The new embessy location is not known and who says its Villa this or that?. The article says so quoting government sources. Now, which government it is doesn't really matter for it is nearly impossible to discern where the Tigray government in Addis ends and the puppet regime in Muqdisho begins.

Every occupying nation must get its "Green Zone". Mogadishu deputy mayor survives bomb attack Sat May 26, 2007 11:30AM BST By Guled Mohamed MOGADISHU, May 26 (Reuters) - Mogadishu's deputy mayor survived a roadside blast on Saturday that killed a boy and wounded at least five others, the latest Iraq-style insurgent attack in the chaotic capital. Deputy Mayor Abdifatah Ibrahim Omar has only been on the job since last month, when he replaced his father who was killed in a similar explosion in February. "I was the target of the landmine blast, but I survived. A 10-year-old boy died on the spot. The mine exploded after I had just passed it," Omar told Reuters by telephone moments after the blast, his voice hoarse. "It was a remote-controlled landmine. The type that is nowadays often used in Mogadishu by these people." Four of his guards and a 70-year-old man on the street were seriously wounded, he said. Another deputy mayor, Mohamed Osman, was in the car but escaped injury. Insurgents from a defeated militant Islamist movement have increasingly adopted tactics employed by Iraqi guerrillas since the interim government and its Ethiopian allies forced them out of Mogadishu in December after a brief war. They have used roadside bombs and assassinated government officials to fight back, following two rounds of heavy battles that levelled entire neighbourhoods and killed more than 1,300 people in March and April. Shopkeeper Nur Abdikadir said he heard a loud bang followed by smoke and flames. He closed his shop and fled. "I saw two soldiers being pulled out of the half-burning car," Abdikadir said. "The explosion was loud and terrifying. I heard gun shots immediately after the explosion. The troops were firing in panic." Security officials said soldiers had rounded up several people found in the vicinity of the blast. POLICE ATTACKED Late on Friday, unidentified attackers also threw a grenade and wounded two policemen guarding Mogadishu's seaport. "The policemen thought the assailants were jokingly throwing stones at them only to realise it was a hand grenade," port worker Abdullahi Abdi said. The insurgents, who also include some disgruntled gunmen from the city's dominant ****** tribe, have struck government buildings, convoys and have attacked Ugandan peacekeepers patrolling the city under an African Union mandate. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin flew out of Mogadishu on Saturday, after arriving the day before to meet with the government about the security situation. Government sources said he was also discussing the establishment of Ethiopia's embassy to Somalia inside the Villa Baidoa presidential compound. President Abdullahi Yusuf is trying to impose central control on the Horn of Africa nation, in anarchy since warlords banded together to oust dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Although Mogadishu remains one of the most dangerous and heavily armed cities in the world, Yusuf's administration has imposed more authority over it than any of the other 14 attempts at a central government since Barre's toppling. Reuters

^^^^ Get voice mail. It won't ring forever then. How this thread came to be this long is almost a mystery. Seventy six pages of daaco.

Originally posted by Jacaylbaro: Everybody supporting somaliland is fascist to some ppl You're a smart man, JB. You also probably get the feeling that the tide has turned (probably long ago) and recognition is not coming. Why do you insist on projecting this image of Somaliland as a formidable entity and its secession a foregone conclusion? Neither of those are true. When Zenawi has a better lover he'll drop you like a hot potato. The basis of the secession is questionable if not outright fraudulent. Somaliland is unable to defend itself against skirmishes with (the other deluded entity) Puntland so how will it defend itself against the US/Ethiopian backed TFG? Be realistic saaxib. Like Ngonge said, it's time to clean the dust off your old white and blue or just stick with your foreign passport. And J. Peter Pham is no friend of yours. You'll realize that when you wake up from this Somaliland coma. We're all nolanders saaxib.

Originally posted by roobleh: not many of us were suspicious about this deal and we were wrong. One of these days, you're gonna have to name those to whom "we" refers.

^^^^ I don't know why but I get the feeling that unlike JB and CG, you'd look smashing in heels.

When we were kings.

