AFRICOM Related Newsclips for 23 November 2011

8/3/2019 AFRICOM Related Newsclips for 23 November 2011

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Good morning. Please find attached news clips related to U.S. Africa Commandand Africa, along with upcoming events of interest for November 23, 2011.

Of interest in todays clips: The New York Times reports on steps being takento establish the new Libyan National Army, stating that this might be themost difficult and important task facing the interim government.

Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau ofAfrican Affairs, spoke to Kenyan journalists Tuesday stating that Kenya andEthiopia should strengthen the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Itwas also reiterated that the United States is not involved in Kenyas militaryincursion into Somalia.

Former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold writes about the U.S. militarys deploymentto Uganda in support of Counter-LRA efforts in the region and the AfricanUnion designates the Lords Resistance Army as a terrorist group.

In Egypt: The ruling military council agreed on Tuesday to speed up thetransition to civilian rule in a deal made with Islamist groups.

U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs

Please send questions or comments to:

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Top News related to U.S. Africa Command and Africa

Libya Tries to Build Army that can March Straight and Defang Militias (NYTimes)


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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/africa/libyas-toughest-test-may-be-building-an-army.html?ref=global-home

November 21, 2011

By Clifford Krauss

TRIPOLI, Libya The marching can hardly be called crisp as the new LibyanNational Army takes form in daily drills at an abandoned air force base here.

US supports Kenya, Ethiopia joining Amisom forces (The Standard)

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sports/InsidePage.php?id=2000047130&cid=4

November 22, 2011

By Ally Jamah

The US has commended the decision by Kenya and Ethiopia to join the AfricanUnion force fighting Al Shabaab militants in Somalia.

US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs Johnnie Carson saidon Tuesday in a teleconference with Kenyan journalists, from Washington DC,that Kenya and Ethiopia should strengthen the African Union Mission in Somalia(Amisom) and use it to fight the militants in Somalia.

Fighting the Lords Resistance Army Will Take More than Guns (The Atlantic)

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/fighting-the-lords-resistance-army-will-take-more-than-guns/248853/

November 22, 2011

By Former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold

On October 12, President Barack Obama announced he would deploy a combat-equipped team of U.S. military personnel to central Africa. As the Presidentspecified in his letter notifying congressional leaders of the operation, theteam is the first part of what will total approximately 100 U.S. militarypersonnel, who will "act as advisers to partner forces that have the goal ofremoving from the battlefield Joseph Kony and other senior leadership" of theLord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group from northern Uganda that hassince spread to other parts of central Africa. The deployment of our troopsis no panacea, but they will play a critically important role by providing theinvolved regional militaries with greater access to desperately neededintelligence and information. Clearly, there are risks involved, but thepresident's initiative is ultimately the right decision.

African Union declares Ugandas LRA a terror group (Reuters)


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http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AL0A120111122

November 22, 2011

By Aaron Maasho

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The African Union on Tuesday formally designated as aterrorist group Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army, accused of murder, rape andchild kidnappings in east and central Africa.

Security: US advisers limited to support role in tracking down LRA (IRINHumanitarian News and Analysis)

http://www.irinnews.org/InDepthMain.aspx?indepthid=92&reportid=94261

November 21, 2011

NEW YORK, 21 November 2011 (IRIN) - The main stated aim of the US deploymentof 100 military advisers to central Africa is to improve coordination amongthe armies of countries affected by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) to avoidrepeating the fiasco of the 2008 multinational offensive against the group.

Egypt Military Pledges Faster Handover to Civilian Rule (New York Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/world/middleeast/egypts-cabinet-offers-to-

quit-as-activists-urge-wider-protests.html?_r=1&hp

November 22, 2011

By David D. Kirkpatrick and Alan Cowell

CAIRO The ruling military council agreed on Tuesday to speed up thetransition to civilian rule in a deal made with Islamist groups but whichseemed unlikely to satisfy the demands of liberal parties and the more than100,000 protesters who gathered in the center of the capital to demand animmediate transfer of power.

Nigeria police link Boko Haram sect to politicians (BBC News)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15829203

21 November 2011

Nigerias secret police have said Boko Haram Islamic militants are receivingfunding from certain politicians in the north. The intelligence agency said

it had arrested an alleged spokesman for the group, who told them he wassponsored by a politician in Borno state. Boko Haram is blamed for a growingnumber of deadly attacks in Nigeria.


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These include the UN headquarters bombing in Abuja in August, which killed 24people.

Libya's NTC unveils new government line-up (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/22/us-libya-idUSTRE7AL0JM20111122

November 22, 2011

By Francois Murphy and Ali Shuaib

(Reuters) - Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) Tuesday named a newgovernment featuring several surprise appointments that suggested the line-upwas aimed at trying to soothe rivalries between regional factions.

Somalia: Security Council urges comprehensive global response to maritimepiracy (UN News Centre)

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40478&Cr=somali&Cr1 =

November 22, 2011

The Security Council today reiterated its condemnation of maritime piracy andarmed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, noting that the crimes continueto pose a threat to peace and security in the region, and called for acomprehensive international response to the scourge.

South Africa's Ruling ANC passes controversial secrecy law (LA Times Blog)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/11/south-africas-ruling-anc-passes-controversial-secrecy-law.html

November 22, 2011

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- South Africas ruling AfricanNational Congress government overwhelmingly passed a secrecy law Tuesday,ignoring months of protests from activists and editors and criticism from twoNobel laureates.

Debt failure leaves Pentagon budget in limbo (Stars and Stripes)

http://www.stripes.com/news/debt-failure-leaves-pentagon-budget-in-limbo-1.161398

November 22, 2011

By Leo Shane III and Chris Carroll


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WASHINGTON As lawmakers squabble over whether to allow $600 billion inmandated defense funding cuts move ahead, Pentagon planners are left with theunenviable task of figuring out how to piece together a fiscal 2013 budgetwith little idea how much money theyll have.

