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CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, July 28, 2009 – Richard Nixon became the 37th president of the United States, gas cost 35 cents per gallon, the New York Mets won the World Series in five games over the Baltimore Orioles, and Catharine Zeta-Jones, Brett Favre, Renee Zellweger and Jennifer Aniston were born. The year was 1969. Army Brig. Gen. Chris Leins, Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa deputy commander, presents Army Sgt. Maj. Samuel Stoner with the Legion of Merit Medal for exceptionally meritorious service during his 40-year career of service, July 21, 2009. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd...

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, April 13, 2009 – For U.S. Africa Command’s new deputy director of operations and logistics, the words “I can’t do it” won’t cut it. Not from his soldiers, not from the people he serves with, and certainly not from himself. And this Army National Guardsman, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt “Rose” Barfield, knows what it means to be able to “do it.” Barfield was encouraged by a friend to enlist in the Army National Guard fresh out of high school at the age of 17. He served for five years as a soldier in the Kansas Guard while...

BARACK OBAMA PIRATE SONG

Federal agents searched three money-transfer businesses in Minneapolis on Wednesday, carrying away boxes of documents and copying computer hard drives in a quest for details of financial transactions between the U.S. and several African nations. Agents searched Mustaqbal Express, also known as North American Money Transfer Inc.; Quran Express; and Aaran Financial. FBI spokesman E.K. Wilson confirmed the searches but wouldn't elaborate on the reason.

February 25, 2009 Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on Islamic countries across the world to build a united barrier against the 'enemy plots'. "Unity and cooperation between Muslim states will thwart the enemy plot to sow discord between Muslims and spread hegemony over them," President Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh on Tuesday...

The United States has agreed to deploy radiation detectors at a major port in Djibouti as part of an ongoing effort to deter smuggling of potential nuclear weapons materials, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced today (see GSN, Dec. 6). "This agreement highlights the shared commitment of the United States and the Republic of Djibouti to combat nuclear terrorism," NNSA Deputy Administrator William Tobey said in a press release. "The Port of Djibouti plays an important role in the global maritime shipping system by linking Europe, the Far East, Africa and the Persian Gulf. Djibouti's strategic location as a...

eavy fighting erupted today in Mogadishu between insurgents and AMISOM peacekeepers at a base of the African Union peace mission in Somalia, witnesses told the local media. Based on these accounts, a commando fired rocket propelled grenades in the KM4 base, a key crossing in southern Mogadishu. Radio Shabelle reports that it is unknown if there were any casualties. News is also unclear from the Afgoi district, in the Lower Shabelle region that surrounds Mogadishu: according to some local reporters, a blast severely damaged an Ethiopian military truck. Somalia, torn by a never resolved civil war since 1991, is in...

His Holiness Abune Dioskoros, Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, who is currently in Europe on spiritual visit, said that the Eritrea people have religions of their own dating back to centuries on the basis of which they have been coexisting in peace and harmony. And as such, they are not in need of any religion from foreigners, he elaborated. During his stay in the Italian city of Milan from December 5 to 8, the Patriarch was accorded warm welcome by heads of the Office of the Eritrean Consul General, the Synod of the St. Mary Church and a...

On the same day Somali gunmen seized two more ships, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize nations to conduct land and air attacks on pirate bases on the coast of the Horn of Africa country. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on hand to push through the resolution, one of President George W. Bush's last major foreign policy initiatives. Rice said the resolution will have a significant impact, especially since "pirates are adapting to the naval presence in the Gulf of Aden by traveling further" into sea lanes not guarded by warships sent by the U.S. and...

[Pan-Arabism = tyranny - racism] Eritrea Slams... IGAD as Tool of Anti-African Policies Oct 28, 2008 ... IGAD member states include a bunch of derelict or failed states that consist in the epitome of malfunction, ferocity and malignancy. With Eritrea having wisely suspended its participation in this nest of snakes in 2007, IGAD represents the illegal interests of the undemocratic and terrorist governments of Abyssinia, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda. The six (6) countries´ names are the most loathed (by the inhabitants of the respective countries) country names throughout the globe. In fact, Abyssinia, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and...

On the other side of the Red Sea in the south-west corner of the Arabian peninsula, Yemen has natural gas reserves and is trying to lure investment from its wealthy neighbours. But the country suffers from a shortage of fresh water and is beset by economic hardship, a persistent al-Qaeda menace and a Shia rebellion in the north. It takes a leap of faith to believe that a private initiative can raise $200bn for what would be the world's biggest engineering project to link the two countries. Plans are afoot for such a scheme, however. The grandiose project is the...