The problem is that Somalia is too strategically important for too many actors to be left to work out its own political destiny, yet not important enough to call forth whole-hearted commitment to its future.

During the first three weeks of May, the cycle of political devolution in Somalia that had set in after the military defeat of the Islamic Courts Council (I.C.C.) in December 2006 by Ethiopian armed forces supporting the country's internationally recognized but weak Transitional Federal Government (T.F.G.) continue, with tensions persisting among opposing actors and fractures surfacing within them. The collapse of the I.C.C., which had sought to unify Somalia in an Islamic state based on Shari'a law and had gained control over most of the country south of the breakaway sub-states of Puntland and Somaliland, as an organized political faction left the T.F.G. with the challenges of providing security and reconciling disparate political forces in the country, which it has not yet succeeded in meeting. Facing determined resistance from a coalition of the ****** clan, I.C.C. militants and nationalists in Somalia's official capital Mogadishu, Ethiopian and T.F.G. forces launched a major offensive in late April that succeeded in breaking the armed opposition, but not in eliminating it. After a brief lull in violent conflict, the opponents of the T.F.G. -- particularly the jihadist wing of the I.C.C. -- switched their tactics from artillery attacks to roadside bombings and targeted assassinations that have continued on a nearly daily basis since May 5, including attacks on the T.F.G.'s prime minister and Mogadishu's mayor, former warlord Mohamed Dheere, who attributed them to ****** efforts to "sabotage" the government, which clan leaders denied. The Ethiopians and the T.F.G. have responded with weapons searches and arrests of suspected militants. At present, neither side has gained a decisive advantage. Depending on external military support for its survival, the T.F.G. has relied on Addis Ababa as a stop gap pending the full deployment of a planned 8,000 member African Union (A.U.) peacekeeping mission (AMISOM), of which only a 1,400 member Ugandan contingent is on the ground. The mission suffered a setback and its future became clouded when, on May 16, a roadside bombing of an AMISOM convoy killed four Ugandan troops and wounded five others. The tenuous situation of the T.F.G. is evidenced by the fragility of its military support. Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi, is eager to withdraw from Somalia because of the financial burdens of the occupation, growing domestic opposition to it, the heating up of an insurgency in Ethiopia's ethnic-Somali ****** region (Somali Regional State) and the unpopularity of the occupation in Somalia. Addis Ababa, however, is under A.U. and Western pressure not to withdraw until AMISOM replaces its forces, which is an increasingly unlikely eventuality as African states that have previously pledged their troops to the mission -- Benin, Burundi, Ghana and Nigeria -- hang back, citing security concerns and inadequate funding from Western donor powers and the A.U. The May 16 bombing of the Ugandan convoy has increased reluctance to contribute to AMISOM and has activated domestic opposition to the mission in Uganda. The Western donor powers are aware that Addis Ababa cannot sustain the occupation indefinitely and that the occupation is counter-productive to the T.F.G.'s legitimacy. They are using their diplomatic and financial leverage to try to convince the T.F.G.'s leadership -- President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi -- to hold a planned National Reconciliation Conference (N.R.C.) quickly and to ensure that it represents all Somalia's significant political forces, including conciliatory elements of the I.C.C. and opposition sectors of the ****** clan. Although preparations for the N.R.C., which is scheduled to open in mid-June, are underway, its composition is yet to be determined and it is still uncertain whether or not it will be held. The combination of a revived, though currently relatively low-level insurgency, half-hearted external military support and qualified diplomatic and thus far inadequate financial backing places the T.F.G. in the position of a weak protagonist. Its major advantage is the absence of a concerted opposition to it, yet that advantage is cut by the dispersion of independent power centers that attends the devolutionary cycle. The T.F.G.: A Weak Protagonist Although each conflict situation needs to be analyzed in terms of its own particular configuration of power and interest, developments