United States Africa Command Public Affairs Office 26 October 2011 USAFRICOM - related news stories

Good morning. Please find attached news clips related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa, along with upcoming events of interest for October 26, 2011. Of interest in todays clips: AP reports that at a news conference on Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta declined to say whether the Obama administration intends to seek military ties with Libya's new government. In Djibouti: An article from La Nation (translated from French) describes AFRICOM Commander General Carter Ham's visit with Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh, during which they discussed the security situation in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. In Somalia: International media reports on the kidnapping of Western aid workers, including one American, in northern Somalia. Somalias President comes under fire for statements casting doubt on his governments support of Kenyas invasion against AlShabaab forces. In Washington: The State Department and Pentagon testimony to Congress noted that the deployment of 100 soldiers in support of counter LRA efforts will not be an open-ended deployment, but could take months rather than weeks. Provided in text format for remote reading. Links work more effectively when this message is viewed as in HTML format. U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs Please send questions or comments to: africom-pao@africom.mil 421-2687 (+49-711-729-2687) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Top News related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa

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Panetta: No decision yet on US-Libya military ties (AP) http://articles.boston.com/2011-10-25/news/30320966_1_mustafa-abdul-jalil-libyamission-national-transitional-council 25 October 2011 U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pointedly declined Tuesday to say whether the Obama administration intends to seek military ties with Libyas new government, amid uncertainty about Islamist influences there after the demise of strongman Moammar Gadhafi. U.S. enters Libya, leaves Iraq (CNN) http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/25/opinion/hayden-libya-iraq/?hpt=wo_t2 25 October 2011 By Michael V. Hayden, CNN Contributor U.S. security policy showed the effects of two substantial pivots this past week: ramping down our role in regime transformation in one Arab country even while ramping up our responsibility in another. AFRICOM: Carter Ham in Djibouti (La Nation) http://www.africatime.com/djibouti/nouvelle.asp?no_nouvelle=631586&no_categorie 25 October 2011 (Translated from French) Yesterday, at the presidential Palace in Djibouti, President Ismail Omar Guelleh, welcomed General carter Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command, with whom he discussed the security situation in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. U.S. Worries Grow Over Al-Qaida's African Presence (NPR) http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141661688/u-s-keeping-close-watch-on-al-qaida-in-africa 25 October 2011 By Dina Temple-Raston The U.S. has had major successes against al-Qaida this year, taking out Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. But for American counterterrorism officials, concerns over al-Qaida in Africa keep growing. Western aid workers kidnapped in Somalia: agency (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE79O0K120111025? feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews 25 October 2011 By Mohamed Ahmed and Abdi Sheikh Gunmen kidnapped an American, a Dane and a Somali working for a Danish group which clears landmines in northern Somalia on Tuesday, the second capture of Western aid agency staff in the region this month. Pentagon says military deployment to Uganda will not be open-ended (The Hill) http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/defense-homeland-security/189625-pentagon-ugandamission-will-not-be-open-ended 25 October 2011
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By John T. Bennett A senior Pentagon official told a House panel Tuesday the U.S. military deployment to central Africa to combat the Lords Resistance Army will last months but vowed it will not be an open-ended commitment. Administration Officials Face Skeptical Lawmakers on Uganda Operation (FOX News) http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/25/administration-officials-face-skepticallawmakers-on-uganda-operation/ 25 October 2011 The U.S. military operation against a ruthless guerrilla group accused of widespread atrocities is a short-term deployment with the specific goal of ending the threat of the Lord's Resistance Army in Africa, Obama administration officials insisted on Tuesday. Somalia's president questions Kenya's al-Shabaab mission (The Telegraph) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/8848537/Soma lias-president-questions-Kenyas-al-Shabaab-mission.html 25 October 2011 Somalia's president has criticised Kenya's military invasion of his country, raising fears of a split in support for the mission to hunt down al-Qaeda-linked Islamists. Somali president blasted for anti-Kenya comments (Arab News) http://arabnews.com/world/article524253.ece 25 October 2011 By Abdi Sheikh Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed came under fire on Tuesday for casting doubt on the governments support for a Kenyan incursion into the south of the Horn of Africa nation to take on rebels. Tunisia election: Partial results suggest Ennahda win (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15453579 25 October 2011 Partial official results from Tunisia suggest victory for the moderate Islamist party Ennahda, in the first democratic elections prompted by the Arab Spring uprisings. Iran's Ahmadinejad says West set to plunder Libya (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/25/us-libya-ahmadinejadidUSTRE79O2QK20111025 25 October 2011 Western countries supported Muammar Gaddafi when it suited them but bombed the Libyan leader when he no longer served their purpose in order to "plunder" the north African country's oil wealth, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday. Africa: U.S. Tightens Military Grip on Africa (All Africa) http://allafrica.com/stories/201110250430.html 25 October 2011
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By Glen Ford Scores of Somali civilians have been killed in U.S. drone attacks in the southern region of the country, as Washington tightens its military grip on much of the continent. The current offensive involves thousands of Kenyan troops that are threatening the major Somali city of Kismayo. In Search of Terrorist Enemies in Africa (Huffington Post) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-feffer/in-search-of-terrorist-en_b_1031364.html 25 October 2011 By John Feffer During the Bush years, second fronts in terrorism proliferated as the ruling neoconservatives imagined remapping the globe to accommodate U.S. interests. Today, there is really only one second front, Africa. As U.S. forces continue to withdraw from Central Asia and the Middle East, this second front is fast becoming the war on terrorisms first front. Uganda opposition leader to stay under house arrest (Reuters Africa) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE79O0AR20111025 25 October 2011 By Elias Biryabarema Uganda will keep opposition leader Kizza Besigye under house arrest until he promises to stop participating in anti-government protests that have marred the nation's image, national police said on Tuesday. ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA Darfur: UN peacekeeping chief urges more efforts to include rebels in peace process 25 October While important progress has been made in the peace process in Sudans war-torn Darfur region, more needs to be done to bring on board rebel groups who are still fighting the Government, the United Nations peacekeeping chief warned today. (Full Articles on UN Website) ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Upcoming Events of Interest: American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Discussion on "Ends and Means: American Security Strategy and Defense Budgets."
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Speakers: Introduction: Thomas Donnelly, AEI; and Speaker: Representative Adam Smith (D-WA), Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee. WHEN: 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. WHERE: AEI, 1150 17th Street, NW CONTACT: Veronique Rodman at 202-862-4871 or vrodman@aei.org; web site: www.aei.org SOURCE: AEI - event announcement at: http://www.aei.org/event/100491 ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------New on www.africom.mil Pandemic Disaster Response Exercise Kicks Off in Lagos, Nigeria http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7354&lang=0 By Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel P. Lapierre U.S. AFRICOM Public Affairs LAGOS, Nigeria, Oct 25, 2011 More than 70 civilian and military representatives from 22 agencies came together in Lagos, October 24, 2011, for a weeklong exercise to prepare for a potential pandemic. The Pandemic Disaster Response Tabletop Exercise was hosted by the Nigerian government and organized by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) with the support of the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine (CDHAM) and funding through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). ### -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL TEXT Panetta: No decision yet on US-Libya military ties (AP) http://articles.boston.com/2011-10-25/news/30320966_1_mustafa-abdul-jalil-libyamission-national-transitional-council 25 October 2011 U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pointedly declined Tuesday to say whether the Obama administration intends to seek military ties with Libyas new government, amid uncertainty about Islamist influences there after the demise of strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Asked at a news conference whether Libya should be a U.S. military partner and what such a relationship would entail, Panetta said the U.S. would take its lead from NATO, whose months-long air campaign helped Libyan rebels oust and eventually kill Gadhafi.

