US sends special forces into north Africa

The Guardian (U.K.) ^ | 03/15/04 | Giles Tremlett

[Pokey78]

Pentagon fears growth of terrorist haven

US special forces troops have arrived in several north African countries over recent months amid Pentagon warnings that the region runs the risk of becoming an al-Qaida recruiting ground and a possible back door into Europe.

Three days before the Madrid bombing, where the first arrests included three Moroccans detained on Saturday, the deputy commander of the Stuttgart-based US European command - which covers all of Africa except the Horn - warned that al-Qaida had an interest in north Africa.

"We have to get ahead of it," General Charles Wald told a group of African reporters in Washington.

Units of around 200 from the US army's 10th Special Forces Group are already installed, or are due to arrive, in Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Niger to train their armies in anti-terrorism tactics and to improve coordination with the US military.

Military cooperation with Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia - where many suspected violent Islamists detained in Europe over the past two years come from - is also being boosted.

Senior US generals, including the commander of the US European command, General James Jones, have been touring the region looking for temporary bases and airfields to use in possible future operations in Africa.

During one such trip last month, Gen Wald told Reuters that armed Islamists "are going to look for a place where they can do the same thing they did in Afghanistan, Iraq or other places. They need a haven to train, equip, organise, recruit.

"As you squeeze the balloon and move them, they are migrating toward Africa."

Unconfirmed reports have already emerged from anonymous Pentagon sources of on-the-ground operations involving the US soldiers.

One carried by Voice of America said US troops on the ground in Mali helped track and drive into the arms of the Algerian army a big haul of weapons due to be delivered to a radical Islamist group there.

The report also suggested they had requested a US air strike against a suspected terrorist target in the desert region of northern Mali and that, although this was turned down, the Pentagon did not rule out such air strikes.

A separate report said a US navy P-3 Orion aircraft guided Chad troops during a two-day battle on the border with Niger last week in which 43 suspected members of Algeria's Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat were killed.

States previously shunned by the international community, such as Algeria, are being provided with arms and military training and may become a cornerstone of US military interests in the region. "We are interested in being able to land at bases in Algeria with our aircraft, or train together," Gen Wald said. "We think we have a lot to learn from the Algerians."

Gen Wald even speculated that Colonel Muammar Gadafy's Libya might one day join the new alliance. "Who knows? Libya could be a part of this in the not too distant future now that they've come back into the western world."

Britain is being brought into the north African alliance as part of a joint European operation called the African Clearing House, he said.

Senior military commanders from several African countries, including General Amari of Algeria, will gather in Stuttgart for a meeting with the Americans next week.

The focus on Africa also comes amid a push by some in the US, especially conservative thinktanks, to do more to secure alternatives to oil from the volatile Middle East. West Africa supplies 15% of US oil and the figure is growing.

A need for the US European command to concentrate harder on north and west Africa may explain why the US Sixth Fleet is considering moving its main base from Gaeta, in Italy, to the southern Spanish port of Rota.

A militant group that has been linked to al-Qaida has been recruiting members from mosques in northern Mali, according to security sources quoted by Reuters. The US state department advised against travel to northern Mali in December, warning that the area had become "a safe haven" for the Salafist Group.

· Greek police discovered a bomb outside a bank in Athens yesterday, but destroyed it in a controlled explosion. The device comprised two sticks of dynamite, a clock and a detonator. Greece has called in Nato to beef up security for the Olympic Games in August.

[olde north church]

not to cast any aspersions but Malta, Sicily, Canary Islands, Azores, Elba and Corsica are all perfect jump off points to enter into a population.

[expatpat]

Anywhere there are significant numbers of Muslims, AQ will be there.

[TomGuy]

True. That is what is worrisome about our own southern US border. Numerous and increasing numbers of muslim/Islamic's are in South America and Mexico. Our border is still wide open. The potential future threat is closer than the average American realizes and our government (both parties) do very little about the almost unregulated flow of illegals coming into this country.

[joesnuffy]

Meanwhile the US Mexico border is still wide open...and our commercial airline and cargo pilots are still unarmed....

[piasa]

Units of around 200 from the US army's 10th Special Forces Group are already installed, or are due to arrive, in Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Niger to train their armies in anti-terrorism tactics and to improve coordination with the US military.

[B4Ranch]

"US special forces troops have arrived in several north African countries over recent months amid Pentagon warnings that the region runs the risk of becoming an al-Qaida recruiting ground and a possible back door into Europe."

Europeans are said to despise America and here we are protecting them?

[piasa]

(snip)Despite Siddiqui's claim that the three visits had no ulterior motive, the qualifications of the men who accompanied Khan, including his chief scientific adviser, the head of security at the top secret Khan Research Laboratories near Islamabad and a former surgeon general of the Pakistan army, would suggest otherwise.
Pakistani dissidents for their part have told how the real reason for Khan's visit Timbuktu was to prospect for uranium. Landlocked Mali lies adjacent to uranium-rich Niger, from where the French government obtains all the uranium it needs for its nuclear programme, and Mali also has untapped resources of the same mineral. (/snip)
- Source : "Khan's Visit to Timbuktu was to Prospect for Uranium"

[Constitutional Patriot]

"Numerous and increasing numbers of muslim/Islamic's are in South America and Mexico."

Another disturbing thought is that many middle-eastern people can pass for Mexicans in appearance.

[piasa]

Hostages in Mali Freed: Report [Ransom paid for 14 European tourists kidnapped in Algeria]

[Constitutional Patriot]

Seriously...I say pull our operators out of these areas and plug them into our southern and northern borders.

First things first.

[piasa]

Sure, let them have all the uranium they want.

[Cindy]

Here's the latest travel warning from the US State Department for EAST Africa:
http://travel.state.gov/eafrica_announce.html

Here is a link to all the current travel warnings from the US State Department:
http://travel.state.gov/warnings_list.html

[Last Dakotan]

Another disturbing thought is that many middle-eastern people can pass for Mexicans in appearance.

Their Spanish is really crappy though...

[Joe Hadenuf]

That is what is worrisome about our own southern US border. Numerous and increasing numbers of muslim/Islamic's are in South America and Mexico. Our border is still wide open.

Yes, but places like Haiti are much more vital to America than our own borders.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Another disturbing thought is that many middle-eastern people can pass for Mexicans in appearance.

Their Spanish is really crappy though

I'm confident you wont care much if they enter through that region, along with the other hords, and kill a few thousand of your neighbors.

[philetus]

Yes, our southern border is still open.

Help close it. Operation Gatekeeper

http://www.petitiononline.com/ul31212/petition.html

[Boot Hill]

"Sure, let them have all the uranium they want."

Commerically viable uranium ore deposits occur in virtually every country on earth.

--Boot Hill

[B4Ranch]

This administration believes the "world" comes before any one country, even ours, or else the borders would be sealed tight.