in Somalia have fallen into a pattern that bears resemblance to the political dynamics of Afghanistan and Iraq. In all three countries, a regime or an ascending movement has been displaced by external military intervention followed by a foreign occupation propping up a weak central government that has not been able to control its territory and quell armed opposition to it. The three countries are also decentralized Muslim societies in which political devolution to regions, localities, sects, ethnicities and -- in Somalia -- clans occurs spontaneously when central authority deflates. A post-intervention regime that is dependent on occupying forces and external financial aid finds itself under pressure from all sides. Domestic opposition mobilizes around a nationalist backlash against occupation and -- in contemporary Muslim societies -- around Islamism; local leaders strive to assert their control independently of the central authority; and external occupying and donor powers demand that the weak regime impose security and share power with disaffected sectors of the society. At the same time, the regime attempts to preserve itself intact as much as it possibly can, exacerbating opposition to it and alienating the protectors and donors on which it depends. Afghanistan and Iraq have been in this condition for several years with no end in sight; Somalia is in its early stages and there is no reason to believe that its prognosis is any different. That the syndrome sketched above now characterizes Somalia is made evident in a series of interviews and press conferences by key players in the present conjuncture. In an interview with Agence France Presse (A.F.P.) on May 21, Yusuf admitted that "terrorists" were still active in Somalia and then went on to criticize donor powers and international organizations for failing to support the T.F.G. adequately, complaining that the United States, the European Union, Western European governments and the United Nations had promised aid to reconstruct "a devastated country" but had failed to deliver and had confined themselves to performing "meager humanitarian work." Yusuf continued, saying that the T.F.G. needs US$42.2 million to hold the N.R.C. and has not yet received the funds despite promises that they would be forthcoming. He noted that Washington was appreciative of the T.F.G.'s efforts against "terrorism," but had not yet given "tangible assistance." A.F.P. reported that donors are reluctant to provide aid until they see the results of the N.R.C. Yusuf's interview followed visits to Mogadishu by Italy's deputy foreign minister, Patrizia Sentinelli, on May 19, and U.N. emergency relief coordinator, John Holmes, on May 12, and the appointment of John M. Yates as U.S. special envoy for Somalia on May 17. In remarks to the press after her visit, Sentinelli said: "I believe the transitional government cannot perform its duties due to lack of local support and the different political groups in the country do not feel represented in the government." Yet Sentinelli added that she was "optimistic" that the T.F.G. would implement "good governance" in Somalia and promised that Rome would provide "partial funding" for AMISOM and the N.R.C. She repeated the international consensus that the N.R.C. should be inclusive and that the presence of Ethiopian forces in Somalia is "unacceptable" in the long run, calling for rapid and full deployment of AMISOM. In an interview with Rod Nordlund of Newsweek magazine, published on May 21, Holmes, whose visit to Mogadishu was cut short by bombings near the U.N.'s offices there, said that the situation in the city is "not absolutely normal" and confirmed that the T.F.G. had hindered the distribution of aid to 300,000 internally displaced persons (I.D.P.'s) by closing airports, demanding "visas" from aid workers and levying "taxes" on shipments. Holmes said that the T.F.G.'s claim that there were only 40,000 I.D.P.'s was "not helpful" and insisted that Somalia had undergone "the worst single displacement of people this year anywhere in the world." He also criticized the T.F.G. for calling its opponents "terrorists," which does not "encourage reconciliation," and remarked that Addis Ababa is in the same situation that Washington confronts in Iraq -- unable to leave on pain of the T.F.G.'s "collapse" and "unable to stay without arousing more enmity and creating more terrorists." In an interview with Voice of America on May 19, Yates said that he would try to "encourage" the ****** to participate in the N.R.C. and would "push" Yusuf to "continue political dialogue." The disconnect between the T.F.G. and the donor powers is