Idyllic hub of war on terror; US forces in Lamu

Guardian ^ | 01/06/04 | Jeevan Vasagar

[Pikamax]

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 Bay naval base, in the vicinity of Lamu, are playing host to joint exercises between the Kenyan and US armed forces this month as east Africa - once largely neglected by American strategists - takes on a new importance in the war on terror.

Small arms training, reconnaissance and joint patrols will take place on ranges hidden from public view. But hearts and minds will not be forgotten: a detachment of US marines is to help refurbish a boys' secondary school during what is known as Operation Edged Mallet.

If hearts and minds are to be won over, Lamu is the right place for helpful marines to volunteer their services.

While Kenya is mainly a Christian country, Islam is dominant on the coast. A gentle brand of the faith is practiced there: it is tolerant of beer-drinkers, while Gulf-style full hijab is only a recent import.

Lamu is the heartland of the coast's Swahili culture, a centuries-old fusion of Arab and African traditions that gave birth to the language spoken across east Africa. Yet, like the whole region, it has suffered the consequences of the terrorist attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa, with dwindling numbers of foreign visitors exacerbating poverty.

Osama bin Laden may be feted by some, but many more simply hope to do better than scraping a living from fish and foreigners.

Just north of Lamu is the border with Somalia - a reminder that, while Kenya enjoys peace and stability, it occupies a rough neighbourhood. Sudan was home to bin Laden in the 90s, while Somalia has had no functioning government since 1991, remaining hopelessly riven by violence.

The war in Somalia, and the civil war in the north of neighbouring Uganda, have ensured that small arms have profited in the region. Smuggler gangs, involved in everything from ivory-poaching to gun-running, are busy along the border.

Kenya's long borders with Sudan and Somalia are hard for a country with scarce resources to police, and some believe that the US exercises could be a precursor to a more permanent presence.

However, persistent rumours that the US will establish a base in Kenya were denied by the US ambassador before Christmas.

Instead, the nerve centre of the US war on terror lies in the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, where around 1,800 US military and civilian personnel are based.

Their zone of operations covers seven countries in the region, including Yemen, bin Laden's ancestral home.

The US force includes special operations troops capable of going after suspected terrorist targets, but the focus of the US effort is on persuading regional states to tackle terrorism themselves.

There is some financial encouragement, too. Kenya, where the US has been carrying out joint exercises since 1996, will be a major beneficiary of financial aid for counter-terrorism.

The US president, George Bush, last year announced that the US would spend $100m (£70m) in the Horn of Africa, with Kenya expected to receive between $30-$40m of that.

US military planners are not likely to forget about east Africa again. The marines splashing out of the Lamu surf this month are just the most overt demonstration of that.