Media Review for June 15, 2012

By Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Updated: 06/15/2012

Please note: The following news items are presented here for informational purposes. The views expressed within them are those of the authors and/or individuals quoted, not those of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, the National Defense University, or the Department of Defense.

Today’s News

The Future of America’s Partnership with Sub-Saharan Africa
Today, President Obama took another step in deepening our partnerships with the nations and peoples of sub-Saharan Africa. In signing a new Presidential Policy Directive on the region, President Obama has committed the United States to a forward-looking strategy in which we will work closely with our African partners to advance the prosperity, security, and dignity that citizens deserve. [...] The U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa reflects the core components and strategic priorities outlined in the Presidential Policy Directive. The White House

U.S. shares fruit of spy missions
U.S. surveillance operations in Africa are dependent on permission from countries willing to host bases for the spy planes. In exchange, those countries usually insist that the Americans share intelligence gleaned from the skies. Such arrangements have the potential to go awry, especially in Africa, where many countries have poor human rights records. U.S. officials said they take care to withhold intelligence that could enable their African partners to target political opponents instead of terrorist groups, but they acknowledged that it can be difficult to know the difference. The Washington Post

Obama on Africa: Speak nicely and use good spy planes
“As we look toward the future, it is clear that Africa is more important than ever to the security and prosperity of the international community and to the United States in particular,” said Obama. Billed as a sweeping new strategy for US involvement in sub-Saharan Africa, the document is more like a list of the Obama administration’s successes in the continent so far and a promise to do more to boost economic development. There is one glaring omission. The new policy does not specifically mention the security threat posed by the rapid spread of Islamic extremists, allied to Al Qaeda, in Mali, Nigeria and Somalia. Globalpost

Contractors run U.S. spying missions in Africa
[...]To further disguise the mission, the U.S. military has taken another unusual step: It has largely outsourced the spying operation to private contractors. The contractors supply the aircraft as well as the pilots, mechanics and other personnel to help process electronic intelligence collected from the airspace over Uganda, Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. In October, President Obama sent about 100 elite U.S. troops to central Africa to scour the terrain for Joseph Kony, the messianic and brutal leader of a Ugandan rebel group. But American contractors have been secretly searching for Kony from the skies long before that, at least since 2009, under a project code-named Tusker Sand, according to documents and people familiar with the operation. The Washington Post

U.N. chief warns African troops hunting for Kony short on food, equipment
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is questioning the effectiveness of the manhunt for fugitive warlord Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army, saying African Union troops are short on equipment, food and transportation. In a 14-page report to the U.N. Security Council, Ban urged member nations to provide the needed resources, warning the troops would be able to carry out their mission. CNN

Sabre-rattling hides West Africa’s fears
Analysts warn that a military bid in Mali will fail but regional leaders fear the instability will spread. [...] One of the key players in this crisis is Algeria, home base of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, whose main leader, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, is Algerian. But, because of its long-standing gripe with France, Algeria has said it would not join a military offensive in northern Mali. Alain Antil, director for Africa at the French Institute for International Relations, said that Algeria wanted to keep France out for geo­political and strategic reasons. “Algeria feels surrounded by so-called pro-French countries like Morocco, the Sahel countries and now Libya after the fall of Gaddafi. The Mail and Guardian

Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda ready to rule The Hague
When the new prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was invited to sit by the journalists who came to interview her, she looked down and proclaimed, “The hot seat!” But the world’s next top prosecutor – Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda – doesn’t shy away from controversy. Radio Netherland

Togo: Protests Continue for Third Day in Lomé
Protests are continuing for a third day in Lomé after two days of clashes between security forces and demonstrators calling for reforms ahead of upcoming elections. The BBC reported Thursday that angry crowds were again protesting on the streets. The demonstrations are being organized under the auspices of “Sauvons le Togo” (”Save Togo”). allAfrica

Somalia must reclaim control over airspace and waters: UN may owe millions in unaccounted for air navigation charges
For nearly two decades, a small United Nations body has managed Somalia’s airspace without Somali involvement and international oversight. Sources close to that office reveal that an internal report documented its 19 years of mismanagement, financial opacity and failure in mandate fulfilment that has bewildered the United Nations civil aviation authority. African Argument

