Ethiopia: Prime Minister Meets U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs

Prime Minister Hailemariam met and held talks with the United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson on Wednesday (January 30th). Discussions covered regional and bilateral affairs and the two sides confirmed that they would continue to work together in their efforts to maintain peace and security in Africa, and in particular in East Africa.

They agreed efforts should be exerted to improve the relationship between Sudan and South Sudan in particular. Prime Minister Hailemariam briefed Ambassador Carson on the preparations that Ethiopia is currently finalizing for its hosting of the 2013 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum.

Ambassador Carson praised Ethiopia for its contributions to maintaining peace and stability in neighboring countries and in particular in Sudan and South Sudan. The Assistant Secretary also said the US appreciated the efforts of the African Union to maintain peace and stability in Mali.

U.S.-Africa Partnership: The Last Four Years and Beyond

Johnnie Carson serves as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs

Posted by Johnnie Carson
After more than 40 years of experience in Africa -- and the ebbs and flows of hope and conflict -- I've become ever more optimistic about Africa's future. As those of you who know me are aware, I like to base my conclusions on analysis and factual observations. Here, too, my optimism is grounded in real developments: expanded democracy, rapid economic growth, and greater security and opportunities for Africa's people. It's now realistic to think that the 21st century will not only be shaped in Beijing and Washington, but also in Pretoria, Abuja, Nairobi, and Addis Ababa.

In my January 16 remarks at the Wilson Center, I elaborated about this optimism and the Obama Administration's policies in Africa. Somalia and South Sudan are two places where no one previously believed such optimism would be warranted. But this Administration's strategy for Somalia has turned one of Africa's most intractable conflicts into a major success story. And in South Sudan, U.S. leadership kept the 2011 independence referendum on track and led to South Sudan's independence.

The underlying basis of this progress in Somalia and South Sudan was our ability to create partnerships. These relationships across the African continent have greatly enhanced our ability to strengthen democratic institutions; spur economic growth, trade, and investment; advance peace and security; and promote opportunity and development.

Let me cite a few examples of how we implemented this in the area of democracy and human rights. In Nigeria, when President Yar'Adua passed away, we sided with Nigerians who insisted that Nigeria's constitution be followed and that the Nigerian military stay in its barracks; this led to the most credible elections in Nigeria's recent history. We worked hand-in-hand with people across Kenya in 2010 to ensure a peaceful constitutional referendum. When Senegal's democratic tradition was threatened, I urged President Wade to defend the Senegalese constitution. And across Africa, the United States has worked to help strengthen legislatures and judiciaries and protect press freedoms.

We also have devoted a great deal of effort to promoting Africa's economic growth. The United States extended the third country fabric provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which has helped create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the continent. The trade mission Secretary Clinton led to South Africa this past August was the first ever trade mission led by a Secretary of State to Africa. Since 2009, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation has supported U.S. private sector investments totaling over $2 billion in Africa -- an all time record. And in November, the Commerce Department launched the "Doing Business in Africa Campaign," which will make it easier for U.S. companies to take advantage of opportunities on the continent.

Democracy and economic growth go hand-in-hand with stability, which is why we have expanded partnerships focused on training African peacekeepers and responding to transnational threats like piracy, drug trafficking, and terrorism. We are working with our African and international partners to restore security and democratic governance in Mali and respond to humanitarian needs across the Sahel, eliminate the threat posed by the brutal Lord's Resistance Army, and identify long-term solutions to end the eastern Congo's cycle of instability.

We also have seen impressive results across our development and opportunity agenda. Our provision of life saving treatment has kept nearly five million people with HIV in Africa alive. Through our Millennium Challenge Corporation, we have invested nearly $6 billion in 14 African countries that have demonstrated their commitment to democratic institutions, accountability, and transparency, and we have provided more humanitarian assistance to Africa over the last four years than any other country. We also have increased our efforts to empower women and girls and partner with the next generation of African leaders.

And two achievements that I am particularly proud of are how we have increased our engagement with the African Union and other regional organizations, and how we have elevated Africa in our foreign policy and in global decision making -- on issues from climate change to the crisis in Syria.

These are just some of the examples of how the United States has worked with, and in, Africa during my tenure as Assistant Secretary. Of course, there are countless more. And I would be remiss if I did not mention some of the serious challenges I see in Africa's immediate future, which are all too real: the crisis in Mali, Kenya's March elections, continued instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and uneven development progress, to name a few. Yet, despite these challenges, I have no doubt that Africa will continue to move forward. Those who realize this now will have a significant advantage in sharing the progress I anticipate for Africa in the 21st century.

