AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HON. J.F. KERRY, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE RE: SAMANTAR V. YUSUF

To: The Honorable John F. Kerry
United States Secretary of State Department
Department of state
2201′C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

March 7, 2013


SUBJECT: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HON. J.F. KERRY, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE RE: SAMANTAR V. YUSUF

Dear Hon. J F Kerry,

With all due respect , We feel that we must express our protest and condemnation to the intent ( to divert Justice) of the letter by the PM of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Abdi F. Shirdon to you on February 26, 2013 in regard to the civil litigation brought against the Former Somali General Mohamed Ali Samantar by Bashe Abdi Yusuf - Samantar v. Yusuf.

The Prime Minister, in his capacity, seeks for the invalidation of the judgments against the former general by the U.S. Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia on August 28, 2012 – an end of a seven year quest in the U.S. courts for justice for the victims harmed by General Samantar and troops under his command . The general has accepted the liability of the case.

The prime minister’s immunity requisition for Mohamed Ali Samantar from your esteemed office is only adding insult to injury as the prime Minister tries to cheat the system in order to secure a way out for a man who has confessed his liabilities to a wide practice of atrocities: murder; extermination; torture; rape; political and ethnicity persecutions that he had systematically exercised against the people in the Northern Somalia in 1988 civil war. A confession was made in the face of the United states Judicial system by M A Samantar that he is guilty of the damages caused by his troops that operated under his command and has shouldered responsible for those damages which was a crime against humanity and as a result the U.S Federal judge in the court duly awarded $21 million in compensatory and punitive damages against Mohamed Ali Samantar. This sound ruling or judgement by the court was about to heal wounds up until this letter by the PM of Federal Republic of Somali Government has surfaced.

We believe that the PM’s untimely involvement and use of his power in this litigation will open a new Pandora box that will prematurely derail the on-going initiatives and reconciliation processes between the two peoples of Somaliland ( Hargeisa) and Somalia (Mogadishu) which the Prime minister and his lineage group sees the process as only advantageous to Irir clans in the North and the South of Somalia in the future. This is a clear political sabotage to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud’s peaceful strategy towards the reconciliation process from London meeting last year: a sabotage within that also misuses The U.S Government’s recent recognition of the Federal Government of Somalia, which is only the tip of the iceberg in our understanding.

This intervention of the Federal Government to the litigation process of Samantar v. Yusuf will fuel detestation and animosity among the score settling clans in Somalia, particularly Darood and Isaaq clans and further between Somaliland and Somalia administrations if the United states government honours Mr Shirdon’s requisition letter. However, Mr Shirdon himself has committed crimes against the community in the North during his stay in Berbera by unlawfully robbing great wealth from the business community in the North under the protection of his uncles, Siyaad Barre and his regime.

Therefore, I would advise the Honourable State secretary of the United States of American to scrutinize the objective behind this letter from the Prime Minister of Somalia at this critical time by weighing all sides of the Issue and its future implication both to the people of Somalia/Somaliland and to the United states Justice system and to your esteemed office.

We are of the opinion that the General himself could have settled his case long before by coming forward publicly and asking amnesty to the relatives of the victims and survivals of the 1988 atrocities in the North. This could have been a propitious escape route in his situation as the Somali people are in generally have the tendency and the culture of absolution subject to adapting a proper approach in resolving problems which the honestly and courage is the centre point in contrary to the tit for tat score settling manner of affairs where honesty is at stake. However, What dragged the Samantar’s case over the years was the false clannish ( Darood) shield that the General had relied on in vain during the litigation which on the other hand has gathered moment of opposing tribe’s(Isaaq) sprite reminiscent with the suffering of the war. While Mohamed Ali Samantar hailed from neither the Darood nor the Isaaq tribes, he could have been sorted his case out alone by approaching to the sufferers of the 1988 atrocity for forgiveness as he is aged and frail now.

At this juncture, we question the prime minister’s claim for granting of common law immunity to Samantar will benefit the reconciliation among the clans and political factions within Somalia as well as historic ongoing process of peace between Somalia and Somaliland while the sufferers and victims in the north are still denied their due by the same people who executed the crimes in question which the PM belongs to them. Is the justice and satisfaction of reconciliation in favour of one side? Can we lie always to the world? Is U. S. Government formal accord of recognition to the Federal Republic of Somalia be used as tool against the people in Somaliland?

