US Army-Libya Army try to advance relations

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="462" caption="TRIPOLI, Libya - Major General William B. Garrett, commanding general, U.S. Army Africa (front row, center), meets with key Libyan military leaders during a trip to Libya to discuss the emerging relationship between U.S. Army and Libyan land forces in early May 2010"][/caption]

The US and Libyan armed forces of both countries are trying to establish new military ties after years of being enemies.

The U.S. Army Africa commanding general made a historic trip to Libya to discuss the emerging relationship between the U.S. Army and Libya's land forces in early May 2010.

Major General William B. Garrett III visited Tripoli, where he held talks with key Libyan military leaders. The visit indicates the U.S. Army's commitment toward building a cooperative relationship with Libya's land forces and increasing regional security.

Garrett's visit was coordinated through the U.S. Embassy Tripoli, and U.S. Ambassador Gene Cretz greeted Garrett at Mitiga International Airport.

"We are gradually opening a dialog that has not existed between our land forces in a long time," Garrett said. "Times have changed and relationships must change too."

The general's first stop was the headquarters of the North African Regional Capability (NARC) to meet Major General Ahmid Auwn, Libya's chief of staff for Army Mechanized Units and Executive Director of the NARC. The NARC is part of the African Standby Force, which consists of five regional brigade-size commands that can support the African Union during times of crisis. Libyan willingness to open a dialogue with the U.S. Army is in an important part of increasing regional cooperation.

"We will look to the NARC leadership to work together on future events that are mutually beneficial," Garrett said.

The general also toured the Libyan Bureau of Technical Cooperation and National Committees and the Libyan Military Staff College, where he met with the director, Major General Ahmid Mahmud Azwai. These visits emphasized the importance of material standardization, training and education in developing future leaders.

Garrett's visit follows a military cooperation committee meeting held in Tripoli in late-February, where delegations of Libyan and U.S. military officers discussed areas of common interest and planned future partnership events, said Major Philip Archer, U.S. Army Africa's North African Regional Desk Officer. "Proposed events include inviting Libyan officers to visit Army schools in the United States, holding discussion on border security, conducting medical exchanges and sharing helicopter procedures," Archer said.

One of U.S. Army Africa's goals is to help Libya and other members of the NARC build the brigade into a capable force that is interoperable with other regional standby forces and can be used for peace support operations.

"U.S. Army Africa's discussions in Tripoli are a positive step toward working together with Libya's military," Garrett said. "We now have a better understanding of each other's goals and can work together to achieve increased security, stability and peace in North Africa."

Garrett concluded his trip to Libya with a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of fallen American sailors, who perished when their ship exploded in Tripoli harbor in 1804.

This is a continuation of Africa's new importance to the US. The US lifted the embargo that was in place while Libya was developing its Nuclear program uptill 2004.

Sept. 20, 2004 - President Bush revoked the United States trade embargo on Libya on Monday and took other steps aimed at eventually establishing normal relations with the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in return for its keeping a promise to give up nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.....

Among the steps taken by Mr. Bush were the removal of economic restrictions on aviation services, permitting direct flights between the United States and Libya; unfreezing $1.3 billion in assets; and providing what Mr. McClellan said would be "a level playing field for U.S. businesses in Libya" by allowing them to secure American economic benefits for foreign investment.....

With the lifting of most economic sanctions, the way is clear for American oil companies to try to secure contracts or to revive previous contracts for Libya's vast oil reserves.

US companies were the big winners in lifting of the sanctions. They won most of the new contract bids.

US oil companies have been awarded most of the contracts on offer at the first open licence auction in Libya.

More data in us oil imports from Libya.

American Peace keepers in the Congo?

Analyst Michael O’Hanlon’s proposes that the U.S. send forces to Democratic Republic of Congo to kick-start a new peacekeeping organization that might help rescue the country from scores of overlapping conflicts. The existing U.N. force just isn’t working — and the DRC government wants those peacekeepers to leave.

The UN has had peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a decade. Congolese President Joseph Kabila, hoping to show he’s not reliant on the blue helmets, wants the force to go in 2011.  Almost every outside analyst thinks that this could precipitate a disaster, with militias running rampant, the hopeless Congolese army unable to cope and the country’s neighbors moving in to gobble up territory.

The UN hopes that it will be able to keep at least some troops – maybe about 6,000, compared to the current 20,000 – to protect civilians in the especially vulnerable eastern Congo. This would do some good, but how much? The peacekeepers were thoroughly outmaneuvered by militias in the east in 2008, and I’m not sure that a reduced presence could do more than stifle low-level violence. What is to be done?

O’Hanlon had pleaded his case in an interview for World Politics Review column last week:

Ideally, we’d see an entire American brigade, but that’s not realistic. Barring that, how about a battalion doing a mission along the lines of Special Forces, doing intelligence-gathering and planning? … That would enable a country like France, which is not as globally committed but is afraid to stick its neck out [to deploy troops]. We need more Western forces.

I’m afraid that’s not going to happen, although I applaud O’Hanlon’s advocating an idealistic but unpopular line.