George W. Bush to raise cancer awareness in Africa (Associated Press)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8c

November 22, 2011

By Jamie Stengle

DALLAS (AP) Former President George W. Bush will travel to Africa next month

to raise awareness about cervical and breast cancer, an effort he calls a"natural extension" of a program launched during his presidency that helpsfight AIDS on the continent.

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UN News Service Africa Briefs

http://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA

(Full Articles on UN Website)

Ban praises Cameroon, Nigeria for carrying out border demarcation ruling

22 November Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated Cameroon andNigeria for progress in implementing the ruling of the International Court ofJustice (ICJ) on their dispute over their border, saying the process haddemonstrated that preventive diplomacy can succeed.

Atrocities in Guinea must never be forgotten, says UN envoy on sexual violence

22 November The United Nations official leading the fight against sexualviolence during conflicts today urged the international community to never

forget the deadly violence which ravaged Guinea in September 2009, noting thatwhile justice in the country had been delayed, it could not be denied.


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UN environmental agency awards biologist for reducing human-animal conflict

22 November A British biologist today received a United Nations award forher work using the diminutive bee to thwart the worlds largest land animal,the elephant, from crop-raiding in Kenya.

Somalia: Security Council urges comprehensive global response to maritimepiracy

22 November The Security Council today reiterated its condemnation ofmaritime piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, noting thatthe crimes continue to pose a threat to peace and security in the region, andcalled for a comprehensive international response to the scourge.

Ending violence against women begins with change in attitudes Migiro

22 NovemberStrong laws are vital to ending violence against women, but thelong road to tackling this scourge begins with a change in attitudes, Deputy

Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro stressed today during a visit to Ethiopia.

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New on www.africom.mil

USARAF Officer Leads a Bilateral Military Intelligence Training for BotswanaDefense Force soldiers

http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7457&lang=0

22 November 2011

By U.S. Army Africa Public Affairs

GABORONE, Botswana, Nov 22, 2011 Twenty-eight instructors from the U.S. andBotswana worked together to train 115 officers and Non-Commissioned Officersfrom the Botswana Defense Forces (BDF) during the second iteration of theBotswana Tactical Intelligence Course (BTIC-II), Oct. 5 - Nov. 18.

French, US Service Members Undergo Desert Survival Training

http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7456&lang=0


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18 November 2011

By U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Jonathan Steffen, CJTF-HOA Public Affairs

GOUBETTO, Djibouti, Nov 18, 2011 As the morning sun peered through a tangledweb of acacia tree branches, service members from France and the U.S. sat onthe rocky ground of the Grand Bara Desert near Goubetto, Djibouti, listening

to an instructor detail proper caravan troop placement.

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FULL TEXT

Libya Tries to Build Army that can March Straight and Defang Militias

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/africa/libyas-toughest-test-may-be-building-an-army.html?ref=global-home

November 21, 2011

By Clifford Krauss

TRIPOLI, Libya The marching can hardly be called crisp as the new LibyanNational Army takes form in daily drills at an abandoned air force base here.

The soldiers do not yet march in step or even keep their formations straight.Some answer their cellphones when they should be taking orders. Some smoke inthe middle of exercises. Others push and shove as personal disputes break outover one thing or another.

You are not going to see a good, really good military, Gen. Abdul MajidFakih, an instructor at the military academy under Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi wholater defected, said as he supervised the training. We are just beginning tobuild.

Libya has never had a truly professional national army a cornerstone in thebuilding of a modern state one that was not the personal tool of a king ordictator and purposely kept weak and divided to avert coups. And the effort at

building one by the struggling new interim government may be its mostdifficult and important task.


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Only a respected army will be able to persuade or force the various competingand heavily armed militias around the country to disarm and join togetherunder a unified leadership.

The challenge was underscored over the weekend when a militia from the town ofZintan captured Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, Colonel Qaddafis son and onetimeheir apparent, without any help from the army, and then refused to turn himover to the central government.

The army is trying to build respect by holding parades around the country,complete with parachute jumps and fly-bys by Soviet-era MIG fighter jets andMi-8 helicopters. But even the officers of the new force say they facechallenges in building national veneration around the military, as well as in

breaking old habits of officer cronyism and allegiance to one strongman oranother.

The new army, which numbers a few thousand and includes many soldiers whodeserted Colonel Qaddafis military, needs barracks, uniforms, vehicles,boots, radios, even flashlights, officers say. Rather than having a centralunified command, it is being formed by distinct committees in differentcities, following the model of the diverse bunch of militias that fought thewar against the dictatorship. And perhaps most troubling, the militias acrossthe country are already refusing to take its orders.

In its first mission just over a week ago, the army sent 100 troops to AlMaya, a village just west of the capital, to separate two fighting militiasand retake an old army base that is now a heap of bombed-out buildings andrusting tanks. Its success at negotiating a tentative settlement between themilitias after four days of fighting that left at least 13 dead was lauded asa model for the building of a new army that can serve as a unifying force.

But one of the militias, from Zawiyah, has already broken its promise to keepits weapons at home, setting up a roadblock on the main road a couple of mileswest of the army base as a sign of resistance. Armed with heavy machine gunsatop pickup trucks, the militiamen say they are going nowhere. Meanwhile thearmy troops are staying at the base, putting a fresh coat of white paint onthe outer walls and beginning to clean up the grounds.

We cant tell them to surrender their guns, said Capt. Hakim el-Agouri, thelocal army commander in Al Maya. He shrugged. There are people out there whowont give up their weapons, and if that is the case, there wont be stabilityin Libya.

Diederik Vandewalle, an expert on Libya at Dartmouth College, said it would bedifficult for the new army to fulfill the first requirement of any modernstate to have a monopoly on violence. He added, One of the elements you


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need to instill in your soldiers is a sense of national identity, and thatidentity has to be on a national level. But the militias have an identity tiedto their group or town.

The army has already become one of several armed forces vying for power, both

military and political. Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the armys leader in Tripoli, toldPrime Minister Abdel Rahim el-Keeb in a speech last week that he expected himto keep his promise to include former rebels in cabinet posts as Mr. Keeb wasforming his government.

