[Marxism] US Military Secretly Intervening in Uganda, Mali, Mauritania, Chad, and Niger

["Tony Abdo" <gojack10@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

So assured is he that the antiwar movement will not object (or even take
notice), that US General Wald talks openly about these operations to a BBC
reporter.    Luckily, the Libertarian site..antiwar.com.. did take notice.
 It illustrates the need to expand the antiwar movement beyond just being
focussed on Iraq.

Tony Abdo
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
US to increase African military presence
By Martin Plaut
BBC regional analyst

Gen Wald: The US is involved in the fight against Uganda's rebel LRA
The US military interest in Africa has been transformed by its determination
to win what it calls the war on terrorism in the wake of 11 September.
General Charles Wald, the US general who is in charge for African
operations, told the BBC that the US plans to increase the number of
facilities across the continent.

He said the facilities are vital if the US is to intervene in Africa's many
conflicts.

"The distances are huge, the problems are multiple, and we need multiple
options to respond to those problems," he said.

He said most of the facilities will not be full scale bases, but rather
airfields with guaranteed access to fuel.

Home-grown defence
He said the US is willing to back African efforts to produce pan-African
defence forces.

Mali troops get desert training
General Wald was enthusiastic about the African Union's concept of
developing five regional brigades - rapid reaction forces to snuff out
crises as they develop.

He said that US special operations training was already under way in Mali
and Mauritania, and was planned for Chad and Niger.

General Wald also confirmed what had long been suspected - that the US is
directly involved in the fight against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in
Uganda - although he would not be drawn on the form this assistance is
taking.

"I have met with [Uganda's] President Museveni. I have heard personally that
he is very pleased with the support we are giving him," he said.

"Its not just moral support... But many things need to be kept a bit more
private."

Overall, America's benign neglect of Africa after the end of the cold war is
now clearly a thing of the past.

_________________________________________________________________
Get tax tips, tools and access to IRS forms ? all in one place at MSN Money!
http://moneycentral.msn.com/tax/home.asp


_______________________________________________
Marxism mailing list
Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism