British Troops Deployed To Senegal To Counter Growing Terrorism Threat In West Africa

Operation Mansio: British troops (pictured) provide counter-terrorism training to Nigerian, Cameroonian and Moroccan forces in Senegal. Some 30 troops are stationed around these soldiers and in a huge exercise last week, UK forces guided the African soldiers as they attacked and detained members of a terrorist cell

BBC: UK military gears up for deployment in Mali

Britain is significantly stepping up its military support in West Africa to help combat the world's fastest growing Islamist-led insurgency.

Over the past month, British troops have been helping train local forces to fight extremism in the Sahel.

The region, a semi-arid stretch of land just south of the Sahara Desert, has been a frontline in the war against Islamist militancy for almost a decade.

Later this year, 250 British soldiers will join a UN mission in Mali.

It has been described as the most dangerous peacekeeping operation in the world.

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Update #1: Operation Stop ISIS: British troops are sent to Senegal to provide counter-terrorism training as new jihadi danger rises in West Africa (Daily Mail)
Update #2: ISIS threat: British troops deployed to Senegal as terrorism threat in West Africa rises (Express)

WNU Editor: Sending a few dozen soldiers is going to make no difference in this conflict.

Should The U.S. Intensify Its Military Invovlement In The Sahel?

Image: U.S. Air Force (Photo by Staff Sgt. Devin Boyer)

Olivier-Rémy Bel, War On The Rocks: America Shouldn’t Abandon Its Allies in the Sahel

Emmanuel Macron follows the United States National Security Council’s Twitter account. At least, that is one of the takeaways from the Pau Sahel Summit, where he read a tweet posted moments earlier as a possible sign of continued American support to counterterrorist efforts in the Sahel.

On Jan. 13, leaders from the G5 Sahel (i.e., Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mauritania) as well as France, the European Union, and the United Nations, gathered in southwestern France to tackle the worsening crisis in the Sahel. Reports that Washington was considering a major reduction of U.S. troops in Africa, as well as potential cuts to the United Nations mission in Mali, was in the back of everyone’s mind.

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Update: French defense minister’s US visit comes with an ask: Keep troops in Africa (Defense News)

WNU Editor: The French definitely do not want the U.S. to leave.

Is The U.S. Responsible For A Civilian Massacre In Somalia Before Black Hawk Down?

General Mohamed Aidid

Natalia Megas, Daily Beast: Did the U.S. Cover Up a Civilian Massacre Before Black Hawk Down?

U.S. forces hit a peace summit in Somalia, then lied about it. Some say the deadly operation violated the laws of war, but more than 25 years later the cover-up continues.

Christian was nodding off in the back of a Black Hawk helicopter when he heard the first explosion.

“I remember thinking to myself, that was big... it had to be Americans,” he told The Daily Beast. “Nobody else had that kind of firepower in Somalia.”

He’d been orbiting the skies above Mogadishu since 2 a.m. on July 12, 1993, a “pretty uneventful” day for his unit until he saw thick smoke billowing in the near distance. Christian felt more explosions pound his chest. Ten U.S. attack helicopters pumped 16 missiles and over 2,000 rounds of cannon fire into the second floor of a house, the Abdi house, blowing out the stairwell that prevented people from escaping, and then blasting the building apart.

“It blew the whole goddamn building,” said Christian, who requested anonymity even now because aspects of the operation remain classified and he has no authorization to speak about them. “I don’t think whoever ordered that strike could have reasonably expected not to have [civilian] casualties.”

It was 10:18 a.m. and “Operation Michigan” was under way.

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WNU Editor: Former President Clinton's decision to not intervene in the Rwanda genocide and his policy towards Somalia are his two big failures in Africa. I hope that President Trump does not make the same mistakes. As for the Somali warlord General Mohamed Aidid, he was killed in 1996 while battling other warlords.

U.S. Congress Voicing Concerns On The Growing U.S. Military Presence In Africa

A US soldier taking part in training in Senegal last year

AFP: US politicians skeptical over growing military presence in Africa

US politicians are voicing concern over America's growing military presence across Africa, where they worry the Pentagon is getting ever more embroiled in a secretive campaign against a shifting enemy.

Last month's killing of four US soldiers in a Niger ambush has thrust the issue into the spotlight, with lawmakers calling for greater transparency on what is going on in Africa.

"The footprint in Africa is much bigger than the American public understands," Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said this week.

The Niger ambush has also rekindled debate over the legal authorities the Pentagon uses to fight jihadist groups overseas, particularly in Africa where about 6,000 US troops are deployed across the vast continent.

