the country
could turn into a haven for terrorists.

Al-Shabab has proclaimed its links with al-Qaida, and the group is on the U.S. list of
designated terrorist organizations.
--------------------
UPDATE 1-US seeks ways to boost African forces in Somalia (Reuters)

WASHINGTON - The United States is prepared to step up assistance to African Union

forces in Somalia and take more aggressive action against al Shabaab Islamist rebels
who carried out deadly bombings in Uganda earlier this month, U.S. officials said on
Tuesday.

U.S. intelligence agencies have warned of growing links between al Shabaab in Somalia
and al Qaeda's network in East Africa, and the Obama administration has made it a
priority to track and target top militants in both groups, officials said.

The expanded U.S. military assistance to African Union forces could include additional
equipment, training, logistical support and information-sharing, said General William
Ward, commander of U.S. Africa Command.

A U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested lethal

operations targeting al Shabaab could expand as well.

"This terrorist group is primarily focused on targets in the region, but we can't discount
its aspirations to conduct operations elsewhere," the official said, calling connections
between al Shabaab and al Qaeda in Africa "deeply troubling."

"It's hard to figure out in some cases where one group ends and the other begins. They
train together and obviously share the same penchant for hatred and violence. That's
why it's critical that we take aggressive action to thwart them," the counterterrorism
official said.

"Our efforts are aggressive and have intensified."

A growing U.S. role in the conflict could fuel anti-American sentiment in Somalia some
18 years after a bloody U.S. battle in Mogadishu that was depicted in the movie "Black
Hawk Down."

Fighting between al Shabaab rebels and government forces in the north of Somalia's
capital has killed at least 52 civilians and wounded scores over the past week, according
to a local rights group.
The violence in Mogadishu has intensified since al Shabaab suicide bombers killed 73
people watching the World Cup final in Uganda's capital. They were the group's first
successful strikes outside Somalia.

MORE ROBUST

Troops from Uganda and Burundi make up the roughly 6,300 strong African Union
force protecting key sites in Mogadishu and there have been calls for their mandate to
be widened so they can go on the offensive against the al Qaeda-linked insurgents.

"The nations that are contributing forces to ... the African Union mission in Somalia --
we are working very closely with their logistics, their training, their transportation,
information that they would use to be effective in what they do, and we continue
looking to ways, based on what they ask us, to enhance these efforts," Ward told the
Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

He said the envisaged expansion in U.S. assistance was not triggered by the Uganda
bombings: "We were already looking at how can we be more robust in helping these
nations."

Asked by reporters later if unmanned U.S. military drone aircraft could be used to
support African Union contingents on the ground, Ward said: "That's not a part of it at
this point in time."

"It's all considered but it's nothing that's been determined," he added.

Ward played down the impact of the recent bombings in Uganda on the resolve of
African states to send forces to Somalia, telling reporters: "At this point in time they
(troop-contributing nations) remain committed to it. So we take them at their word and
we're hopeful that will be the case."

Al Shabaab and another Islamist militia have been fighting the Western-backed Somali
government since the start of 2007. They control much of the capital but have failed so
far to drive President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed from office.

The African Union force, known as AMISOM, has stepped in at key moments to protect
the president's palace and Uganda said last week it was ready to send another 2,000
troops to help take the fight to the rebels.

At least 21,000 civilians have been killed since the start of the insurgency. Aid agencies
and rights groups have become increasingly concerned about indiscriminate shelling
and some have accused combatants on all sides of war crimes.

Al Shabaab said the suicide attacks in Uganda on July 11 were to avenge the killing of
civilians by African Union forces.
--------------------
General Outlines U.S. Mission, Challenges in Africa (American Forces Press Service)

As U.S. Africa Command matures and strengthens ties with African nations, American
interests on the continent become more stable, the command’s top officer said today.

Africom was established in October 2007 to “add value” to African nations by

improving their military capacities and to help nations achieve their short- and long-
term goals, Army Gen. William E. “Kip” Ward said during remarks at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies here. He discussed progress and challenges and
explained the strategic importance of the continent to global security.

Many African nations struggle with democratic processes, political reform, civil conflict
and reconstruction issues, Ward noted. Despite those challenges, Africa presents
tremendous opportunity, he said.

Much of the continent’s development progress is hindered by corruption, weak

governance and drug and human trafficking, Ward explained. Also, the growing
population faces challenges in food and security. However, those concerns are “not
absolute barriers,” he said.

Good governance and reliable militaries prove to counter such concerns, Ward said.
Several nations have become well-respected, international partners dedicated to
peacekeeping, he added.

“Good governance … fosters change in stability that allows the U.S. and Africa, across
all spectrums to build trust [and] pursue mutual interests toward lasting relationships,”
Ward said. “Africans are steadily taking ownership in addressing existing security
challenges. It means that, over time, we can work more effectively together to further
these mutual interests.”

African nations have the potential to be great, long-term security partners, the general
said. But some are more dependent on outside resources, he added.

