Anti-Terror Regional Task Force Set Up

[Thinkerman]

Salam ppl, i just thought i would post this article from allafrica.com. I found it interesting because it talks about widneing the already well established 'security' apparatus the Us has implented in and around the East African region. The talks once more were held in ADDIS aBBA.

 

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Anti-Terror Regional Task Force Set Up

 

 

July 30, 2003

Posted to the web July 30, 2003

 

Addis Ababa

 

An 11-nation African regional task force is being set up to combat disasters and help ward off terrorism in the region, a top US military official said on Wednesday.

 

John Abizaid, the US Central Command chief, said the African disaster management team which is backed by the US military, would ensure greater stability in the region.

 

 

"We seek stability, we seek a defence against the terrorist attacks that have been active, not only throughout this region but also throughout the world," he told a news conference in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

 

"We know that we can only defeat terrorism collectively," he added.

 

Burundi, DRC, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania and Uganda are all backing the initiative to combat man-made and natural disasters.

 

Under the plans, drawn up over the last two days in Addis Ababa, the regional task force will be set up to ensure a collective response to emergencies.

 

"The next disaster that affects the region could be a flood, could be an airliner crash or it could be in the aftermath of a deadly terrorist act," Abizaid said.

 

He said the task force would not physically fight terrorism but would "provide the basis of a response" once an attack has taken place.

 

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his country would leave "no stone unturned" in supporting the initiative.

 

"Ours is a region which has been prone to conflict and has had more than its fair share of the calamities that are the consequences of conflicts," he said. "Ours has also been a region that has attracted the attention of those determined to spread chaos."

 

"No other the region of the world requires an extended respite for economic development and economic renewal as our region does," he added.

 

The initiative follows the 2003 Golden Spear Symposium in Addis Ababa - a forum sponsored by US Central Command to bolster dialogue between African countries on security issues.

[underdog]

That' truly disturbing. It's not bad enough that Ethiopia had always been itching to have control over Somalia, now they'll have an "anti-terror" power to walk into any country in the region.

 

I heard a rumour the other day that EU, US and UN plans are in the works to have the entire region economically and Militarilly united with the governing body based in Addis Ababa.

 

Sheekaduu waa xuntahay.

[Baashi]

Taasaaba ugu daran!