webmaster
© Copyright DEHAI-Eritrea OnLine, 1993-2010
All rights reserved
From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Jul 29 2010 - 14:04:03 EDT
U.S., NATO Allies Prepare New Invasion Of Somalia
by Rick Rozoff
http://www.globalresearch.ca/coverStoryPictures2/20343.jpg
Global Research <http://www.globalresearch.ca> , July 29, 2010
The 15th biennial African Union summit in Kampala, Uganda ended on July 27
with mixed results regarding support for U.S. and Western European plans to
escalate foreign military intervention in nearby Somalia.
The 35 heads of state present at the three-day meeting were reported to have
authorized the deployment of 2,000 more African troops to back up the
beleaguered Western-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in
Mogadishu and to bring the full complement of forces doing so to 8,000, but
the new contingent will probably consist solely of troops from Uganda and
Burundi, which supply the approximately 6,000 already serving with the
African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Reports of another 2,000
reinforcements from Djibouti and Guinea are problematic and their deployment
remains to be seen, not that pressure will not be exerted on those two
nations and others from outside the continent.
AMISOM is the successor to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
(IGAD) Peace Support Mission in Somalia (IGASOM) set up in 2005 by the
six-member group which includes Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan
and Uganda and which also was to have provided 8,000 troops for deployment
to Somalia. The 53 members of the African Union except for Uganda and
Burundi have been loath to commit military units to intervene in fighting in
Somalia, whether against the Islamic Courts Union five years ago or against
al-Shabaab insurgents currently.
In late 2006 U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Ugandan
Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa to plan the earlier IGASOM operation and in
January of 2007 Uganda pledged its first troops which, along with those
included in a reported offer by Nigeria, were to total 8,000.
Three and a half years later, there are only 6,000 foreign troops in Somalia
(now under AMISOM, the only difference being the acronym now employed) and
all of those from Uganda and Burundi, both nations U.S. military clients and
surrogates.
The African Union (AU) initially approved AMISOM on January 19, 2007 and
granted it a six-month mandate. In July of 2010 the real prime movers behind
the mission, the U.S. and its NATO allies in the European Union, are pushing
for an escalation of armed intervention in Somalia with more Western-trained
Ugandan troops conducting open combat operations: Changing the mandate from,
to use the terms employed to mask military aggression, peacekeeping to peace
enforcement.
The first attempt by the U.S. and its non-African allies to enforce a
compliant government in the Horn of Africa nation, Ethiopia's invasion in
December of 2006, was assisted by the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations
Command (headed up by now retired General Stanley McChrystal until early in
2006), which conducted military operations inside Somalia no later than the
beginning of the next year. At the time Ethiopia was the second largest
recipient of U.S. military aid in Africa (another of the three countries
bordering Somalia, Djibouti, being the first) and American military
personnel were stationed in the country. Logistical and other assistance was
provided by the Pentagon for the operation.
On the sidelines of the recently concluded African Union summit U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson "gathered the
presidents of Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Djibouti and Uganda, along with the
prime minister of Ethiopia for a closed-door session" to push for more
aggressive military operations in Somalia. The State Department official was
quoted as saying, "We came away even more united and committed to work
together strengthen the TFG, to help strengthen AMISOM, to help strengthen
the forces for stability in Somalia and to help do as much as we can to help
beat al-Shabab. Al-Shabab represents a foreign and a negative influence that
cannot only be destructive inside Somalia, but across the entire region."
[1]
Note the opprobrium attached to the word foreign. With what Carson called "a
wake-up call not only for the region but for Africa as a whole" [2] sounded
by deadly bombings in the Ugandan capital on July 11, more foreign troops
armed, trained, and airlifted by great powers in North America and Europe
are destined for deployment to Somalia.
Officials from the European Union and from Britain and France - the two main
historical colonial masters on the African continent - were present at the
meeting with Carson and America's East African proxies. [3] A Voice of
America report on the closed-door meeting reminded readers that "The
European Union, the United Nations and the United States are the main
financial contributors to the African Union's AMISOM peacekeeping force in
Somalia." [4]
The arm-twisting produced few results. Despite claims by the chairman of the
African Union Commission, Gabon's Jean Ping, that troops from Djibouti and
Guinea (Conakry) would join AMISOM/IGAD forces from Uganda and Burundi, the
additional troops will almost surely come entirely from the last two
nations. Also, the nearly three dozen heads of state at the AU summit
rejected the Ugandan (and Western) demand for a "peace enforcement" rules of
engagement mandate.