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Panetta offered no direct clues to the administrations inclinations on establishing military-to-military relations with the North African nation. A lot of that at this point still rests with NATO, Panetta said, adding that the U.S.-led alliance was discussing when to end its Libya mission. He added that he understood some Libya leaders had called for NATO to continue its mission during this interim as they try to establish some new governance. So I guess what I would do at this point is leave the decision as to future security involvement in the hands of NATO and then beyond that, that will give us a basis on which to determine whether there is an additional role, he said. He said the immediate U.S. concerns in Libya are focused on the possibility of providing medical assistance to Libyas wounded and preventing weapons from falling into the wrong hands. Of particular concern are anti-aircraft weapons. Questions also persist about the nature of the new Libya and the degree of Islamist influence in a government now led by National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, who said Sunday that Islamic Sharia law would be the main source of legislation, that laws contradicting its tenets would be nullified, and that polygamy would be legalized. Libya is a deeply conservative Muslim nation, with most women wearing headscarves or the all-encompassing niqab. Islamists were heavily repressed under Gadhafi and are eager to have their say, raising the prospect of a battle for influence between hardline and moderate Muslims. During the rebel uprising, the U.S. military was a key participant in the NATO air campaign. But Washington chose not to provide training for the rebels or supply them with weapons. Some in Washington have questioned the extent of their commitment to democracy. At his news conference with Japanese Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa, Panetta also expressed satisfaction with Japans efforts to end a stalemate over the relocation of U.S. Marines on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. Panetta, on his first visit to Asia as Pentagon chief, was scheduled to travel Wednesday to South Korea to meet with government leaders and talk to U.S. troops. ### U.S. enters Libya, leaves Iraq (CNN) http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/25/opinion/hayden-libya-iraq/?hpt=wo_t2 25 October 2011 By Michael V. Hayden, CNN Contributor

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Editor's note: Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who was appointed by President George W. Bush as CIA director in 2006 and served until February 2009, is a principal with the Chertoff Group, a security consulting firm, and a distinguished visiting professor at George Mason University. He formerly was director of the National Security Agency and held senior staff positions at the Pentagon. (CNN) -- U.S. security policy showed the effects of two substantial pivots this past week: ramping down our role in regime transformation in one Arab country even while ramping up our responsibility in another. First to Libya, where the death of Moammar Gadhafi has finally ended the first act of what promises to be a long drama. As Iraq and Afghanistan have amply proven, collapsing the old regime is the easy part; building a functioning civil society is the real challenge. Gadhafi's apparent execution after he was captured, on top of the still unexplained murder of the anti-Gadhafi forces' commander Abdel Fattah Younis three months ago, highlights the chaos and infighting that still exist in Libya and the need to help the Libyans build a viable state. Michael Hayden There is more than altruistic international good citizenship involved here. If Libya is left to its own devices, it is not difficult to conceive of it becoming Somalia on the Mediterranean, an ungoverned space threatening the heart of Europe as well as critical international lines of communication. We have already begun to fret over the loss of control of thousands of man-portable surface-to-air missiles. These are reasons enough to stay engaged. There are other effects from this week's success that will also need to be managed. NATO stretched the United Nations' mandate to "protect civilians" as far as legally possible (about as far as we domestically stretched the definition of "not war"), actively isolated portions of the battlefield to ensure local advantage to the anti-Gadhafi fighters, and conducted what at times looked like close air support -- integrating NATO airpower with the fire and movement of their ground forces. What impact will being the air force for the National Transitional Council's fighters have on Security Council members when next they face a question of "protecting" civilian populations? The Libyan success will also have to be managed within NATO. It was American intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, defense suppression, electronic warfare, refueling and precision weapons that kept the alliance in the game. Will the lesson be that Europeans will have to do more in the future? Or did the Libyan adventure teach them that current levels of investment are "good enough"? It's not an idle question, as many seem to already be crowding around the exits in Afghanistan. And this week's events in Libya will have regional impacts. For Egypt and Tunisia, they hold the long-term prospect of a like-minded neighbor. For rulers in Syria and Yemen,
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they pose an existential question: Does Libya teach me what happens if I stay too long? Or does it simply reinforce what I already knew -- that the stakes of this game are very high and I have to do whatever I have to do to win? For rulers in Teheran the issue is less ambiguous: So this is what the West might do to you if you give up your nuclear program. While managing these byproducts of success in Libya, the president also announced that, by the end of the year, "the last American soldier will cross the border out of Iraq with their head held high, proud of their success." For some in the United States and in Iraq this was a rewarding moment, the end of a bad chapter for both peoples. Others, though, smell danger. Many had expected a sustained American presence; even Iraqi military leaders had talked about the continuing need for training, intelligence, logistics and air defense from the United States. There was also just the raw political impact of a continued American footprint. In the north, Americans on the ground had dampened native passions along an Arab-KurdTurkmen fault line. American presence overall gave heart to those in the Iraqi political spectrum who would oppose undue Iranian influence in Iraqi affairs. That presence also seemed to help manage Turkish reaction (and potential overreaction) to PKK raids allegedly mounted from Iraq. And for Iraqi Sunnis, a visible American footprint was often seen as their best guarantee against the actions of what many viewed as a predatory Shiite government. In short, a continued American presence was seen as calming, buying time for Iraqi politics and institutions to grow to meet the demands they are facing. To be sure, the United States is not abandoning Iraq. Our talented ambassador there, Jim Jeffrey, will have some 16,000 government employees and contractors under his command. But this is not the same as an enduring military presence. Many seemed to realize this. American commanders in Iraq regularly called for a substantial five-figure residual force, and two successive secretaries of defense advocated publicly for a continued American presence, even as the president they served did not draw back from his campaign commitment to end the American military's role there. In the end, though, it was the Iraqis, and especially Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who could not deliver on the one nonnegotiable American demand -- immunity from Iraqi law for U.S. troops. No American administration could accept anything less. Given al-Maliki's worldview and his fragile political situation, it was hard enough to wrest this concession from him in 2008. It required a sustained, unrelenting, personal effort from the highest levels of the U.S. government, and success was never guaranteed. It is not clear that similar efforts were made in 2011.