It is true that It takes two to tango ,therefore, as Mohamed Ali Samantar was found guilty of his atrocities so do Mr Shirdon and many others in his circle or relation, nothing has change yet in the game over the twenty year in the South, no formal apology or compensation yet to the people in the North or Somaliland.

We, the people who experience the atrocity in Hargeisa and other towns in the North of Somalia (Somaliland), trust your balanced view on the decision of this civil litigation between Samantar v. Yusuf in which the federal Somali Government that operating in the South seeks preferential treatment for Samantar by applying an immunity from lawsuit for him .

Thank you

Sincerely

M Arrale

Signed:
Horn of Africa Human Rights Watch Committee (HORNWATCH)

Cc. All United States Embassies in East Africa

CC: The president of the Federal Republic of Somalia and his Prime minister

Cc: the Foreign office of Somaliland

Cc: the Human Rights Offices

Jacka Resources finds promising structures in Somaliland petroleum block

by Bevis Yeo

Jacka Resources (ASX: JKA) has confirmed the presence of large rift-basin structures, which typically form structural petroleum prospects, within the Odewayne block in Somaliland.

These structures were interpreted from the preliminary gravity map from the 22,000 square kilometre airborne geophysics survey that was completed in February by operator Genel Energy (LON: GENL).

Two additional basins have also been identified within the licence area.

The presence of numerous verified oil/condensate seeps, potentially attractive structures, and the genetic relationship to the multi-billion barrel basins of Yemen results in a highly prospective play in this emerging petroleum province.

Genel, a £2 billion market cap, is funding 100% of the exploration program in the Odewayne block until May 2015.

Besides the airborne survey, which covered the entire block, Genel is also funding at least 1,500 kilometres of 2D seismic and an exploration well.

Mobilisation for the seismic survey is scheduled for April this year, with acquisition expected to commence in May and to be completed by end October 2013.

Genel recently indicated that the block has the potential to contain in excess of 1 billion barrels of prospective resources, on which they place a 15% probability of success at this early stage of exploration.

Proactive Investors Australia is the market leader in producing news, articles and research reports on ASX “Small and Mid-cap” stocks with distribution in Australia, UK, North America and Hong Kong / China.

International women's day: a voice from Somalia

Photograph: World Vision

Amanda Koech, 34, is a communications manager for World Vision in Somalia

In Somalia, we know that a man will sometimes rape a girl because his marriage proposal to her has been turned down.

The act of rape ensures no one else will want her as a wife, so she will either be forced to marry her attacker or move to a relative far away, where people do not know what's happened. Some people who commit violence against women are not aware that they are committing criminal acts.

But there are of course those who are fully aware of what they are doing. World Vision is one of the organisations working in Somalia to help women and girls protect themselves and develop the confidence to report cases of violence.

I recently met a wonderful woman who is supporting us to do just that. Habibo [not her real name] is a divorced mother of six, living in a World Vision housing shelter. The project provides decent homes for around 600 families, who have been displaced by conflict and drought, as well as for the most vulnerable members of the host community.

Recently Habibo's hand was broken by a man who was jealous that she had been promoted to join the housing allocation committee.

In the area where Habibo lives, she works with the local administration to report rape cases, and seek medical assistance for the survivors. Most rape cases happen at night when people are asleep, or when women and girls go outside to the toilet.

Since working in the new housing area, Habibo has only come across two rape incidents. There is also a police station being built and police patrols at night will reduce attacks on people using the toilets, which are all located outside the houses.

Habibo told me that reporting is not enough, because it is not stopping the violence from happening. Women need a system that will help women whose rights are violated not only speak up but to be provided a second chance to live a normal life, she says.

Brennan wins confirmation as CIA director

 The Senate approves career spy John Brennan by a wide margin despite long delays. Now he faces the sensitive issues of interrogation, drones and the September attack in Benghazi, Libya.

