Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Media Review for January 27, 2012
http://www.africanviews.org/pundits/2012/01/27/africa-center-for-strategic-studies-media-review/
AQIM replaces Sahara emir
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) designated Algerian terrorist Nabil Makhloufi, alias Nabil Abu Alqama, as the new head of the Sahara emirate. The "appointment" of Abu Alqama, who replaced Yahia Djouadi, "took place during the latter half of November 2011", ANI reported last month. Magharebia
Boko Haram asked in for a talk by Nigerian president
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is asking Boko Haram to identify themselves and clearly state their demands. In this way, the president is opening up to negotiating with the violent Islamist sect and recognising that military confrontation alone will not end the insurgency. Radio Netherland
Boko Haram 'leader' issues new threats in internet message
The purported leader of Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has issued new threats in a message posted on YouTube while also saying last week's attacks in Kano were over the torture of its members. Times Live
SEALs becoming face of Obama's defense strategy
The Navy SEAL operation that freed two Western hostages in Somalia is representative of the Obama administration's pledge to build a smaller, more agile military force that can carry out surgical counterterrorist strikes to cripple an enemy. CBS News
East Africa Is the New Epicenter of America's Shadow War
When Adm. Eric Olson, the former leader of U.S. Special Operations Command, wanted to explain where his forces were going, he would show audiences a photo that NASA took, titled "The World at Night." The lit areas showed the governed, stable, orderly parts of the planet. The areas without lights were the danger zones - the impoverished, the power vacuums, the places overrun with militants that prompted the attention of elite U.S. troops. And few places were darker, in Olson's eyes, than East Africa. Wired
Somali Government Backs US Hostage Rescue
The Somali government says it supports the U.S. military operation that freed two Western aid workers who had been held hostage in the war-ravaged country. In a statement released Thursday, Somalia's transitional government said the rescue of Jessica Buchanan, an American, and Poul Thisted, a Dane, was a "great joy" to "right-thinking people everywhere." VOA
US Navy Seals rescued American hostages from Somalia - why won't Britain do the same?
[...] if the Americans have found a new sense of self belief in conducting daring rescue missions - this was the first direct US military engagement in Somalia since the notorious Black Hawk Down affair in 1993 - why isn't Britain following suit? It was not that long ago that Britain's Special Air Service (SAS) was regarded as the world's leading exponent of daring rescues following its successful ending of the Iranian embassy siege in 1980, when all but one of the hostages held by Iraqi-trained terrorists were freed, and five of the six terrorists killed. The Telegraph
U.K. Companies Introduce Anti-Piracy Training
A group of British companies have blended commercial-off-the-shelf electronics to help governments and navies ward off pirate attacks. Shown at the Defence Geospatial Intelligence 2012 conference in London on Tuesday, the yet to be named system helps trainees ashore or afloat learn to spot behavior indicating that a ship is under attack or has been captured by pirates. The system can help real-world operators as well. Defense News
Rwanda: 'Politics Without Development' Is the Biggest Threat to Stability
This week in Kigali a seminar on Preventing Youth Radicalization in East Africa was being organized by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a research unit of the US Department for Defense, jointly with the Government of Rwanda. This is a good opportunity to come back to an ambitious report Rwanda. Assessing Risks to Stability published in June 2012 by another US strategic think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The study was commissioned by AFRICOM as part of a series examining the risks of instability in 10 African countries over the next decade. allAfrica
South African Dominance May Derail Bid for Key Africa Post
South Africa's bid to flex its foreign-policy muscle by capturing the African Union's top post may be thwarted by nations resentful of its already dominant role on the world's poorest continent. South Africa initially failed to back the 54-nation body's demand last year that Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo cede power to Alassane Ouattara following a disputed election. It also clashed with members Gabon, Nigeria and Ethiopia, which recognized Libya's National Transitional Council even as President Jacob Zuma was persuading the AU to delay recognition. Business Week
Kenya: Top Govt Officials Step Aside Pending Trial
Kenya's Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura have stepped aside from office following a decision by ICC pre-trial Judges to confirm charges of crimes against humanity levelled against them. Daily Nation
American NGO workers prevented from leaving Egypt