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In any event, the president chalked up the U.S. withdrawal as a "promise kept," even as his officials worked to the last minute to sustain a U.S. presence. In both Iraq and Libya it was an interesting week: engagement and disengagement, leadership and resignation, moving in and moving out -- with both the burden and the necessity of global leadership on clear display. ### AFRICOM: Carter Ham in Djibouti (La Nation) http://www.africatime.com/djibouti/nouvelle.asp?no_nouvelle=631586&no_categorie 25 October 2011 (Translated from French) Yesterday, at the presidential Palace, President Ismail Omar Guelleh, received the commanding general of the American forces of AFRICOM, General carter Ham, with whom he discussed the security situation in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. Yesterday, the President of the Republic, Ismail Omar Guelleh, received General Carter Ham, the Commanding General of AFRICOM in a meeting in the Presidential Palace. The meeting took place in the presence of the US Ambassador to Djibouti, Mrs. Geeta Pasy. This was a favorable opportunity for the Djiboutian President and the US military leader to address many topics including the situation in Somalia and security in the Middle East. They also discussed the military cooperation between Djibouti and the United States. Regarding this last topic, the two countries enjoy an important collaboration in the fight against international terrorism. Also among the topics discussed were the laws dealing with the piracy spreading off of the Somali coast and in the Indian Ocean. It is noteworthy that General Carter F. Ham is visiting Djibouti for the first time, the only African country hosting a permanent American military base. Let us also remind [our readers] that AFRICOM is the military command in charge of US military engagements on the African Continent. ### U.S. Worries Grow Over Al-Qaida's African Presence (NPR) http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141661688/u-s-keeping-close-watch-on-al-qaida-in-africa 25 October 2011 By Dina Temple-Raston The U.S. has had major successes against al-Qaida this year, taking out Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen.
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But for American counterterrorism officials, concerns over al-Qaida in Africa keep growing. In North Africa, al-Qaida's arm, al-Qaida in the Islamic Magreb, is making millions by kidnapping foreigners. In West Africa, a local Islamist group in Nigeria named Boko Haram has started attacking international targets with suicide bombers, an al-Qaida-like tactic. And in East Africa, foreign terrorists are traveling to Somalia to train for violent jihad. U.S. officials see all these things as an indication that al-Qaida influence in Africa is becoming stronger. "If you ask me what keeps me up at night, it is the thought of an American passportholding person who transits to a training camp in Somalia, gets some skill and finds their way back to the United States to attack Americans here in the homeland," Gen. Carter Ham, commander of the U.S. Africa Command, told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies recently. "That's mission failure for us." A Foreigner In Somalia If you ask me what keeps me up at night, it is the thought of an American passportholding person who transits to a training camp in Somalia, gets some skill and finds their way back to the United States to attack Americans. - Gen. Carter Ham, commander of the U.S. Africa Command So imagine the reaction when a little over a week ago an unusual video appeared on Islamic websites. It was of a white man with a scarf twisted over his face standing before bags of grain and piles of clothes in a desert in Somalia. In the video, he was addressing the hungry at a local feeding station. He said his name was Abu Abdulla al-Muhajir, or "the foreigner." And there was one thing U.S. officials noticed about the man almost immediately: He was speaking nearly perfect English. "Alhamdulillah," or "Praise to God," he began. "We are honored and blessed to take this opportunity to send our heartfelt greetings to our brothers and sisters in Somalia, and we also take this opportunity to say we love you all for the sake of Allah, and we sincerely relate to your suffering and affliction during this testing time." His English wasn't quite unaccented, and his word choice wasn't quite right but it was close. The young man went on to tell the crowd that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had sent him to Somalia to distribute food and clothing. "Al-Qaida, under the leadership of Sheik Ayman al-Zawahiri, continues to highlight the plight of the [community] and continues to support them with every means at their disposal," he said. Possible Links To Somali Militia

