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In the Horn of Africa, a two-pronged mission
[January 21, 2006]

In the Horn of Africa, a two-pronged mission


(Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jan. 21--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 , and more than 200 people died in the Kenya and Tanzania bombings.

After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 , however, the U.S. military's focus shifted to Afghanistan, then Iraq.


In northeastern Africa, where the bombings foreshadowed more attacks, the U.S. military has waged a different battle -- one conducted with little notice.

The idea behind the Combined Joint Task Force -- Horn of Africa, said Rear Adm. Richard W. Hunt, is "prevent, protect, prevail."

The mission revolves around two poles: gathering intelligence and creating goodwill through public works projects. It's carried out by about 1,500 U.S. troops, a fraction of the military presence in Iraq.

Additional soldiers from various European and Asian nations add fewer than 1,000 troops to that total.

In military parlance, it's an "economy of force" -- spread across an area two-thirds the size of the continental United States -- based out of a former French Foreign Legion post in Djibouti .

"We can't be entirely absent from these areas," said Theresa Whelan , deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs . "That absence is often filled by others who have nefarious motives."

Force size is less important when trying to pre-empt conflict, unlike fighting a war. Nor does pre-emption require bomb-detecting robots, bulletproof gear, armored Humvees or bomb-laden fighter jets.

When Hunt assumes command of the task force in March, he'll instead turn to military engineers to tap wells, veterinarians to treat livestock, and builders to construct schools and medical clinics.

Civil affairs specialists deal with local governments, and military trainers teach struggling armies, navies and police forces to better police their coasts and borders.

Though it's a joint operation, with representatives from all U.S. military branches, Hunt will be the first sailor at the helm since the task force began operating in 2002 . He will relieve Marine Maj. Gen . Timothy F. Ghormley .

Currently commander of Carrier Strike Group Six and the John F. Kennedy strike group in Florida, Hunt recently finished a week of training for the Africa mission at the Joint Forces Command in Suffolk.

He was joined by about 100 members of the strike group's battle staff, who will accompany him to Africa, as well as foreign coalition members and representatives from other service branches. A few dozen active and Naval Reserve sailors from Hampton Roads will accompany him to Djibouti.

Whelan said she anticipates that Hunt will concentrate on strengthening maritime security.

The Horn's waters -- which include the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean -- are important strategically and economically.

Gilbert Khadiagala , a professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies , said more attention must be paid to keeping safe ships that pass around the Horn.

Millions of tons of cargo that transit the Suez Canal pass offshore. American aircraft carriers that patrol the Persian Gulf sail down a narrow strait between Eritrea, Djibouti and Yemen.

"Even if it's sold as part of the war on terror," Khadiagala said, "those countries must build sufficient naval bases. … It's Somali bandits who control the waters of the Indian Ocean in that portion of the world, and they're armed."

Bandits routinely hijack commercial ships; last year, pirates nearly hijacked a cruise ship.

Hunt is looking forward to heading efforts on land as well. "It's a tremendous opportunity to grow and develop," he said.

Africa expert Princeton Lyman said the task force has been reasonably successful in its first three years.

"What it has not been able to do, really, has been to stop the movement of people and weapons down the coast," said Lyman, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and its director of Africa policy studies .

When the United States dismantled the Taliban government in Afghanistan and pushed al-Qaida factions out of the country, experts predicted the terrorist cells might flee to Somalia, which has no functioning government.

To a large extent, that hasn't happened, Whelan said. Somali society is more complex and distrusting of foreigners than analysts predicted.

"That doesn't mean there's not outsiders taking advantage of lawlessness, but it's not been the new hub of activity we expected it to be," said Whelan, the deputy assistant secretary of defense.

Other areas have become hot spots for radical Muslim organizers. Whelan said Kenya's predominantly Muslim coastal region has become a hotbed for extremists. Sudan is a birthplace of radical political Islam, she added. Factor in Somalia's lack of border control, and it's easy to understand concerns about weapons and ideology flowing in freely from the Middle East.

That's where setting up schools, digging wells and immunizing children can go a long way to help the image of the United States in desperately poor populations that could be enticed into terrorist cells.

Hunt thinks assisting less fortunate nations -- specifically when there hasn't been a natural disaster to call attention to poverty -- can go a long way.

"A lot of opportunity we've had to demonstrate goodness has, unfortunately, come in the aftermath of disasters," Hunt said, such as the Ethiopian famine, Asian tsunami and Pakistan earthquake.

"If you can do it upfront , then hopefully, you don't ever get there."

There's disagreement, however, about how well the outreach works.

Lyman described the humanitarian programs as useful, even if they don't contribute directly to counterterrorism. "They counter the suspicion of why the troops are there, and if they're worthwhile," he said.

But Khadiagala, a Kenya native, said some Africans are suspicious about receiving aid directly from the U.S. military. They're accustomed to civil branches, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development , paying for public works.

"They get very edgy when they see the military doing it," Khadiagala said. "It looks so blatantly focused on terrorism, but it's sold as a softer side of the war on terror. That is a bit troubling."

Whelan feels it's too early to measure the success of the task force. Making a difference in the Horn of Africa takes patience and staying power. But the Defense Department's senior Africa expert takes satisfaction in what has been accomplished so far.

"Here we are, present in a predominantly Muslim region of the world, and we've been welcomed," Whelan said.

"There are a few folks that would probably like to blow something up in or around Camp Lemonier. But our personnel, for the most part, have been welcomed by people in these countries. That, in a way, is a success."

Reach Kate Wiltrout at (757) 446-2629 or [email protected].

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