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WNU Editor: These Congressional concerns are justified, but in all fairness there has been a lot of coverage on the growing U.S. military role in Africa, it is just that Congress has been focused elsewhere.

Forever War In Africa?

Adam Taylor and Laris Karklis/The Washington Post

Military.com/Stars and Stripes: US Special Ops General Sees Decades-Long Struggle in Africa

The U.S. military faces a two-decade struggle to help bring stability to Africa, where the lack of an overall government strategy is complicating operations, according to the general in charge of special operations on the continent.

"[T]here are too many conflicting perspectives when it comes to what the [U.S. government] policy should be for Africa," U.S. Special Operations Command Africa's Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc said in a recent article. "The problems in Africa defy solution within a single fiscal year, or the two- to four-year tour of a Geographic Combatant Command commander."

Bolduc, writing in the Sunday issue of the online Small Wars Journal in an essay titled "The Gray Zone in Africa," said it will take "at least a generation for a policy to become effective."

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WNU Editor: Sadly .... this assessment is probably accurate. This blog covers wars and conflicts .... and even I have lost count on all of the wars and conflicts that are now being waged in Africa.

Update: The above map does not include contractors, the CIA, etc..

How To Push Back Against China In Djibouti

A bulk fuel specialist with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (Reinforced), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, prepares to fuel an MV-22B Osprey at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, Feb. 20, 2015. U.S. MARINE CORPS / CPL. JOEY MENDEZ

Defense One: China’s Rising Near This Key US War Base. Here’s How We Push Back

In Djibouti, where China is building its first overseas naval installation, the US must support democratic processes and hold the government accountable to international law.

It was 2009 and U.S. dignitaries were cutting the ribbon on a $14-million, U.S. government-funded naval pier in the small port city of Obock, Djibouti. Then-Djiboutian Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita called it the “most significant program of its kind ever undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa.” Fast-forward seven years and massive renovations to the project are well underway. Only now, the effort is being led by the Chinese — last year, the Djibouti government kicked the U.S. military off the installation in favor of the People’s Liberation Army. The move illustrated a larger change in the pecking order of Djibouti’s preferred international partners — and shows why the United States must change its approach there.

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WNU Editor: The government in Djibouti care more about being paid for leasing their territory than democratic reforms and ideals. The Chinese know that .... hence the reason why the Americans are on their way out.

U.S. Tries To Contain The Islamic State In Libya

Senegalese commandos during a recent United States-led training exercise in Senegal. Credit Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

New York Times: U.S. Scrambles to Contain Growing ISIS Threat in Libya

THIES, Senegal — The Islamic State’s branch in Libya is deepening its reach across a wide area of Africa, attracting new recruits from countries like Senegal that had been largely immune to the jihadist propaganda — and forcing the African authorities and their Western allies to increase efforts to combat the fast-moving threat.

The American airstrikes in northwestern Libya on Friday, which demolished an Islamic State training camp and were aimed at a top Tunisian operative, underscore the problem, Western officials said. The more than three dozen suspected Islamic State fighters killed in the bombing were recruited from Tunisia and other African countries, officials said, and were believed to be rehearsing an attack against Western targets.

Even as American intelligence agencies say the number of Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria has dropped to about 25,000 from a high of about 31,500, partly because of the United States-led air campaign there, the group’s ranks in Libya have roughly doubled in the same period, to about 6,500 fighters. More than a dozen American and allied officials spoke of their growing concern about the militant organization’s expanding reach from Libya and across Africa on rules of anonymity because the discussions involved intelligence and military planning.

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America's Africa Strategy Is Not Working

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Drones in Niger Reflect New U.S. Tack on Terrorism -- New York Times

NIAMEY, Niger — Nearly every day, and sometimes twice daily, an unarmed American drone soars skyward from a secluded military airfield here, starting a surveillance mission of 10 hours or more to track fighters affiliated with Al Qaeda and other militants in neighboring Mali.

The two MQ-9 Reapers that are based here stream live video and data from other sensors to American analysts working with French commanders, who say the aerial intelligence has been critical to their success over the past four months in driving jihadists from a vast desert refuge in northern Mali.

The drone base, established in February and staffed by about 120 members of the Air Force, is the latest indication of the priority Africa has become for the United States at a time when it is winding down its presence in Afghanistan and President Obama has set a goal of moving from a global war on terrorism toward a more targeted effort. It is part of a new model for counterterrorism, a strategy designed to help local forces — and in this case a European ally — fight militants so American troops do not have to.