In an interview, Mr. Belhaj, an Islamist who fought against the Soviet Unionin Afghanistan but is now critical of Al Qaeda, said the army would give themilitia fighters a choice to join the Ministry of Defense or police, or giveup their weapons and return to civilian life.

He said he was confident the army could accomplish that mission within acouple of months.

We cant have an army run by personal agendas, he added. The army we needhas to be professional and loyal, with its primary mission being defense ofthe borders from threats posed by instability in nearby Chad, Mali and Sudan,as well as Qaeda infiltration from Algeria.

Army leaders said their force was mostly training now, but also protectinggovernment buildings and hunting down small groups of former Qaddafisupporters who had not yet surrendered.

They said they planned to build the army methodically. First, committees arebeing formed in cities around the country to interview militia fighters anddecide who should be in the army, who should be in the police, and who is notqualified for either. People with special experience or abilities, likecomputer skills, will be assigned special tasks.

Militia members without formal military experience outside the rebellion needto be taught proper tactics, and old members of the military need to beretrained, officers said.

A lot needs to be changed, said General Fakih, the instructor. Before thearmy trained terrorists. Thats over. We need to change the way soldiers treatpeople, and how officers treat soldiers.

At the same time, officers say they are preparing to persuade the various


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militias to give up their heavy machine guns, antiaircraft weapons and rocketlaunchers, which they say are no longer needed at road checkpoints.

Civilian leaders say they want the militias totally disarmed within the month,but officers say that cannot be done for several more months. General Fakih

said the army was preparing many plans to disarm the militias if they didnot surrender their arms voluntarily, but he would not specify what they were.

Those plans may well be needed.

Down the road from the army base at Al Maya, Ali Dow Mohammed, a Zawiyahmilitia commander in charge of a heavily fortified checkpoint, said his forceswould drop their weapons only when there was a new government, and there is

no government.

The Zawiyah council will decide what we do with our arms, Mr. Mohammedadded. We are here to keep the peace.

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US supports Kenya, Ethiopia joining Amisom forces (The Standard)

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sports/InsidePage.php?id=2000047130&cid=4

November 22, 2011

By Ally Jamah

The US has commended the decision by Kenya and Ethiopia to join the AfricanUnion force fighting Al Shabaab militants in Somalia.

US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs Johnnie Carson saidon Tuesday in a teleconference with Kenyan journalists, from Washington DC,that Kenya and Ethiopia should strengthen the African Union Mission in Somalia(Amisom) and use it to fight the militants in Somalia.

"The best way to deal with Al Shabaab and address the security threat inSomalia is to use Amisom as the core element in the fighting and to work fromMogadishu in helping the Transitional Federal Government extend itsauthority," he said.


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The 7,000-strong African Union force, composed mainly of Ugandan and Burundiantroops, is locked in an intense battle with Al Shabaab in Mogadishu and seeksto extend the authority of the Transitional Federal Government throughoutSomalia.

"The last time Ethiopia entered Somalia did not see a very successful outcomein stabilising the country. In fact, it is their presence that spawned AlShabaab. We urge Kenya and Ethiopia to work through Amisom to address thesecurity challenges facing them from Somalia," he said.

Carson said that he appreciated the difficulties Kenya is facing in dealingwith the insecurity emanating from Somalia.

"I urge them (Kenya and Ethiopia) to work with Amisom in advancing thestability of Somalia instead of going it alone," he said.

Meanwhile the US Embassy in Nairobi has strongly denied reports that USmarines are involved in organising security for the upcoming Lamu CulturalFestival.

Only seven marines

Katya Thomas, the information officer at the embassy said there are only sevenmarines working in Kenya and all of them are based at the US Embassy.

"That report is totally inaccurate and without any basis. The US is notinvolved in any way in the security arrangements of the event," she said. Theevent begins on Wednesday.

But the official admitted that due to security fears, the embassy will not besending any official to the four-day event that usually attracts thousands ofvisitors from Kenya and around the world.

Previously, the embassy sent officials to the event, especially since the USsupported it with millions of shillings. "We have not issued any specificadvisory to US citizens not to travel to the festival," she added

The US on Tuesday also renewed its insistence that it is not involved in anyway in Kenyas military incursion in Somalia, but admitted that it has ongoing

agreements to train Kenyan soldiers and to enhance Kenyas capabilities inborder security.


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"The reports that our drones are bombing Al Shabaab in Somalia are not true.We are not even offering advice to the operation," said Katya.

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Fighting the Lords Resistance Army Will Take More than Guns (The Atlantic)

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/fighting-the-lords-resistance-army-will-take-more-than-guns/248853/

November 22, 2011

By Former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold

For the Obama administration's new mission to work, it will have to takecentral Africa's other problems into account

On October 12, President Barack Obama announced he would deploy a combat-equipped team of U.S. military personnel to central Africa. As the Presidentspecified in his letter notifying congressional leaders of the operation, the

team is the first part of what will total approximately 100 U.S. militarypersonnel, who will "act as advisers to partner forces that have the goal ofremoving from the battlefield Joseph Kony and other senior leadership" of theLord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group from northern Uganda that hassince spread to other parts of central Africa. The deployment of our troopsis no panacea, but they will play a critically important role by providing theinvolved regional militaries with greater access to desperately neededintelligence and information. Clearly, there are risks involved, but thepresident's initiative is ultimately the right decision.

For more than two decades, the LRA has terrorized the people of northernUganda and now central Africa more widely, brutally killing thousands, andleading directly to the displacement of 1.8 million people. In recent years,the LRA has moved out of northern Uganda and deep into central Africa --laying low in the dense forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo whilereplenishing their ranks by attacking remote Congolese villages and crossinginto the Central Africa Republic and South Sudan to initiate similarbrutality.