ON THE DJIBOUTIAN-ERITREAN BORDER — The distance between the rival armies is shorter than the barrel of a gun. Hundreds of opposing troops are lined up on the border, staring each other down, from just inches away. On one side are the Djiboutians, a relatively well-equipped African military with combat boots, CamelBak strap-on water bottles and the occasional buttery croissant in the field. On the other side are skinny Eritrean soldiers, covered in dust and wearing plastic sandals, camped out in thatch-roofed huts that look like fortified tropical bungalows. < > “No pictures, no pictures,” one Eritrean soldier yelled....

By focusing on poverty and security, the Bush administration's partnerships with Africans to combat international terrorism are moving in the right direction, says diplomat-turned-scholar David Shinn. A career Foreign Service officer who served as U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso and later to Ethiopia, Shinn now teaches young Americans about Africa as an adjunct professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington. "No country outside Africa has done more than the U.S. to combat terrorism on the continent," Shinn told more than 300 participants on the second day of the November 15-16 National Defense University (NDU) conference...

PARIS — Elite French troops were headed to East Africa to bolster efforts to free captives of a yacht held by pirates off Somalia, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said today. A team of the GIGN, a commando force that conducts anti-terrorist and hostage rescue operations, was being sent to Djibouti to "reinforce" negotiation teams in place, spokeswoman Pascale Andreani said in an online briefing. Pirates seized the yacht, called Le Ponant, in the Gulf of Aden on Friday. It was carrying 30 crew members, including 22 French citizens, but no passengers. French officials made contact with the pirates overnight....

Soldiers become American citizens in Africa DJIBOUTI (March 16, 2008) — Seven Soldiers supporting the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa mission became U.S. citizens during a Military Naturalization Ceremony at the U.S. Embassy March 13. After enlisting in the Army and serving the United States, Four Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry (Light), Delta Company, and three Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, Delta Company, raised their right hands and said the Oath of Allegiance. During the ceremony, Ambassador W. Stuart Symington, U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti and keynote speaker, addressed the candidates reminding them about the oath...

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany, Nov. 25, 2007 – Positive permanent changes in the Iraqi people are beginning to show, said Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright during his visit to the Central Command area of operations Nov. 21 to 24. Cartwright traveled to Afghanistan, Iraq and Djibouti to visit deployed troops and receive updates on operations in the region. He said Iraq has seen the most notable change in operations. “You listen to the commanders and they’re really talking about what’s changing. What they see is opportunity, with caution that at any...

Sought-after al-Qaida suspect leaves traces in Lackawanna By LOU MICHEL and JERRY ZREMSKI News Staff Reporters 9/22/2002 Kamal Derwish cut a mysterious figure on his travels through Lackawanna. People remember little about the plump, pious visitor from the Middle East who prayed with young people in the local mosque. And he's more mysterious than ever, now that he's believed to be on the run in Yemen, a fugitive from U.S. justice and alleged to be the ringleader of what federal officials describe as al-Qaida's "Buffalo cell." Derwish, a 29-year-old Buffalo native of Yemeni descent, served as the link between the...

And the captive coffee mug's travels have now spanned the globe, thanks to the officers of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464.

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, March 21, 2007 ? Personnel from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa?s Camp Lemonier visited a local baby orphanage, March 15 to assist the caregivers in feeding the 50 babies trusted to their care. "As soon as you see the babies, their faces light up and we smile right back and it?s like we?ve known each other since they we born. We may not have a family tie, but while we?re here they?ll be our family and we?ll shower them with love." Petty Officer 2nd Class Mary Jane Valdez Upon arrival, the CJTF-HOA personnel greeted the staff,...

U.S. Marines, Sailors Clean Up Local School Servicemembers give students a better place to learn. By Angela Scherbenske Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti, Feb. 20, 2007 -- Focused on making a difference for the 1,000 school children at Ecole du Stade Primary school near the Balballa area, U.S. Marine Capt. Christopher Roberson, in cooperation with Combat Logistics Battalion 26 and Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, worked intensely over two days to transform this local school into a positive environment for students. The group of approximately 100 Marines worked on painting...

Air Force Col. Dan Shoor listens to a young Somali refugee’s cough at a Djiboutian clinic, stretched to its limits because of an influx of 5,000 refugees. Malnutrition is a widespread problem, as are sanitation woes and influenza. About five children in the community of 12,000 die each day, one Army sergeant estimates. CHRIS TYREE PHOTOS / THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT PART 1 OF 2 In faraway desert villages and city slums, U.S. military men and women stationed in the Horn of Africa are healing children, digging water wells and building schools. It's part of a unique approach by a Navy-led...