The current chairman of the AU, president of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika, told
reporters, "There have been calls for a change in the mandate to a more
robust approach to the insurgent attacks in Somalia by Uganda and Burundi,
to go beyond Mogadishu, (which is) their current limit, but (we) did not
decide on that."
Ping, however, indicated that the U.S. and NATO allies have not abandoned
plans for intensified military operations in Somalia, stating, "We need
equipment to match with the change in combat approach. We need helicopters
for that. The United States and the U.K. are considering our request...."
[5] He also mentioned that France could provide additional helicopters.
Even the Attorney General of the U.S., Eric Holder, attended the AU summit
as the Obama administration's representative and saw fit to impose his
opinions on the 53-nation organization. Before the summit began he met with
several of the continent's heads of state and in prepared remarks to the
summit affirmed that "The United States...recognizes that ending the threat
of al-Shabaab to the world will take more than just law enforcement. That is
why we are working closely with the AU to support the African Union’s
Mission in Somalia. The United States applauds the heroic contributions that
are being made on a daily basis by Ugandan and Burundian troops, and we
pledge to maintain our support for the AU and the AU Mission in Somalia."
[6]
Lightly-armed al-Shabaab militants have now been elevated by Washington to
the status of a threat to the world, though Holder's colleague Carson
limited his hyperbole to branding them a "negative influence...across the
entire region." The dual bombings in Kampala, incidentally, have been
attributed to the group as a warning sign to Uganda to remove (and certainly
not to increase) its troops in Somalia, but in fact appear like a
provocation designed to accomplish the opposite result.
Four days before the AU summit commenced, the defense chiefs of the six
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) nations - Uganda,
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan - met to discuss boosting troop
deployments to Somalia.
Weeks before IGAD had recommended that not the earlier cited figure of 8,000
but fully 20,000 foreign troops could be deployed to Somalia in yet another
attempt to salvage the Transitional Federal Government, which doesn't even
control much of the country's capital despite 6,000 Ugandan and Burundian
troops serving as its army. 20,000 foreign troops entering Somalia in the
face of overwhelming popular opposition is not a peacekeeping mission. It is
an invasion.
In mid-July Ugandan officials announced that their nation's neighbors in
IGAD and in the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade (EASBRIG) - Burundi, Comoros,
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Seychelles, Somalia and Uganda -
had given "soft support" should Uganda "go on the offensive in Somalia."
"Ugandan officials now confirm that Kampala is pursuing a two-track
strategy that could see it follow Al Shabaab into Somalia with or without UN
Security Council consent." A news report disclosed that the Yoweri Museveni
administration is prepared to mobilize the entirety of the 20,000 troops
needed for a full-scale invasion of Somalia and "military sources say Uganda
feels it has the capacity to go it alone in Somalia and has been building up
its military strength for such an eventuality." [7]
The nation's air force has acquired "additions to its arsenal in recent
weeks" from its Western patrons "in what observers see as a concerted push
to increase Uganda's military capability."
Last week a Defence Ministry spokesman stated, "We are one of the most
efficient armies in Africa. We can defend our country from anywhere, even
within Somalia." The spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Felix
Kulaigye, added, "Anybody who brings war to us, we take back that war to
them. We shall pursue Al Shabaab from Somalia in line with the wishes of the
Transitional Federal Government." [8]
During the last invasion and occupation of Somalia, that of Ethiopia from
December of 2006 to January of 2009, fighting between a similar invading
force of 20,000 troops and Somali militias resulted in the deaths of over
16,000 civilians and the displacement of hundreds of thousands in the
capital in 2007 alone according to the Mogadishu-based Elman Peace and Human
Rights Organisation.
The AMISOM mandate (approved by the AU but, as seen above, with no backing
by member states except for Uganda and Burundi) excludes the deployment of
troops from nations bordering Somalia - Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Ugandan military forces and equipment have to cross Kenya to reach the
country; that is, to be airlifted by United States Africa Command (AFRICOM)
and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization into parts of the Somali capital
not under the control of rebels.
The Ugandan government, largely rebuffed at the AU summit, is pushing for
the maiden deployment of the 10-nation Eastern Africa Standby Brigade
(Eastern African Standby Brigade Coordination Mechanism) to Somalia, which
would appreciably broaden the scope of the conflict. In addition, it is
planning to use forums like the International Conference on the Great Lakes
Region (ICGLR) - whose members are Angola, Burundi, the Central African
Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya,
Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia - "which already has provisions
that offer some room for intervention."
