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WhyChinuaAchebe,the Eagle on the Iroko, isAfrica's writer of the century
Flashpoint: In15 years: Nigeria could collapse,destabilize entire West Africa - U.S. intelligence analysts claim;Obasanjo calls them"prophets of doom"....
Osamabin-Laden's goons threaten Nigeria andAfrica's stability. USAfricaonline.com Special Report
U.S. expands support to fight terrorism inAfrica, with $100 million each year
Special to USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston,CLASSmagazine
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Theplan and action will bring together military staff from nineparticipating countries for medical training and command-postexercises, drawn and focused on: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal,Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Chad and Nigeria
AP/Dakar, Senegal- The United States is pouring more soldiers andmoney into its anti-terrorism campaign in Africa, including inAlgeria and Nigeria, both oil-rich nations where radical Islam has afollowing.
A new effort outlined Wednesday in a statement from the U.S.Embassy in Senegal proposes spending $100 million a year over fiveyears to boost security in some of the world's least-policed areas,starting with a joint military exercise in the region next month.
An earlier anti-terror exercise with a budget of just $6 millionfocused on trooptraining in four west African nations. The new campaign will targetnine north and west African nations and seek to bolster regionalcooperation Analysts were waiting to see if the program would befully funded &emdash; but said the intended budgetary increase showsthe United States is taking West Africa more seriously.
"If they're turning the corner to $100 million, that's graduationinto something much larger," said J. Stephen Morrison, Africadirector at the Washington D.C.-based Center for Strategic andInternational Studies. "It's still modest, but it's a dramatic stepup."
Maj. Holly Silkman, a U.S. military spokeswoman, saidunderpopulated border areas could be sanctuaries for "terrorists orwould-be terrorists."
"We want to increase security in those areas by training with eachcountry's military and creating a regional focus, rather than just acountry focus," Silkman said by telephone from European Commandheadquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.
U.S. officials have long viewed northwestern Africa's vast desertstretches as prime real estate for aspiring terrorists seeking to setup training camps or other bases. Some U.S. commanders liken thearea's ungoverned expanses to Afghanistan during Taliban rule, whenOsama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror group thrived.
The region is shot through with sandy tracks still traveled bycamel caravans &emdash; ancient thoroughfares officials say militantscan use to traverse poorly guarded borders. Much of the trooptraining will focus on units responsible for guarding frontiers, saidSilkman.
Muslims in west and north Africa, like Muslims elsewhere,generally are moderate. But extremists do exist. Militants haveroamed south from oil-rich Algeria into West Africa recent years, andin northern Nigeria, years of poverty and brutal military rule hasradicalized some in the population.
"We're concerned with the radical movement," Silkman said. "Islamisn't the problem, it's only the radicals."
Nigeria:
Morrison, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies,said the United States now appears to have created a"counterterrorism bookend" to its strategy in east Africa, which hasseen a spate of terror attacks, including the 1998 bombings of theU.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania blamed on al-Qaida.
Notable among the new entries is Nigeria &emdash; Africa'smost-populous nation at 130 million, and the source of one-fifth ofall American oil imports. "By adding Nigeria, that adds a verysignificant dimension, because northeastern Nigeria is arguably thearea that poses the greatest vulnerability in terms of al-Qaida oraffiliates taking root," Morrison said.
WhyBush should focus on dangersfacing Nigeria's return todemocracyand Obasanjo's slippery slide.
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