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Counterterrorism officials say the release of this tape could mean al-Qaida is forging closer ties with the group that is controlling much of southern Somalia, an Islamist militia called al-Shabab. It has been fighting the transitional government in Somalia for years and, more recently, has banned most foreign aid organizations from the parts of Somalia where it has control. A famine is sweeping through southern Somalia, and the United Nations estimates that tens of thousands of Somalis have already died of hunger. Al-Shabab has been criticized for making the disaster worse by threatening NGOs that want to provide food aid. The food station where the young man was addressing the Somalis was one of the few stations controlled by al-Shabab. The group has forged ties with al-Qaida in recent months. U.S. counterterrorism officials, like President Obama's counterterrorism chief, John Brennan, see al-Qaida following a familiar pattern the group takes advantage of chaos. "Al-Qaida traditionally has taken advantage of areas that are wracked by conflict, turmoil and lack of government, it is a safe haven they see to launch attacks," Brennan told reporters recently. "Somalia is one of the most challenging areas of the world because it has this internal conflict, it has such a devastating famine, and it is an area that al-Qaida has tried regularly to exploit." Against that backdrop, it is easy to understand why the video with this mysterious English speaker talking on behalf of al-Qaida got people's attention. Intelligence officials are trying to determine who this young man is. They have done voice comparisons, taking the audio from this video and comparing it with recordings they have of foreigners they believe have joined al-Qaida. So far there hasn't been a match. Then again, intelligence officials are asking why alQaida would send an English speaker to Somalia in the first place? The people he was addressing at a food station would likely only speak Somali. So maybe, the U.S. officials say, the English-language video was aimed at the U.S. ### Western aid workers kidnapped in Somalia: agency (Reuters) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE79O0K120111025? feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews 25 October 2011 By Mohamed Ahmed and Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped an American, a Dane and a Somali working for a Danish group which clears landmines in northern Somalia on Tuesday, the second capture of Western aid agency staff in the region this month.

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"Today, at 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) in Somalia, three staff members from the Danish Demining Group have been kidnapped. One is a Somali man, two are international staff members, an American woman and a Danish man," the group said in a statement. Danish Demining Group is part of the humanitarian agency the Danish Refugee Council and works in 10 countries, including Afghanistan and Iraq, clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance. Somali gunmen kidnapped two Spanish staff working for Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) from the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya on October 13 and took them across the border into the anarchic Horn of Africa nation. Abshir Diini Awale, minister of the interior and national security in the Somali region of Galmudug, said the aid workers were seized in the southern part of Galkayo town shortly after arriving at the airport. "We don't know who kidnapped them, but we have alerted our security forces to track down the hostages," he told Reuters. Galkayo straddles the border between the semi-autonomous Somali province of Puntland and the Galmudug region. Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels do not have a strong presence there. Colonel Mohamed Hassan, a military official in Galmudug, said the workers may have been taken by their security detail. He said the kidnappers were heading towards the Somali coast. A Somali pirate who gave his name as Abdi told Reuters from Galkayo that a group of pirates was behind the abduction and the captives were being taken to a coastal haven. Somali pirates have made millions of dollars from hijacking ships in the busy shipping lanes off Somalia and keeping the crews hostage until ransoms are paid for their release. However, more and more merchant vessels now carry well-armed security teams to fight off pirate attacks at sea. Analysts and diplomats have warned that the seafaring gunmen might turn to other targets to make money. Besides the abduction of the Spanish aid workers, suspected Somali gunmen also seized a British tourist from a northern Kenyan beach resort in September and a French woman from the same area on October 1. The French woman later died. ### Pentagon says military deployment to Uganda will not be open-ended (The Hill) http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/defense-homeland-security/189625-pentagon-ugandamission-will-not-be-open-ended
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25 October 2011 By John T. Bennett A senior Pentagon official told a House panel Tuesday the U.S. military deployment to central Africa to combat the Lords Resistance Army will last months but vowed it will not be an open-ended commitment. Pentagon and State Department officials described the deployment of 100 U.S. Army special operations troops to Uganda as one in which those American forces will help Ugandan and other regional fighters learn how to better combine intelligence data with battlefield planning. White House and Pentagon officials say those American service members will be helping regional forces and will not be engaging in combat unless necessary for self-defense. We will not go on indefinitely, Assistant Defense Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Alexander Vershbow told House Foreign Affairs Committee members. We will pull back, and we hope [regional allied forces] will be able to continue with this training and finish the job. The Uganda deployment was set in motion last May, when Congress overwhelmingly approved the Lords Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. The law, which received scant media attention at the time, authorized President Obama to send U.S. troops to Africa. Obama administration and military officials envision a small U.S. deployment that runs months, Vershbow said, telling the lawmakers the administration will evaluate the effectiveness of the effort to boost regional forces in several months. Vershbow first told the panel that the primary goal was to help U.S. partners in the region remove strongman Joseph Kony and other Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leaders from the battlefield or capture them. Kony and LRA forces are accused of massacring civilians, including many children. Under questioning from Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Vershbow later acknowledged that the mission could lead to Kony being captured or killed. Committee members from both parties expressed skepticism about whether U.S. forces would be able to stay out of the fighting between Uganda-allied forces and the LRA. Vershbow and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Donald Yamamoto were frank in saying the administration could not give Congress such guarantees. Thats because the deployment is different from other so-called train-and-equip missions that American forces conduct routinely, as it will send U.S. troops into the field sometimes at the platoon level to assist allied forces, Vershbow said.
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That will put American troops close to the front lines. State and Pentagon officials explained that this is why they will be sent to central Africa combat equipped, in case must defend themselves. The need to ensure the U.S. troopers were ready and equipped to fight, if needed, led the White House to determine that it should comply with the War Powers Act by formally notifying lawmakers about the mission. The White House did just that on Oct. 14, the day it publicly announced the deployment. There was skepticism over the mission from both sides of the aisle, with both Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) raised pointed questions. Rohrabacher questioned the cost of such deployments and the wisdom of interjecting U.S. troops into African tribal disputes. The United States cannot afford to pay the price to win everyones freedom across the world, Rohrabacher said, pointing to the nearly $1 trillion cost to Washington of the recent Libya military intervention. (Rohrabacher said Libya should use its oil revenues to pay back Washington.) Sherman was skeptical that U.S. troops would actually just be training and equipping Ugandan and other allied forces, saying that proved not to be the case in Vietnam. When Vershbow could not guarantee that American special operations forces would not have to engage Lords Resistance Army forces in self-defense, Sherman questioned whether the administration was giving too much legal and operational sway to lieutenants. During the hearing, the officials and lawmakers described an LRA that consists of between 200 and 400 fighters. In their efforts to assist African allied troops, Vershbow acknowledged that U.S. troops could move across the central African region, operating in numerous nations including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and others. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) called the LRA not a sophisticated insurgency. He also pressed the officials on whether Ugandan officials formally requested [U.S.] boots on the ground. Vershbow danced around the question for several moments before telling Duncan they welcomed this kind of training.