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My Comment: To use only two drones to cover a region that is as large as the Sahara is doomed to fail. This is symbolic of what is rapidly becoming the American military's number one problem .... too many demands from Washington, but not enough resources to do the job.

So Much For That American Pivot To Asia

Source: Staff reports. By Craig Whitlock and Laris Karklis/The Washington Post. Published on June 13, 2012

At Pentagon, ‘Pivot To Asia’ Becomes ‘Shift To Africa’ -- Washington Post

In his first term, President Obama instructed the Pentagon to pivot its forces and reorient its strategy toward fast-growing Asia. Instead, the U.S. military finds itself drawn into a string of messy wars in another, much poorer part of the world: Africa.

Over the past two years, the Pentagon has become embroiled in conflicts in Libya, Somalia, Mali and central Africa. Meantime, the Air Force is setting up a fourth African drone base, while Navy warships are increasing their missions along the coastlines of East and West Africa.

In scope and expense, the U.S. military involvement in Africa still barely registers when compared with its presence in Asia, let alone the Middle East or Afghanistan. On any given day, there are only about 5,000 U.S. troops scattered across all of Africa, while 28,000 are stationed in South Korea alone.

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My Comment: Another example of where the White House says one thing .... and it gets contradicted by world events.

Is The Chaos In North Africa A Result Of President Obama's Support For The Arab Spring And Lack Of Involvement Since

Algerian Hostage Crisis Throws Spotlight On Spillover Of Libyan War -- Washington Post

CAIRO — The hostage standoff at an Algerian gas field has thrown a fresh spotlight on the spillover unleashed by the 2011 war that toppled Moammar Gaddafi in Libya.

Experts say the vast quantities of weapons and fighters that streamed out of Gaddafi’s arsenals may have served as a catalyst for the region’s expanding crisis.

But the bold move on the gas complex near the Libyan border this week, coupled with the swift military successes of militants in Mali, have also raised questions about NATO’s handling of Libyan arsenals, as well as the country’s borders, during the eight-month revolution, in which the alliance assisted Libya’s rebel forces.

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Update: Jihadists’ Surge in North Africa Reveals Grim Side of Arab Spring -- New York Times

My Comment: In Europe the consensus is that France decided to intervene in Mali only when Islamic militants decided to march on the capital and the White House was ambivalent on becoming involved. This is further reinforced by recent U.S. news outlets who are reporting on White House and Pentagon officials disagreeing publicly on the degree of danger posed by Islamist militants in West Africa.

What's my take .... Russian President Putin and others have warned repeatedly in the past year that U.S. support of rebels in North Africa will reap consequences that will not be in our best interests. Unfortunately .... he and others have so far been proven right. But President Obama need not worry .... his supporters in the press are still blaming President Bush for everything.

What Is President Obama's African Strategy?

Does Obama Have A Strategy For Africa? -- John Norris, Foreign Policy

Not yet.

Africa responded with joy when Barack Obama was elected. There was dancing in the streets of Liberia. Kenya declared his inauguration a public holiday. When Obama visited the continent in July 2009, far earlier in his term than the handful of other U.S. presidents that had actually traveled to Africa while in office, expectations only continued to rise. Obama's major address on Africa policy, delivered in Ghana, was generally well received, with African politicians across the spectrum broadly reassured by its themes of self-reliance and good governance. Many Africans (and many American Africa experts) assumed that, with a father born in Kenya, Obama's approach to Africa would be transformative.

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My Comment: I call President Obama's Africa policy a "work in progress". But in the event that President Obama is not successful in winning a second term .... my prediction is that a President Romney will also have the same African policy .... a "work in progress".

U.S. Expanding Intelligence Efforts In Africa

(Click on Image to Enlarge)
Source: Staff reports. By Craig Whitlock and Laris Karklis/The Washington Post.

U.S. Expands Secret Intelligence Operations In Africa -- Washington Post

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The U.S. military is expanding its secret intelligence operations across Africa, establishing a network of small air bases to spy on terrorist hideouts from the fringes of the Sahara to jungle terrain along the equator, according to documents and people involved in the project.

At the heart of the surveillance operations are small, unarmed turboprop aircraft disguised as private planes. Equipped with hidden sensors that can record full-motion video, track infrared heat patterns, and vacuum up radio and cellphone signals, the planes refuel on isolated airstrips favored by African bush pilots, extending their effective flight range by thousands of miles.

