Strategy Guides Africa Engagement, Defense Official Says

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2012 – The U.S. military is working with partner forces in Africa to build security on the continent, the Pentagon’s senior Africa expert said today.

In her keynote speech today, Amanda J. Dory, deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, told attendees at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies’ senior leader seminar that U.S. defense efforts in sub-Saharan Africa closely follow the White House’s newly announced strategy for that region.

A White House fact sheet released June 14 lists four U.S. strategic objectives for sub-Saharan Africa: strengthen democratic institutions, spur economic growth, trade and investment, advance peace and security, and promote opportunity and development.

The U.S. military supports African nations’ efforts toward peace and security in many ways, particularly by countering terrorist groups, Dory said.

“We … concentrate our efforts on disrupting, dismantling and eventually defeating al-Qaida and its affiliates and adherents in Africa and elsewhere,” she said.

The United States contributes financial and security expertise to counter illicit movement of people, arms, drugs and money on the continent, Dory noted. Two al-Qaida affiliated groups in Africa are of key interest to the United States, she noted: al Shabab in Somalia and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, in the Sahel region of north-central Africa.

“We continue to see troubling signs of cooperation between al-Shabab and other al-Qaida affiliates throughout Africa and in Yemen,” she said. The group still threatens the security of the Somali people, and the United States mentors, trains and equips African Union troops working in Somalia to counter al-Shabab, Dory added.

“We’re also working in East Africa to build the counterterrorism capacity of regional partners such as Kenya [and] Ethiopia,” she said.

Dory said North Africa has been the site of the “biggest and most inspirational changes” on the continent over the past year, with popular uprisings in Egypt and Libya.

“Our focus now is on forging relationships with those new governments, encouraging [them] … to make positive reforms,” she said.

Regional cooperation and information sharing between militaries are more important than ever as east African nations grapple with an outpouring of weapons and people from Libya, she noted.

AQIM seeks to take advantage of instability in the region, and has increased its activities, including kidnappings for ransom, she said. The Tuareg rebellion in Mali created new opportunities for the group to establish safe havens, she added.

DOD is closely watching AQIM activities, and is working with the State Department and 10 partner countries to build regional militaries’ capacity to combat the terror group, Dory said.

In Nigeria, Boko Haram has grown in number, range, sophistication and lethality over the past year, she said. While DOD has a role to play in helping to build capacity in the Nigerian military, most of the effort to defuse Boko Haram “must focus on addressing underlying socioeconomic, political, environmental and governance challenges from a Nigerian basis,” she said.

Dory noted the 100-person U.S. military deployment to Central Africa, countering the Lord’s Resistance Army, has made progress. The U.S. advisors work with forces from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan to counter LRA activities and protect local populations, she said.

“We’re satisfied with the progress of the deployment to date,” Dory said, noting President Barack Obama announced in April the United States will continue the counter-LRA mission.

In South Africa, Defense Department efforts center on counterpiracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster response training with regional forces, she said.

Guided by the national strategy, she said, the nation’s military will remain engaged with African partners to address current security issues while seeking to anticipate and prevent future crises.

U.S. Provides Support for NATO’s Libya Operations

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2011 – The United States continues to support NATO efforts in Libya, as Moammar Gadhafi’s forces continue attacks on Misrata and Ajdabiya.

Gadhafi has said he will accept a cease fire, but “the latest reports are that Gadhafi is continuing to carry out attacks,” said Pentagon spokesman Marine Col. Dave Lapan.

“Talk of a cease fire is just that: Talk,” Lapan added.

The African Union has proposed a ceasefire. “Since the start of the crisis, NATO has been in constant touch with the African Union as well as other regional and international organizations,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said today in Brussels. “I want to be clear: There can be no solely military solution to the crisis in Libya. NATO welcomes all contributions to the broad international effort to stop the violence against the civilian population. Any ceasefire must be credible and verifiable.”

NATO aircraft are striking with care and precision while minimizing the danger to civilians, Rasmussen said.

“This is in stark contrast to the pro-Gadhafi forces,” he said, “who are besieging their own cities and shelling city centers.”

Since April 9, NATO aircraft have flown almost 300 sorties, the secretary general said, destroying 49 tanks, nine armored personnel carriers, three anti-aircraft guns and four large ammo bunkers.