John Brennan is sworn in to testify Feb. 7 at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Senate has confirmed him as CIA director by a 63-34 vote. (Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images / February 7, 2013)

By Ken Dilanian and Michael Memoli, Washington Bureau

March 7, 2013, 4:40 p.m.

WASHINGTON — Having spent 25 years as a CIA analyst and overseas operative, John Brennan is one of the few career spies ever to lead America's premier spy service.

The Senate voted 63 to 34 Thursday to confirm Brennan as CIA director after weeks of delay — and a dramatic 13-hour talking filibuster on Wednesday — as lawmakers from both parties pushed the Obama administration for access to secret documents about the targeted killing of militants overseas and the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya.

Brennan, 57, a burly, blunt-speaking New Jersey native, replaces David H. Petraeus, the retired Army general who ran the CIA during the intelligence failure in Benghazi, and who resigned in a sex scandal in November. Michael Morell, a veteran analyst, has been serving as acting director.

In a White House statement, President Obama said, "The Senate has recognized in John the qualities I value so much — his determination to keep America safe, his commitment to working with Congress, his ability to build relationships with foreign partners, and his fidelity to the values that define us as a nation."

"Timely, accurate intelligence is absolutely critical to disrupting terrorist attacks, dismantling Al Qaeda and its affiliates, and meeting the broad array of security challenges that we face as a nation," the statement said. "John's leadership, and our dedicated intelligence professionals, will be essential in these efforts."

Brennan takes over at a sensitive time for the CIA. He must review a 6,000-page classified report by Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee that sharply criticizes the CIA's use of coercive interrogation tactics, including waterboarding and painful stress positions, on suspects captured overseas after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

If Brennan endorses the scathing report, he will be seen as censuring hundreds of CIA officers who worked on or supported the now-closed interrogation program, including at least two former directors. If he doesn't, he may face difficulties gaining credibility with Democrats on congressional oversight committees.

Brennan also arrives as the administration debates whether to pare down the CIA's targeted killing of militants and suspected terrorists abroad, and transfer more of the armed drone operations to the military, which also flies drones. Proponents argue that the CIA needs to focus more on other priorities, including espionage and intelligence analysis.

As White House counter-terrorism advisor for the last four years, Brennan oversaw a sharp escalation in drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. Former colleagues describe him as a moderating force in internal debates, arguing for restraint on who was put on a secret "kill list" and targeted.

"I actually think he's done more to, if not limit it, then at least manage the program, than anybody," said a former senior U.S. intelligence official who discussed the program on condition of anonymity because it is classified.

Brennan's grilling by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Feb. 12 allowed lawmakers to air concern for the first time in public about targeted killings, and to demand classified legal opinions that the White House used to authorize drone strikes against Americans overseas. The White House ultimately surrendered all the secret memos to the committee.

"The country is seeing that there's a difference between operations conducted by the CIA, which have to be kept secret in order to protect our country, and the law itself, which should not be kept secret," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said Thursday.

Only one American has been targeted by a CIA drone. The agency killed Anwar Awlaki, a New Mexico-born Al Qaeda leader, in Yemen in September 2011. Three other Americans, including Awlaki's son, have been killed unintentionally.

During Brennan's confirmation hearing, some lawmakers suggested creating an independent special court to review future targeting of suspected U.S. terrorists abroad. Brennan said the administration was considering such an approach.

Committee members also received briefings about the intelligence assessments that initially led the White House to describe the Benghazi attack as growing out of protests against a film made in the U.S. that mocked Islam and had sparked violent demonstrations in other Muslim countries. The administration later said some militants with at least nominal ties to Al Qaeda took part in the Benghazi attacks.

ken.dilanian@latimes.com

michael.memoli@latimes.com

Bin Laden son-in-law detained overseas, brought to New York

A son-in-law of Osama bin Laden and longtime suspected member of al Qaeda has been captured by U.S. officials. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, shown here in an undated videotape broadcast in 2002 by the Dubai-based MBC, has been brought to New York to face charges. Photo: AFP/Getty Images.

