http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-28/here-come-drones-or-true-reason-mali-incursion
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/28/2013 18:29 -0500
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/01/2013126165220731532.html
Here Come The Drones, Or The True Reason For The Mali Incursion
Given our recent discussion (here and here) of the rising importance of Africa in the world's power and money echelons, it is not entirely surprising that the NY Times reports that US military command in Africa is actively preparing to establish a drone base in northwest Africa to increase "unarmed surveillance missions on the local affiliate of Al Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups" that American and other Western officials say pose a growing menace to the region. It would appear Niger will be the most likely place for the base - from which officials envision flying only unarmed surveillance drones though, of course, they have not ruled out conducting missile strikes at some point if the threat worsens. “This is directly related to the Mali mission, but it could also give Africom a more enduring presence for I.S.R.,” one American military official said Sunday, referring to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Perhaps, actually scratch the "perhaps", what is really happening is the US now has a drone base with which to supervise Chinese expansion in Northweast Africa, anda drone fleet to use defensively and offensively as it sees fit.
And so it would appear we can draw a big red circle over northwest Africa in the map above which is where the US will literally have a bird's eye view of all the resources that China is sequestering, and all the infrastructure that the world's most populous nation is setting up.
Next we need a little dose of the perpetual "Al-Qaeda" bogeyman in Central, Eastern, and finally South Africa and the US will have military control over a continent that China is rapidly doing all it cen to colonize from the ground up.
The United States military command in Africa is preparing plans to establish a drone base in northwest Africa to increase unarmed surveillance missions on the local affiliate of Al Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups that American and other Western officials say pose a growing menace to the region.For now, officials say they envision flying only unarmed surveillance drones from the base, though they have not ruled out conducting missile strikes at some point if the threat worsens.If the base is approved, the most likely location for it would be in Niger, a largely desert nation on the eastern border of Mali, where French and Malian troops are now battling Qaeda-backed fighters who control the northern part of that country...The immediate impetus for a drone base in the region is to provide surveillance assistance to the French-led operation in Mali. “This is directly related to the Mali mission, but it could also give Africom a more enduring presence for I.S.R.,” one American military official said Sunday, referring to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.A handful of unarmed Predator drones would carry out surveillance missions in the region and fill a desperate need for more detailed information on a range of regional threats, including militants in Mali and the unabated flow of fighters and weapons from Libya. American military commanders and intelligence analysts complain that such information has been sorely lacking.The United States military has a very limited presence in Africa, with only one permanent base, in Djibouti, more than 3,000 miles from Mali. ...If approved, the base could ultimately have as many as 300 United States military and contractor personnel, but it would probably begin with far fewer people than that, military officials said.Some Africa specialists expressed concern that setting up a drone base in Niger or in a neighboring country, even if only to fly surveillance missions, couldalienate local people who may associate the distinctive aircraft with deadly attacks in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.Officials from Niger did not respond to e-mails over the weekend about the plan, but its president, Mahamadou Issoufou, has expressed a willingness to establish what he called in a recent interview “a long-term strategic relationship with the U.S.”Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat who heads the Intelligence Committee, said on the CBS program “Face the Nation” on Sunday that in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death and the turmoil of the Arab Spring, there was “an effort to establish a beachhead for terrorism, a joining together of terrorist organizations.”...General Ham said during an interview on his visit to Niger that it had been very difficult for American intelligence agencies to collect consistent, reliable intelligence about what was going on in northern Mali, as well as in other largely ungoverned parts of the sub-Saharan region.“It’s tough to penetrate,” he said. “It’s tough to get access for platforms that can collect. It’s anextraordinarily tough environment for human intelligence, not just ours but the neighboring countries as well.”The State Department has been extraordinarily wary of allowing drones to operate in the region, fearful of criticism that the United States is trying to militarize parts of Africa...American drones regularly conduct surveillance flights over Somalia and occasionally launch airstrikes against people suspected of being members of the Shabab, a militant group linked to Al Qaeda....“Without operating locations on the continent, I.S.R. capabilities would be curtailed, potentially endangering U.S. security,” General Ham said in a statement submitted to the House Armed Services Committee last March. “Given the vast geographic space and diversity in threats, the command requires increased ISR assets to adequately address the security challenges on the continent.”
