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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Sep 16 2010 - 07:12:57 EDT
Pentagon nominates new Africa Command leader
By LOLITA C. BALDOR (AP) -
Sep 15, 2010
WASHINGTON - The Army general leading the Pentagon's review on ending the
ban on gays in the military has been nominated to head U.S. Africa Command.
If confirmed, Gen. Carter Ham would be only the second officer to head the
nascent command, which has struggled to gain a foothold on the sprawling
continent that houses some of the world's growing terror threats.
Launched in Oct. 2008, Africa Command is the newest of the military's six
regional headquarters and is based in Stuttgart, Germany. The Pentagon
abandoned efforts to base the command on the continent after it hit
resistance among the African nations, and instead posted about two dozen
liaison officers at embassies.
Africom, as it's called, has had to convince African leaders that the U.S.
is there to assist the countries, and is not planning to build military
bases there. The U.S. military currently has a base at Camp Lemonier in
Djibouti.
Over the past two years, the command has worked to set up training programs,
promote development and stability, and establish stronger military ties with
the countries and island nations.
Over the same time, U.S. officials have growing more concerned about
terrorist groups training and plotting attacks in North and East Africa,
including al-Shabab in Somalia.
Ham is currently the commander of U.S. Army Europe. He served as director of
operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and commanded the troops in
northern Iraq from Jan. 2004 to Feb. 2005. His nomination to head Africom
requires Senate confirmation.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Ham and Pentagon General Counsel Jeh
Johnson to head a working group on the impact that openly gay service could
have on the military. Their report is not expected until the end of the
year.
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