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Connolly questioned the officials on just how the situation in Uganda and central Africa fit within U.S. strategic and national security interests. Everything is interconnected, Vershbow responded. Terrorist organizations can use such ungoverned and underdeveloped nations to run amok by training for and planning attacks, Vershbow said, pointing to Somalia as a prime example. Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio called for an estimate of how much the central African deployment would cost, saying, someone should have some idea about the likely price tag. The officials said U.S. Africa Command is now funding the operation with monies from its operations and maintenance coffers, and a more thorough cost projection is in the works. ### Administration Officials Face Skeptical Lawmakers on Uganda Operation (FOX News) http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/25/administration-officials-face-skepticallawmakers-on-uganda-operation/ 25 October 2011 The U.S. military operation against a ruthless guerrilla group accused of widespread atrocities is a short-term deployment with the specific goal of ending the threat of the Lord's Resistance Army in Africa, Obama administration officials insisted on Tuesday. Facing skeptical members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, administration officials said the roughly 100 American troops -- mostly U.S. Army Special Forces -- had been dispatched to central Africa as advisers to regional forces pursuing leader Joseph Kony and top commanders of the Lord's Resistance Army. The U.S. designated the group a terrorist organization in 2001. Alexander Vershbow, the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, said the guerrilla group had been reduced to about 200 core fighters spread across vast jungle terrain in Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan. However, Kony and other commanders remain at large and continue to order atrocities, which required U.S. help with intelligence and coordination of operations. "There are no doubt significant long-term challenges associated with building partner capacity in Africa, but this is a short-term deployment with specific goals and objectives," Vershbow told the committee. He later added: "If we think adjustments to the mission are warranted over time, we will consider them. If we do not believe our collective efforts are resulting in significant progress, we will not continue this deployment."

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Pressed by lawmakers for a timetable, Vershbow said he couldn't offer any specifics, but "we're talking months. We will review in a few months." Asked to define success, the Pentagon official said it was "capturing or killing Kony and other commanders." He also included defections from the guerrilla group. Long considered one of Africa's most brutal rebel groups, the Lord's Resistance Army began its attacks in Uganda more than 20 years ago but has been pushing westward. The Obama administration and human rights groups say its atrocities have left thousands dead and have forced as many as 300,000 Africans to flee. They have charged the group with seizing children to bolster its ranks of soldiers and sometimes forcing them to become sex slaves. Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for heinous attacks in multiple countries. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama notified Congress that he was sending about 100 U.S. troops to central Africa to advise in the fight against the guerrilla group. Vershbow said they are carrying small arms for protection and communication systems as they operate in an advisory role. Republicans and Democrats largely backed Obama's decision, seeing it as the next step after congressional passage in 2010 of the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, which had strong bipartisan support. Congressional outrage over the guerrilla group and Kony also remains strong. "We are not here to determine whether Joseph Kony is evil," said Rep. Ileana RosLehtinen, the Republican chairwoman of the committee. "We know that he is." Said Rep. Ed Royce, a Republican: "Sometimes just getting rid of one person does make a difference." Rep. Donald Payne, a Democrat, talked of a "madman." Yet lawmakers are weary of war after a decade of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, concerned about costs in a time of budget cuts and suspicious of a slippery slope when combat troops are used as military advisers. The long Vietnam War and the disastrous U.S. involvement in Somalia in the 1990s still weigh heavily. Rep. Donald Manzullo, a Republican, said there were concerns and anxiousness among lawmakers that the operation could expand, requiring more troops. Don Yamamoto, deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said the short-term deployment was part of a larger strategy in partnership with the United Nations, African Union and other partners. "The protection of civilians continues to be central to that strategy," he said.