France is trying to cut back its presence in Africa, and there are huge obstacles to it playing a role in the Great Lakes region — the locals haven’t forgotten the questionable French part in the Rwandan genocide.

But I think that there may be a broader fallacy here: the idea that getting new combat forces into the Congo is what’s needed in the first place. Yes, the U.N. has struggled with 20,000 troops — but as I think O’Hanlon himself once noted, you might need up to 200,000 to stabilize somewhere on the scale of Congo. Rather than focus on numbers, I’d try to see if there are any light-weight ways the U.S. can affect the  political decision-making of [DRC President] Kabila and his neighbors (especially the hawkish Rwandans).

Here’s one possible formula. While the U.N. should maintain the 6,000 troops on active protection duties, the U.S. should deploy around 100 military observers to operate in the U.N. framework. Why? The U.N. already has a bunch of observers in Congo, and the U.S. is said to have spooks and special forces in the east. But American colonels and captains publicly monitoring the situation would send a clear message to the Congolese and their neighbors that Washington wants calm. This American mini-presence would also play a tripwire role: it’s one thing to outflank and embarrass standard U.N. infantry, but quite another to play games in front of U.S. observers.

What makes this option half-credible is that the Obama administration has already thought about sending more military staff officers on UN missions – the President said so himself last year – so this idea is not too far from current policy.  That said, the U.S. has just 10 military experts in UN operations at present (the figures are here).  2 of them are in the Congo.  The Pentagon is rumored to be unenthusiastic about  helping the UN – but 100 personnel is not beyond the realms of the possible.  They don’t need to be O’Hanlon’s green berets… though that would be nice.

I don’t think that 100 Europeans would have the same effect.  China, which has invested a lot in the Congo, could send more observers or regular troops and reinforce the American message.  I can see this proposal running into lots of quibbles, but it might be just the low-cost, high-profile help the UN needs in Congo now.

The U.S. Congress has also recently passed a law requiring the U.S. military to craft a strategy for defeating one of Congo’s most dangerous rebel groups.

US trains Mali and Senegal Special forces

With its ever increasing African partnership, the US, Senegal and Mali kicked off their first special forces training mission in Mali.

Malian and Senegalese soldiers worked with their counterparts from the Special Operations Task Force (SOF) - 103, taking part in classes on small unit tactics, movements, and convoy vehicle recover drills, May 11, 2010 in Bamako.

The classes were part of Flintlock 10, an exercise focused on military interoperability and capacity-building, which is part of a U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)-sponsored annual exercise program with partner nations in northern and western Africa. Flintlock 10, which includes participation of key European nations, is conducted by Special Operations Command Africa and designed to build relationships and develop capacity among security forces throughout the Trans-Saharan region of Africa.

"I am very grateful for us to receive this training," said the commander of the Malian Airborne company being trained. "We have soldiers from all over to discuss techniques and tactics and it has been very beneficial for us."

Over the last few weeks, the U.S. SOF advisors have focused training on close-quarter battle drills, battlefield medical treatment, and mission planning and movement - classes deemed necessary for the Malian and Senegalese soldiers to be able to conduct direct action raids on enemy targets.

"These are the kinds of techniques we can use against al-Qaeda," said the Malian captain. "They are moving fast. They are not staying in one place, they are always moving. These techniques will help us fight them."

According to one U.S. SOF soldier training the African soldiers, the focus of the training is to conduct direct-action missions, with a secondary emphasis on team mobility through desert terrain.

"The ultimate goal at the end is to have them run their own missions, from start to finish," he said.

While the Malians and Senegalese are eager to learn the techniques of the U.S. soldiers, they face a major challenge of not being able to fund equipment, supplies and vehicles which may affect them being able to sustain the training.

"They are eager to learn more everyday; the only question will be if they are able to maintain these skills once we leave," said the U.S. SOF soldier.

As training concluded for the day, the SOF trainers conducted a review with their African counterparts and explained what's planned for the coming days.

Approximately 1,200 European, African Partner Nation and U.S. personnel from 14 nations are involved in military interoperability activities across the Trans-Saharan region during Flintlock 10.

Ugandan-U.S. strengthen military ties

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="318" caption="VICENZA, Italy - Brigadier General Silver Moses Kayemba, chief of training and operations, Uganda Peoples Defence Force (right), is welcomed by Major General William B. Garrett III, commander of U.S. Army Africa, at the start of his visit to U.S. Army Africa's headquarters in Vicenza, Italy, April 27, 2010. (U.S. Army photo by Barbara Romano) "][/caption]

Both Uganda and the U.S. continue to enhance and deepen their partnership.

When Ugandan Brigadier General Silver Kayemba arrived at U.S. Army Africa headquarters on April 27, 2010, he was met by familiar faces.

Kayemba, the chief of training and operations for the Ugandan People's Defense Force (UPDF), was a key player during Natural Fire 10, a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise co-led by the UPDF and U.S. Army Africa, held in Uganda in October 2009.

"This visit strengthens our relationship with the U.S. Armed Forces, particularly with U.S. Army Africa," Kayemba said. "We are looking forward to even closer cooperation in the future."