encapsulated by their differences over the N.R.C. Yusuf remains committed to a clan-based conference that will not threaten the T.F.G.'s present structure, whereas the donor powers -- while they have been constrained to acquiesce in the clan formula -- "push" for greater inclusiveness and a political agenda. The result of the dispute thus far has been the scaling back -- announced on May 19 -- of the N.R.C. from more than 3,000 participants to 1,325 due to, according to its chairman, Ali Mahdi Mohamed, insufficient funding. Although the conference is scheduled to be held in less than a month, representatives, who are supposed to be selected by clan leaders and elders, have yet to be chosen. As an insurgency takes root in Mogadishu, threatening the N.R.C., Yusuf has attempted to win support of segments of the ****** by negotiating separately with leaders of its sub-clans who have not been able to consolidate in a unified front. Yusuf has also reached out to Mogadishu warlords, who had not cooperated with the T.F.G. before the rise of the I.C.C., in order to broaden his base without impairing his control over the executive. None of these measures has either improved the situation on the streets or placated the donor powers. The T.F.G. has also undergone splits in its own ranks. On May 12, Gedi fired Hussein Aideed, the T.F.G.'s deputy prime minister, who had joined the political wing of the I.C.C. and a dissident T.F.G. parliamentary faction based in Eritrea. He also fired Barre Hirale, the T.F.G.'s defense minister, who was the major warlord in the key southern port city of Kismayo before the rise of the I.C.C. Hirale became disaffected with Yusuf after the latter's ********* sub-clan of the ***** clan took control of Kismayo's administration, marginalizing the ******* sub-clan, whose militias have since expelled the ********* leadership from the city, leaving it outside T.F.G. control. On May 22, the T.F.G. fired the first commander of the national armed forces, Col. Abdirisak Afgadud, after he had been accused of instigating the ouster of Kismayo's administration. Conclusion After a year's political roller coaster ride attended by many casualties, Somalia now and for the foreseeable future appears to be running along a bumpy track that has become familiar in Afghanistan and Iraq, on which a weak and dependent central government imposed by external powers and insufficiently supported by them attempts to preserve itself against a fragmented opposition and disparate local power centers, and strives to concede as little as possible to its protectors and donors, each of which has its own interests and none of which has the political will to change the situation. With no strong unifying domestic force on the horizon, PINR expects continued devolution accompanied by half-hearted efforts to arrest it. At present, the hopes of the West rest on the N.R.C., which will be the 15th attempt in as many years to bring stability to Somalia through a clan-based formula. If the conference actually comes off and it is "inclusive," it will initiate a protracted process with uncertain results. If it is not held or it is not broadly representative, Somalia's political collapse will persist. From the perspective of the West, the presence of radical Islamism in Somalia makes it more difficult to abandon the country as the great powers did after the fall of Siad Barre's dictatorship and the failure of a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the early 1990s. Yet there is no sign that the new danger will trigger sufficient commitment to overcome it. During the first three weeks of May, factional and inter-clan conflict continued to break out in various regions of Somalia, accompanied by crime and a spike in piracy that has imperiled the delivery of humanitarian aid. Tensions between the executive and parliament, as well as clan conflict, also surfaced in Somaliland and Puntland. PINR simply notes these developments without going into details, because they continue a pattern that has been documented in previous reports. [see: PINR's Africa Archives] The T.F.G.'s protectors -- Addis Ababa and Kampala -- are in a bind and out on a limb, respectively. Their limited efficacy will diminish over time. Donor powers will not open their purse strings widely unless they see progress, but their caution will help ensure that progress is not forthcoming. The problem is that Somalia is too strategically important for too many actors to be left to work out its own political destiny, yet not important enough to call forth whole-hearted commitment to its future. Report Drafted By: Dr. Michael A. Weinstein PINR

^^^^ The paradox ignores time as a variable. That's what's incorrect. And Achilles did wear heels, at least two of them. He was a drag queen you know.

^^^^ I told you he had issues. The man wore heels and raced old tortoises for crying out loud.

^^^^ The really dumb person here is Achilles. Allegedly the fastest man in town and yet goes out to have a race with an old tortoise that he can't even beat. Do you think Achilles had psychological issues?

^^^^ You had to go out and ruin the thread for everybody. Must you always show off your high school calculus? :rolleyes:

Those arriving in Hargeysa, fleeing drought, famine and war in southern Somalia, live in makeshift camps - the Somaliland government does not want any permanent structures to be built for them. Why not? It's not like they have to pay anything. :rolleyes: And did any refugees from Muqdishu settle in Puntland? Or did Yey call his kinsmen to turn them back at the gates?

Somaliland leaves Somalis in limbo Mohammed Adow, in Hargeysa, Somaliland Those arriving in Hargeysa, fleeing war in southern Somalia, live in makeshift camps Somaliland's disputed independence has left hundreds of Somalis ineligible for UN aid and unrecognised by Somaliland's government. Hundreds of Somalis fled recent fighting in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, taking shelter in the relative safety of Somaliland. According to the UN, fighting in Mogadishu has displaced about 400,000 people. An estimated 40,000 of those have fled to Hargeysa, Somaliland's capital, with thousands of others scattered in other settlements throughout the territory. Fatuma Abdullahi, one if the refugees, told Al Jazeera: "I fled from the Bakaara area of Mogadishu during the heaviest fighting in April. It took me 16 days to reach Hargeysa. I am here with some of my family members while others are still in Mogadishu." "There is no going back for me. I am here to stay," she said. Breakaway republic Mohammed Adow's full report here In Hargeysa, many Somalis gather to be registered, but they have encountered a problem: in Somaliland, the UN does not regard them as refugees and the Somaliland government will not recognise them as internally displaced people. In May 1991, Somaliland declared itself an independent state, but its independence was never recognised internationally and the breakaway republic continues to exist inside the borders of Somalia. The Somaliland government wants those fleeing from Mogadishu recognised as refugees who have crossed international borders, but UN agencies and other aid organisations say the Somalis are people displaced within their own country. UN organisations say, identifying them as refugees would be tantamount to recognising Somaliland as an independent state. As a result, the lives of those fleeing Somalia are in limbo, with UN officials saying they can do very little to help. Fidelis Swai, the head of UNHCR in Somaliland, said: "Unfortunately, our help is limited in terms of resources. The lasting solution for these people is for them to go back to the place that they came from or for the government here to give them land to start their homes again." Those arriving in Hargeysa, fleeing drought, famine and war in southern Somalia, live in makeshift camps - the Somaliland government does not want any permanent structures to be built for them. They face isolation, caught in a political dispute many of them care nothing about. Al Jazeera

Originally posted by Che-Guevara: I guess everyone wanna be Mele's little Biaatch. Actually most people are now realizing that working for the TFG is essentially the kiss of death.

^^^^ Two "sheikhs" won't get the support of the West to do anything. The wretched TFG on the other hand is well on its way to falling on its own sword. Give them just a little more time to lay more eggs.

^^^ I hear ya. Do you think we can sink any lower? Is this a bottomless pit we find ourselves in?

^^^ Does it matter where or how unclean the streets where they beg are? And how did these people get to Liberia, on a boat no less?

Originally posted by NGONGE: You’ve got to really give it to Mr Goth. He blindly believes in Somaliland that he is willing to distort everything and anything to make it look great. Speaking of distortion, check out the t-shirts given out at the 16th annual Somaliland independence party. Try to spot where the distortion is. For a close up of the image below, click here

How can such a seemingly intelligent, educated and grown man be so deceived and brainwashed? "We owe enormous gratitude to ... Ethiopia" kulahaa. What nitwit.