“The greater issue is not that challenges exist in Africa,” he said. “Africans lack the
means to wholly and fully confront them.”

In some cases, Ward explained, resources are available within African nations, but are
not aligned to address the challenges. Also, sometimes opportunities for progress are
not well understood, he said, adding that developing a stable economy and government
need as much focus as security.

“I get asked all the time: What are you going to do about Somalia? What are you going
to do about Sudan? What are you going to do about the Democratic Republic of the
Congo? What are you going to do about Liberia?” the general said.
“It’s also important to look at Africa in terms of the opportunity that exists,” Ward said.
“Economic development, governance, security initiatives and the continent’s
geopolitical role will both improve the lives of Africans and build a foundation for a
stronger, longer friendship [and] cooperation between the nations of Africa and the
United States, all the while promoting an environment where American lives are more
secure.”

Such effects will be felt abroad and in the United States, anywhere American interests
are promoted, Ward said. The strategic importance of Africa is about stability and
growth, which is in the best interest of the United States, he added.

“Since the command’s inception, we routinely heard phrases like, ‘African solutions to
African problems,’” he said. “While that theme still resonates, U.S. efforts to help
Africans address their challenges focus … on a combination of diplomatic,
developmental and defense engagement – programs that help build capacity, that foster
African ownership.”

The command, he said, prides itself on the ability to “listen and learn” from African
nations.

"We had to get out of our foxholes, go down range and look back at what we were
doing from the perspective of our most-important partners – the Africans,” Ward said.
“After hundreds of engagements with African political and military leaders, as well as
members of civil society, there were several common themes of what the Africans
wanted in terms of their long-term security interests.”

Africom is primarily concerned with building military forces, the general said,
acknowledging the importance of ground, sea and air military capabilities. However, he
added, broader capabilities also are needed.

“Police, border patrols, coast guard, customs, immigration, air/space management,

courts, law; all these are lined against the challenges and threats the partner nations
face,” Ward said. “Sufficient freedom from political violence is needed to allow real
progress to take root.”

Conditions must be set for Africans to address short-term challenges, so long-term

objectives can be pursued, he said.

“This is clearly a long-term endeavor,” Ward said. “Development or transformation of

security capacity does not happen overnight, and in many cases will happen on an
African, not an American, timetable.”
--------------------
U.S. Keen On Extending Support To African Union Forces In Somalia (AHN)
(Washington) – Just a week after suicide bombings in Uganda made headlines across
the world, the United States has expressed its willingness to expand support to African
Union peacekeepers in Somalia.

U.S. Africa Command’s top officer William “Kip” Ward disclosed Pentagon’s plans to
expand its aid in the form of training, equipment, transportation and logistical support
to the A.U. mission.

Speaking at a function at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in

Washington, Ward stressed on the need to take immediate actions against violent
extremists else it could attack U.S. personnel and their interests across the globe.

The U.S.’ commitment came in the wake of July 11 suicide bombings on an Ethiopian
restaurant in the outskirts of Ugandan capital Kampala – an incident which killed 76
people and injured hundreds others. A day later, al-Qaeda linked al Shabaab rebels
from Somalia claimed the responsibility of the attacks and warned future attacks on all
African nations, which continue to provide support to U.N. peacekeeping forces in
Somalia.

However, the Ugandan government pledged not to bow down to such terrorist
activities.

In Nairobi, an international maritime body, Ecoterra International, claimed that Somali

pirates hijacked some 21 foreign vessels along with one barge and kept some 387
seafarers as hostage.

“Today July 20, 12h00 UTC, still at least 21 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in
Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 387 seafarers – suffer to be
released,” a statement from Ecoterra International said.

The development came after the pirates freed two vessels – a Kenyan-flagged fishing
vessel and a chemical tanker – after keeping its crew of 15 members for two months in
captivity.
--------------------

AFRICOM chief: Skepticism of command is fading (Marine Corps Times)

The U.S. Africa Command chief, Army Gen. William Ward, says his talks with African
leaders increasingly focus on what the still-developing American military organization
can do for them, leading him to conclude that skepticism on the continent about
AFRICOM is waning.

Ward said command officials have put in much “hard work” to “deepen our
relationships” with African leaders, other U.S. agencies and international players in
Africa. The result: Over the last 15 months, African officials began asking him what
more AFRICOM could do to foster their goals and meet their needs, Ward said Tuesday
during a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Those kinds of questions have led Ward — the nearly three-year-old command’s first
and only commander — to conclude “we have turned a corner” away from AFRICOM’s
early days, when U.S. officials spent more time addressing questions about
Washington’s intentions for the new organization.

Mike Phelan, a senior Senate Foreign Relations Committee aide, said during the forum
that he is “encouraged” that AFRICOM officials are no longer spending so much time
explaining what the command is all about. Phelan faulted other U.S. agencies for not
participating earlier in AFRICOM’s development. Instead, he said, other agencies opted
to “sit back and wait” for the command to stumble or fail.