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/01/2013126165220731532.html
French forces in Mali 'capture' Gao | |
French and Malian troops arrive in key northern city as they make inroads to last remaining rebel strongholds.
Last Modified: 26 Jan 2013 19:18
| |
Most Malians have been supportive of the French-led intervention against rebels in the north [EPA]
| |
French and Malian forces have taken control of the rebel stronghold of Gao, marking a major advance in their bid to oust al-Qaeda-linked extremists who have controlled northern Mali for months.
The capture of the town comes just two weeks after France launched its military offensive in support of the shaky central government of the former French colony. It is unclear what kind of resistance French and Malian troops will face in the coming days, though French officials were already praising recent battlefield successes.
Swooping in by land and by air and under the cover of darkness, French and Malian forces came under fire on Saturday morning and continued to face sporadic "acts of harassment" through the day, Col. Thierry Burkhard, a Frenchmilitary spokesman in Paris, said. He had no immediate estimate on casualties.
Just before evening, the French Defence Ministry issued a statement saying the whole town of Gao had been liberated, and government control was already being established - notably with the return Saturday of the town's mayor, Sadou Diallo, who had fled to Mali's capital Bamako far to the west.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement earlier Saturday that French-led forces had captured the key bridge and airport in Gao, and jihadist fighters whom they encountered "saw their means of transport and their logistics sites destroyed."
The rebels first seized control of Gao and two other northern provincial capitals - Timbuktu and Kidal - in April last year during the chaotic aftermath of a coup in the distant capital.
Before the joint air-land operations, French forces carried out "an important phase of air strikes" around Gao and Timbuktu, with nearly 30 bombs fired from fighter jets over the previous two days, France's military said in yet another statement.
More French and African troops and equipment were being sent to Gao, the military said. Troops from Chad and Niger "should arrive in the Gao area very soon," it added.
Fighter jets
Elsewhere in Mali, French and Malian troops supported by a tactical air group carried out a night-time "reconnaissance offensive" toward Lere, "where several terrorist elements were noticed a few days earlier," the military said.
Two Rafale jets have been added to the campaign, bringing France's total deployment to 12 fighter jets as part of the code-named Operation Serval in Mali, the military said.
Nouhoum Maiga, a deputy mayor in Gao, confirmed Saturday that the French had come by land and air late Friday.
Gao has been under the control of the al-Qaeda-linked Movement for Oneness and Jihad, or MUJAO, for months.
On Friday in a show of might, the rebels destroyed a bridge near the Niger border with explosives, showing that the extremists still remain a nimble and daunting enemy.
Since France began its military operation Jan 11 with a barrage of airstrikes followed by a land assault, the rebels have retreated from three cities in central Mali: Diabaly, Konna and Douentza.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/01/25/gen-ham-us-failed-to-train-mali-troops-in-ethics/
( This was the mistake - I want to believe Carter Ham really is smarter than he sounds.... ? )
Gen. Ham: US Failed to Train Mali Troops in EthicsUS Never Taught Troops Not to Execute Civilians
by Jason Ditz, January 25, 2013
US African Command (AFRICOM) chief General Carter Ham today conceded, in the rise of growing evidence of massive summary executions in Mali, that the US “failed” in its training of Mali’s military by skipping ethics.
 Gen. Ham says that the US provided considerable training but focused “almost exclusively” on tactics and technical matters, without spending enough time teaching troops that they shouldn’t massacre civilians.
Rights groups have repeatedly reported that Malian troops have captured and summarilyexecuted civilians in frontier cities, targeting ethnicities which are accused of being pro-rebel and capturing anyone without ID cards as “infiltrators.”
Mali’s Justice Minister had cited the US military’s own tortures and executions when presented with evidence last week, saying “no army in the world is perfect.“
|
No comments:
Post a Comment