Liberia’s Sirleaf seeks solution for I. Coast violence
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said Thursday she was working with Ivory Coast leader Alassane Ouattara to deal with deadly border attacks in his country. She also denied there was tension between the two nations after Ivory Coast charged that the attackers who killed 18 people, including seven UN peacekeepers in western Ivory Coast last week, came from Liberia. “I am not only concerned but I was also very involved in the national security meeting with my cabinet,” Sirleaf told journalists. AFP

The Sudans: A playground for proxies
Iran and Israel may become more involved in the Sudanese imbroglio. [...] Since an Islamist-backed military coup brought Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, to power in 1989, Shia-run Iran has seen Sunni-dominated Sudan as a useful ally in north-east Africa, and has used Sudan’s east side as a corridor for weapons to be smuggled into Egypt and on to Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group in the Gaza Strip. Israel bombed Iranian convoys on that route in 2009. The Economist

Blow to Transition as Court Dissolves Egypt’s Parliament
A panel of judges appointed by Egypt’s ousted president, Hosni Mubarak, threw the nation’s troubled transition to democracy into grave doubt Thursday with rulings that dissolved the popularly elected Parliament and allowed the toppled government’s last prime minister to run for president, escalating a struggle by remnants of the old elite to block Islamists from coming to power. The New York Time

Libya’s High Court Strikes Down Law Banning Glorification Of Gadhafi
Libya’s Supreme Court decided on Thursday that its citizens should have the right to glorify Moammar Gadhafi, who ruled the country for more than three decades until his ouster last year. Law 37, which called for prison sentences for those who spoke well of Gadhafi and for those who published bad news about the February 17 revolution, was challenged by a lawyer who argued the law violated the freedom of speech. NPR

Libya needs more than elections to prevent civil war
[...] Apart from terror attacks , Libyans are fighting each other. Militiamen act with impunity, as the recent seizure of Tripoli airport showed, while clashes continue in the southern town of Kufra, where pro-government militiamen are locked in an armed conflict with tribal forces over smuggling routes. The clashes have so far claimed at least 20 lives. Civil war and increased bloody lawlessness in Libya is now a real possibility, with all indicators suggesting the worst may be yet to come because of the continued lack of state control and failure to stabilise the security environment. The Guardian

Egypt’s Judges and Generals Dissolve the Parliament: Is the Revolution Now Truly Over?
The coup d’état that began 18 months ago in Egypt with the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak initially camouflaged itself in the language of revolution and promises of democracy, even as it worked to prevent the collapse of the old order and divide and conquer its challengers. But Thursday’s rulings by the Supreme Constitutional Court have shed the disguise: Egypt will be effectively ruled by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) junta and its backers in the bureaucracy and judiciary until further notice. Time

It’s Still Mubarak’s Egypt
[...] Mubarak made an indelible mark on Egypt during the 29 years, 3 months, 28 days, and 6 hours he ruled Egypt. Even with the man behind bars, his legacy has somehow persevered, and the revolution has failed to conclusively wipe out the old order. Whether Mubarak’s demise is imminent or not, he has escaped the grasp of the revolutionaries, only deepening the frustrations that have pervaded Egypt’s transition. Foreign Policy

Former Nigeria Military Leader Hints at Presidential Run
Three years before Nigeria’s next presidential election, retired General Muhammadu Buhari has rescinded his pledge not to run again, hinting he make take a fourth try at the office. Buhari, a former military head of state, has an unusual reputation for a leader in Nigeria. Supporters say he is not corrupt. In fact, they say he is incorruptible. VOA

Côte d’Ivoire’s capital: Better late than never
[...] Basilique Notre Dame de la Paix (Our Lady of Peace), as the Catholic church is known, adjoins the walled compound of the first Ivorian post-independence leader, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who commissioned the basilica in the mid-1980s after decreeing that his home village should become the nation’s capital. To this day, not a single ministry or embassy has moved from Abidjan, the commercial hub. (The former president, who died in 1993, is pictured next to Jesus in one stained-glass panel.). The Economist

Remarks at the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum to Mark Global Economic Statecraft Day
[...] We are also proud of how AGOA has contributed to this progress. Last year, imports from AGOA countries were more than six times as high as they were 10 years ago. And AGOA has helped promote not just oil, but value-added exports, including apparel, manufactured goods, and agricultural products. It’s led to new jobs, the rise of new sectors, and new business opportunities for people in every country represented here as well as the United States. State.gov

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This entry was written by Africa Center for Strategic Studies, posted on June 15, 2012 at 7:49 am, filed under Media Review and tagged . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.