The president's deployment of military advisers to the region is a significantstep. But the ultimate success of that mission will depend not only on how our

advisers carry out their assignment or on whether key leaders of the LRA arecaught once and for all, but also on whether the United States pursues otherpolicies critical to sustainably solving the problem at hand. We can't end the


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threat that the LRA poses solely by the barrel of the gun. The U.S. will alsohave to scale up equally important diplomatic and development initiativesthroughout the region.

In 2009, I introduced legislation with former Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas

that laid out just such a strategy. That bill, the Lord's Resistance ArmyDisarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009, passed Congress withbipartisan support, and was signed into law by President Obama last year and,in October, cited as the strategic foundation of the recent deployment.

While our bill authorized a comprehensive set of policies necessary both tohelp remove the threat of the LRA and address the conditions out of which theLRA emerged, it also gave the administration discretion to determine the mosteffective way forward.

The mission that the president has assigned our military personnel will bechallenging. The traditional, binary, all-or-nothing approach to militarymissions is based on bitter experience. But this mission is different. Eventhough U.S. military forces will be forward deployed with regional Africanmilitaries, their focus will be on facilitating better information-sharingamong the African forces. In doing so, the hope is not only to stop the LRAbut to also encourage greater protection of innocent civilians who mightotherwise be attacked.

There are good reasons to be reluctant about limiting the engagement ofmilitary personnel when we assign them a task, and the current deployment tocentral Africa will be a test of whether we are capable undertaking this kindof alternative mission. Located in difficult and remote terrain, it is likelyto be a difficult undertaking. But the strategic rewards for our country -- ofbeing able to use our military in this non-traditional way and in a mannerthat supports greater protection of civilians -- can be enormous in otherareas, especially in addressing our highest national security priority, namelythe threat of terrorist networks.

To achieve a long-term, sustainable solution, though, we will need to do more.It is essential that the Ugandan government address the conditions out ofwhich the LRA emerged and which could give rise to future conflict ifunchanged, including progress on basic development needs and addressinghistoric problems of marginalization. Other governments in the region mustbegin to fix the lack of governance and weak security infrastructure that hasenabled the LRA to thrive within their borders. In each country, this meansfocusing on the core rule of law institutions, reforming the securityapparatus, and genuinely addressing political and economic grievances.

Inevitably, this will require our assistance -- both technical and financial -

- that can help to stabilize and strengthen not only the government but civilsociety as well. Given the current fiscal climate, we must commit toproviding support in a manner that ensures transparency and accountability --


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and is crafted in close coordination with those on the ground. A failure toaddress the underlying political grievances in northern Uganda and throughoutthe broader region could lead to new conflicts in the future, undermining thesuccess we all hope our military personnel will have.

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African Union declares Ugandas LRA a terror group (Reuters)

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AL0A120111122

November 22, 2011

By Aaron Maasho

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The African Union on Tuesday formally designated as aterrorist group Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army, accused of murder, rape andchild kidnappings in east and central Africa.

The LRA, which says it is a religious group, emerged in northern Uganda in the1990s and is believed to have killed, kidnapped and mutilated tens ofthousands of people.

The designation was the bloc's first and follows U.S. President Barack Obama'sdecision to send 100 military advisers to the region to support centralAfrican allies pursuing group leader Joseph Kony and other rebel commanderslast month.

"The (AU's) Peace and Security Council has decided to declare the LRA aterrorist group in line with the relevant AU instruments and it requests theUnited Nations Security Council to do the same," the council's commissionerRamtane Lamamra said after a meeting on the rebel group.

"The next step would be for all African countries to consider the LRA as suchand to enact regulations and legislation that would forbid the activities ofthe LRA on their national territories and also make it punishable for anyindividual ...(to) assist in any way the LRA to continue its criminalactivities," he said.

Lamamra added those who flouted the ban would be subject to prosection and

extradition.


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Obama's troop deployment has been welcomed by countries in the region.

"The provision of support by the U.S. government ... is consistent with theappeal we are making for individual international partners to re-enforce and

support the capabilities of our own regional states in order to enhance theirefficiency in fighting the LRA," Lamamra said.

The Hague-based International Criminal Court has indicted rebel leader Kony oncharges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but he remains elusive.

LRA commanders have been operating in the largely lawless border regions ofthe Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan in

recent years.

Although now thought to number just a few hundred fighters, the LRA's mobilityand the difficulties of the terrain have made it difficult to tackle. Attemptsto negotiate peace failed in 2008 after Kony refused to sign a deal to end thekilling.

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Security: US advisers limited to support role in tracking down LRA (IRINHumanitarian News and Analysis)

http://www.irinnews.org/InDepthMain.aspx?indepthid=92&reportid=94261

NEW YORK, 21 November 2011 (IRIN) - The main stated aim of the US deploymentof 100 military advisers to central Africa is to improve coordination amongthe armies of countries affected by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) to avoidrepeating the fiasco of the 2008 multinational offensive against the group.

They are not directly involved in the operation to find members of the Lord'sResistance Army, said Major James Rawlinson of the US Special OperationsCommand, Africa, in a statement to IRIN. While they will be working andliving closely with African security forces, the focus is on enabling theirability to better conduct command and control, planning and coordination.

In testimony before the US Congress in October, Alexander Vershbow, AssistantSecretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, said the bulk ofthe 100 advisers would be based in Uganda but small teams would deploy


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forward in partnership with local forces, to help them improve their skills onthe front-lines.

They will carry small-arms weapons only for self-defence, he said. Vershbowwould not describe the weapons for the Congressional panel.

The main goal, both said, is to help the militaries of Uganda, South Sudan,Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR) shareintelligence, which would allow for prompt and concerted action against theLRA.

The failure of Operation Lightning Thunder in 2008 against an LRA camp byUganda, the DRC and South Sudan, was blamed on poor coordination among the

combatant forces and a lack of operational secrecy. Seventeen US militaryadvisers provided support for the operation.

In its immediate aftermath, LRA units went on the rampage, killing hundreds ofcivilians and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.

At present, 440,000 civilians in the region are displaced, most in DRC,because of LRA activities, according to the UN Office for the Coordination ofHumanitarian Affairs.