One of the first people Kayemba met was Major General William B. Garrett III, commander of U.S. Army Africa.

"As part of our engagement strategy, U.S. Army Africa invites senior military leaders from partner land forces to see how our command operates," Garrett said. "We create opportunities to discuss the way forward, as the U.S. Army continues to work with Ugandan land forces to strengthen their capacity to support security missions in Africa."

U.S. Army Africa leaders briefed Kayemba on the command's mission, its ongoing partnerships with African land forces to foster securing, stability and peace on the African continent. During his two-day visit, Kayemba also toured Caserma Ederle, stopping first at training simulators used by Soldiers prior to deploying.

In 2006, Kayemba visited several military sites in the United States, to include the Pentagon, National Defense University, and a U.S. Marine Corps base. As a junior officer then, Kayemba also attended the basic transportation officer course in the United States.

During Natural Fire, Kayemba served as exercise deputy director and worked closely with Garrett.

"We've been reviewing lessons learned from Natural Fire," Kayemba said. "We are going to benefit from what I've seen here and I look forward to working with U.S. Army Africa in future."

Counterterrorism training underway to curb Al Qaeda threat in Africa.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="436" caption="A Malian soldier stood with US military personnel during an Operation Flintlock ceremony May 3. African, European, and North American participants from more than a dozen nations work within AFRICOM to combat the spread of terrorism."][/caption]

Annual West African counter terrorism exercise, Operation Flintlock  is underway.  It is  being  coordinated by America, Dutch and Spanish military personnel.

In the bare and unremarkable desert town of Thiès, a platoon of commandos from Mali and Senegal are scaling a building's edifice, one handful of rope at a time. This is practice.

Their American, Dutch, and Spanish handlers call it Operation Flintlock – an annual, West Africa-wide counterterrorism exercise to prep local militaries.

According to the script, a carload of European sightseers on their way, perhaps, to a waterbuck-filled nature reserve, will be kidnapped by desert bandits, ransomed to Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, and whisked to Senegal's northeastern frontier. And that's where a bit of rope-climbing expertise could save the day, as Senegal's finest shimmy down from hovering helicopters to stage a rescue.

"This is designed as a rehearsal for a multinational coordination center or a mechanism to counter terrorism," says Lt. Col. Chris Call, deputy commander of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trans-Sahara, and operations commander for Operation Flintlock. "This is necessary against a regional transnational threat, which in this region [is] a violent Salafist jihadist movement."

"The challenge [for the partner nations] here is how do they control their territory in countries that own just vast swaths of territory in some of the most inhospitable remote locations in the world," says Call, speaking by phone from Flintlock's multinational coordination center near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. "Our focus is on basic tactical military techniques … and helping to build capacity in our partner nations. Success for us is putting us out of a job."

At one time, a military exercise like Operation Flintlock – which is now in its fifth year – would have set African opinion-page columns aflame and set a fair number of African politicians pounding on tables with their shoes. Some African nations worried that the newly announced but vaguely defined Africa Command (AFRICOM) of the US Army would herald a new colonial presence in Africa, complete with permanent military bases and political interference.

But today, AFRICOM's military exercises often pass with little notice, and increasingly with the support of African leaders. In part, this is because African leaders now see a common threat: armed violent groups such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which have carried out a series of murders and kidnappings from Mauritania to Algeria to Niger and threaten to topple any government that dares confront them.

For Senegal, for now, this threat is still hypothetical. Unlike Senegal's neighbors in the Maghreb – where Al Qaeda has been abducting tourists and aid workers, ransoming them off and profiting handsomely – the 50-year-old democracy here has never known Islamic extremism, only its home-grown Sufi mysticism, a permissive faith.

But for Senegalese brass patrolling the vast and remote flatlands, the threat could emerge at any moment. More than 500,000 tourists vacation here each year, touring ancient slave dungeons near Dakar or the hinterland's pristine riverbanks. Their souvenir-shopping and spa-surfing activities contribute 6 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

"We need to consider that tomorrow, that menace [in Mali and Mauritania] will be here," says Col. Ousmane Sarr of the Senegalese Army's public relations department. "Our economy counts so heavily on tourism that the state must ensure that the country remains secure."

Yet the US military wants Senegal to do more than lock down holiday spots from a few carjacking terrorists. Come 2011, the US hopes to run the entirety of Operation Flintlock from Senegal, a sign that the country can be the regional leader in parrying the Sahel's terrorism endemic.

[Correction: The original version misstated what operations the US hopes to run from Senegal.]

"I've worked in more than 24 countries, and Senegal's [military] is one of the most professional," says a US military official in Senegal, who asked not to be identified. "Senegal is an example to the subregion in its military competence, in its civilian control of the military, in its professionalism, and we'd like to learn from, replicate, and share those strengths across borders."

A major joint military exercise with countries around the volatile Sahara desert region is beginning as part of a US programme of counter-terrorism.  The three-week Operation Flintlock aims to improve the ability of the region's armed forces to work together to bring security to the area.

It serves as a base for the group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and has seen increased terror attacks.  Drug smuggling is also growing, moving cocaine from South America to Europe.