King: I Have a Dream. Obama: I Have a Drone

By Norman Solomon

A simple twist of fate has set President Obama’s second Inaugural Address for January 21, the same day as the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday.

Obama made no mention of King during the Inauguration four years ago — but since then, in word and deed, the president has done much to distinguish himself from the man who said “I have a dream.”

After his speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963, King went on to take great risks as a passionate advocate for peace.

After his Inaugural speech in January 2009, Obama has pursued policies that epitomize King’s grim warning in 1967: “When scientific power outruns moral power, we end up with guided missiles and misguided men.”

But Obama has not ignored King’s anti-war legacy. On the contrary, the president has gone out of his way to distort and belittle it.

In his eleventh month as president — while escalating the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan, a process that tripled the American troop levels there — Obama traveled to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. In his speech, he cast aspersions on the peace advocacy of another Nobel Peace laureate: Martin Luther King Jr.

The president struck a respectful tone as he whetted the rhetorical knife before twisting. “I know there’s nothing weak — nothing passive — nothing naive — in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King,” he said, just before swiftly implying that those two advocates of nonviolent direct action were, in fact, passive and naive. “I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people,” Obama added.

Moments later, he was straining to justify American warfare: past, present, future. “To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism — it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason,” Obama said. “I raise this point, I begin with this point because in many countries there is a deep ambivalence about military action today, no matter what the cause. And at times, this is joined by a reflexive suspicion of America, the world’s sole military superpower.”

Then came the jingo pitch: “Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: The United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms.”

Crowing about the moral virtues of making war while accepting a peace prize might seem a bit odd, but Obama’s rhetoric was in sync with a key dictum from Orwell: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.”

Laboring to denigrate King’s anti-war past while boasting about Uncle Sam’s past (albeit acknowledging “mistakes,” a classic retrospective euphemism for carnage from the vantage point of perpetrators), Obama marshaled his oratory to foreshadow and justify the killing yet to come under his authority.

Two weeks before the start of Obama’s second term, the British daily The Guardian noted that “U.S. use of drones has soared during Obama’s time in office, with the White House authorizing attacks in at least four countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. It is estimated that the CIA and the U.S. military have undertaken more than 300 drone strikes and killed about 2,500 people.”

The newspaper reported that a former member of Obama’s “counter-terrorism group” during the 2008 campaign, Michael Boyle, says the White House is now understating the number of civilian deaths due to the drone strikes, with loosened standards for when and where to attack:

“The consequences can be seen in the targeting of mosques or funeral processions that kill non-combatants and tear at the social fabric of the regions where they occur. No one really knows the number of deaths caused by drones in these distant, sometimes ungoverned, lands.”

Although Obama criticized the Bush-era “war on terror” several years ago, Boyle points out, President Obama “has been just as ruthless and indifferent to the rule of law as his predecessor.”

Boyle’s assessment — consistent with the conclusions of many other policy analysts — found the Obama administration’s use of drones is “encouraging a new arms race that will empower current and future rivals and lay the foundations for an international system that is increasingly violent.”

In recent weeks, more than 50,000 Americans have signed a petition to Ban Weaponized Drones from the World. The petition says that “weaponized drones are no more acceptable than land mines, cluster bombs or chemical weapons.” It calls for President Obama “to abandon the use of weaponized drones, and to abandon his ‘kill list’ program regardless of the technology employed.”

Count on lofty rhetoric from the Inaugural podium. The spirit of Dr. King will be elsewhere.

Norman Solomon is co-founder of RootsAction.org and founding director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He co-chairs the Healthcare Not Warfare campaign organized by Progressive Democrats of America. His books include “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.” He writes the Political Culture 2013 column.

Somalia Has Just Become a Recognized Country. So What Does That Now Mean for Somaliland?

Somalia, located in the Horn of Africa, has for years been plagued with problems of instability, piracy and extremism. But on January 18, after about two decades without formal relations, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton officially

Add caption

Recognized the government of Somalia, for having turned itself around.

For Somalia, this is wonderful news, but what does this statement mean for Somaliland, an unrecognized state, located in the northern tip of Somalia, that declared its independence from Somalia in 1991? The country is a fledgling democracy which has its own constitution, held peaceful elections, opened schools and universities, established a central bank that prints its own currency and has its own security mechanism.