Our intention is to supplement host nation military efforts with advice andassistance that maximizes the flow of information to, and synchronizes theactivities of host nation units in the field, said Rawlinson.

Vershbow said he hoped fusing the intelligence information with theoperational plans would lead to the elimination of the remaining leadershipof the LRA".

Raising questions

Congressman Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California, criticized Vershbow forbeing vague about the US operations. In comments to CNN, Senator JohnMcCain, a Republican from Arizona, echoed those sentiments: The LRA is one ofthe most atrocious and barbaric organizations in history and I applaud thegoal, but I would like to know more.

Richard Downie, a fellow and deputy director of the Africa Programme at theCenter for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, cautionedthat the increased US involvement did not guarantee the LRAs days were


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numbered.

I think you do have to be a little bit cautious in your expectations, hesaid. The difficult thing here is ultimately the responsibility is going tolie with the militaries on the ground.

Ashley Benner, a policy analyst for the Enough Project, a Washington-based NGOthat advocated for the US mission, worried that only sending advisers willnot make enough of an impact and, when the desired results are not seen, willlikely lead to their premature withdrawal.

She called on the Obama administration to urge African countries to improvetheir special forces, convince European countries to provide logistical

assistance, defuse tensions between regional governments, and ensure theprotection of civilians.

The advisers should be tasked with helping to develop and coordinate atargeted apprehension strategy and improve US oversight of mission planningand execution, she said. Only then do we have a real chance of finallyapprehending Joseph Kony and his senior commanders and bringing them tojustice.

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Egypt Military Pledges Faster Handover to Civilian Rule (New York Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/world/middleeast/egypts-cabinet-offers-to-quit-as-activists-urge-wider-protests.html?_r=1&hp

November 22, 2011

By David D. Kirkpatrick and Alan Cowell

CAIRO The ruling military council agreed on Tuesday to speed up thetransition to civilian rule in a deal made with Islamist groups but whichseemed unlikely to satisfy the demands of liberal parties and the more than100,000 protesters who gathered in the center of the capital to demand animmediate transfer of power.

The agreement came after the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces metwith representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups in asession that was boycotted by most other political parties. The deal called


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for a new constitution and a presidential election no later than next June, aswell as a new civilian cabinet to be led by a technocrat prime minister ratherthan a politician.

Under the agreement, the first round of elections for a national assembly

would go ahead as scheduled on Monday, a major goal of the Brotherhood, whichstands to win a large share of the seats. But it would also leave the civiliangovernment reporting to the military effectively a continuation of whatamounts to martial law in civilian clothes until next June.

With the police crackdown galvanizing anger at what protesters see as themilitary councils increasingly open play for long-term political power, itwas unclear whether any credible civilian leader would take the job of primeminister if the government remained subordinate to the military.

No one is going to accept another civilian government micromanaged

by themilitary commanders, said Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian

Initiative for Personal Rights.

Referring to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces by its initials, IslamLotfy, a onetime leader of the Muslim Brotherhood youth movement, said: Thepeople will not be happy if the SCAF just give them some painkillers. Mr.Lotfy was among the instigators of the revolution; he was later expelled fromthe Brotherhood for starting a more centrist breakaway political party withother young Brothers.

It may be the solution will be the SCAF delegating responsibilities to a newcabinet with full authority to manage the country, he said.

Protesters in Tahrir Square in central Cairo battled with the police in nearbystreets for the fourth straight day, braving an increasingly lethal crackdownin what seemed to be a leaderless expression of rage. The brutal treatment ofthe protesters prompted the resignation of the first civilian cabinet, whichthe military council accepted on Tuesday.

Each day the crowds have grown at the epicenter of Egyptian resistance firstto the former president, Hosni Mubarak, ousted in February and now to themilitary commanders who replaced him and the violence has mounted as well.

Intense skirmishes continued on the main avenue leading to the InteriorMinistry. Though the security forces could have reached the square from otherstreets and the protesters could have attacked the Interior Ministry fromother directions as well, each side continued to hammer the other protesterswith rocks, the security forces with tear gas that wafted back through thesquare along the same charred and pockmarked block.


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Many of the protesters wore green face masks, of the type used by medics, totry to filter tear gas fired by security forces in the ebb and flow of thefighting along streets littered with debris. Both sides sought to reinforcemakeshift barricades.

A reporter for Al Jazeera held up a spent tear-gas canister to a camera andsaid its markings said it was manufactured in the United States. But the wordswere not easily legible to viewers.

By midday, the crowd in Tahrir Square had swelled to many tens of thousands far larger than at the same time on previous days.

A new banner across the center of the square declared, This land is owned by

the Egyptian people.Tents and a field clinic to treat injured protesterswere being set up nearby.

The fighting on Tuesday came as criticism of the military spread beyondEgypts borders. In a statement, Amnesty International said the rulingcommanders had been responsible for a catalog of abuses which in some casesexceeds the record of Hosni Mubarak.

The military had been seen as the linchpin of the political transition afterthe enforced departure of Mr. Mubarak.

It was the institution Islamists hoped would steer the country to earlyelections that they were poised to dominate. Liberals regarded it as a hedgeagainst Islamist power. And the Obama administration considered it a partnerthat it hoped would help secure American interests.

But the violent crackdown and the resignation of the civilian cabinet wereblows to the tenuous legitimacy of the ruling military council.

Reeling from the swift collapse of the militarys authority, the MuslimBrotherhood, Egypts largest Islamist group, urged protesters to showrestraint or risk delaying the elections.

Many activists, though, were talking about renewed signs of divisions insidethe Muslim Brotherhood.

Reopening a split that emerged at the start of the revolution in January, manyof the younger members of the group were said to be coming to the square indefiance of their elders orders to stay home in order to avoid upsetting the


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elections.

Just like in January, I think the older leaders of the Muslim Brotherhoodwill eventually follow as well, said Mr. Bahgat of the Personal RightsInitiative.

