AFRICOM Related-Newsclips 23 Nov 11

8/3/2019 AFRICOM Related-Newsclips 23 Nov 11

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office23 November 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Of interest in todays clips: The New York Times reports on steps being taken toestablish the new Libyan National Army, stating that this might be the most difficult andimportant task facing the interim government.

Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African

Affairs, spoke to Kenyan journalists Tuesday stating that Kenya and Ethiopia shouldstrengthen the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). It was also reiterated thatthe United States is not involved in Kenyas military incursion into Somalia.

Former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold writes about the U.S. militarys deployment toUganda in support of Counter-LRA efforts in the region and the African Uniondesignates the Lords Resistance Army as a terrorist group.

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

U.S. Africa Command Public AffairsPlease send questions or comments to:[email protected] (+49-711-729-2687)

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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 (NY Times)http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/africa/libyas-toughest-test-may-be-building-an-army.html?ref=global-homeNovember 21, 2011By Clifford KraussTRIPOLI, LibyaThe marching can hardly be called crisp as the new Libyan NationalArmy takes form in daily drills at an abandoned air force base here.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/africa/libyas-toughest-test-may-be-building-an-army.html?ref=global-homehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/africa/libyas-toughest-test-may-be-building-an-army.html?ref=global-homehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/africa/libyas-toughest-test-may-be-building-an-army.html?ref=global-homehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/africa/libyas-toughest-test-may-be-building-an-army.html?ref=global-homehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/africa/libyas-toughest-test-may-be-building-an-army.html?ref=global-homemailto:[email protected]


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US supports Kenya, Ethiopia joining Amisom forces (The Standard)http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sports/InsidePage.php?id=2000047130&cid=4November 22, 2011By Ally JamahThe US has commended the decision by Kenya and Ethiopia to join the African Union

force fighting Al Shabaab militants in Somalia.US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs Johnnie Carson said on Tuesdayin a teleconference with Kenyan journalists, from Washington DC, that Kenya andEthiopia should strengthen the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) and use it tofight 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, 2011By Former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold

On October 12, President Barack Obama announced he would deploy a combat-equippedteam of U.S. military personnel to central Africa. As the President specified in his letternotifying congressional leaders of the operation, the team is the first part of what willtotal approximately 100 U.S. military personnel, who will "act as advisers to partnerforces that have the goal of removing from the battlefield Joseph Kony and other seniorleadership" of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group from northern Ugandathat has since spread to other parts of central Africa. The deployment of our troops is nopanacea, but they will play a critically important role by providing the involved regionalmilitaries with greater access to desperately needed intelligence and information. Clearly,there are risks involved, but the president's initiative is ultimately the right decision.

African Union declares Ugandas LRA a terror group (Reuters)http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AL0A120111122November 22, 2011By Aaron MaashoADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The African Union on Tuesday formally designated as aterrorist group Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army, accused of murder, rape and childkidnappings in east and central Africa.

Security: US advisers limited to support role in tracking down LRA (IRIN

Humanitarian News and Analysis)http://www.irinnews.org/InDepthMain.aspx?indepthid=92&reportid=94261November 21, 2011

NEW YORK, 21 November 2011 (IRIN) - The main stated aim of the US deployment of100 military advisers to central Africa is to improve coordination among the armies ofcountries affected by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) to avoid repeating the fiasco ofthe 2008 multinational offensive against the group.
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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&hpNovember 22, 2011By David D. Kirkpatrick and Alan Cowell

CAIROThe ruling military council agreed on Tuesday to speed up the transition tocivilian rule in a deal made with Islamist groups but which seemed unlikely to satisfy thedemands of liberal parties and the more than 100,000 protesters who gathered in thecenter of the capital to demand an immediate transfer of power.

Nigeria police link Boko Haram sect to politicians (BBC News)http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-1582920321 November 2011Nigerias secret police have said Boko Haram Islamic militants are receiving fundingfrom certain politicians in the north. The intelligence agency said it had arrested analleged spokesman for the group, who told them he was sponsored by a politician in

Borno state. 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 24 people.

Libya's NTC unveils new government line-up (Reuters)http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/22/us-libya-idUSTRE7AL0JM20111122November 22, 2011By Francois Murphy and Ali Shuaib(Reuters) - Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) Tuesday named a newgovernment featuring several surprise appointments that suggested the line-up was aimedat trying to soothe rivalries between regional factions.