Karthik Pottipatti, 24, an Indian American graduate of Claremont Mckenna College in politics and winner of a German fellowship to study economics at the Freie Universitaet, Berlin, spent six months last year teaching at the University of Hargeisa -- Somaliland's flagship public University. Karthik is currently studying law at Harvard University. His experience living, working and traveling, with a military style canvas duffle bag, has shed light on a country which he describes as a peaceful forward thinking Islamic democracy.

I interviewed Karthik about his experience and the following is an excerpt of the interview:

So why did you decide to go to Somaliland?

I was interested and curious about Somaliland because it's a functioning democracy without any interference or influence from the west. The country has built democratic institutions without having a modern history of democracy.

What did you teach at the University of Hargeisa and what was your experience like?

Under the foreign teacher's program, I taught English and Economics to freshmen, sophomores and juniors. There are more than 1500 students enrolled in bachelor degree programs at the University of Hargeisa. The school runs a comprehensive program, including the important task of training the countries medical doctors.

But unfortunately the university does not compare when it comes to faculty or facilities or resources for students. This is not for lack of effort but more of a reality of living in an area where resources are very limited, and where international recognition limits how much assistance they can get from other universities and other governmental and non-governmental organizations.

You speak about Somaliland's lack of recognition. How does that impact the students?

Since the country is unrecognized there are not many international scholarship programs available for these students. Personally this is a shame as Somaliland is a democracy just like ours and there are a few students I felt who could take advantage of an education in the U.S. or Europe.

For a country where the educational infrastructure is being built from the ground up, it is important for students to go to other countries and learn best practices and bring it back to Somaliland. The country needs professionals -- from well-trained economists who can run the central bank, and design an Islamic banking system that is conducive to growth and investment, to medical professionals who can educate the next generation of doctors in the country.

Secondly, the lack of recognition serves as a disincentive for other organizations to make partnerships with universities within Somaliland. This has effected the University of Hargeisa as it is currently not internationally accredited.

Somaliland was completely destroyed when Said Barre's forces bombed the country during the civil war. When the war ended in the early 90's the country had to rebuild from scratch. The intellectual community that fled Somaliland prior to the war left a void that now needs to be filled.

Maybe the international community is weary of getting involved because of the security situation in Somaliland? What was your experience there like?

Somaliland is mainly a stable country, and all foreigners must live with security personnel. We had guards living with us in the house, but this did not deter me from going on runs in the morning with my colleagues.

I did not feel that we were in danger and this has a lot to do with the Somaliland government's interest in keeping at bay terrorist groups like the Al Shabab, which was an active force in southern Somalia (the Shabab is a militant group that has ties to AL-Qaeda).

Somaliland has been vigilant in fighting the Shabab. And this is not just the police. Ordinary Somaliland citizens recognize that the Shabab is a dangerous and intolerant group. Because the country is clan based, outsiders are immediately spotted and the Somaliland police work with NGO's to eliminate the threat.

What was your experience living in a Muslim country? Were you under pressure to convert to Islam?

I had to dress conservatively in business casual clothes. In a Muslim country there is less freedom in what you can do and in expressing yourself. They did encourage me to convert but I never felt pressured to convert as they don't believe in forced conversions to Islam.

Somaliland is a testament to capitalism. You can find things here from the U.S., China and India. When we talk of Islam and democracy, many times we feel these are odds with each other. But here is a country that has generated a working democracy by itself.


Soon after Karthik left Somaliland, the foreign teachers program was closed. After hearing of Somalia's recognition he said, "This is an opportunity for us to re-examine our policy towards Somaliland and hopefully recognize the sovereignty of an independent Muslim democracy in Africa".

By, Ramaa Reddy Raghavan
Recent graduate, Columbia School of Journalism
http://www.huffingtonpost.com

President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh appointed an acting governor of Banque Centrale de Djbouti

Madaxwaynaha Jamhuuriyada Jabuuti Mud. Ismail Omar Geeleh

President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh appointed an acting governor of Banque Centrale de Djbouti (BCD) to replace the recently deceased Djama Mahamoud Haïd in a decree (yet to be published) on 27 January. The new top man at the bank is Ahmed Osman Ali (subscription)........................

Somalia charges woman who said she was raped by troops

By Emily Alpert\

Somali journalists hold up the picture of arrested journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim at an event condemning his detention Sunday in Mogadishu. (Mohamed Abdiwahab Hajiabikar / AFP/Getty Images / January 31, 2013)

Somalia has charged a woman who said she was raped by government troops, accusing her of making a false accusation and insulting a government body, according to Human Rights Watch.