Djibouti City, Djibouti- When a handful of Marines show up at a school in this African city equipped with tools, paintbrushes and building materials, their mission is clear: help the children. Servicemembers stationed in Djibouti as part of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa routinely take part in community outreach programs to help the local citizens. Their endeavors often involve schools and orphanages, but they help improve other aspects of Djiboutian life as well. Many volunteers work during their free time, and it can be a very rewarding experience. "I had never done humanitarian work before," said Lance Cpl....

Somali Troops, Allies Prep for Showdown Thousands of Somali and Ethiopian Troops Set Off for Final Showdown With Islamic Militia By MOHAMED OLAD The Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia - Thousands of Somali and Ethiopian troops set off Saturday for a showdown with Islamic forces who have regrouped at a southern seaport since abandoning the Somali capital two days ago. Some 3,000 Muslim militiamen have taken a stand in the Indian Ocean port city of Kismayo, and the U.S. government believes they may include four suspects in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. This map...

Sudan's army has suffered two major military defeats in its campaign against rebels in the Darfur region, the UN envoy to Sudan says. Jan Pronk wrote on his personal blog there had been hundreds of casualties and prisoners taken, leading to a fall in morale and the sacking of generals. He also said that pro-government Arab militias were again being mobilised in contravention of UN resolutions. The Janjaweed militias are accused of widespread atrocities, even genocide. A former Janjaweed fighter "Ali" now living in London has told the BBC that Sudanese ministers gave express orders for the activities of his...

U.S. Marines Train with French Marines in Desert Troops learn how to survive in Africa where temperatures can reach 125 degrees. By U.S. Air Force Capt. Martin Gerst Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Public Affairs CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, Aug. 2, 2006 -- Twenty-five U.S. Marines and one Navy corpsman recently completed a 10-day desert training course conducted by a French Marine regiment from a neighboring camp.  Marines from the 4th Provisional Security Company here were invited by the 5th French Marine Regiment at Briere de L’Isle Barracks to participate in the course.  The goal of the course is...

U.S. Marines assigned to the 4th Provisional Security Company, stationed with Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa in Djibouti, work together to clean and rebuild a soccer field outside Camp Lemonier. Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa photo U.S. Marines Help Rebuild Djiboutian Soccer Field The project, which involved removing trash, smoothing and marking the field and adding nets to goal posts, was time well spent, according to the Marines. By U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Omar Villarreal Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, May 18, 2006 — Fifty U.S. Marines with the 4th Provisional...

Imagine a country within the greater Middle East ambit that has successfully made the transition to electoral democracy with multiparty municipal, presidential, and, most recently, parliamentary polls. Moreover, imagine that despite virtually all of its citizens being Sunni Muslims, the country's national elections commission designates a progressive, foreign-based Christian non-governmental organization to coordinate the international monitoring of its parliamentary elections. And imagine that the incumbent president's party takes a drubbing at the polls, winning barely a third of the seats. Most audiences, if I were to tell them that I was not conjuring up Utopia, but describing a real life...

U.S. Coast Guard Guard personnel from Law Enforcement Detachment 401 teach Djiboution servicemembers law enforcement tactics, April 25-27, 2006. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 3rd Class Bobby Northnagle. Coast Guard Detachment Trains Djiboutians U.S. Coast Guard personnel recently provided the Djiboutian Coast Guard and Navy with lessons ranging from basic boarding techniques to apprehension of non-compliant mariners. By U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Bobby Northnagle MANAMA, Bahrain, May 3, 2006 — U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 401, based out of Mayport, Fla., recently provided training to Djibouti's navy and coast guard, April 25 -27. “[Djiboutian coast guardsmen...

Djiboutian Town Brighter with Task Force Help The Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa project to improve streetlights included fixing broken power poles and replacing cable. By U.S. Army Sgt. Sam Smith Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa ADAILOU, Djibouti, April 28, 2006 — Life in the small African township here is a little brighter now because Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa assisted with improvements to streetlights in the town. The project included fixing eight broken power poles, replacing electrical cable and providing a diesel generator. "This project is an investment in your future," said U.S. Navy Rear...

DJIBOUTI, April 24, 2006 – The complexity of operations in the Horn of Africa boggles the mind. A person may be tempted to throw his hands up and decide that conditions are too dire, the people are too many, the politics are too tangled to make any changes in the region. But that person would be wrong, said Navy Rear Adm. Richard Hunt, commander of Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa. Hunt leads a small command dedicated to improving lives in the region so the people do not embrace extremist ideologies or shelter terrorists. The command includes Djibouti -...