Somalia: Security Council urges comprehensive global response to maritime piracy

(UN News Centre)http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40478&Cr=somali&Cr1=November 22, 2011The Security Council today reiterated its condemnation of maritime piracy and armedrobbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, noting that the crimes continue to pose a threat topeace and security in the region, and called for a comprehensive international response tothe 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, 2011REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- South Africas rulingAfrican National Congress government overwhelmingly passed a secrecy law Tuesday,ignoring months of protests from activists and editors and criticism from two Nobellaureates.
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Debt failure leaves Pentagon budget in limbo (Stars and Stripes)http://www.stripes.com/news/debt-failure-leaves-pentagon-budget-in-limbo-1.161398November 22, 2011By Leo Shane III and Chris CarrollWASHINGTONAs lawmakers squabble over whether to allow $600 billion in

mandated defense funding cuts move ahead, Pentagon planners are left with theunenviable task of figuring out how to piece together a fiscal 2013 budget with little ideahow 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=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8cNovember 22, 2011By Jamie StengleDALLAS (AP)Former President George W. Bush will travel to Africa next month toraise awareness about cervical and breast cancer, an effort he calls a "natural extension"

of a program launched during his presidency that helps fight AIDS on the continent.

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UN News Service Africa Briefshttp://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICA

(Full Articles on UN Website)

Ban praises Cameroon, Nigeria for carrying out border demarcation ruling22 NovemberSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated Cameroon andNigeria for progress in implementing the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)on their dispute over their border, saying the process had demonstrated that preventivediplomacy can succeed.

Atrocities in Guinea must never be forgotten, says UN envoy on sexual violence22 NovemberThe United Nations official leading the fight against sexual violenceduring conflicts today urged the international community to never forget the deadlyviolence which ravaged Guinea in September 2009, noting that while justice in thecountry had been delayed, it could not be denied.

UN environmental agency awards biologist for reducing human-animal conflict22 NovemberA British biologist today received a United Nations award for her workusing the diminutive bee to thwart the worlds largest land animal, the elephant, fromcrop-raiding in Kenya.
http://www.stripes.com/news/debt-failure-leaves-pentagon-budget-in-limbo-1.161398http://www.stripes.com/news/debt-failure-leaves-pentagon-budget-in-limbo-1.161398http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8chttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8chttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8chttp://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICAhttp://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICAhttp://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICAhttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8chttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8chttp://www.stripes.com/news/debt-failure-leaves-pentagon-budget-in-limbo-1.161398


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Somalia: Security Council urges comprehensive global response to maritime piracy22 NovemberThe Security Council today reiterated its condemnation of maritimepiracy and armed 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 a comprehensiveinternational response to the scourge.

Ending violence against women begins with change in attitudesMigiro22 NovemberStrong laws are vital to ending violence against women, but the long roadto tackling this scourge begins with a change in attitudes, Deputy Secretary-GeneralAsha-Rose Migiro stressed today during a visit to Ethiopia.

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New onwww.africom.mil

USARAF Officer Leads a Bilateral Military Intelligence Training for BotswanaDefense Force soldiershttp://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7457&lang=022 November 2011By U.S. Army Africa Public AffairsGABORONE, Botswana, Nov 22, 2011Twenty-eight instructors from the U.S. andBotswana worked together to train 115 officers and Non-Commissioned Officers fromthe Botswana Defense Forces (BDF) during the second iteration of the Botswana TacticalIntelligence Course (BTIC-II), Oct. 5 - Nov. 18.

French, US Service Members Undergo Desert Survival Traininghttp://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7456&lang=018 November 2011By U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Jonathan Steffen, CJTF-HOA Public AffairsGOUBETTO, Djibouti, Nov 18, 2011As the morning sun peered through a tangledweb of acacia tree branches, service members from France and the U.S. sat on the rockyground of the Grand Bara Desert near Goubetto, Djibouti, listening to an instructor detailproper caravan troop placement.

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FULL TEXT

Libya Tries to Build Army that can March Straight and Defang Militiashttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/africa/libyas-toughest-test-may-be-building-an-army.html?ref=global-home

November 21, 2011By Clifford Krauss

TRIPOLI, LibyaThe marching can hardly be called crisp as the new Libyan NationalArmy 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 answertheir cellphones when they should be taking orders. Some smoke in the middle ofexercises. Others push and shove as personal disputes break out over one thing oranother.

You are not going to see a good, really good military, Gen. Abdul Majid Fakih, aninstructor at the military academy under Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi who later defected,said as he supervised the training. We are just beginning to build.

Libya has never had a truly professional national armya cornerstone in the building ofa modern stateone that was not the personal tool of a king or dictator and purposelykept weak and divided to avert coups. And the effort at building one by the strugglingnew interim government may be its most difficult and important task.