US to replace Wolfowitz 'swiftly' Mr Wolfowitz's time at the World Bank has received mixed reviews The US has said it will move "swiftly" to find a replacement for Paul Wolfowitz, who says he plans to quit as head of the World Bank on 30 June. Mr Wolfowitz will step down after he was caught up in a bitter row surrounding the promotion and salary of his girlfriend, Shaha Riza. The World Bank said that Mr Wolfowitz had acted in good faith, but admitted that a "number of mistakes" were made. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has been mentioned as a possible replacement. 'Best individual' Mr Wolfowitz, a former US deputy defence secretary, was nominated for the World Bank job by President George W Bush. "Traditionally, the American nominee has become the World Bank president," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said on Friday. He added that the US wanted "to move swiftly in this process" and find a replacement for Mr Wolfowitz. It would be good for the institution if they had somebody who was an economist who really understood what development entailed Joseph Stiglitz "We want to make sure that we are selecting the best individual for the job," Mr Fratto explained. "We want someone who has a real passion for lifting people out of poverty." The World Bank, which has more than 180 member countries worldwide, helps fund development projects in developing nations and has taken a strong and vocal stance against corruption. Mr Wolfowitz has been under severe pressure for weeks, and a number of European politicians called on him to step down. Critics have argued that he was damaging the reputation of the bank at a time when it was trying to secure billions of dollars in international donations to help fund its projects over the next few years. Work closely Although it is early days in the hunt for a replacement, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has been mentioned by observers as one possibility. Speaking on the BBC's Radio Five Live, Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel prize winner and former World Bank vice president, said that Mr Blair was "one of the people that is clearly being discussed". However, Mr Stiglitz said that it might suit the World Bank better if, rather than a politician with global connections, they had "someone with real experience in development". I've gotten a lot of very gracious comments, notes, emails from staff, and I'm grateful for that Paul Wolfowitz "It would be good for the institution at this juncture if they had somebody who was an economist who really understood what development entailed and could work closely with the staff," he explained. Speaking on Friday, Mr Wolfowitz said that he was grateful for the work of his staff at the World Bank. "I've gotten a lot of very gracious comments, notes, emails from staff, and I'm grateful for that," he said. "And I'm particularly grateful for the hard work they've put in the last two years." 'Conflict' Mr Wolfowitz came under fire after details emerged about his role in securing a pay rise for Ms Riza, who used to work at the bank. When appointed to his post in 2005, Mr Wolfowitz notified the bank of a potential conflict of interest because of his relationship with Ms Riza, and asked to step aside from any decisions regarding her future. Mr Wolfowitz then proposed that Ms Riza was moved to the US state department, where her pay and position would rise in line with her prospects at the World Bank. Ms Riza was transferred, and her salary rose to about $193,000 (£98,000). A panel of the World Bank later found that Mr Wolfowitz had provoked a "conflict of interest" and broken its code of conduct.

Between the US and China, I'm afraid Africa is doomed for decades to come.