PORT OF DORALEH, Djibouti – USS Vicksburg (CG 69) became the first U.S. Navy ship to take on fuel at the new Defense Fuel Supply Point (DFSP) at the Port of Doraleh in Djibouti , Feb. 26. Vicksburg's historic refueling evolution coincided with DFSP Djibouti's inaugural ceremony, which drew a star-studded audience that included Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh; U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti Marguerita Ragsdale; and Vice Adm. Patrick Walsh, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Bahrain. The Navy has leased several fuel storage tanks from DFSP Djibouti for the exclusive use of ships operating in and around the Horn...

NAIROBI, Kenya (Feb. 19) - The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that 10 U.S. troops died when two transport helicopters crashed into the sea last week off the coast of the African nation of Djibouti. The CH-53E choppers, carrying a dozen crew and troops from a U.S. counterterrorism force, went down Friday in the Gulf of Aden, near the northern coastal town of Ras Siyyan. Two crew members were rescued. The search for the others was called off Saturday when the military said it had accounted for the 10 troops but it declined to reveal their fate until family members were...

Military: Troops accounted for after crash RODRIQUE NGOWI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya - Rescue crews called off operations Saturday after the U.S. military said it has accounted for 10 American troops who went missing after two transport helicopters crashed into the sea but declined to reveal their fate until family members were notified. The U.S. military normally publicly acknowledges any successful rescue of servicemen, as it did Friday in announcing that two injured crew members were recovered from the crash site. In saying that the 10 previously missing crew members had been accounted for, the U.S. military command in Djibouti...

Two U.S. Marine Corps helicopters crash It happened off the coast of Djibouti AP (Washington-WABC, 2006) - Two Marine Corps transport helicopters crashed Friday off the coast of Djibouti, the Pentagon said. A search-and-rescue mission was under way. The status of the crews of the CH-53E helicopters was not known, said Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter. A CH-53E normally operates with a crew of between three and eight people. Carpenter said there was no indication that hostile fire was involved. The helicopters were based at Camp Lemonier, a French military base that serves as headquarters for a U.S. military operation called...

In the Horn of Africa, a two-pronged mission By KATE WILTROUT, The Virginian-Pilot © January 21, 2006 Last updated: 1:56 AM Creating goodwill is a major emphasis of the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa. Here, Army Sgt. Kristine Smedley administers the oral version of the polio vaccine to a child in Djibouti. jason piatek /air force photo SUFFOLK — Before the bombing of the Norfolk-based destroyer Cole in Yemen, before terrorists felled the World Trade Center, twin attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa marked Osama bin Laden’s bloody debut onto the world stage. It was 1998...

CAMP LEMONIER, DJIBOUTI – Pointing to his computer screen, Maj. Gen. Timothy Ghormley sounds more like a Peace Corps volunteer showing off holiday photos than the shaven-headed US Marine entrusted with defeating Al Qaeda in East Africa. "That's what it's about right there," he says, stabbing his eyeglasses at the pictures of African children celebrating as water gushes from a new well. "Look at those kids. They're gonna remember this. In 25 years they'll say, 'I remember the West - they were good.' " In 2002, more than 1,500 US troops were sent to this former French colony in East...

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, Aug. 18, 2005 – Call it the prototype for a new method of warfare. The Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, headquartered here, is fighting the global war on terror with good deeds, not weapons. Task force commander Marine Maj. Gen. Timothy Ghormley very proudly tells one and all that no one in his command has "fired a shot in anger," but the command may have prevented hundreds of young men and women in the region from embracing the terrorist philosophy. "My combat forces are doctors, veterinarians, engineers and dentists," Ghormley said during an interview at...

(Deployed reservists push on with mission despite dismay) Southwest Asia - Maj. John Gorse thought the timing could have been better. Gorse and the rest of his six-person flight crew were in the African nation of Djibouti when someone from another 440th Air Force Reserve Airlift Wing crew told them that the unit - an integral part of Milwaukee for almost five decades - was on the dreaded list of military base closings. For the maintenance and flight crews serving at an air base at an undisclosed location in the U.S. Central Command area, the news that their wing was...

HARGEISA, Somalia (Reuters) - U.S. Marines landed on Somalia's coast in one of their most visible hunts for militants in the country since they set up a Horn of Africa counter terrorism force in 2002, Somali officials said on Thursday. Two boats brought about 20 lightly armed Marines to the fishing village of Maydh in the northwestern enclave of Somaliland on Tuesday, where they showed pictures of suspected "terrorists" to locals before leaving, residents said. "They met some of the fishermen and the people and they showed some pictures they were carrying, saying that these people are terrorists that they...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Militant groups including al Qaeda are exploiting lawless areas in the seven-nation Horn of Africa region to hide, recruit and train members and possibly plan attacks, the head of the region's U.S.-led anti-terror force said Monday. "We find the terrorist networks here using the fact that there is a lot of ungoverned space in the Horn of Africa," said Maj. Gen. Samuel Helland. "Because of (this) … it's very easy for a terrorist organization to establish a presence … It's very easy for them to train, equip, organize and use the facilities that are present to gain...

