US military steps up operations in the Horn of Africa - BBC
20 Feb 2014, 03:39
By Frank Gardner | BBC security correspondent, Djibouti
The US is dramatically increasing the tempo of its military operations in
the Horn of Africa in an effort to counter violent extremism, in the wake of
last year's Westgate attack in Nairobi.
Missile strikes by US drones against al-Shabab and al-Qaeda leaders are
"vital" and will continue, according to the government of Djibouti, from
where the controversial drone strikes are launched.
Washington has been building up a large military base in Djibouti and
training regional armies to fight al-Shabab in Somalia.
'Complex problem'
Beneath a blazing sun, gunmetal grey helicopters line the runway at this
former French Foreign Legion base, now leased by Washington from the
government of Djibouti.
The helicopters and rows of other US aircraft are equipped for long-range
missions, some covert, some more conventional.
The Pentagon's recently created East Africa Response Force (EARF) is here.
Its soldiers flew at short notice to South Sudan in December to protect the
US embassy and its staff, a lesson learnt from the catastrophic attack on
the poorly defended US consulate in Benghazi.
The US taskforce here, under the catchy title of "Combined Joint Task Force
Horn of Africa," or CJTF-HOA, was set up nearly 12 years ago.
Back then, Washington's aim was to stop al-Qaeda operatives from migrating
westwards from Pakistan into East Africa, by interdictions and showing
nations in the region how to improve their security.
This week I put it to the Task Force Commander, US Brigadier-General Wayne
Grigsby, that while that migration may have been checked, the Horn of Africa
region is hardly a success story when it comes to security.
Al-Shabab in Somalia have become proficient in laying roadside bombs and
have launched attacks beyond their borders in Kenya and Uganda, while
al-Qaeda in Yemen has three times succeeded in getting explosive devices on
board international flights. All this, while CJTF-HOA was doubling in size.
"It's a complex problem," admits Gen Grigsby, who only assumed command this
year. But he says the Pentagon's aim is to get others in the region to take
on the burden of defeating al-Shabab.
"Our mission here is to enable our East African partners to actually
neutralise violent extremists throughout eastern Africa.
"It also enables strategic access and freedom of movement. The purpose is to
protect the United States and its interests abroad."
'Garrison town'
Djibouti, an impoverished former French colony, has close links to the
region's two most troubled nations, Yemen and Somalia, where US boots on the
ground would not be popular.
But Djibouti has decided to throw in its lot with Washington and the West,
becoming effectively the region's garrison town.
The French still maintain a major base here with over 2,000 servicemen and
women, their Mirage fighter jets thundering down the runway shared with the
civilian international airport.
The Germans, Italians and Japanese are all here, conducting counter-piracy
operations in the Gulf of Aden and beyond.
But the biggest presence by far is American - there are more than 4,000
people on the base at Camp Lemonnier.
Housed in a compound within a compound are hundreds of highly secretive
Special Forces operatives from JSOC - US Joint Special Operations Command.
They bypass normal camp authority, taking their orders direct from their own
command in Florida.
Huge men with beards and steely expressions, they keep to themselves, often
deploying at night. Their primary target is the command leadership of
al-Shabab across the border in Somalia.
Since four gunmen from that group killed more than 60 shoppers in Nairobi's
Westgate mall in September, Washington has injected a new urgency into its
hunt to track down the leaders before they can plan more attacks.
Drone strikes
One controversial tool in JSOC's arsenal is the use of missile strikes by
unmanned Reaper drones. Until last September they took off from this base
but after a number of crashes and near misses the Djibouti government asked
the Americans to move them out to a desert runway.
The drone strikes have continued, sometimes killing civilians and attracting
condemnation from human rights groups as "extrajudicial killings".
So I asked Djibouti's Foreign Minister, Mahmoud Ali Youssuf if this bothered
him.
"We feel that really Djibouti is one of the top targets of al-Shabab in the
region," he replied, adding that: "These people are very dangerous, the
al-Shabab and al-Qaeda elements. So whatever it takes.
"If we can contain them, ok, if we can get rid of them it's better.
"But we don't have to waste time in asking each and every time ourselves if
we should use drones or not".
It certainly looks like America is here to stay. Fresh building work is
still under way at the camp.
So as long as this remains a troubled region and Djibouti is happy to play
host, Washington has a firm foothold on the Horn of Africa.
The drone strikes against militant leaders look set to continue.