http://www.blackvoicenews.com/news/news-wire/47212-tiny-african-nation-to-host-largest-base-of-us-troops.html
Tiny African Nation to Host Largest Base of U.S. Troops
MONDAY, 19 DECEMBER 2011 06:51
*Special to the NNPA from the Global Information Network –*
(GIN) – With the departure of U.S. troops from Iraq, Djibouti - a major
U.S. ally - will be the “central location” in fighting terrorism, according
to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta during his visit this week to the north
African nation.
The U.S. base in Djibouti, which borders Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, has
more than 3,500 military personnel, most of them assigned to combat
terrorism in Somalia, Yemen and other flash points.
“We’ve made a hell of a lot of progress,” Defense Secretary Panetta told
the troops this week in Camp Lemonnier Thunderdome.
In addition to ground troops, American drones are launched from Djibouti
against Al-Qaeda operatives in the region, according to Globalsecurity.org.
The country was an active participant during the Bush years in the
detention and rendition of detainees, and held prisoners until U.S.
intelligence agents determined where next to send them, according to
testimony by the International Crisis Group before the African Commission
for Human and Peoples Rights.
This month, Washington announced the opening of a new multi-building
embassy for Djibouti, constructed by Caddell Construction Company of
Montgomery, Alabama. The $147 million project generated jobs in both the
United States and Republic of Djibouti, according to the press release.
Meanwhile, Djibouti’s president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, in a recent interview
with Jeune Afrique, a French language magazine, defended his regime from
critics who cite the absence of a free press, TV or independent radio. He
also disputed charges by the International Federation of Human Rights of
“all-out repression” and the existence of political prisoners in Djibouti
jails.
Finally, U.S. advisors are believed to have been piloting a plane belonging
to the Uganda People’s Defense Force that crashed near the Dem. Rep. of
Congo this week where a military offensive against the Lord’s Resistance
Army is underway. There were no survivors.
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Received on Mon Dec 19 2011 - 21:54:37 EST