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More News On The U.S. Expanding It's Secret Intel Ops In Syria

U.S. expands secret intel ops in Africa -- UPI
Report: US Expands Air Surveillance Across Africa -- Voice of America
Report: US expands secret 'shadow war' in Africa -- MSNBC
The U.S. Military Is Expanding Its Spy Network in Africa -- The Atlantic
US expanding secret spy bases in Africa - News 24
US expands not so secret operations in Africa -- Examiner
Secret bases, hi-tech spy planes as US expands Africa intel -- RT
US expanding secret spy network in Africa -- Global Post
3 000 American soldiers to serve in Africa next year as US expands shadow war, sets up air bases -- Defence Web

America's Secret War In Somalia

The Secret War: Tense Ties Plagued Africa Ops -- Military Times

The U.S. operators were in trouble. Deep trouble. Along with some Ethiopian troops, a “really small” number of U.S. personnel were hunting a high-value target near the town of Bargal in Somalia’s autonomous Puntland region when they came under heavy fire that not only prevented them from killing or capturing the target but also pinned them down, according to several sources.

Running out of options on June 1, 2007, the operators called the destroyer Chafee sailing off the coast. In response, Chafee fired more than a dozen rounds from its 5-inch gun, a senior Pentagon official told Stars and Stripes (without mentioning that the mission was a desperate bid to rescue U.S. troops in Somalia). That naval gunfire — a rarity in the modern age — enabled the United States and Ethiopian troops “to break contact” and get away, a senior intelligence official said.

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WNU Editor: The Military Times 6 part series on America's secret war in Africa can be read here.

America's Secret War In Africa

Photo: Navy

U.S. Used Destroyers, Gunships and Spy Planes in Somali Hunt -- Danger Room

For the small team of U.S. Navy and Air Force commandos in northern Somalia on June 1, 2007, it must have seemed like history repeating itself. While hunting Islamic terrorists in the town of Bargal, the commandos had been pinned down by gunfire. Fourteen years earlier, a similar situation had resulted in the deaths of 18 U.S. servicemembers in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital — a tragedy that’s the subject of the book and movie Black Hawk Down.

But the commandos in 2007 had a few high-tech advantages over their predecessors.

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WNU Editor: The Military Times 6 part series on America's secret war in Africa can be read here.

Is U.S. Military Involvement In Central Africa A Short Term Mission?

Joseph Kony, left, seen here in 2006, is the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, a militia blamed for years of mayhem in northern Uganda and elsewhere in central Africa. President Obama is sending about 100 U.S. troops to aid in capturing or killing Kony. (Stuart Price, Pool Photo / November 12, 2006)

U.S. Mission Against Lord’s Resistance Army Is Not ‘Open-Ended,’ Officials Tell Congress -- Washington Post

Obama administration officials are stressing that the military’s recently announced mission to help battle the Lord’s Resistance Army in Central Africa will not be open-ended, and that it will have specific goal posts for success.

It’s been a little more than a week since President Obama notified Congress that about 100 U.S. troops, primarily Special Operations Forces, would be deployed to Uganda and neighboring countries to advise local forces in their fight against the LRA, a brutal guerrilla movement that has been carrying out a decades-long campaign against civilians.

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More News On U.S. Military Involvement In Central Africa

US forces to join African front lines against Lord's Resistance Army -- The Australian/AFP
US troops to advise front-line units on Uganda rebels -- AFP
U.S. mission in Africa will be short-term, administration says -- CNN
Pentagon says military deployment to Uganda ‘will not be open-ended’ -- The Hill
Defense Official: US Mission Against LRA To Last 'Months' -- Voice of America

Officials address Capitol Hill skepticism on Africa deployment -- L.A. Times
Administration Officials Face Skeptical Lawmakers on Uganda Operation -- FOX News/AP
U.S. troop deployment in Africa has lawmakers skeptical -- Politico
Obama decision to send troops to Uganda comes under new scrutiny -- The Hill

Activists Support U.S. Move Against Uganda Rebels -- NPR
Obama must learn from past mistakes in fight against Uganda's LRA -- Nate Haken and Patricia Taft, Christian Science Monitor
The Lord’s Resistance Army: An Abomination in Africa -- Nina Shea, NRO

My Comment: My prediction .... this will end up as a permanent deployment.

Why Are US Combat Troops Going To Uganda?