By Tony Capaccio May 18 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. military's new Africa command will help safeguard West African nations' oil and other energy production against rebel or terrorist attacks, the general organizing the command said today. The U.S. wants to help countries such as Nigeria, its fifth- largest supplier of oil, improve its military's ability to thwart the kind of attacks by militants who in the past year halted production by about 600,000 barrels a day. ``You look at West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea, it becomes more focused because of the energy situation,'' U.S. Army General Bantz Craddock, head of the European Command, told reporters in Washington. Safeguarding energy ``obviously is out in front.'' Continuing unrest in the Middle East puts a premium on U.S. security alliances and energy resources in Africa. The continent supplied 24 percent of U.S. daily crude oil imports in February, ahead of the Mideast's 18.6 percent, the Energy Department said. Consolidating the military's operations in Africa under a single command will help the U.S. to strengthen counter-terrorism programs it runs in more than nine countries from the Horn to the Western Sahara as al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations migrate deeper into Africa, said Craddock and other officials. Other factors including improving African responses to humanitarian crises like the conflict in Darfur, they said. Africa ``has not been a priority; now we need to make it a priority,'' Theresa Whelan, the Pentagon's lead official on Africa involved in planning for the command. Fifth Command The U.S. military divides the globe into regions of responsibility or ``commands.'' The Africa Command will be the fifth, joining commands responsible for NATO and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Pacific and South America. The current structure, which splits Africa among three commands, ``has kind of meant that everyone was responsible and therefore no one really was,'' Senator Hillary Clinton, the New York Democrat and presidential candidate, said in an interview. ``Sometimes in hearings you'd ask about the connection between the Islamists in Sudan and Islamists in Somalia and Kenya'' and other regions ``and you'd get an answer, `That's not in our region of responsibility,''' Clinton said. The crisis in Darfur, for example, currently straddles two jurisdictions: Sudan is under the Central Command while Chad, which is being deluged with Sudanese refugees, is part of the European Command. U.S. lawmakers' will likely examine whether the command's mission is well defined and ensure that training and equipment provided to African security forces isn't used to suppress internal dissent or threaten other nations, Lauren Ploch, an analyst for the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, said in a May 16 report. African Skeptics Other challenges include overcoming skepticism among Africans about the U.S. military's role. ``Africa is capable of solving its own problems,'' said Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem, Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations. ``Africa in the 21st century cannot be guided by others. We are mature enough to do it by ourselves.'' Ploch in her report wrote ``there is considerable apprehension over U.S. motivations'' as ``some Africans worry that the move represents a neo-colonial effort to dominate the region militarily.'' Nii Akuetteh, the executive director of Africa Action, a Washington-based, non-profit group, said advocacy groups are concerned that ``this has nothing to do with African interests and programs; it's access to oil and the war on terror.'' Craddock rejected the notion that the U.S. would deploy troops to defend production facilities. ``It's not something we are planning,'' he said. ``The focus here is to enable countries'' to improve their ``security of any type of production -- oil, natural gas, minerals.'' No Permanent Bases AFRICOM won't have large military units or permanent bases. It will consist of a headquarters, yet to be determined, staffed with ``fairly substantial'' numbers of civilians from the Departments of State, Treasury and Health and Human Services as well as military branches, Rear Admiral Robert Moeller, who's assisting in setting up the command, said in an interview. One immediate aim is to harness the military's prowess in planning, logistics, transport and communications to help the State Department, Agency for International Development, Centers for Disease Control and other agencies stem humanitarian crises on a continent often seen as the heartland of human misery. 25% Civilian Craddock said he hoped at least 25 percent of AFRICOM's initial staff will represent civilian agencies and that that portion would grow to 50 percent. ``It will be difficult to get participation'' beyond State and USAID, he said. ``When you go into the inner-agency'' process, ``the first question is `what's in it for me and who is going to pay for it?''' ``We've got to go out and present the case,'' Craddock said. Humanitarian crises can destabilize African governments with international ramifications, said Robert Loftis, formerly U.S. ambassador to Lesotho and a senior adviser at the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs. ``If you are concerned about humanitarian disasters, what is it the Pentagon can do early on to mitigate or prevent, rather than get called in at the last minute?'' he said in an interview. Craddock, in testimony yesterday to the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the AIDS crisis is weakening some nations' participation in regional peacekeeping. ``Security forces are being decimated as key personnel are lost,'' he said. The epidemic in Southern Africa ``has a direct negative impact on the region's stability and security.'' Al-Qaeda Spreading Terrorism isn't a new concern but Craddock agreed with a statement yesterday by Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte that al-Qaeda is spreading into sub-Sahara Africa, including Chad, Mali and Niger. The U.S. in 2001 established a task force in Djibouti to track down al-Qaeda terrorists, who gained prominence in August 1998 with the bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that killed over 300 people. There's evidence ``of an increasing trend of North Africans being recruited as foreign fighters in Iraq,'' Craddock said. ``In addition, we are seeing increasing collaboration between al- Qaeda and North African terrorist groups.'' The U.S. now has more than 1,500 troops operating out of Djibouti, most of them involved in peacekeeping missions and training. U.S. and African forces have conducted joint military and medical training exercises since 1996. Training, China One of the most aggressive programs is the Trans-Saharan Counter-Terrorism Initiative, which provides developmental aid and trains militaries in Chad, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Nigeria and Morocco. ``The key to Africa is a vital civil society,'' said Ryan Henry, the Pentagon deputy spearheading the reorganization. The Pentagon ``can help the countries by providing the security environment where they have the stability and trust in which they can start to build those institutions.'' Africa's oil is helping fuel China's booming economy. A net exporter of oil until 1993, China now is the world's second- largest energy consumer, getting 30 percent of its oil from Africa. Whelan, the Pentagon's deputy assistant secretary for Africa, said that in some cases the U.S. and Chinese interests may converge. ``China's interests are economic,'' Whelan said. ``To the extent that African nations are stable, Chinese companies, companies from all over the world, can compete.'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in Beijing, ``We are willing to increase cooperation with international society to help preserve peace and prosperity in Africa,'' To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio at acapaccio@bloomberg.net Last Updated: May 18, 2007 13:37 EDT Bloomberg

^^^^ lol. Not quite. I have, however, never met anyone from Gaalkacyo I didn't like.