Referring to the same quandary, Mr. Lotfy, the onetime leader of theBrotherhood youth. said young Brotherhood followers will have to take our owndecision between what the organization wants and what our conscience tells usto do.

But other Islamists, some more conservative and others more moderate, joinedsecular parties in calling for the protest Tuesday to demand that the military

hand power to a civilian authority.

In the report by Amnesty International, drawn up before the paroxysm ofviolence began in Cairo and other cities on Saturday, Philip Luther, anAmnesty official, said military rulers had continued the tradition ofrepressive rule which the anti-Mubarak protests had sought to end.

Those who have challenged or criticized the military council likedemonstrators, journalists, bloggers, striking workers have been ruthlessly

suppressed, in an attempt at silencing their voices, he said. Mr. Luther saidthe human rights balance sheet of the military rulers showed that the aimsand aspirations of the anti-Mubarak protests had been crushed.

The brutal and heavy-handed response to protests in the last few days bearsall the hallmarks of the Mubarak era, he said.

Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the State Department, called the violencedeplorable and urged that elections take place on schedule.

The Health Ministry said at least 23 people had died in the four days ofviolent clashes, and several doctors treating patients at a field clinic andnearby hospital said several had been killed by live ammunition, contrary todenials by the Interior Ministry. More than 1,500 people have been seriouslyinjured in the clashes, the Health Ministry said. Two more people died inprotest at Ismailiyah on the Suez Canal on Monday, news reports said.

Though all the political leaders called for elections to begin on schedulenext week, a growing number acknowledged privately that the violence waslikely to force their delay potentially adding to the unrest. And even as


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the political leaders unified around the demands, new divisions emerged amongthem over how the military might begin to hand over power.

Some liberal groups, led by the former diplomat and presidential candidateMohamed ElBaradei, called for the military council to give up power

immediately to a civilian government of national rescue. Other liberals saidthey sought only the replacement of the current cabinet with a new civilianteam with more power to make decisions independently of the council.

Mr. Hamzawy, the founder of a new liberal party and a parliamentary candidatewell positioned for a seat from an upscale district of Cairo, said in anotherTwitter message that he still favored holding elections before picking a newnational unity government that would continue to govern under the militarycouncil, but called for replacing the current prime minister, Essam Sharaf.

Im still convinced that elections are the way to transfer power and Ichanged my position along with others to demand Sharafs dismissal afteryesterdays statement, he said.

In the square, some protesters worried about who might succeed the militarycouncil and its leader, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, even as theychanted for his ouster.

People dont want military rule, and they wont leave here until the fieldmarshal goes too, said Omar Tareq, 18, a university student from the provinceof Qalyoubeya. But I dont really know what happens if he does. Who will takehold of the country?

###

Nigeria police link Boko Haram sect to politicians (BBC News)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15829203

November 21, 2011

By a Non-attributed Author

Nigerias secret police have said Boko Haram Islamic militants are receiving

funding from certain politicians in the north. The intelligence agency saidit had arrested an alleged spokesman for the group, who told them he wassponsored by a politician in Borno state.


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Boko Haram is blamed for a growing number of deadly attacks in Nigeria.

These include the UN headquarters bombing in Abuja in August, which killed 24people.

Boko Haram said it had carried out bomb and gun attacks in the north-easterntown of Damaturu early this month, in which at least 63 people were killed.

The targets of these attacks included churches and the headquarters of theYobe state police.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden", has launchedfrequent attacks on the police and government officials.

Parts of the group say they want sharia law more widely applied acrossNigeria, but most factions are focused on local issues.

The secret police (SSS) said they had discovered links between Boko Haram andregional politicians after the arrest and questioning on 3 November of an

alleged spokesman for the group called Ali Sanda Umar Konduga.

Police alleged Mr Konduga was the Boko Haram spokesman quoted in the Nigerianmedia using the name Usman al-Zawahiri.

"His arrest further confirms the service position that some of the Boko Haramextremists have political patronage and sponsorship," SSS spokeswoman MarilynOgar said.

The statement also said Mr Konduga had been behind threatening text messagessent to judges and politicians.

The attacks in Damaturu followed a triple suicide bomb attack on a militaryheadquarters in Maiduguri, in neighbouring Borno state.

Boko Haram launched an uprising in northern Nigeria in 2009 which was put downby the Nigerian military. Boko Haram's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was captured bythe army, handed over to the police, and later found dead.


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The group has since re-emerged, carrying out a series of shootings andbombings.

There has been speculation about whether Boko Haram has links with external

extremist groups, including al-Qaeda's North African branch.

###

Libya's NTC unveils new government line-up (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/22/us-libya-idUSTRE7AL0JM20111122

November 22, 2011

By Francois Murphy and Ali Shuaib

(Reuters) - Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) Tuesday named a newgovernment featuring several surprise appointments that suggested the line-upwas aimed at trying to soothe rivalries between regional factions.

Earlier, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor conceded that thecaptured son of Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, may be tried in Libya ratherthan in The Hague, meaning he faces the death penalty if convicted.

In forming a government, the NTC faced the tricky task of trying to reconcileregional and ideological interests whose rivalry threatens to upset thecountry's fragile stability, three months after the end of Gaddafi's 42-yearrule.

"All of Libya is represented," Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib told a newsconference as he unveiled the line-up. "It is hard to say that any area is notrepresented."

The new cabinet will include as defense minister Osama Al-Juwali, commander ofthe military council in the town of Zintan.

Juwali appeared to have staked his claim to the job after his forces captured

Saif al-Islam at the weekend and flew him to their hometown.


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The foreign minister was named as Ashour Bin Hayal, a little-known diplomatoriginally from Derna, in eastern Libya.

His appointment was unexpected as diplomats had predicted the job would go to

Libya's deputy envoy to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi, who had rallieddiplomats to turn against Gaddafi early in the revolt against his rule.

The decision to leave out Dabbashi was a "surprise," but was probablymotivated by the need to appease representatives of Derna, a big anti-Gaddafipowerbase, one diplomat told Reuters.