A freelance journalist who talked to the woman also faces charges, along with her husband and two other people who helped introduce her to the reporter, the rights group said. Activists say the arrests occurred despite the fact that the detained journalist, Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, had not reported on the interview.

The woman ultimately retracted her accusation. Rights groups said she had been subjected to two days of police questioning without an attorney present. Police then “paraded her” before reporters at a news conference, Amnesty International said. [Updated 8:40 am. Feb. 1: After making the public retraction before the media, the woman later stated to others that the rape had, in fact, occurred, Human Rights Watch said.]

“Bringing charges against a woman who alleges rape makes a mockery of the new Somali government’s priorities,” Daniel Bekele, Africa director for Human Rights Watch, said Tuesday in a statement. “The police ‘investigation’ in this case was a politically motivated attempt to blame and silence those who report on the pervasive problem of sexual violence by Somali security forces.”

The charges against the woman carry maximum penalties of three years, four years and six years in prison. Human Rights Watch researcher Maria Burnett said is unclear whether the prison sentences could be added together or served at the same time, because different jurisdictions in Somalia have different practices.

Rape is a persistent problem in Somalia, especially for girls and women living in camps for people displaced by famine and bouts of conflict. The Committee to Protect Journalists said the arrests came after a Somali television station and Al Jazeera reported on alleged rapes, one by armed men in police uniforms, another by soldiers in a Mogadishu camp for the displaced.

"It was 1 a.m., my children were sleeping when these men entered my house," Al Jazeera quoted a young widow in the camp as saying. "Some of them were armed with AK-47s. They slapped me, ordered me outside and raped me. They did all kind of things to me. I couldn't fight them or defend myself. How could I against seven armed men?"

The detained journalist was not connected to either report, the press freedom group said, despite Somali police claims that the reporter had helped with the Al Jazeera article. He faces up to four years in prison for one charge and two years for another, according to Human Rights Watch.

A United Nations official called on Somalia to free him and investigate the rape report.

“The approach taken by the Somali police … only serves to criminalize victims and undermine freedom of expression for the press,” said Zainab Hawa Bangura, U.N. special representative on sexual violence in conflict.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that government officials evaded calls and questions from a reporter seeking comment on the case. Two weeks ago, President Hassan Sheik Mohamudsaid the contested case had to work its way through the justice system and his government should not intervene.

Journalists should be free to report the news, but that doesn't mean "tainting negatively the image of the public, the image of the government," which "is not something acceptable to any standards in the world,” the president said at a Washington forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Qatar: Peacemaker in the Horn of Africa?

By Aklilu Shiketa

Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris).

When Qatari Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassim announced his intention to promote peace across the Horn of Africa during his November 2012 visit to Ethiopia, a rare moment of optimism for regional stability was felt in Addis Ababa. After mediating between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels in 2008 and arbitrating the Eritrea-Djibouti boundary dispute in 2010, Qatar has emerged as a serious diplomatic player in a region where Ethiopia is also growing in importance.

Some experts believe the Gulf country’s involvement in the Horn could even have positive implications for the contentious relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea, long a source of instability and tension in the area.

The question, however, is if Qatar up to such an important and difficult task — and why would an Arab country entangle itself in such messy African affairs? Shedding light on these issues can help gauge the prospects for a Qatar-mediated peace.

Over the past 10 years, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Qatar have maintained a complicated triangular relationship. Until Hamad’s visit to Addis Ababa in 2012, for example, Qatar was regarded as an unwanted presence that complicated Ethiopia’s relationship with Eritrea. The Gulf country stood accused of abetting “Eritrea’s policy of destabilizing the Horn of Africa” and, in April 2008, Ethiopia severed diplomatic relations with Qatar.

In Addis Ababa, Qatar had long been viewed as country that was trying to punch above its weight diplomatically, with a foreign policy that emanated from the personal ambitions of its leaders, rather than its national interest. Ethiopia was also incredulous that Qatar could maintain a close relationship with Eritrea in spite of the Arab country’s strong alliance with the United States (who has, at times, regarded Eritrea as a state that sponsors terrorism).
Despite its outsider status and lack of familiarity, if Qatar does succeed in improving one of Africa’s most contentious bilateral relationships the result would be a boost for peace and security across the region, and significant for the new government in Somalia.