The U.S. seized a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who once served as an al Qaeda spokesman and flew him to New York to face trial, an antiterrorism coup that casts light on the group's murky relationship with Iran.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who was captured in Jordan, has been talking to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents for several days in New York City, according to multiple people familiar with the case. He was captured after leaving Iran, which has sheltered remnants of the global terror group.

The Justice Department on Thursday unsealed an indictment charging him with conspiring to kill Americans, and he is set to appear in federal court in Manhattan Friday morning.

The arrest has also reanimated the debate about whether terror suspects should be tried before civilian judges or military tribunals.

Mr. Abu Ghaith's arrival in the city where al Qaeda terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001 marked what may be the final stop in an odyssey that took him from his native Kuwait to Afghanistan by the side of his father-in-law and, around 2002, to Iran. He faces a life sentence if convicted.

"He was never an operational commander in al Qaeda, but in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, he was the voice of al Qaeda,'' said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University. His biggest intelligence value now, Mr. Hoffman said, is to provide insight into what he called the "very perplexing and enigmatic" relationship between Iranian authorities and al Qaeda.

U.S. officials have long been trying to figure what Mr. Abu Ghaith and other al Qaeda figures were doing in Iran and how much leeway the Iranian government was giving them to operate their terrorist network.

U.S. officials believe that Iran last year gave new freedoms, including the option to leave the country, to Mr. Abu Ghaith and other members of what was known as al Qaeda's management council in Iran. He was detained in Ankara, Turkey, last month on suspicion of entering that country with a false passport.

Turkey didn't turn Mr. Abu Ghaith over to U.S. authorities, as Washington had initially wanted but instead decided to deport him to Kuwait via Jordan, officials said. U.S. operatives then captured him in Jordan, which has worked closely with the U.S. in hunting terrorists, they said. Officials at the Turkish embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The suspect was flown to New York by the FBI last week, and he has been talking to interrogators since, said the people familiar with the case. Officials decided to file charges against him after he stopped cooperating.

A video screengrab of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith with Osama bin Laden, his father-in-law, released by Al Jazeera in 2001.


Attorney General Eric Holder said the arrest shows "no amount of distance or time will weaken our resolve to bring America's enemies to justice." George Venizelos, head of the FBI's New York office, described Mr. Abu Ghaith's position in al Qaeda as "comparable to the consigliere in a mob family or propaganda minister in a totalitarian regime."

Counterterrorism experts described Mr. Abu Ghaith as a 47-year-old former teacher and preacher. U.S. officials believe Mr. Abu Ghaith traveled to Afghanistan in 2000 and joined up with al Qaeda there. According to the indictment, on the night of Sept. 11, 2001, bin Laden summoned Mr. Abu Ghaith and requested his assistance.

The next morning, Mr. Abu Ghaith appeared with bin Laden and the al Qaeda leader's then-deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. He stated that a "great army" was gathering against the U.S. In another statement, he said millions of Americans would be killed.

In one October 2001 videotaped message, Mr. Abu Ghaith warned America that "the storms of planes will not stop until you drag your defeated tails from Afghanistan, not until you raise your hands from the Jews in Palestine, not until you lift the embargo on the Iraqi people, not until you leave the Arabian Peninsula, not until you stop supporting the Hindus against the Muslims in Kashmir.''

After the videos appeared, Kuwait stripped him of citizenship.

Many al Qaeda figures captured in the Middle East shortly after the 9/11 attacks were sent to the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including the plot's self-described mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Some, including Mr. Mohammed, now face military commission trials at Guantanamo, but the process has bogged down for years because of legal and logistical hurdles.

U.S. officials have said federal courts, such as the one in Manhattan where Mr. Abu Ghaith is set to appear Friday, are often a faster and surer way to try suspected terrorists. Men such as Ahmed Ghailani, accused of the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa, and "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab have been convicted in federal courts.

Some Republicans, however, said that top terror suspects like Mr. Abu Ghaith should be sent to Guantanamo. "Al Qaeda leaders captured on the battlefield should not be brought to the United States to stand trial," said Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. "We should treat enemy combatants like the enemy."

Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.) an outspoken critic of some of the Obama administration's counterterrorism policies, said in this instance he didn't object to a civilian trial for Mr. Abu Ghaith, because he thought the videotapes and other public evidence would be enough to convict him without the need to disclose any sensitive intelligence.