American troops are helping their Kenyan counterparts to patrol the Somalia border, the commander of its task force in the Horn has said. The revelation came during an Associated Press interview with Brig-Gen Samuel Helland, the head of a 2,000-strong US anti-terrorism force that has been in Djibouti for the past two years. The patrols involve an unspecified number of US and Kenyan troops, and appear to be intended to help to prevent terrorists from crossing into Kenya. But when contacted, an officer at Kenya's Department of Defence said the country had not signed any pact with the US for...

The Army’s oldest active infantry unit prepared to depart here this week, marking the beginning of the end for the unit’s first deployment since the Vietnam War. By week’s end, a large group of soldiers from Bravo Company, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard,” will exit the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Wednesday for Fort Myer, Va. The unit has spent more than seven months involved in tactical missions in the region. The Old Guard arrived at CJTF-HOA in December, the first time part of the Old Guard had deployed in three decades. Arrival in Djibouti came after...

Djibouti, Horn of Africa: A Jeep bus careens wildly around a corner and the side mirror whacks the head of a local man; he drops, apparently dead. Djiboutians take little notice. Life is cheap is this lawless land. Maj. Tom Prentice, a Marine from Texas, calls Djibouti "the kind of place where you'd expect to see Indiana Jones." This former French colony, contiguous with Ethiopia and Somali, is in a tough neighborhood. According to the Marine Corps commanding officer Col. Bill Callahan, an Irishman from West Hartford, Conn., the primary values are location, location and location. Djibouti (ja-BOOT-ti) is on...

BERLIN (Reuters) - German President Johannes Rau has cancelled a planned visit to Djibouti after German security services warned him of an assassination plot, his office says. The statement said the security services had received information that an Islamist group planned to kill him during a visit to the Horn of Africa state to meet German troops stationed there. The decision to cancel the visit comes amid heightened security fears following the recent train bombings in Madrid by a group suspected to be linked to al Qaeda. "In the judgement of the services responsible, there was a considerable and concrete...

<p>The Air Force has opened a second investigation into a deadly "friendly fire" bombing in June in Djibouti after an initial probe found that three navigators on a B-52 bomber allowed its cross hairs to mistakenly fix on U.S. Marines below.</p>

Sweathogs prepare for six-month Iraq deploymentSubmitted by: MCAS BeaufortStory Identification Number: 200421391316Story by Cpl. Kat Johnson MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT(February 13, 2004) -- An order from President Bush to aid in the fight against global terrorism is a reason the Marines of Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 are finding themselves at the head of another deployment to the Middle East. This month, over 650 Marines from MWSS-273, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, will be packing and heading out for six months to support combat operations and air strikes over Iraq. This will be the first time in...

Service members save lives; Employ first aid to roadside victimsSubmitted by: Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of AfricaStory Identification Number: 200421173617Story by Cpl. G. Lane Miley CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti(February 11, 2004) -- A sailor supporting Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa was recognized Feb. 11 for providing life-saving medical care to a Djiboutian man and his family. Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony L. Fuller was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his efforts in saving the life of a Djiboutian man who, along with his family, was involved in a vehicle accident Jan. 31. When...

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti(January 31, 2004) -- Service members supporting Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa and Marine Central Command, Djibouti, gathered here Saturday, to remember the life of a fallen warrior and dedicate a lasting tribute to his ultimate sacrifice. Naval personnel from the first deployed Expeditionary Medical Unit moved from their temporary tent clinic to a permanent structure named the Michaud Medical/Dental Clinic to ensure better service for the soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines here. Marine Capt. Seth R. Michaud, a CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter pilot assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-461, was killed June 22, 2003, during a...

East Africa dispatch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Idyllic hub of war on terror The presence of US forces in Lamu demonstrates east Africa's strategic importance to George Bush's fight against terror, says Jeevan Vasagar Tuesday January 6, 2004 Lamu, the guidebooks say, is "Kenya's Kathmandu" - a hot, dusty cluster of islands hugging the Indian Ocean coast. The muezzin's call echoes across serried rooftops, fishermen heave dhows across the dunes, and backpackers come to chill out at the end of an African trek. However, combat trousers are not a fashion statement for Lamu's latest wave of western visitors. Military ranges at the Manda...