Qatar, of course, has its own perceptions of Ethiopia. High-level politicians have sometimes referred to Ethiopia as an aggressor nation, with former State Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah publicly stating in 2008 that Ethiopia threatens the security and stability of a number of states in the Horn of Africa.

After years of acrimonious exchanges, however, it was a welcome development that Ethiopia and Qatar agreed to normalize their relations in 2012. The warm reception given to the Qatari prime minister during his visit to Addis Ababa suggests that Ethiopia considers the relationship of increasing strategic importance. This was confirmed shortly afterward when Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, agreed to a Qatari-mediated meeting with his counterpart in Eritrea.

For Eritrea’s part, however, the options are much more limited. Qatar is one of the few countries that maintain regular diplomatic relations with Asmara, so it was unsurprising that Eritrean policy makers accepted Qatar’s offer of mediation. While Eritrea is yet to follow through with the settlement brokered by Qatar following its boundary conflict with Djibouti in 2010, the country finds itself increasingly isolated under United Nations Security Council sanctions that were imposed in 2009 and again in 2011. It is, therefore, in Eritrea’s interest to seize the opportunity provided by Qatari mediation.

From the Qatari perspective, the motive behind involvement in Ethiopia and Eritrea’s contentious foreign affairs remains obscured beyond its own prime minster’s personal ambition as a peacemaker. Ethiopia’s high rate of economic growth, however, has attracted investment from others in the Gulf region, and Qatar’s supposed interest in Ethiopia’s agricultural land could also be part of the explanation for its diplomatic involvement.

For even the most keen outside observer, though, the Ethiopia-Eritrea dossier is complex. The list of the issues to negotiate is long, and requires a host of expertise. To list a few: implementing the rulings of of the Ethiopian-Eritrea Boundary Commission; resolving the fate of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia; setting conditions for the use of the Eritrean ports by Ethiopia; defining the role of both countries in Somalia; eliminating United Nations sanctions on Eritrea; and reviving Eritrea’s bid to re-join the Intergovernmental Authority for Development. Comprehending and prioritizing these issues will be a daunting task.

Despite its outsider status and lack of familiarity, however, if Qatar does succeed in improving one of Africa’s most contentious bilateral relationships the result would be a boost for peace and security across the entire region, and especially significant for the new government in Somalia. In theory, improved Ethiopian-Eritrean relations would slow the proxy war in Somalia being carried out through al-Shabaab, leaving the African Union to focus on peacemaking efforts elsewhere in the continent, for which Qatar can continue to serve as an emerging diplomatic partner.

Aklilu Shiketa is a First Secretary at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dawladdaha Ingiriiska iyo Itoobiya oo Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibeda iyo Taliyaha Sirdoonka Somaliland Kulan Degdeg ah Kula leh Addis Ababa

Wasiirka Arimaha Dibada Somaliland iyo Taliyaha Sirdoonka Somaliland ayaa lagu aaday Diyaarad khaas ah oo loo soo Diray

Dawladda Ingiriiska iyo Itoobiya ayaa manta si deg deg ah magaaladda Hargeysa uga duuliyay wasiirka Arrimaha Dibedda Somaliland Maxamed C/laahi Cumar iyo Taliyaha Hay’adda Sirdoonka Qaranka Jaamac Maxamed Bootaan.

Sida ay ilo wareedyo lagu kalsoon yahay waaheen u xaqiijiyeen goor dhaweyd waxa uu labada dhinac kulan uga furmay magaaladda Addis ababa ee Dalka Itoobiya, balse kulankaasi oo bilowday isla markii ay diyaarad khaas ah oo hargeysa ka qaaday ka degeen wali wuu socdaa.

Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibedda ayaa toddobaadkan Addis ababa ka soo laabtay hase yeeshee wakhtigaasi Dawladda Itoobiya may qaabilin wallow uu war-saxaafadeed uu ku qabtay Hotelka Hilton ku sheegay inuu u socday Olole doceed uu ka bar bar waday shirka Midawga Yurub, kaasoo uu sheegay inuu kula kulmay Dyblamaasiyiin Kiiniyaan iyo Jarmal ah.

Wakhtigaa uu Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibeda Somaliland ku sugnaa Addis ababa ayaa ku beegnaa isla maalintii ay Dawladda Ingiriisku ku dhawaaqday qaylo dhaanta ay Dadkeeda ugaga digayso u safarka iyo joogitaanka Somaliland, taasoo ay ka soo saartay baaq dhiilo ah oo xambaarsanaa Somaliland inaanay amaan ahayn, balse wax kulan ah iyaga oo aan la yeelan wasiirka ayuu wasiirku deg deg uga soo baxay isagoo Hargeysa ku qabtay kulan saxaafadeed uu ku beeninayo.

