US engages Africa in terror fight

For instance, a man named Emad Abdelwahid Ahmen Alwan reportedly traveled across this part of Africa in 2002 recruiting and raising funds. He was a close associate of Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and was eventually killed by the Algerian Army.

Also, an Algerian outfit called the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda, took 32 European hostages in 2003. It reportedly received $6 million in ransom from the German government. Then its leader, Amman Saifi, went on a weapons-buying spree before reportedly being captured by a Chadian rebel group.

All of this was enough to make the US military pay attention. The region may not be the next Afghanistan in terms of terror incubation, but with America's global counterterror efforts squeezing extremist groups, the Sahara and Sahel have become "a very appealing place for people to travel through, recruit, and find refuge," says Gen. Charles Wald, deputy head of the US European Command, which has responsibility for much of Africa.

Other US military and counterterror activities in Africa include: an FBI academy in Bostwana that addresses antiterrorism issues in its training of regional police officers; a military base in Djbouti with at least 2,000 US troops, from which the US launches antiterror missions in the volatile Horn of Africa region; a separate $100-million program to help five East African countries battle terrorism; and the upcoming joint naval exercise with Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer.

Indeed, the other major driver of US military interest in Africa is oil. The US now gets about 15 percent of its oil from Africa. In a decade that could rise to 25 percent. Oil-producing nations like Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, and Equatorial Guinea (home of a recent apparent attempted coup) are strategic hot-spots.

Despite Africa's growing importance, General Wald says there aren't plans to build US bases on the continent. Rather, "There are thousands of bases already built in Africa, and we'd like access to them," he says.

America's strategy in Africa is generally to maintain a low profile - providing assistance and training rather than big troop deployments.

Still, some see potential problems. In Nigeria, Muslim groups are already skeptical of the US. With greater American activity, there's a danger they'll "become more extreme," warns Anneli Botha, a senior terrorism researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa.

Also, insecure regimes may use US hardware and training to "hassle political opponents," she warns, adding, "Democracy in Africa is a very nice concept, but it's not very secure." For instance, Chad's President Idriss Deby, considered an authoritarian leader and in power since 1990, is changing the Constitution to allow himself to run for a third term. Since 1998 he's been facing a rebellion in the north and could be tempted to use the newly trained troops to try to crush it, although his military leaders deny any plans to do so.

But in the Chadian sunshine, soldier Abakar Ibrahim clearly shows how US training has instilled pride and antiterror resolve. "We're sharpshooters now," he says, keeping his finger off the trigger of his AK-47, just as the marines taught him to do. "Terrorists are the enemy for all the world. We can help America fight them."

Page: 1 | 2