Hassan Ziglam, an oil industry executive, was named as finance minister, and

Abdulrahman Ben Yezza, a former executive with Italian oil major ENI, was madeoil minister.

PROSECUTION

Libya is struggling to build new institutions out of the wreckage of Gaddafi'sone-man rule, when corruption was rampant and state institutions were left todecay.

The Hague-based ICC has indicted Saif al-Islam for crimes against humanity.But chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on a visit to Tripoli that Saifal-Islam could be tried inside Libya as long as the trial complies with ICCstandards.

"Saif is captured so we are here to ensure cooperation. Now in May, werequested an arrest warrant because Libyans could not do justice in Libya. Nowas Libyans are decided to do justice, they could do justice and we'll helpthem to do it, so that is the system," he told reporters on his arrival inTripoli.

"Our International Criminal Court acts when the national system cannot act.They have decided to do it and that is why we are here to learn and tounderstand what they are doing and to cooperate."

Libyan officials have promised a fair trial but the country still has thedeath penalty on its books, whereas the severest punishment the ICC can impose

is life imprisonment.


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"The law says the primacy is for the national system. If they prosecute thecase here, we will discuss with them how to inform the judges and they can doit. But our judges have to be involved," said Moreno-Ocampo.

Saif al-Islam was captured in an ambush deep in the Sahara desert and is nowbeing held in the town of Zintan, in the Western Mountains region where hiscaptors are based.

An NTC spokesman in Tripoli had described the arrest of Saif al-Islam, thelast of Muammar Gaddafi's offspring whose whereabouts had been unaccountedfor, as "the last chapter in the Libyan drama."

An official in Zintan told Reuters steps were already underway for Saif al-Islam's prosecution. "A Libyan prosecutor met with Saif (on Monday) to conducta preliminary investigation," said Ahmed Ammar.

###

Somalia: Security Council urges comprehensive global response to maritimepiracy (UN News Centre)

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40478&Cr=somali&Cr1 =

22 November 2011 The Security Council today reiterated its condemnation ofmaritime piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, noting thatthe crimes continue to pose a threat to peace and security in the region, andcalled for a comprehensive international response to the scourge.

In a resolution adopted unanimously the Council recognized the need toinvestigate and prosecute not only suspects arrested at sea, but all those whofacilitate piracy, including key figures of criminal networks involved inorganizing, financing and benefiting from piracy.

The Council renewed its calls on States and regional organizations that havethe capacity to take part in the fight against piracy to do so, in accordancewith todays resolution and international law, by deploying naval ships, armsand military aircraft, and through seizures of boats, vessels and any otherequipment used to carry out acts of maritime piracy, or for which there isreasonable ground to suspect that they will be put to such use.

The 15-member United Nations body encouraged Member States to continue tocooperate with Somalias Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in the fight


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against piracy, and took note of the TFGs primary role in combating piracy.

The Council also extended for another year the authorization under whichStates and regional organizations cooperating with the TFG may enter Somaliasterritorial waters to suppress piracy and use all necessary means to stop the

crime.

It urged Member States to assist Somalia, at the request of the TFG and withnotification to the UN Secretary-General, to strengthen its capacity to bringto justice those using the country to plan, facilitate, or engage in acts ofpiracy and armed robbery at sea, stressing that any such measures must beconsistent with international human rights law.

The Council reiterated its decision to continue its consideration of theestablishment of the specialized anti-piracy courts in Somalia and otherStates in the region with international participation and support.

States should also criminalize piracy under their domestic law and considerthe prosecution of suspects, the imprisonment of convicted pirates orfacilitators and financiers of acts of piracy, the Council stated in itsresolution.

The Council urged all States to take appropriate actions under their existingdomestic law to prevent the illicit financing of acts of piracy and thelaundering of its proceeds.

The resolution also calls upon States, in cooperation with the internationalpolice organization, Interpol, and the European law enforcement agency,Europol, to further investigate international criminal networks involved inpiracy off the coast of Somalia, including those responsible for illicitfinancing and facilitation.

###

South Africa's Ruling ANC passes controversial secrecy law (LA Times Blog)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/11/south-africas-ruling-anc-passes-controversial-secrecy-law.html

November 22, 2011


27/32

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- South Africas ruling AfricanNational Congress government overwhelmingly passed a secrecy law Tuesday,ignoring months of protests from activists and editors and criticism from twoNobel laureates.

Critics said the law, which makes it illegal to reveal state secrets, willhave a chilling effect on whistle-blowers and investigative journalism. Theirmain complaint is that the measure doesn't allow a legal defense for acting inthe public interest in exposing a secret, for example by revealingcriminality, corruption or incompetence on the part of officials or thegovernment.

Instead, anyone revealing a state secret faces up to 25 years in jail.

Activists supporting transparency and freer access to government informationwore black Tuesday, in protest against the vote by the ANC-dominatedparliament.

The ANC argued it had to update apartheid-era laws on state secrecy andrejected criticisms that its own measure was not much better than that of thewhite supremacists.

Desmond Tutu, retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town and Nobel Peace Prizelaureate, called the law an insult to South Africans that would make the stateaccountable only to the state.

Nadine Gordimer, a Nobel Literature Prize laureate, also criticized the law.

A onetime minister in former President Nelson Mandelas Cabinet, Jay Naidoo,said he was disturbed by the battering ram approach by ruling partylawmakers. He told South African media that the struggle against apartheid wasa struggle for all people to have a voice, a principle that shouldnt bebetrayed.

Mandela's foundation said the law's shortcomings were not difficult toresolve. It said the bill should focus on whether any harm was done throughreleasing a secret, not merely the fact that secret information was released.

The foundation also called for moves to narrow the grounds on whichinformation could be classified as a state secret. Information should not beclassified secret if the public interest outweighed the possible damage to


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state security, it said.

Opponents of the law have foreshadowed a legal challenge in the constitutionalcourt, the country's highest court on constitutional issues.