"Somalia has already applied to be a member; once that request is approved,
Uganda will be able to work together with the Transitional Federal
Government and fight Al Shabaab under the legal framework that governs the
organisation." [9]
On July 20 the head of AFRICOM, General William Ward, addressed the Center
for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. and pledged that
the U.S. will "provide more training, transportation, and logistical aid to
the AU mission, known as AMISOM." Also, "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 [Somali transitional] government."
[10]
In late April Brigadier General Silver Kayemba, in charge of training and
operations for the Ugandan People's Defense Force (UPDF), was in the U.S.
and visited the headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, the Pentagon, the National
Defense University and a Marine Corps base. Kayemba, who was also trained in
the U.S., said, "This visit strengthens our relationship with the U.S. Armed
Forces, particularly with U.S. Army Africa. We are looking forward to even
closer cooperation in the future." [11]
Last month officers of the U.S. 17th Air Force, the air component of AFRICOM
(Air Forces Africa) headquartered at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany,
traveled to Uganda for what was described as "a senior leader engagement
event....to discuss current and future engagement activities between Ugandan
People's Defence Force, Ugandan People's Defence Air Force and Air Forces
Africa."
The head of the U.S. delegation, Brigadier General Michael Callan, toured
the airfield and logistics hangars at the Entebbe Air Force Base and "met
with a representative of the U.S. State Department-contracted
Dyncorp...which supports the UPDF [Ugandan People's Defence Force] with
aerial resupply and troop movements of Ugandan, Burundian, and Somali forces
in and out of Mogadishu...." DynCorp International is a private military
company that receives almost all of its $2 billion in annual contracts from
the U.S. federal government.
General Callan stated, "Uganda is one of only two countries supporting the
UN's AMISOM mission currently. Though the airlift is contracted, it is good
to have the understanding of those ground-based missions and capabilities of
the UPDF as we pursue future air force and joint initiatives."
The Defense and Army Attaché at the American embassy in Kampala added,
"We've been working with their army forces for some time, providing great
training opportunities through the Department of State-funded International
Military Education and Training, or IMET program and multi-national
peacekeeping operations. Now they would like for us to do that with their
air forces." [12]
Both U.S. military officials stressed the Pentagon's role in upgrading
Uganda's air force for future operations. "17th Air Force brings focus to
those much needed air force activities," as military attaché Army Lieutenant
General Gregory Joachim stated. [13]
In developing bilateral and regional collective military partnerships with
most every nation in Africa through AFRICOM, the U.S. works closely with its
allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This March "Senior figures
from the US military's Africa Command were in Brussels...looking to build
cooperation with the European Union to boost training and reform for African
security forces...." [14]
The Pentagon has between 2,500-3,000 troops from all four major branches of
the military assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa
stationed in Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, Somalia's neighbor to the north.
France has its largest overseas military base and 3,000 troops in the same
small nation. Several hundred troops from Britain, Germany, the Netherlands
and Spain have also been deployed there under NATO auspices since the
beginning of the decade. The U.S. has used its airfield in Djibouti for
attacks in Somalia and Yemen.
Last year the Pentagon secured its second major installation in the area, in
the Indian Ocean nation of Seychelles, where it has deployed over 130
troops, Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and three P-3 Orion
anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft.
In addition to the U.S.-led multinational Combined Task Force 150 and
Combined Task Force 151 naval deployments off the shores of Somalia (with
logistical facilities in Djibouti), NATO and the European Union are running
complementary naval operations, Operation Ocean Shield and European Union
Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta, respectively. This
March NATO announced it was extending its deployment for another -
unprecedented - three years, until the end of 2012. Last month the
Netherlands "agreed to a NATO request to deploy a submarine off the coast of
Somalia...." [15]
In June the EU followed NATO's lead when its foreign ministers agreed to
prolong Operation Atalanta until December of 2012. An EU press release at
the time revealed the broader Western strategy in the Horn of Africa region,
one by no means limited to "combating piracy": "The root causes of piracy in
East Africa lie on land. To address them, the current naval operation is
combined with the EU training mission for Somalia (EUTM), which contributes
to the strengthening of the Somali security forces." [16]
In fact the EU is training Somali soldiers in Uganda for war in their
homeland and NATO is transporting Ugandan and Burundian troops for the same
purpose.