Only a respected army will be able to persuade or force the various competing andheavily armed militias around the country to disarm and join together under a unifiedleadership.

The challenge was underscored over the weekend when a militia from the town of Zintancaptured Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, Colonel Qaddafis son and onetime heir apparent,without any help from the army, and then refused to turn him over to the centralgovernment.

The army is trying to build respect by holding parades around the country, complete withparachute jumps and fly-bys by Soviet-era MIG fighter jets and Mi-8 helicopters. Buteven the officers of the new force say they face challenges in building national venerationaround the military, as well as in breaking old habits of officer cronyism and allegiance toone strongman or another.

The new army, which numbers a few thousand and includes many soldiers who desertedColonel Qaddafis military, needs barracks, uniforms, vehicles, boots, radios, evenflashlights, officers say. Rather than having a central unified command, it is being formedby distinct committees in different cities, following the model of the diverse bunch ofmilitias that fought the war against the dictatorship. And perhaps most troubling, themilitias across the country are already refusing to take its orders.
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In its first mission just over a week ago, the army sent 100 troops to Al Maya, a villagejust west of the capital, to separate two fighting militias and retake an old army base thatis now a heap of bombed-out buildings and rusting tanks. Its success at negotiating atentative settlement between the militias after four days of fighting that left at least 13dead was lauded as a 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 keep its weaponsat home, setting up a roadblock on the main road a couple of miles west of the army baseas a sign of resistance. Armed with heavy machine guns atop pickup trucks, themilitiamen say they are going nowhere. Meanwhile the army troops are staying at thebase, putting a fresh coat of white paint on the outer walls and beginning to clean up thegrounds.

We cant tell them to surrender their guns, said Capt. Hakim el-Agouri, the local armycommander in Al Maya. He shrugged. There are people out there who wont give up

their weapons, and if that is the case, there wont be stability in Libya.

Diederik Vandewalle, an expert on Libya at Dartmouth College, said it would be difficultfor the new army to fulfill the first requirement of any modern state to have amonopoly on violence. He added, One of the elements you need to instill in yoursoldiers is a sense of national identity, and that identity has to be on a national level. Butthe militias have an identity tied to their group or town.

The army has already become one of several armed forces vying for power, both militaryand political. Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the armys leader in Tripoli, told Prime MinisterAbdel Rahim el-Keeb in a speech last week that he expected him to keep his promise toinclude former rebels in cabinet posts as Mr. Keeb was forming his government.

In an interview, Mr. Belhaj, an Islamist who fought against the Soviet Union inAfghanistan but is now critical of Al Qaeda, said the army would give the militia fightersa choice to join the Ministry of Defense or police, or give up their weapons and return tocivilian life.

He said he was confident the army could accomplish that mission within a couple ofmonths.

We cant have an army run by personal agendas, he added. The army we need has tobe professional and loyal, with its primary mission being defense of the borders fromthreats posed by instability in nearby Chad, Mali and Sudan, as well as Qaeda infiltrationfrom Algeria.

Army leaders said their force was mostly training now, but also protecting governmentbuildings and hunting down small groups of former Qaddafi supporters who had not yetsurrendered.


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They said they planned to build the army methodically. First, committees are beingformed in cities around the country to interview militia fighters and decide who should bein the army, who should be in the police, and who is not qualified for either. People withspecial experience or abilities, like computer skills, will be assigned special tasks.

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

A lot needs to be changed, said General Fakih, the instructor. Before the army trainedterrorists. Thats over. We need to change the way soldiers treat people, and how officerstreat soldiers.

At the same time, officers say they are preparing to persuade the various militias to giveup their heavy machine guns, antiaircraft weapons and rocket launchers, which they sayare no longer needed at road checkpoints.

Civilian leaders say they want the militias totally disarmed within the month, but officerssay that cannot be done for several more months. General Fakih said the army waspreparing many plans to disarm the militias if they did not surrender their armsvoluntarily, 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 Zawiyah militiacommander in charge of a heavily fortified checkpoint, said his forces would drop theirweapons only when there was a new government, and there is no government.

The Zawiyah council will decide what we do with our arms, Mr. Mohammed added.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=4November 22, 2011By Ally Jamah

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

US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs Johnnie Carson said on Tuesdayin a teleconference with Kenyan journalists, from Washington DC, that Kenya andEthiopia should strengthen the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) and use it tofight the militants in Somalia.
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"The best way to deal with Al Shabaab and address the security threat in Somalia is touse Amisom as the core element in the fighting and to work from Mogadishu in helpingthe Transitional Federal Government extend its authority," he said.