###

Debt failure leaves Pentagon budget in limbo (Stars and Stripes)

http://www.stripes.com/news/debt-failure-leaves-pentagon-budget-in-limbo-1.161398

November 22, 2011

By Leo Shane III and Chris Carroll

WASHINGTON As lawmakers squabble over whether to allow $600 billion inmandated defense funding cuts move ahead, Pentagon planners are left with theunenviable task of figuring out how to piece together a fiscal 2013 budgetwith little idea how much money theyll have.

When the debt reduction committee on Monday announced its failure to develop aplan to find $1.2 trillion in federal spending trims or new revenues, ittriggered an automatic $600 billion in defense spending cuts called asequestration mechanism over the next decade.

The funding cut was designed to be so politically unpalatable as to force thecommittee to reach a compromise. Instead, it has become the basis for the nextbudget fight, with Republican leaders vowing to find ways to undo theautomatic cuts and Democratic leaders including President Barack Obama saying theyll block any efforts to shift the debt-reduction burden solelyonto other federal programs.

Defense officials are already compiling the fiscal 2013 budget, due to beunveiled publicly in February. Before the debt committees failure, Pentagonplanners were already tasked with trimming anticipated defense spending byroughly $450 billion over the next 10 years, part of earlier cost-cuttingagreements by Congress.

The new triggered cuts would push that total to more than $1 trillion in the

same span. On Monday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called that level of cutsdangerous to national security.


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The [cuts] would lead to a hollow force incapable of sustaining the missionsit is assigned, he said. If implemented, [they] would also jeopardize ourability to provide our troops and their families with the benefits and thesupport they have been promised. Our troops deserve better, and our nationdemands better.

For now, Pentagon officials are still planning as if the sequestration willnot happen.

The work is going forward on the 2013 budget, and it will be reflective of and only reflective of that $450 billion number, Pentagon spokesman Capt.John Kirby said Tuesday.

The difference between the two funding targets would be a fiscal 2013 defensebudget of around $525 billion just a few billion less than the departmentspent this year versus a budget of around $470 billion.

Outside experts said they expect that Pentagon leaders can hold off onintegrating any of those sequestration cuts for months, hoping that Congresswill find alternatives.

It sets itself up as a kind of game of chicken, said Todd Harrison of the

Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Not planning for the smallerdefense budget could force lawmakers to reach a new compromise, or jeopardizethe entire military budget.

Of course, that doesnt necessarily make it the right approach. Harrison saiddefense officials should be preparing an alternate budget on a separate trackthat fits under the spending cap.

Its better to make the cuts yourself so you can target low-priority areasand protect important areas, he said.

And Mieke Eoyang, national security director for the centrist think tank ThirdWay, warned that military budgeters cant wait too long to make thosedecisions.

The longer they wait, the more dramatic the cuts can become in the outyears, she said. You need to be building on savings from year to year. You

dont want to just be slicing programs at the end.


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But Eoyang said there may be a more practical reason to wait on thosesequestered cuts: The Pentagon might not have its other plans in place yet.

Until you see what that $450 billion [in cuts] will look like, you dont know

how close to the bone they are, she said. I would hope the Pentagon wouldwork from there, and not panic if they need to go further.

Defense budget expert Gordon Adams, an American University professor whoserved in the Office of Management and Budget for the Clinton administration,said he expects Congress and the White House to avoid the issue and findalternative cuts, even if its after the November elections.

And both Republicans and Democrats on the congressional armed servicescommittees vowed yesterday to do just that. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., andRep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., said separately theyll introduce legislation incoming weeks to get around the defense cuts. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., calledthe debt committees failure very concerning but not the end of the road.

The now pending cuts will not be implemented until fiscal 2013, but thatstill does not give us much time, he said in a statement. Even the specterof sequestration will be extremely disruptive and could lead to cut backs indefense spending well before January 2013.

###

George W. Bush to raise cancer awareness in Africa (Associated Press)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8c

November 22, 2011

By Jamie Stengle

DALLAS (AP) Former President George W. Bush will travel to Africa next monthto raise awareness about cervical and breast cancer, an effort he calls a"natural extension" of a program launched during his presidency that helpsfight AIDS on the continent.

Bush, former first lady Laura Bush and officials with the George W. BushInstitute are heading to Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia from Dec. 1 throughDec. 5, where they'll visit clinics and meet with governmental and health care

leaders.


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"We believe it's in our nation's interest to deal with disease and setpriorities and save lives," Bush told The Associated Press.

In 2003, Bush launched the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or

PEPFAR, to expand AIDS prevention, treatment and support programs in countrieshit hard by the epidemic.

The new program, called the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative, seeks to expandthe availability of cervical cancer screening and treatment and breast careeducation in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

Bush said existing AIDS clinics will be used to screen and treat cervical

cancer, which is four to five times more common among those living with HIVthan those who don't have the virus. Last year, 3.2 million people receivedantiretroviral treatments as a result of PEPFAR.

The initiative is a partnership among several organizations, including theBush Institute, PEPFAR and the United Nations' program on HIV and AIDS. Itsgoal is to reduce deaths by 25 percent in five years among women screened andtreated through the initiative.

"We want to show what works and hopefully others across the continent ofAfrica will join us,'" Bush said.

Dr. Eric G. Bing, director of global health at the Bush Institute, said it'soften more difficult for African women to reveal they have cancer of thereproductive organs than to reveal they have HIV. There are more supportgroups and treatment available for HIV than cancer, he said.

"There's silence around cancer for many of these communities and in many ofthese nations. And that's one of the things that we hope to change," Bingsaid.

Bush moved to Dallas after leaving office in 2009. The George W. BushPresidential Center, which is set to be completed in 2013 on the campus ofSouthern Methodist University, will include his presidential library and thealready-operating policy institute. Besides global health, the institutefocuses on education reform, human freedom and economic growth.

Bush said he and the former first lady will be "pouring our hearts" into theBush presidential center as it grows.


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"This is where we will spend the rest of our lives in the sense of beinginvolved with public policy," Bush said.

###

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