Meanwhile, Gadhafi’s forces continue offensive operations against rebels in eastern Libya. The no-fly zone has blunted the effects of the regime force’s attacks, but has not ended them.

“We’ve talked all along about the nature of a no-fly zone and how that restricts the regime’s forces, but that doesn’t stop them,” Lapan said.

NATO officials said the Libyans are using schools and mosques as shields for their armored forces. The proximity to civilians means these targets are off-limits for NATO.

The DOD comptroller estimates the cost of U.S. operations in Libya to be $40 million per month. Total U.S. cost from the beginning of operations in mid-March through April 4 was $608 million, Lapan said.

American forces are not conducting strike missions in Libya. U.S. forces are supporting NATO with air-to-air refueling, reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities and unmanned aerial vehicle support. U.S. ships are also participating in the arms blockade off Libya in the Mediterranean.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said before Congress on March 31 that he did not expect the department would need a supplemental request to fund the operation. The department is working on a funding strategy.

Donilon Lays Out U.S. Strategy on Libya

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2011 – National Security Advisor Tom Donilon laid out the administration’s strategy on Libya during a conference call from the White House yesterday.

Underlying the strategy is a point that President Barack Obama has made clear, that Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi “has lost legitimacy to lead, he’s lost the confidence of his people and should leave,” Donilon said.

Libya’s ruler is isolated, the national security advisor said, and the strategy is aimed at seeing Gadhafi depart.

“First, we did work to ensure that the international community spoke with one voice on this, the United States, the Europeans, the U.N., the Arab League, African Union and others deliver a clear message,” Donilon said.

The large number of nations condemning Gadhafi demonstrates his isolation, he said.

The United States led with strong sanctions against Libya, Donilon said, including freezing more than $32 billion of the Gadhafi regime’s assets.

“We’ve coordinated additional sanctions with our European partners and they have enhanced those sanctions just in the last day or so,” he said.

The president also made it clear that the world will hold members of the Gadhafi regime accountable before the International Criminal Court, Donilon said.

“And we are going to be expanding these designations along the way, including using our intelligence assets to monitor Libyan activities,” he said.

Gadhafi’s minions who are executing his plans “need to think very carefully about this,” Donilon said. “They need to think about what they’re doing to their fellow citizens and they need to think about what the consequences are.

“Walking away now versus participating,” he continued, “is the difference between the international community pursuing them to justice, and all the way, and a different future.”

U.S. officials are in direct contact with anti-Gadhafi regime officials through a variety of channels, Donilon said.

“We’re coordinating directly with them to provide assistance and determine the best ways we can support their aspirations and understand their leadership structures and their intentions,” he said. “We want to hear from them about the situation on the ground, what their plans are, what their recommendations are.”

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton intends to meet with opposition representatives next week, Donilon said, and the United States is prepared to send diplomats to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

“This will be helpful to our understanding of the situation on the ground, allow us to facilitate humanitarian assistance,” he said.

Meanwhile, Donilon said, the United States is providing humanitarian assistance to the Libyan people and those leaving Libya.

The United States also is pursuing a range of military options, Donilon said, in conjunction with allies. NATO is increasing the number of ships in the central Mediterranean. NATO defense ministers also agreed to move ahead with detailed operational planning on two projects: humanitarian relief and more active enforcement of the arms embargo.

NATO defense ministers also are continuing plans for the full range of possibilities including a no-fly zone, the national security advisor said.

“These plans will be presented next week at NATO,” he said.

Earlier this week NATO agreed to put AWACs up over the Mediterranean around the clock to expand surveillance and coordination.

The NATO defense ministers stressed that any action had to have a sound legal basis and regional support.

“It’s not just regional rhetorical support,” Donilon said. “We’re going to be seeking actual support by those nations -- the Arab League, the [Gulf Cooperative Council] and the African nations -- to participate in any of these efforts as they go forward.”

The United States will also work in the closest way possible with the European Union to address the situation, the national security advisor said.

“Beyond this, we’re exploring additional sanctions by the United Nations Security Council resolution that will permit more active steps,” he said. “As we develop scenarios, as we develop planning in response to the situation on the ground, if we need additional United Nations Security Council authorities we will go get that.”

The situation in Libya is fluid and won’t be resolved overnight, Donilon said.

“But I think looking at our efforts here … we’ve acted quite swiftly and steadily to ramp up our efforts” concerning Libya,” he said.