Leader of the Lord's Resistance Army Joseph Kony (L) and his deputy Vincent Otti attend a meeting with U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland at Ri-Kwamba in southern Sudan November 12, 2006. (Reuters/Stuart Price)

LRA leader Joseph Kony: Why Obama Sent US Troops To Uganda To Get Him -- Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor

The feared group LRA is responsible for the murder and rape of thousands in Central Africa. Siding with interventionist advisers, Obama sent the US troops to help remove Joseph Kony from the battlefield.

By sending 100 US troops to Uganda to help in the battle against one of Central Africa’s most violent and feared armed groups, President Obama is once again siding with those in his administration who favor American intervention against the world’s worst violators of human rights.

On Friday Mr. Obama informed Congress that he has dispatched the “combat-equipped US forces” to assist regional forces in their fight against the Lord’s Resistance Army, a group that has murdered, kidnapped, and raped thousands of Central African civilians and which Obama says continues to commit “atrocities” across several African countries.

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Update: 100 U.S. troops deploying to take on LRA -- Passport/Foreign Policy

Previous Post: U.S. Combat Troops Deployed To Uganda

My Comment: Only 100 special forces soldiers are being sent .... but something inside of me is telling me that this is going to get bigger as time passes by. Africa's tribal wars have been ongoing for years, and this U.S. involvement is not going to change the situation on the ground. In fact .... it may aggravate it as others may see it for what it is .... another US military intervention in a war that it has no business being involved in. But my opinion is in the minority, as others are now applauding this move by President Obama (See here and here).

The Growing U.S. Military Role In Africa

US Special Forces, Marines Train African Armies -- Seattle PI

KATI, Mali -- A U.S. Special Forces instructor leans toward a steering wheel, showing some 50 Malian soldiers gathered around an army pickup how a passenger should take control of a car if the driver is killed in an ambush.

The elite Malian troops look on, perplexed. "But what can we do if we don't know how to drive?" asks Sgt. Amadou, echoing many of his colleagues' concern.

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My Comment:This is just a drop in the ocean .... but I guess you have to start somewhere.

U.S. Army In Africa: Dodging The Continent’s Worst Wars

(© Sebastian Bolesch/DFA/Still Pictures)

From War Is Boring:

Our mission — our new mission, I should say — is, U.S. Army Africa as the Army service component command, for U.S. Africa Command, enables full-spectrum operations while conducting sustained security engagement with African land forces to promote security, stability and peace.

That was Army Major General William Garrett, speaking to bloggers earlier this week. In recent months the Army has organized exercises in Gabon and Uganda, focusing on communications, logistics and disaster-response. U.S. soldiers also reportedly helped Ugandan forces pursue the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group across Central Africa.

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My Comment: The U.S. has a lousy history when it comes to African conflicts and wars .... think of Black Hawk Down .... so when U.S. commanders and U.S. politicians are expressing a certain reluctance to get involved .... it comes from a certain amount of experience and understanding of what happens if we do put our nose into these wars.

But even if there was a certain level of willingness to stabilize a certain region in Africa, the U.S. simply does not have the manpower or resources to do so. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have shown us what the cost of such a conflict can become .... and even with the best intentions the U.S. and its Western allies are simply too stretched to even contemplate getting involved.

Putting The Squeeze On Three Of Africa's Governments

Guinean soldiers in the capital, Connakry. Photograph: Reuters

Obama Ends Benefits For Guinea, Madagascar, Niger -- Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he has terminated trade benefits for Guinea, Madagascar and Niger, three African countries where democratic progress is threatened by political turmoil.

In a statement, Obama said the three countries had failed to make "continual progress" in meeting U.S. requirements for the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

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My Comment: This is long overdue.

Is Obama Soft On Africa's Dictators?

African leaders from left, President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, King Mswwati II of Swaziland, Thabo Mbeki, of South Africa, Morgan Tsvangirai, new Prime Minster of Zimbabwe, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania , Armando Gebuza of Mozambique and Namibian President Hafikepunye Pohamba at the signing of the power sharing deal between President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai in Harare Monday, Sept, 15, 2008.

Tough Talk: Barack Obama Hasn't Stood Up To Africa's Despots -- Newsweek

President Obama got lots of attention last month for his drop-in visit to Ghana after the G20 meeting in Italy, where he blasted African leaders for misruling the continent and condemning its people to poverty and backwardness. "Repression can take many forms, and too many nations, even those that have elections, are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty," said Obama. "No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style of governance to end."

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My Comment: The answer is .... President Obama has not "stood up" to Africa's dictators .... but realistically there is not much that he can do. The only thing that we can hope for is that genocide does not become a way of life for Africans, and that safe havens in Africa for international terror groups like Al Qaeda are denied to them.