Lama oga ujeedada dhabta ah ee ay labada Dawladood ee Ingiriiska iyo Itoobiya ugu yeedheen wasiirka Arrimaha Dibeda iyo Masuulka ugu sareeya Sirdoonka Somaliland, hase yeeshee waxay u muuqataa inay u bandhigayaan xogaha ay ka hayaan Somaliland ee la xidhiidha cabsida ay sheegeen.

Xukuumadda Somaliland ayaa bilowday tan iyo intii ay Qaylo dhaanta Ingiriisku soo baxday hawl galo ay ku qab qabanayaan dad looga shakisan yahay Al-shabaab, inta la ogyahayna sida ay waheen Xogo ku heshay waxa magaalooyinka Berbera iyo Hargeysa laga qabtay sadex qof oo uu ka mid yahay nin ay walaalo yihiin Amiirka Kooxda Alshabaab Axmed Cabdi Godane iyo laba nin oo kale.

Xukuumadda Somaliland ilaa hada may sheegin dadkaas ay qab qabatay inay yihiin kuwa ay Dawladda Ingiriisku ka shakisnayd inay hawl galo fulinayeen iyo inkale, hase yeeshee waxa la filayaa sababaha keenay in si deg deg ah loogu yeedho inay ka mid yihiin Ragaas ay qab qabteen.

Si aksta ha ahaatee talaabada loogu yeedhay Madaxda Somaliland ayaa calaamatul su’aal sii saaraysa wada shaqaynta Dawladahaasi iyo Somaliland, waxaana loo baahan yahay Xukuumadda Somaliland inay qaado talaabo ay ku xaqiijinayso amaanka Dalkeeda.

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Africa Mission Changes to Meet Threats, Build Capabilities

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2013 – Geography still counts and Djibouti is a case in point.

Djibouti, a small nation in the Horn of Africa, sits at a strategic crossroads. And the U.S. military command there is important to peace and stability for the region and across the globe, said Army Maj. Gen. Rob Baker, the commander of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa.

Geography and trade routes define Djibouti’s importance. It’s located on the northeast corner of Africa, wedged between Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Djibouti is on the coast, right at the southern entrance to the Red Sea being on the western side of the Bab el Mandeb strait. Tens of thousands of ships each year transit in and out of the strait. Oil tankers comprise much of that traffic.

Just 20 miles across that strait is Yemen and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula.

In short, Djibouti is a crossroads and has been since humans walked the Earth -- there is evidence that some of the first humans transited through the country as they traveled into Asia.

Soon after the 9-11 attacks, the United States recognized the strategic importance of Djibouti and with cooperation from the country’s government established Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa as part of the U.S. Central Command. In 2008, the command was transferred to the newly created U.S. Africa Command.

The CJTF-HOA is one of several tenants on the former French base Camp Lemonnier, located across the runway from the airport for Djibouti City. The command’s area of responsibility includes the countries of Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. The command’s area of interest extends from Chad to Yemen to the Central African Republic to Sudan.

There are 1,800 U.S. service members in the command now. This number rises and falls depending on the training being conducted. For example, U.S. Army Africa sends soldiers or units from Vicenza, Italy, to conduct training. Marines come from Sigonella, Italy, to train Ugandan soldiers before those troops deploy to Somalia.

And life is tough in the neighborhood. It is the eastern end of the Sahel region and much of the country is desert. This extends into Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Drought exacerbates the situation and much of the region depends on food aid. A famine in the 1980s killed hundreds of thousands of people in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

War and instability add further pressures. Sudan, Chad, Yemen and Somalia are all struggling areas with many ungoverned regions. These areas are magnets for terrorism and transnational crime.

Djibouti’s neighbor Somalia has been the victim of violence and crime since the early 1990s, but its future is looking brighter in part thanks to the efforts of U.S. service members based in Djibouti.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Rob Baker, center, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa commander, and Kenyan Maj. Gen. F. K. Nthenge, assistant chief of the Defense Forces in charge of operations, doctrine and training, discuss various ways to facilitate realistic training for the courses conducted at Amani Peace Operations Training Village before the inauguration ceremony held at the International Peace Support Training Centre Aug. 8, 2012. The ceremony recognized the completion of phase four of the training village that simulates a typical peacekeeping environment in order to enhance efficiency and provide practical tactical skills while supporting peace missions. U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Shejal Pulivarti  

Stability has returned to large parts of Somalia. Piracy off the coast of the country has been virtually eliminated, and the terror group al-Shabaab has been dealt a blow.

