Usa, Africa, aiuti militari, competizione. int.le Nyt 06-07-23
I tagli Usa all’Africa accusati di danneggaire la
guerra al terrorismo
MARK MAZZETTI
In base ad una legge fatta approvare dall’Amministrazione
Bush nell’agosto 2002, (l’American Service members’ Protection Act), dal 2003 sono
stati ridotti i programmi di addestramento (IMET Funds) ed equipaggiamento
militare ai paesi che, riconoscendo la giurisdizione del tribunale
internazionale dell’Aja, non hanno sottoscritto un accordo separato con gli
USA, (l’accordo sull’articolo 98, sottoscritto da oltre 100 paesi che impegna a
non consegnare cittadini americani alla Corte internazionale senza il consenzo
di Washington).
I tagli riguardano soprattutto l’Africa e l’America Latina.
Nel 2005
sono stati attuati tagli di $13mn per l’addestramento e l’equipaggiamento delle
truppe del Kenya, dove al-Qaeda ha causato 224 vittime ed ha attaccato
l’ambasciata americana di Nairobi nel 1998.
Nel 2003 sono stati sospesi i $309 000 aiuti militari
annuali al Mali, nel Nord del quale, secondo il Pentagono, ha sede il gruppo
separatista algerino, chiamato Gruppo Salafista per la preghiera e il
combattimento, accusato di avere legami con al-Qaeda.
Negli ultimi anni il Pentagono ha inviato istruttori di
Forze Speciali in Mali, per aumentare la capacità dell’esercito locale di
combattere organizzazioni terroriste, come il gruppo Salafista; misure
criticate dagli specialisti come soluzione a breve termine, occorrono
investimenti seri per l’esercito del paese, che non è in grado di produrre
armamenti.
Altri tagli hanno riguardato Tanzania, Niger e diversi altri
paesi africani.
–
Contrario il
Pentagono: scelta miope, si mette a rischio la lotta contro il terrorismo e si
avvantaggia la Cina in quella che alcuni ufficiali chiamano il moderno Great
Game (Grande Partita), una battaglia tra le potenze per l’influenza in Africa, simile alla rivalità del XIX secolo
in Centro Asia tra britannici e russi.
–
In
particolare i militari fanno riferimento agli investimenti cinesi di milioni di
dollari per infrastrutture e per l’addestramento militare in Africa, mirati ad
ottenere contratti dai governi per le risorse naturali; la competizione con la
Cina è difficile perché avvia velocemente i progetti e non si preoccupa dei diritti
umani.
– Secondo il
Council on Foreign Relation gli scambi commerciali della Cina con l’Africa
sonno raddoppiati giungendo a $18,5 MD nel 2002-2003; nel novembre 2005
ammontavano a oltre $32 MD.
La Cina ha superato la GB come 3°
maggior partner commerciale dell’Africa.
–
L’ultima Quadrennial
Defense Review del Pentagono chiede che al governo la creazione di fondi
militari separati da quelli considerati dalla legge del 2002.
–
Contraria anche il segretario di Stato Rice: bloccare l’assistenza
militare a nazioni che cercano di combattere il terrorismo è come “darsi la
zappa sui piedi”.
Tra i paesi dell’America Latina ha perso milioni di dollari di aiuti
militari l’Ecuador, che forniva agli USA le basi per le
pattuglie aeree di sorveglianza contro il narco-traffico
Nyt 06-07-23
U.S. Cuts in Africa
Aid Said to Hurt War on Terror
By MARK
MAZZETTI
WASHINGTON, July 22 — The Bush administration and Congress have slashed
millions of dollars of military aid to African nations in recent years, moves
that Pentagon officials and senior military commanders say have undermined
American efforts to combat terrorist threats in Africa
and to counter expanding Chinese influence there.
–
Since 2003, Washington
has shut down Pentagon programs to train and equip militaries in a handful of
African nations because they
have declined to sign agreements exempting American troops from the
jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
But the policy, which was designed to
protect American troops, has
instead angered senior military officials, who say the cuts in military aid are
shortsighted and have weakened counterterrorism efforts in places where
the threat of international terrorism is said to be most acute.
Some cite this as a case where the
unintended consequences of the go-it-alone approach to foreign policy that Washington took after
the Sept. 11 attacks affected the larger American efforts to combat terrorism.
The cuts have also prompted outrage in Latin America,
where several nations that have refused to sign the agreements have been cut
off from certain military aid programs.
–
Last year, the United States
cut off $13 million for training and equipping troops in Kenya, where operatives of Al Qaeda killed 224
people when they bombed the American Embassy compound in Nairobi in 1998.