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Frustration with Obama's use of the military in Libya without congressional approval also concerned some lawmakers, particularly Republicans. However, one of the strongest statements of support came from a conservative GOP senator who didn't attend the hearing but provided a statement. "This is not a Libya,' said Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican, who later added: "It is time to end Kony's reign of terror." Attending the hearing was 22-year-old Evelyn Apoko, who was abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army and maimed during years of captivity. ### Somalia's president questions Kenya's al-Shabaab mission (The Telegraph) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/8848537/Soma lias-president-questions-Kenyas-al-Shabaab-mission.html 25 October 2011 By Mike Pflanz Somalia's president has criticised Kenya's military invasion of his country, raising fears of a split in support for the mission to hunt down al-Qaeda-linked Islamists. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said the operation, already in its tenth day, had begun without him being fully informed, which would "not be allowed". "Somalia's government and its people will not allow forces entering its soil without prior agreement," he told reporters in Mogadishu. "There is only one thing we know about the Kenyan forces, and that is their offer of training to the national army of Somalia." The statements appeared to contradict a deal on "co-operation in undertaking security and military operations" including "coordinated pre-emptive action" signed between Kenyan and Somali ministers last week. The confusion threatens to destabilise relations between the two neighbours at a time when at least 2,000 Kenyan soldiers are deep within southern Somalia, hunting down alQaeda-linked Islamists accused of kidnapping Westerners. Demonstrations against Sheikh Sharif's comments erupted in a border town between the two countries on Tuesday, where there appeared to be strong support for the Kenyan mission. "We want Kenya and Somalia to fight al-Shabaab in every corner. We do not have any other hope for life," Gedi Farah, an elder from the Dhobley area, told the Reuters news agency. "Kenya, do not believe the words of our weak, mad president. Please fight al-Shabaab and go deep into Somalia. We want to return to our homes." Sultan Ahmed Farah,
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communications director for Sheikh Sharif's office, said that co-operation between Somalia and Kenya was ongoing and that the disagreement was simply over timing and sharing of information. "The concern is that certain things have to be discussed first before proceeding with the agreement of both parties," he said. "In the regard of Kenya training Somalia's armed forces, and helping with logistics, there is no issue. Only that for certain actions the information did not arrive before the operations took place." A Kenyan government spokesman could not immediately be reached. The diplomatic confusion came as Kenya stepped up security in its capital, Nairobi, following two separate explosions on a pub and a bus stop in the city centre on Monday, which killed one person and injured 24. Police refused to link the attacks to threats from al-Shabaab to revenge the Kenyan invasion with fresh terror strikes on Nairobi. ### Somali president blasted for anti-Kenya comments (Arab News) http://arabnews.com/world/article524253.ece 25 October 2011 By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU: Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed came under fire on Tuesday for casting doubt on the governments support for a Kenyan incursion into the south of the Horn of Africa nation to take on rebels. Ahmed said on Monday the Somali government was not happy with the deployment of Kenyan soldiers across the border because the incursion went beyond an initial agreement for logistical support for Somali soldiers. Kenya sent thousands of troops and heavy weapons into Somalia 10 days ago in a campaign to push Somalias Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab rebels away from the border, following a series of kidnappings by Somali gunmen on Kenyan soil. Kenyan soldiers have advanced on several fronts along with Somali troops and allied militias but there has yet to be a serious showdown with Al-Shabab. The first major confrontation is expected to be in the strategic transit town of Afmadow. In the Somali town of Dhobley near the border with Kenya, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets on Tuesday waving Kenyan and Somali flags and burning pictures of the president.

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We want Kenya and Somalia to fight Al-Shabab in every corner. We do not have any other hope for life, Gedi Farah, an elder from the Dhobley area, told Reuters. Kenya, do not believe the words of our weak, mad president. Please fight Al-Shabab and go deep into Somalia. We want to return to our homes, he said. Somali military officials and a spokesman for the pro-government Ras Kamboni militia urged the demonstrators to calm down, saying the presidents remarks were not in line with the Somali governments position. The Somali government does not support Al-Shabab. It is only the president and that will be solved, said Col. Yasin Warfa, a government military official. Since being elected as president in 2009 under a UN-hosted peace process, Ahmed has failed to stamp any authority on a country that has lacked effective central government control for two decades. Since launching an insurgency in 2007, Al-Shabab has seized large chunks of southern and central Somalia and is still battling government troops and African Union soldiers from Uganda and Burundi in parts of the capital Mogadishu. The group includes hundreds of foreign fighters who are urging jihad against the government and Al-Shabab has also struck outside Somalia, killing 79 people in the Ugandan capital Kampala last year. ### Tunisia election: Partial results suggest Ennahda win (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15453579 25 Oct 2011 Partial official results from Tunisia suggest victory for the moderate Islamist party Ennahda, in the first democratic elections prompted by the Arab Spring uprisings. The electoral commission said Ennahda was well ahead in the vote for a new assembly that will write a constitution and appoint a caretaker government. However Ennahda is not expected to have an overall majority. Coalition talks with secular parties have begun. Sunday's vote was hailed by observers. The polls were Tunisia's first democratic elections, and followed the fall of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown in January after mass demonstrations. He had been in power for 23 years.

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However, unlike its eastern neighbour Libya, Tunisia's transition from authoritarian rule has been largely peaceful. Caretaker government On Tuesday the electoral commission said Ennahda had won 15 out of 39 domestic seats declared so far in a new assembly of 217 seats. This brings Ennahda's total to 24, after the party won nine of the 18 seats reserved for Tunisians living abroad, in results declared on Monday. The party's leader, Rachid Ghannouchi, has pledged not to set up an Islamist state and to respect multi-party democracy. Ennahda officials named have named two centre-left secularist groups, the Congress for the Republic (CPR) and Ettakatol, as possible coalition partners. The CPR is in second place in the vote, officials said. Its leader, Moncef Marzouki, said he was ready to work with Ennahda and others. "We wish to have a national government as wide as possible with all the parties," he told Reuters news agency. Ettakatol leader Mustapha Ben Jafaar told AFP news agency coalition talks had already started. The US and EU have praised Tunisia on the peaceful election process, with President Barack Obama saying the vote was "an important step forward". ### Iran's Ahmadinejad says West set to plunder Libya (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/25/us-libya-ahmadinejadidUSTRE79O2QK20111025 25 October 2011 Western countries supported Muammar Gaddafi when it suited them but bombed the Libyan leader when he no longer served their purpose in order to "plunder" the north African country's oil wealth, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday. While Tehran has applauded the people of Libya for overthrowing the man it considered an illegitimate dictator, Ahmadinejad warned Libyans that the West now aimed to run their country for them.