A NATO website feature disclosed in March that "the USA has conducted
airlift missions under the NATO banner in support of...Ugandan troop
rotations. The airlift, which commenced on 5 Mar 2010 and was completed on
16 Mar 2010, was undertaken by USA contracted DynCorp International,
transporting 1700 Ugandan troops from Uganda into Mogadishu and re-deploying
850 Ugandan troops out of Mogadishu.
"Part of this policy is the NATO standing agreement to provide strategic
sealift and airlift support for African Union Troop Contributing Countries
willing to deploy to Somalia, recently extended by NATO until 31 January
2011." [17]
With the deployment of the NATO Response Force Maritime Groups 1 and 2 off
the coast of Somalia, first with Operation Allied Provider and since last
August with Operation Ocean Shield, the Western military bloc has extended
its nearly nine-year-old Operation Active Endeavor naval surveillance and
interdiction mission throughout the entire Mediterranean Sea into the Gulf
of Aden to the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
The current commander of Ocean Shield, Dutch Commodore Michiel Hijmans, held
a meeting on board the NATO mission's flagship on July 12 with leaders of
Somalia's semi-independent Puntland region, which has become a land-based
component of NATO operations in the Horn of Africa. According to the bloc,
"The purpose of the talks was to build on the existing and growing
relationship that has developed between NATO and the Puntland authorities."
[18]
Several days later the NATO flotilla docked in Dubai in the United Arab
Emirates where Commodore Hijmans broached the subject of "chasing Somali
pirates" into the Red Sea, an area not yet covered by the Ocean Shield
mandate. NATO warships in the Red Sea would place them off the coasts of
Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Djibouti, Jordan and Israel and
connect NATO naval operations through the Suez Canal to Active Endeavor in
the Mediterranean.
Early this month the French military attaché to Somalia said that the
"government of the Republic of France has asked Uganda and other African
nations to send more troops to war torn Somalia," and urged "more African
states to send troops to Somalia...." [19] France will be instrumental in
pressuring Djibouti and Guinea to send troops to Somalia, as both countries
are former French colonies and Djibouti is a member of the French Community.
France is among several EU states that have sent troops to Uganda to train
2,000 Somali soldiers for fighting at home. The others are Spain (which is
in charge), Britain, Germany, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Belgium, Portugal,
Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus. A NATO operation in
all but name. German troops deployed in May are to "remain in East Africa
for a year." [20]
According to the Christian Science Monitor, "Money for logistical support is
coming from the United States, which has reportedly already pumped millions
of dollars into similar smaller training programs run by local militaries in
Uganda and Djibouti over the past 18 months.
"The EU program to train an army to fight for Somalia's beleaguered
transitional government involves 150 instructors from 14 EU countries at a
cost of $6 million."
The featured cited above also provided the following background information:
"Since 2004, the US has poured huge resources into initiatives such as
Easbrig [Eastern Africa Standby Brigade], using private contractors and
military advisers to train almost 60,000 African soldiers such
as...Rwandans....Africom has also trained Congolese special forces to
operate in the country's mineral-rich forests and reformed virtually the
entire Liberian national army. Easbrig is an example of what Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton calls 'smart power' - a mixture of military might and
nation-building that bears a resemblance to Rumsfeld's concept of the 'long
war'....Several critics have likened Africom to a Trojan horse, using the
cover of humanitarian aid to pursue America's real strategic interests."
[21]
EASBRIG is expected to grow to several thousand troops from as many as 14
nations.
One of the main missions of AFRICOM is to create, train and deploy regional
military forces to further U.S. and general Western objectives in Africa,
the world's second most populous continent. Somalia is the first test case.
Notes
1) Voice of America News, July 26, 2010
2) CNN, July 27, 2010
3) Voice of America News, July 26, 2010
4) Ibid
5) CNN, July 27, 2010
6) United States Department of Justice, July 25, 2010
7) The East African, July 19, 2010
8) Ibid
9) Ibid
10) Voice of America News, July 20, 2010
11) United States Africa Command, April 30, 2010
12) U.S. Air Forces in Europe, June 2, 2010
13) Ibid
14) Europolitics, March 5, 2010
15) BBC News, June 22, 2010
16) Defense News, June 15, 2010
17) North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
March 18, 2010
18) North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
July 13, 2010
19) Uganda Government News, July 9, 2010
20) Associated Press, March 31, 2010
21) Christian Science Monitor, June 18, 2010
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----