Since 2002, Mr. Abu Ghaith's activities have been something of a mystery. U.S. officials believe he has been a member of al Qaeda's so-called management council in Iran, a group formed in 2002 to advise bin Laden and provide support to the group's leaders in Pakistan. bin Laden was living in Pakistan when U.S. forces killed him in a May 2011 raid.

White House officials became angry when Turkey didn't immediately hand over Mr. Abu Ghaith after his arrival in that country, said a former U.S. official familiar with the matter. The route to the U.S. through Jordan appears to have provided an alternative more palatable to Turkish officials.

The capture of Mr. Abu Ghaith is significant because it takes a key player out of the game and will provide "a much better firsthand understanding of the Iranian dimension to al Qaeda," said Seth Jones, an al Qaeda specialist at the nonprofit research institution Rand Corp.

Iran has provided sanctuary in effect to several senior al Qaeda leaders over the years, said Mr. Jones. Some al Qaeda operatives fled to Iran when the U.S. opened its Afghan offensive in 2001.

Since then, these operatives have used their Iranian beachhead to communicate, move money and recruit members, Mr. Jones said. Some lower-level al Qaeda operatives also are believed to be in Iran. Why Mr. Abu Ghaith went to Turkey isn't clear.

"For him to have actually left the country, he would definitely have known he was taking a big gamble," Mr. Jones said.

Write to  Devlin Barrett at devlin.barrett@wsj.com, Siobhan Gorman at siobhan.gorman@wsj.com and Tamer El-Ghobashy at tamer.el-ghobashy@wsj.com

French mother Bouchra Bagour on trial for 9/11 T-shirt

Bouchra Bagour denies the T-shirt was intended as a provocation

Bouchra Bagour denies the T-shirt was intended as a provocation A mother has gone on trial in southern France for sending her son to nursery school wearing a T-shirt reading "I am a bomb" and "Born on 11 September".

Bouchra Bagour, 35, was reported to police by the teacher last September, and charged with "glorifying crime".

At the start of her trial in Avignon, she denied defending terrorism.

Ms Bagour's brother - who gave the T-shirt to her three-year-old son named Jihad - is a co-defendant in the case and also denies the charge.

The garment, which the boy wore to school in Sorgues near Avignon on 24 September, read "I am a bomb" on the front and "Jihad, born on 11 September" on the back.

On Wednesday Ms Bagour told the court she had put it on him "without stopping to think about it".

She insisted it was not meant as a provocation and stressed that her son had been born on 11 September.

Zeyad Bagour said he had never sought to defend any cause by buying the T-shirt.

"It's the day his birth I wanted to highlight, not the year," he told the court.

The prosecution argued that the defendants had shown no regret.

"Who can claim that this is not an direct and scandalous allusion to terrorism?" a prosecutor asked.

He called for a fine of 1,000 euros (£870; $1,300) against Ms Bagour and 3,000 euros for her brother.

The trial has been adjourned until next month.

Teen makes history in Kenya Election

Kibiwott Munge

Nineteen-year-old Kibiwott Munge made Kenyan history by winning a seat in one of the newly established county assemblies.

A candidate for the United Republican Party, led by William Ruto, in the Rift Valley's rural Baringo county, he becomes the youngest Kenyan to clinch a political seat in an election.
In his acceptance speech, he said his success was a victory for young people and also thanked his parents. "I also thank my friend Njoroge who lent me his motorbike to campaign," Kenya's Daily Nation quotes him as saying.

He told the BBC that the politicians he most admired were Mr Ruto and US President Barack Obama.

BREAKING NEWS!!: Spokesman for Osama bin Laden has been arrested and will be tried in New York City

A man identified as Suleiman Abu Ghaith is seen in this still from a video address

A man described as a spokesman for Osama bin Laden has been arrested and will be tried in New York City, the US has confirmed.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith was captured within the last week in Jordan, Congressman Peter King said on Thursday.

Mr Abu Ghaith is Bin Laden's son-in-law and played a role in plotting the attacks of 9/11, US officials said.