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"Show me one European or American president who has not travelled to Libya or has not signed an agreement (with Gaddafi)," Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast live in which he accused the West of ordering the former leader's execution. "Some people said they killed this gentleman to make sure he would not be able to say anything, just like what they did to bin Laden," he said. Iran accuses the West of helping create the Sunni Muslim militant group al Qaeda run by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. special forces in Pakistan in May. Ahmadinejad derided the West's approach to the Security Council, which he called an "organization with no honor," saying the UN resolution to take action against Gaddafi was used as an authorization to "plunder" Libyan oil. "Any decision that would strengthen the presence, domination or influence of foreigners would be contrary to the Libyan nation's interests," Ahmadinejad said. "The expectation of the world of the Libyan nation is that they stand and run the country themselves." The downfall of Gaddafi, after he gave in to pressure to abandon nuclear work, has reinforced the view of hardliners in Tehran that no good would come of making concessions to the West. Iran has been subjected to four rounds of sanctions by the United Nations since 2006 over its disputed nuclear program. Western powers accuse Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon, but Tehran insists its program is peaceful. ### Africa: U.S. Tightens Military Grip on Africa (All Africa) http://allafrica.com/stories/201110250430.html 25 October 2011 By Glen Ford Scores of Somali civilians have been killed in U.S. drone attacks in the southern region of the country, as Washington tightens its military grip on much of the continent. The current offensive involves thousands of Kenyan troops that are threatening the major Somali city of Kismayo. The American drones are supporting the Kenyan invasion. The drones' origins are officially secret, but it is known that the U.S. operates drone bases in Ethiopia and Djibouti, which is home to a huge American base. For all practical purposes, the U.S. has made proxies of Ethiopia and the five member states of the East African Community: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. The Ugandans and Burundians safeguard the airport that is the lifeline for Somalia's puppet regime in Mogadishu, where the CIA operates a major facility. In September, the
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militaries of the East African Community held joint exercises with AFRICOM, the U.S. Africa Command. Such exercises with American forces have become commonplace. The U.S. Defence Department is busily training the militaries of Mali, Chad, Niger, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Gabon, Zambia, Uganda, Senegal, Mozambique, Ghana, Malawi and Mauretania. ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, is considering asking the U.S. navy to help it out with its pirate problem. Most of the militaries of the African Union already communicate with American command-and-control equipment, requiring U.S. advisors. The overlapping entanglements have allowed the U.S. military to achieve deep penetration of the armed forces of most African nations. In such a web of dependency, few standing African armies are capable of defending themselves if the aggressor is the United States. But in most cases, the U.S. would likely get its way without a fight, since the officer class of so many African militaries have direct ties with their American counterparts. The U.S. has so thoroughly infiltrated African armies, many, if not most, would be of no use for national defence against the Americans. The Americans are almost everywhere, but the French never left Africa. Although France and the U.S. were long-time rivals in Africa, waging proxy wars against each other through their African flunkies, their joint actions against Haiti and Libya, and in bringing down the government in the Ivory Coast, signal that the French and Americans are full partners in neo-colonialism. Now President Obama has officially sent 100 U.S. Special Forces troops to Uganda and neighbouring countries, ostensibly to track down a rebel force. They will also operate in the new nation of South Sudan. Meanwhile, the NATO attack on Libya threatens to set the whole northern tier of Africa ablaze, a pretext for further U.S. and French operations. American penetration of Africa has reached the point that any nation "such as Eritrea "that does not have a military relationship with the United States is marked for regime change. Instead of the panAfricanist dream of a United States of Africa, we are seeing an Africa under the military thumb of the United States. ### In Search of Terrorist Enemies in Africa (Huff Post) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-feffer/in-search-of-terrorist-en_b_1031364.html 25 October 2011 By John Feffer An informal competition took place during the Bush years for the title of "second front" in the war on terror. Administration officials often referred to Southeast Asia as the next
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major franchise location for al-Qaeda, with the Philippines in particular slated to become the "next Afghanistan." Then there was the border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, which State Department officials termed a "focal point for Islamic extremism in Latin America." Worried about the spread of al-Qaeda operatives in North Africa, the Bush administration also developed the Pan-Sahel Initiative, which became the TransSahara Counterterrorism Initiative before finally being folded into the Pentagon's new Africa Command. In none of these regions did a new Afghanistan in fact develop. Still, U.S. counterterrorism operatives continue to ply their trade all over the map. The "second front" thesis, meanwhile, is alive and well and living in Africa and its immediate environs. Last summer, long before the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the CIA was already billing al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) as the most urgent threat to the United States. Beginning in May, the shadowy Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) began using drones to target AQAP leaders in Yemen, which lies across the Red Sea from the horn of Africa. The campaign escalated over the summer, culminating in the killing of AQAP leader, U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, at the end of last month. The administration has also emphasized the link between al-Qaeda and the al-Shabaab militias in Somalia -through AQAP as a go-between -- and is now supporting Kenya's recent incursion into that country. Then there's the recent dispatch of U.S. Special Forces to central Africa, with Pentagon chief Leon Panetta worrying about "elements there that either have ties to al-Qaeda or that represent the forces of terrorism on their own." And plenty of pundits and politicians are urging the administration to address the prospect of radical Islamists taking over the North African countries liberated during the Arab Spring. It might seem a strange time for all this terrorism talk to resurface. Osama bin Laden is dead, and his cohort in Pakistan is beleaguered. There are fewer than 100 al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a spent force, and the Obama administration announced last week that all U.S. troops will be out of the country by year's end (though as many as a thousand may in fact remain behind). After the first Gulf War, Colin Powell complained that the United States was running out of enemies to fight. Now, the United States is discovering that it might be running out of terrorists to fight as well. Ah, but "terrorism" is a flexible term, and Africa is a big place. The "second front" thesis continues to thrive. But its just as full of hot air as before. Let's start with AQAP, the CIA's greatest terrorist concern. It's not particularly large, probably no more than 300 core operatives, according to Fawaz Gerges in his new book The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda, and it lacks any mass following. "Although AQAP is extremely dangerous -- as shown by its offensive against the Yemeni authorities, the failed underwear bomber, and the foiled mail bombings it poses a relatively slight challenge to Yemen and a limited security menace to the West," Gerges writes. "It does not possess the material, human means or endurance to sustain a transnational campaign,