Ward and other officials struggled early on to convince African leaders that the
command is aimed at helping with tasks like training African nations and building their
capacity to spawn and then maintain stability.

He reiterated that one of the command’s top functions is to listen to African officials.
And they have made clear what the want, Ward said:

• “The pursuit of self-sustaining, accountable” indigenous security forces. But that goes
beyond the air, sea and land military forces many might equate with a U.S. military-led
effort to build up African forces.

Ward said African officials need help building professional police, customs, border
patrol and immigration officers. They also need help erecting courts and a legal system.

• “Legitimate security institutions.” That means helping Africans with properly

equipping, sustaining and budgeting for the things to achieve that goal. It will take
“wholesale institution building” largely at the “ministerial level.”

• “The ability and will to combat transnational threats.” That includes things like
countering extremist groups and dealing with drug trafficking, which the AFRICOM
boss said is a major threat to West African littoral nations — and a threat emanating
from Central Asia that’s spreading eastward in Africa.

African officials also have asked AFRICOM to help them build noncommissioned and
warrant officer corps, Ward said.

He made clear that his top goal is bringing about stability across Africa. And that will
be a “sustained, long-term effort,” he quickly added.
Reaching that stability, he said, must be done by Africans and African organizations
like the African Union. And it will play out, he said, “on an African, not an American,
time line.”

He said African leaders are beginning to believe that Washington — or at least the
Pentagon — is committed to a long-term presence in Africa. For instance, AFRICOM is
working with those leaders on exercises and other activities slated for the next 18 to 24
months.

One attendee who said he has “roots in Ghana and in America” told Ward during the
question-and-answer period that some Africans are unnerved when the U.S. military
trains their counterparts in nations where the indigenous militaries often have caused
instability — or outright violence.

Ward said the goal with such efforts is to inject a sense of professionalism and
accountability within such militaries. He then added the decisions on which African
militaries will get U.S. training and other assistance is not his own.

Phelan said he had hoped Ward would talk more about which tools should be used for
coordinating policy among U.S. agencies “to make sure we’re all on the same page.” He
also wanted to hear more about how AFRICOM is “fostering communication” among
African officials.

One Africa analyst said there is “greater clarity” among African officials about what
AFRICOM is all about. But, the analyst said, Washington must do a better job “at the
strategic and policy-making levels” at setting and overseeing U.S. policy on Africa.

Meantime, in a preview of what’s to come as warnings of tightening annual defense

budgets become a reality, the event began with talk of what funding reductions might
mean for AFRICOM.

CSIS President and CEO John Hamre hailed Ward for making “really substantial”
progress in building the new organization. But with defense budgets leveling off,
AFRICOM’s current yearly funding level “is fragile during a Washington budget”
squeeze.

Analysts say the command’s annual budget stands at about $300 million.

--------------------
Dozens killed in clashes between Somali government forces and Islamist militants
(Washington Post)

NAIROBI - Intense clashes between U.S.-backed Somali government forces and Islamist
militants linked to al-Qaeda killed at least 53 civilians and wounded scores over the
past week, a Somali human rights group said Tuesday.
Fighting, including tit-for-tat shelling on heavily populated areas, has escalated in
northern Mogadishu, the Somali capital, in the days since Somalia's hard-line al-Shabab
militia asserted responsibility for bombings in the Ugandan capital of Kampala that
killed 76 people watching the World Cup final on television at two crowded venues.

"The shelling is continuing," Ali Yesin, deputy director of the human rights group
Elman, said by phone from Mogadishu. "The situation is getting worse."

On Tuesday, al-Shabab ambushed a Kenyan police unit patrolling the Kenyan-Somali

border, wounding one officer and prompting Kenyan authorities to send
reinforcements to the border, according to news reports.

Since the bombings in Uganda, Kenyan security officials have been on heightened alert,
fearing that Somalia's civil war could spill into Kenya. In recent months, al-Shabab has
staged several cross-border raids into the northeastern part of the country, where
hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees live.

African leaders are expected to discuss the civil war at an African Union summit this
week in Kampala. The Ugandan bombings were the first major international attacks by
the militia, raising fears that Somalia's conflict could destabilize the region.

The militia, which has imposed a strict interpretation of Islam in areas it controls, is
seeking to overthrow the weak transitional Somali government.

An African Union peacekeeping force is protecting the government in the sliver of the
capital it controls. But medical officials and human rights groups accuse the force of
indiscriminately killing hundreds of civilians. Al-Shabab leaders have declared the
Ugandan bombings retaliation for the shelling by the peacekeeping force, which is
made up of Ugandan and Burundian troops.

On Tuesday, Gen. William E. Ward, who heads U.S. Africa Command, said the U.S.
military is prepared to increase its support for the peacekeepers.

"The nations that are contributing forces to . . . the African Union mission in Somalia --
we are working very closely with their logistics, their training, their transportation,
information that they would use to be effective in what they do, and we continue
looking for ways, based on what they ask us, to enhance these efforts," he told the
Center for Strategic and International Studies, Reuters reported.