Sunday, January 9, 2011

Africa Strategy Encourages Democracy, Development

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2011 – The United States is pursuing a strategy that aims to foster stability and good, cooperative relationships with nations on the African continent, said Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy.

“That strategy puts a premium on supporting democratization and the emergence of democracies in Africa, supporting economic growth and development and building capacity,” Flournoy said during a recent interview in the Pentagon.

U.S. government agencies work closely with each other in Africa. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development have the lead in the nations of the continent. The Defense Department and U.S. Africa Command are in support of these lead federal agencies.

Much of the defense work in the nation is building partner capacity. This can range from small unit tactics to medical training to peacekeeping skills to humanitarian assistance operations.

“It may be just general military training or it may be training them in a specialty area like medical evacuation,” the undersecretary said. “We also use our military forces to do a lot of civil affairs type of work where we are supporting the interagency process and working with militaries and communities writ large, again particularly in humanitarian operations.”

U.S. Africa Command is the Defense Department’s newest geographic command, and its establishment has given more coherence to defense support of U.S. strategy on the continent, she said. Previously, the African continent was split between three geographic commands: U.S. European Command, U.S. Central Command and U.S. Pacific Command.

“This led to somewhat uneven levels of focus, energy, resourcing, projects and so forth,” Flournoy said. “Pulling it all together under U.S. Africa Command gives it a more stable strategic perspective on what we’re doing across the continent. It also gives a greater ability to prioritize effort and resources towards things that really will make the greatest difference.”

Africa has some increasingly strong regional alliances, including the African Union and Economic Community of Western African States. “DOD works very much by, with and through these regional alliances,” the undersecretary said. “We are working closely with the African Union and ECOWAS to develop peacekeeping capacity.”

One example of this work is the peacekeeping mission in Somalia. U.S. trainers worked with military personnel from Uganda, Etyhiopia and other countries to train them for the mission. These are not large missions, but small teams training the trainers.

The department is also learning more about the cultural and linguistic and ethnic make-up of the continent.

“We are understanding the sub-regional dynamics of the continent,” Flournoy said. “The issues that you deal with in the north are different than those in the south. We are dealing with violent extremist groups in North Africa – al-Qaida in the Mahgreb for example – that have used ungoverned or under-governed spaces to try to gain a foothold. We’re also seeing organizations in Somalia –al Shabab, al-Qaida on the Arabia Peninsula.”

There is a growth in piracy centered in Somalia and spreading throughout the Indian Ocean, she noted. “We are taking a more challenge-oriented approach and a more sub-regional approach that really looks at how we can take a common challenge and work with a group of countries to build their capacities to be more effective in dealing with that with us in support,” she said. “In 10 years, we hope these countries will have the capacity and they will be more able to respond to crises, and also get ahead of them and prevent them.”

Much of the progress posited depends on the progress of democratization and development. “So many of these crises in Africa come from very weak experiences with democracy and peaceful changeovers in power – we’re seeing that right now in Cote d’Ivoire,” Flournoy said. “Every time you have a situation that becomes a full-time crisis, you are essentially setting back the development effort for a period of time as well.”

The creation of peaceful political processes that set the conditions for development to occur “is the name of the game in Africa,” she said.

Flournoy said there are many that have had peaceful transitions and are experiencing the growth that such peace and stability brings.

The U.S. is also working with other nations outside Africa to make best use of resources. For example he U.S. is collaborating with France to combat terrorism in North Africa. American leaders are also cooperating with ships from China, India, Russia, Singapore and the European Union to combat piracy.

One constant in U.S. strategy in Africa is reducing the ungoverned or under-governed pockets on the continent. The AIDS epidemic, problems of poverty and corruption and little or no infrastructure in many areas hampers progress, and that can mean dangers to Americans.

“Violent extremism grows from not fulfilling the needs of the people,” Flournoy said.

The undersecretary praised the National Guard’s state partner program for its work not only in Africa, but globally. The Guard teams come from a state and team with a country to foster collaboration and understanding. “We have these all over the world,” she said. “We see in so many of these situations how long-term relationships are so important to build trust and build capacity.”

This is not a one-time deal for the teams and the nations participating in the program, Flournoy pointed out. “They come again, and again, and again and the relationships are built, the trust is built and over time real capacity is built,” she said. “At a time when the active force is so heavily engaged in Iraq and in Afghanistan, having the National Guard teams that can provide consistent focus and work within the countries with which they are paired.” By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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