About two years ago, service members with CJTF-HOA under the auspices of the U.S. State Department partnered to train and equip soldiers from contributing East African countries to conduct peace enforcement operations in Somalia as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia, Baker said.

“It’s one of the best examples we have in our government of what happens when the State Department and DOD cooperate on a joint venture,” the general said during an interview in the Pentagon.

Working together, the two departments achieved security effects “that demonstrate a nexus between our money and resources and protection of our interests and in U.S. security in the region and in the homeland,” he said.

Training troops from Uganda and Kenya to handle African security problems can be done at a fraction of the cost of what it would cost if the United States fielded its own troops in the region.

“One of the unique things about the way we are operating in Africa with CJTF-HOA is it is exactly consistent with the chairman’s Joint Force 2020 vision of small footprint, low visibility, low cost,” Baker said. “But for as small as we are and as cheap as we are, we’re punching way above our weight in the region.”

The American military has an excellent reputation in the Horn of Africa. The nations of the region know America has been at war 11 years in Iraq and Afghanistan and value that combat experience.

“One of the reasons why we are able to make such a contribution to the effectiveness of these militaries at a low cost, is because we put more effort into investing in their people and not just material goods,” Baker said.

Just funneling equipment to these East African nations is often not cost effective, he said.

“The equipment part tends to be costly and sometimes these countries have trouble maintaining it,” the general said. On the other hand, focusing on soldiers means significant and lasting improvements in capacity.

The CJTF-HOA works with U.S. embassies in the region to laser in on the human element in training. Training runs the gamut from basic marksmanship and combat lifesaving training to training battalion- and brigade-level battle staffs on how to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The command also works to mentor senior leaders.

The CJTF-HOA is shifting its emphasis from just trying to build operational capabilities of these East African militaries to more lasting improvements.

Tanzania is an example of one of the success stories for the command. Three years ago, the task force had three engagements per year with Tanzania. The country was traditionally aligned with China and North Korea.

“This year, we are planning more than 20 engagements,” Baker said. “It’s pretty significant that they are trying to develop a military relationship with the U.S.”

The American effort had been aligned with increasing the East African nations’ abilities to conduct border security, maritime security, intelligence operations and peacekeeping operations.

“What has not historically been a focus -- but is now -- are institutional capabilities, and that’s really the resiliency of the organization,” Baker said.

Even the questions asked are different. Rather than ask how to improve operations, U.S. planners ask things far more basic. These include questions like, “What is the human resource model that military is using? How do they recruit? How do they pay? Are their pay scales fair, do their soldiers get paid? Do they have a competitive promotion system? Do they even have a retirement system? If a soldier is injured in Somalia, do they have a program in place to care for the soldier’s family?” Baker said.

Other questions, he said, look to different aspects of the military, such as if these nations have an adequate, competent military legal system.

“Do they have an inspector general corps so they can root out corruption and conduct investigations?” the general said.

The American effort does not ignore operational instruction, Baker said, but it has shifted to also build institutional resiliency.

There is also a shift in civil affairs activities in East Africa, he said.

Since its founding, the CJTF-HOA has performed a lot of civil-military activity in the region. “In fact, the dominating signature characteristic of the command was civil-affairs activities -- building schools, drilling wells, rehabbing health clinics and those types of projects,” Baker said.

The purpose, he said, is to build trust and confidence with the nations in Africa and to convince their military and governmental leaders that the U.S. is a trusted partner. These civil-affairs projects, he added, did a great job in assuaging East African leaders’ concerns.

Last year, the emphasis for the command changed, Baker said. Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, issued a series of orders to CJTF-HOA that would shift the command’s focus and recalibrate its priorities.

The first of these orders designated CJTF-HOA as the supported command in USAFRICOM.

“For the first time, I now have the authority to synchronize the U.S. military’s security cooperation activities in all of East Africa,” Baker said. “We can now look at security cooperation and develop multi-year activities. I call it a persistent approach to security cooperation. I can do that because of these authorities.”

The command serves as the military advisor, or clearinghouse, for the U.S. ambassadors in the region. “The ultimate decision is always up to the ambassador, but we work with them and the country teams to build the capabilities,” Baker said.

A second operational order from USAFRICOM gave Baker the responsibility to defeat al-Shabaab and al-Qaida within East Africa.