Bin Laden was killed in a May 2011 raid on his hideout in Pakistan by a team of US commandos.

Mr Abu Ghaith is scheduled to appear in a federal court on Friday on charges of conspiracy to kill United States nationals.

"Sulaiman Abu Ghaith held a key position in al-Qaeda, comparable to the consigliere in a mob family or propaganda minister in a totalitarian regime," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos in a statement.

"He used his position to threaten the United States and incite its enemies."

'One by one'

A teacher and mosque preacher in Kuwait, Mr Abu Ghaith was stripped of his Kuwaiti citizenship after 9/11.

Justice department officials say Mr Abu Ghaith served alongside Bin Laden from May 2001 to 2002, speaking on behalf of al-Qaeda and warning that attacks similar to 9/11 would continue.

Specifically, on the morning of 12 September 2001, Abu Ghaith appeared with Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to warn the US that a "great army is gathering against you" and called upon "the nation of Islam" to do battle against "the Jews, the Christians and the Americans," according to court records.

He was reportedly smuggled to Iran sometime in 2002.

A Jordanian security official told the Associated Press that Mr Abu Ghaith was handed over last week to US officials under both countries' extradition treaties.

Mr King called the arrest a "very significant victory" in the fight against al-Qaeda.

"One by one, we are getting the top echelons of al-Qaida," the Republican congressman said. "I give the administration credit for this: it's steady and it's unrelenting and it's very successful."

Mr Abu Ghaith's trial will mark one of the first prosecutions of senior al-Qaeda leaders on US soil.

Since 9/11, 67 foreign terror suspects have been convicted in US federal courts, according to data obtained by the group Human Rights First.

Some US lawmakers disagreed with the decision to try Mr Abu Ghaith in New York.

"When we find somebody like this, this close to Bin Laden and the senior al-Qaeda leadership, the last thing in the world we want to do, in my opinion, is put them in a civilian court," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Thursday.

"This man should be in Guantanamo Bay," he said.

Source: BBC

Kenya election: Computer bug blamed for vote error

Kenya's electoral commission has said that a computer bug is to blame for a large number of rejected votes in the tallying of the presidential election.

Issack Hassan said the computer was multiplying each rejected vote by a factor of eight.

This led to huge disputes and allegations of fraud.

Vote-tallying has been restarted by hand following this and other glitches but Uhuru Kenyatta still has a large lead over Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

"There was an error in the way the program was written," said Mr Hassan.

"For any rejected vote for any candidate, they were being multiplied by eight," said the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman.

The number of rejected votes has fallen dramatically from more than 330,000 - 6% - during an initial count, to 58,644.

With about six million votes tallied at 1515 GMT (1815 Nairobi time), Mr Kenyatta had some 3.1 million votes (53%) compared to Mr Odinga's 2.6 million (43%).

But, as turnout was estimated at more than 70% of the country's 14.3 million voters, there is still some way to go.

TWO NEW ARMY GENERALS APPOINTED TO LEAD US REGIONAL COMBATANT COMMANDS OF CENTCOM & AFRICOM

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2013 – The Senate yesterday confirmed two Army generals as the new commanders of regional combatant commands.

Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin II

Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, currently the vice chief of staff of the Army, will succeed Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis as the next commander of U.S. Central Command.

Army Gen. David M. Rodriguez

Army Gen. David M. Rodriguez, who now commands U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., will succeed Army Gen. Carter F. Ham as the commander of U.S. Africa Command.

Centcom’s area of responsibility covers 20 countries in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Yemen. Africom, formally established in 2008 with headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, is the nation’s newest geographical combatant command, responsible for operations, exercises and security cooperation on the African continent.

Austin and Rodriguez testified together during their confirmation hearing Feb. 14. Austin told Senate Armed Services Committee members the war in Afghanistan remains Centcom’s top priority.

“I will do everything within my power to help set the broader conditions for our success in this most important endeavor,” he said.

Rodriguez told committee members that as Africom’s commander he would “[work] closely with this committee, as well as all our joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational partners to address the challenges we face, and the opportunities to increase stability on this strategically important continent.”

Both Mattis and Ham will retire this year.

source: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=119454