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nor does it have the assets or resources to build viable alliances with Yemeni tribes and a social welfare infrastructure." The situation in Yemen is complicated by a major grassroots effort to unseat the countrys long-serving authoritarian leader Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Obama administration has called on Saleh to step down. But it has also relied on Saleh's support to conduct aerial attacks. Indeed, as Ibrahim Sharqieh of Brookings Doha Centre has pointed out, the United States is worried that Yemen's Islamist-flavored opposition, should it take power, would not continue to fight AQAP. Just as in Pakistan, however, the drone strikes in Yemen are focusing anger at the United States and helping to create future terrorists. The Obama administration would be well-advised to stop the drone attacks, decisively end its relationship with Saleh, and welcome a new political order in Yemen. Given the deepseated rift between Islamist politicians and al-Qaeda terrorists, this would also make for the most effective counter-terrorism policy. Obama is making similar mistakes just across the Red Sea in Africa proper. Last week, Kenya sent troops and tanks 100 miles into Somalia to fight the militant organization alShabaab, which it accused of kidnapping several foreigners in Kenya. Although the U.S. government has denied conducting air strikes in support of the operation, U.S. ambassador to Kenya Scott Gratian pledged technical assistance to the Kenyans. What seemed initially to be an invitation to the Kenyans to intervene has turned into something altogether different. Although equally disposed against al-Shabaab, the Somali government has rejected the invasion, thinking that Kenya was only intending to provide training and logistical support. The last time a country invaded Somalia Ethiopia in 2006, with U.S. support the disastrous action gave birth to the very al-Shabaab that Kenya is now fighting. Al-Shabaab, Arabic for "the youth," is not exactly a group of choir boys. In 2010, the group announced its formal affiliation to al-Qaeda. Despite this announcement, the group's ties to al-Qaeda are likely to be weak, and its popularity recently plummeted because of its culpability for the famine that has struck Somalia. But there's nothing like a foreign invasion to bring a country together across ideological lines, as happened after the Ethiopian invasion five years ago. Al-Shabaab might just have been given a new lease on life by Kenya's actions. In nearby Uganda, meanwhile, the dispatch of U.S. Special Forces is, on the face of it, about dealing with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by the pathological Joseph Kony. The LRA certainly qualifies as a terrorist outfit, but Kony is no Islamic radical. He considers himself some form of Christian. So why is Panetta suddenly talking about alQaeda in this case? It goes back to the link the United States has asserted between alShabaab and al-Qaeda in Somalia. "The Ugandans did not pull out from Somalia following the 2010 Kampala bombings," writes Foreign Policy In Focus contributor Paul Mutter in Great Game in the Horn of Africa, "and remain committed to maintaining a force there, something other U.S. allies in Africa have been reluctant to do. Those boots on the ground might go some way in
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firmly establishing a central Somalia government the United States and Uganda can live with." Terrorism is, of course, not the only thing the Obama administration is looking at in Africa. Securing access to oil is a key priority for the United States, and it needs relative stability to guarantee that access. Uganda is just starting up a new oil industry. Energy corporations are ramping up their exploration in Kenya. To the north, the oil fields of South Sudan have outside investors salivating. On the other side of Africa, Ghana has also recently discovered black gold, and it's already had an effect on its economic statistics. "According to Economy Watch, Ghana was the worlds fastest growing economy in the first half of 2011 with a GDP growth rate of 20 percent, which is six percent higher than the first runner-up, Qatar," writes FPIF contributor Kwei Quartey in Dismantling Elmina Castle. But the oil profits remain concentrated in the hands of the few in a country where the gross national income per capita hovers around $700 and life expectancy is only 57. The discovery of new oil fields in Africa raises the stakes considerably. The intersection of oil and militarism, what Kevin Philips has called petro-imperialism, has transformed the U.S. military into a "global oil-protection force." The maps of oil fields in Africa and U.S. military involvement in the continent correspond all too closely. The threat of terrorists from Africa sponsoring another lone suicide attack on America certainly captures headlines. But the threat of terrorists disrupting the flow of oil from the region is the more immediate concern of national security officials. During the Bush years, second fronts in terrorism proliferated as the ruling neoconservatives imagined remapping the globe to accommodate U.S. interests. Today, there is really only one second front, Africa. As U.S. forces continue to withdraw from Central Asia and the Middle East, this second front is fast becoming the war on terrorisms first front. It will be a terrible irony if the first American president with roots in Africa ends up turning the continent upside down in America's endless search for, and production of, enemies. ### Uganda opposition leader to stay under house arrest (Reuters Africa) http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE79O0AR20111025 25 October 2011 By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda will keep opposition leader Kizza Besigye under house arrest until he promises to stop participating in anti-government protests that have marred the nation's image, national police said on Tuesday. A senior official in his party rejected the demand and said his supporters were mobilising to free Besigye.
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Early this year, a spate of opposition led, anti-government protests -- stoked by rampant inflation, escalating corruption and extravagance of public officials -- rocked the east African country boasting the third largest economy in the region. Besigye, head of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Uganda's biggest opposition party ranged against long-ruling President Yoweri Museveni, has been the galvanising figure for the popular unrest. He has been confined to his home in the town of Kasangati outside the capital Kampala since October 18, when he attempted to join the second round of the so-called "walk-towork" protests. "We'll keep him under preventive arrest and our personnel will not allow him to leave his house," said police spokeswoman, Judith Nabakoba. "Regaining his liberty and freedom will depend on his judgement. He will have to first renounce participating in violent activities and disrupting peace." Police have arrested dozens of opposition members across the country over the last several days for joining the protests, in which motorists and commuters abandon vehicles and instead walk to their workplaces. Seven of those arrested have been charged with treason and three with concealment of treason. FDC deputy foreign secretary Ann Mugisha said Besigye would not comply with police demands and that his backers were being summoned to converge at his home to liberate him. "Besigye is a strong and determined man and he won't give in to intimidation... We're mobilising his supporters and they're the ones who will go to his home and liberate him." The commander of the police unit stationed outside Besigye's gate, Sam Omara, told local television on Monday evening that they had banned Besigye from receiving visitors after being embarrassed by a group of university students. After a brief visit to Besigye, the students donated a potty, a bucket and rolls of toilet paper to the policemen who Besigye had accused of lacking toilet facilities. "Of course their intention is starve him, they have already remanded his aides... but there are thousands of people of good who will keep sending him food," Mugisha said. For the third time, Besigye stood and lost to Museveni in an election in February this year, but he rejected the results, asserting that the vote had been rigged.

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In power for 25 years, Museveni was initially credited with restoring the rule of law and fixing a broken economy in Uganda but has subsequently been accused of becoming increasingly autocratic and seeking to be president for life. ### END REPORT

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