Tension between the US government and the Egyptian military authorities has reached a new peak after it emerged that several American non-governmental workers, including the son of a member of President Obama's administration, are being prevented from leaving the country in an ongoing spat over Egypt's recent parliamentary elections. Sam LaHood, the son of the US transportation secretary Ray LaHood, was turned back at the airport in Cairo on Saturday in a significant escalation of the diplomatic stand-off between the two countries. The Guardian
Mali rebels push south to open third front
Tuareg-led Malian rebels opened a new front on Thursday in an increasingly violent quest for independence that has killed dozens of people since the start of the year, military and civilian sources said on Thursday. Reuters
Clinton's deputy, Museveni talk rights today
The US deputy Secretary of State, Ambassador William Burns, is expected in the country today to engage with President Museveni on a range of bilateral issues, including regional security and good governance. In a statement released by the Department of State, the guests and Mr Museveni will also discuss human rights issues as well. Daily Monitor
U. S. official says to partner Ghana on peace, food security issues
The U. S. government desires to partner Ghana in peace and security, food security and health issues in the coming years, visiting U. S. Deputy Secretary of State Williams Burns said Thursday. Meeting Ghanaian president John Evans Atta Mills here, Burns said Ghana had been instrumental in international peace-keeping programs and the U. S. would strengthen its relations with the West African country in this respect. Xinhua
Aid group halts work in Libya over 'torture'
Aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has halted its work in detention centres in a Libyan city because it said its medical staff were being asked to patch up detainees mid-way through torture sessions so they could go back for more abuse. "Patients were brought to us in the middle of interrogation for medical care, in order to make them fit for more interrogation," Christopher Stokes, MSF general director, said in a statement on Thursday. Al Jazeera
Army up his sleeve: Mugabe's military strongmen likely to stay
A strong indication that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will unilaterally reappoint key military allies when their contracts expire at the end of the month has fanned fresh dispute in the country's troubled unity government. Mail and Guardian
Zimbabwe: : To Yuan or Not to Yuan, That is the Question
From downtown shops that stock cheap clothing and shoes that fall apart after one wear, to mining concessions in platinum, gold and diamonds - the Chinese finger is now in virtually every Zimbabwean pie. From city sidewalks to low-income suburbs, the Chinese have become part of the local population, and if some senior government bureaucrats have their way, the country could soon find itself adopting the Chinese Yuan as its official currency. IPS
South Sudan seeks alternatives for oil exports
Against the background of an escalating row over the sharing of oil revenues between Juba and Khartoum, an agreement has been signed to build a pipeline from South Sudan's oilfields to the Kenyan coastal town of Lamu. Deutsche Welle
Clooney's satellites catch artillery barrage in Sudan
George Clooney's satellites photographed an artillery barrage in the Sudan border region of South Kordofan. Earlier this week Clooney's satellite project showed proof the Sudan army was preparing for an assault against an area with civilians. Globalpost
Ouattara signs new deal to keep French troops in Côte d'Ivoire
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Côte d'Ivoire counterpart Alassane Ouatarra have signed a joint security agreement which will keep French troops in the country, but reduce their number from 450 to 300 with a focus on training local forces. RFI
Ivory Coast forced to drop free public healthcare system due to rising costs
Ivory Coast is abandoning free healthcare for all after a brief experiment because of rapidly escalating costs. "In nine months the government had to pay 30bn CFA francs [about US$60m] under difficult circumstances," health minister Yoman N'dri said in Abidjan on Tuesday. The Guardian
Will Congo re-do its flawed elections?
Congolese politics, usually full of fire and scandal, seem devoid of hope these days. The presidential and legislative elections were both so badly botched that it is apparently impossible to figure out who won what. And yet, there is little hope of any far-reaching solution. The donors are divided, with the United States "deeply disappointed," the Belgians wanly congratulatory, and the South Africans outright buoyant. In the meantime, the opposition has not been able to mobilize any significant protests, largely because they are arrested/beaten/tear-gassed. CS Monitor
Should the Right of Africa's Diaspora to Vote Come With the Responsibility to Pay Taxes?
African countries are increasingly including provisions in their constitutions that extend the right to members of the Diaspora to vote in national elections while living in foreign countries the result of an emerging consensus that they hold great potential to contribute to the development of those nations. As is evident from emerging economies, with appropriate policy frameworks the Diaspora can be an effective force in the development process.
http://www.africanviews.org/pundits/2012/01/27/africa-center-for-strategic-studies-media-review/
Brookins
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