–
In 2003, the flow of $309,000 annually was suspended to Mali, where
Pentagon officials contend an Algerian separatist group with ties to Al Qaeda — known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, or G.S.P.C. —
has established a base. Money
has also been cut for Tanzania,
Niger
and several other African nations.
Citing Kenya
as an example, Pentagon
officials say it makes little sense to ask for Kenya’s support in fighting
terrorism while denying it the money it needs for training and equipping
troops.
“Kenya
is a key partner in our counterterrorism strategy and our goals in Africa,’’ a
Pentagon official who works on Africa strategy
said. “This hurts us, there’s no question about it.”
Several officials interviewed for this
article were given anonymity because they were discussing a continuing debate
in the government and because some were discussing intelligence matters.
–
Some military officials also
argue that the aid cuts have
given China an upper hand in what they describe as a modern Great Game — a
battle for influence in Africa between the powers, similar to the 19th-century
rivalry in Central Asia between the British and the Russians.
–
Specifically, the officials cite the millions of dollars
the Chinese government has spent on infrastructure projects and military
training in Africa to help lock up government contracts for natural resources
like oil, timber and metals.
“It’s hard to compete with China because
of the agility they have in obtaining contracts and then starting projects very
quickly without worrying too much about human rights,” Gen. James Jones of the
American European Command, which has military responsibility for most of
Africa, recently told a Senate panel. “So we have our work cut out for us.”
–
China has substantially expanded its presence in Africa
in recent years. According to
the Council on Foreign Relations, China’s
trade with Africa doubled to $18.5 billion
between 2002 and 2003, and the figure exceeded $32 billion in November of 2005.
China has overtaken Britain to
become the continent’s third most important trading partner. But it is the
impact on counterterrorism efforts in Africa
that most alarms military officials.
–
The situation in Mali is of
great concern because the Salafist group is believed to have established a
foothold in that desolate country’s northern region. A recent State Department
report said Mali’s northern territories had
turned into a “safe haven” for the group’s fighters.
The Salafist group’s ability to attack the
Algerian government is believed to have diminished in recent years, but
intelligence officials are now concerned that the group is expanding its ties
to Al Qaeda and other groups, and has used networks in the Middle East to send
fighters into Iraq.
–
In recent years, the Pentagon has sent Special Forces
trainers into Mali as part
of a broader counterterrorism initiative to strengthen the abilities of Mali’s army to
deal with organizations like the Salafist group.
But counterterrorism experts see such operations as short-term solutions.
They argue that without a serious investment in Mali’s army, the ramshackle
military has little hope of rooting out terrorists.
“Mali
doesn’t have any power production capabilities, and its military can’t extend
any power up into the north,” said an American official, who recently made a
fact-finding trip to the Sahara. “The
terrorist organizations can run around up there because the army can’t get to
them.”
–
Passed by Congress and
signed into law by President Bush in August 2002, the American Service members’
Protection Act prohibits certain types of military aid to countries that have
signed on to the International Criminal Court but have not signed a separate
accord with the United States, called an Article 98 agreement.
–
Specifically, the law cuts off
funds that provide training to military officers of friendly nations, known as
IMET funds, and funds for foreign militaries to buy new weapons and equipment.
Under the terms of Article 98 agreements, which the
Bush administration has pressed more than 100 nations to sign,
nations pledge not to surrender American citizens to the international court
without the consent of officials in Washington.
The Bush administration has refused to
endorse the court, contending that overzealous prosecutors could charge
American soldiers or civilian officials with war crimes for their roles in
carrying out American policies abroad.
White House opposition to the court led
Congress to severely restrict military and economic aid to countries that have
not signed Article 98 agreements.
–
In March, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said blocking
military assistance to nations seeking to combat terrorism was “sort of the
same as shooting ourselves in the foot,” and the
Pentagon’s recent Quadrennial Defense Review calls for the government to
consider separating military funding from the 2002 law.
–
Congress is also considering a
bill to repeal some of these measures. But the policy still has advocates in Washington, especially
in the White House.
In Latin America,
some of the countries that
have lost funding have been major Pentagon partners in the effort to
eradicate cocaine production. Ecuador,
for instance, has been a staging ground for American surveillance planes on
counternarcotics missions and has lost millions of dollars in military aid for
refusing to sign an Article 98 agreement.
The cuts have drawn the ire of American
military officials with responsibility for Latin America.
“Now when I go through the region, the
fact is that the foreign military financing is gone,’’ Gen. Bantz J. Craddock
of the United States Southern Command told the Senate this year. “IMET is
gone.”
“Other nations are moving in,” he said.
“The People’s Republic of China
has made many offers.”
New York Times