“We do that in different ways, first by training East African militaries to be successful when they fight in Somalia, and second, we do it by sharing information with our partners in the region,” he said. “We share so they can be successful and for their force protection.”

The command also uses information operations to help support U.S. security initiatives in Somalia. “For example, we support efforts to strengthen the new Somali government,” the general said, “and we focus on building tolerance among Somalis for the East African forces to stay in the country to help them until they can do it themselves.”

Baker’s vision for the CJTF-HOA and its relationships in East Africa is to be the partner of choice in the region. The command can help train its African partners, provide common doctrine and facilitate multilateral exercises.

“This puts in place a united force against the transnational threats that all nations in the region face,” Baker said. “None of these countries can defeat those threats by themselves. They’ve got to work together.”

Biographies:
Army Maj. Gen. Rob Baker

Related Sites:
U.S. Africa Command
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa

Safiirka Ingriiska U Fadhiya Dalka Itoobiya Oo Ka Hadlay Arrimaha Somaliland, Somalia iyo Djibouti.

 

Waxaan ku rajo weynahay In aanu xidhiidhkii Wacnaa ee Somaliland iyo Ingiriiska soo celino…

UK Ambassador to Ethiopia

 

Safiirka Ingiriiska u fadhiya Dalka Itoobiya, Greg Dorey,oo waraysi siiyaay Saxafiyada Dr.Moha Farah Jire ayaa sheegay inuu ku han-weyn yahay in si dhakhso ah loo soo celiyo xidhiidhkii wanaagsanaa ee Somaliland iyo Ingirriska. Safiirka oo Dr. Moha Farah Jire oo ah Saxafiyad Arimaha Africa iyo Caalamka u qaablisan Nabadgalyada, Diplomasiyada, Siyaasada ugu waramayey Adis Ababa waxa uu ka hadlay xanibaadii xaga socdaalak ee uu dalka Ingiriisku ku soo rogay socdaalista Somaliland ay ku tagayaan Muwaadiniinta Reer Ingiriis. 

Amb. Greg Dorey oo ka hadlayey arrintaa waxa uu yidhi "Runtii Ingiriisku waxa uu aad ugu dhuun daloolaa wixii wel-wel ah oo ka dhacaya Qaaradda Afrika gaar ahaan Somaliland oo ay xidhiidh la leeyihiin ku saabsan Nabad gelyadda, Horumarinta iyo Saaxiibtinimadda guud." 

Safiirku waxa uu sheegey inay u shaaciyeen xanibaada socdaalka sabab la xidhiidha xuquuqda muwaadiniintooda oo ay tahay inay ku wer galiyaan khataraha Amni daro ee ay waajihi karaan, Amb. Dorey waxa uu yidhi " waxaan aad ugu hanweyn nahay in aanu xidhiidhkayagii wacnaa ee Somaliland xukuumadeeda aanu la lahayn aanu soo celino,Somaliland waxan la leenahay xidhiidh wacan oo waaray , waxaanan ugu hanwey nahay in dhakhso loo soo celiyo walaaltinimadeenii wacnayd , waxaan sidoo kale ku hanwey nahay in Somaliland Mas.uuliyeenteedu ay yimadan shirka Somalia ee Uk Xukuumadeedu qaban qaabinayso, oo Somaliland iyo Somalia ba ay ka qayb gali doonaan, anaga oo jecel in ay Somalia siin doonto Xuquuqda Somaliland leedahay ee ay 20 ka sano inta ka badan ku soo caano maashey nabada waartey, iyo dimoqraadiyad doorashooyinka madaxweynayaasha laysku bedelay, waxaan isku dayi doona in wax kasta oo surto galinaya in shirka ay wada yimaadan". 

Safiirku waxa kale uu hambalyeeyey Dowlada Itobiya oo hogaaminta Jagada AU ga loo doortay oo uu tilmaamey inay hab sami u hanan karaan xilkan si taariikhi ahna uga nidho dhalin doono Gudoomiye Mr. Haile Mariam Desalyn. 
Waxuu safiirka Ingiriiska Itoobiya u fadhiyaa xusay in Djibouti ay sanadkan bisha sadexaad ka yagleeli doonan xidhiidh quwad leh oo ujeedadiisu tahay in Guud ahaan geeska Africa wixii nabad galyada ku saabsan lagala xidhiidho Ethiopia iyo Djibouti oo ah udub dhexaadka Geeska Africa.