The 7,000-strong African Union force, composed mainly of Ugandan and Burundian

troops, is locked in an intense battle with Al Shabaab in Mogadishu and seeks to extendthe authority of the Transitional Federal Government throughout Somalia.

"The last time Ethiopia entered Somalia did not see a very successful outcome instabilising the country. In fact, it is their presence that spawned Al Shabaab. We urgeKenya and Ethiopia to work through Amisom to address the security challenges facingthem from Somalia," he said.

Carson said that he appreciated the difficulties Kenya is facing in dealing with theinsecurity emanating from Somalia.

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

Meanwhile the US Embassy in Nairobi has strongly denied reports that US marines areinvolved in organising security for the upcoming Lamu Cultural Festival.Only seven marines

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

"That report is totally inaccurate and without any basis. The US is not involved in anyway in the security arrangements of the event," she said. The event begins onWednesday.

But the official admitted that due to security fears, the embassy will not be sending anyofficial to the four-day event that usually attracts thousands of visitors from Kenya andaround the world.

Previously, the embassy sent officials to the event, especially since the US supported itwith millions of shillings. "We have not issued any specific advisory to US citizens not totravel to the festival," she added

The US on Tuesday also renewed its insistence that it is not involved in any way inKenyas military incursion in Somalia, but admitted that it has ongoing agreements totrain Kenyan soldiers and to enhance Kenyas capabilities in border security.

"The reports that our drones are bombing Al Shabaab in Somalia are not true. We are noteven 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, 2011By Former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold

For the Obama administration's new mission to work, it will have to take central Africa's

other problems into account

On October 12, President Barack Obama announced he would deploy a combat-equippedteam of U.S. military personnel to central Africa. As the President specified in his letternotifying congressional leaders of the operation, the team is the first part of what willtotal approximately 100 U.S. military personnel, who will "act as advisers to partnerforces that have the goal of removing from the battlefield Joseph Kony and other seniorleadership" of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group from northern Ugandathat has since spread to other parts of central Africa. The deployment of our troops is no

panacea, but they will play a critically important role by providing the involved regionalmilitaries with greater access to desperately needed intelligence and information. Clearly,there are risks involved, but the president's initiative is ultimately the right decision.

For more than two decades, the LRA has terrorized the people of northern Uganda andnow central Africa more widely, brutally killing thousands, and leading directly to thedisplacement of 1.8 million people. In recent years, the LRA has moved out of northernUganda and deep into central Africa -- laying low in the dense forests of the DemocraticRepublic of Congo while replenishing their ranks by attacking remote Congolese villagesand crossing into the Central Africa Republic and South Sudan to initiate similarbrutality.

The president's deployment of military advisers to the region is a significant step. But theultimate success of that mission will depend not only on how our advisers carry out theirassignment or on whether key leaders of the LRA are caught once and for all, but also onwhether the United States pursues other policies critical to sustainably solving theproblem at hand. We can't end the threat that the LRA poses solely by the barrel of thegun. The U.S. will also have to scale up equally important diplomatic and developmentinitiatives throughout the region.

In 2009, I introduced legislation with former Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas that laidout just such a strategy. That bill, the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and NorthernUganda Recovery Act of 2009, passed Congress with bipartisan support, and was signedinto law by President Obama last year and, in October, cited as the strategic foundation ofthe recent deployment.

While our bill authorized a comprehensive set of policies necessary both to help removethe threat of the LRA and address the conditions out of which the LRA emerged, it alsogave the administration discretion to determine the most effective way forward.
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The mission that the president has assigned our military personnel will be challenging.The traditional, binary, all-or-nothing approach to military missions is based on bitterexperience. But this mission is different. Even though U.S. military forces will beforward deployed with regional African militaries, their focus will be on facilitatingbetter information-sharing among the African forces. In doing so, the hope is not only to

stop the LRA but to also encourage greater protection of innocent civilians who mightotherwise be attacked.

There are good reasons to be reluctant about limiting the engagement of militarypersonnel when we assign them a task, and the current deployment to central Africa willbe a test of whether we are capable undertaking this kind of alternative mission. Locatedin difficult and remote terrain, it is likely to be a difficult undertaking. But the strategicrewards for our country -- of being able to use our military in this non-traditional way andin a manner that supports greater protection of civilians -- can be enormous in other areas,especially in addressing our highest national security priority, namely the threat ofterrorist networks.

To achieve a long-term, sustainable solution, though, we will need to do more. It isessential that the Ugandan government address the conditions out of which the LRAemerged and which could give rise to future conflict if unchanged, including progress onbasic development needs and addressing historic problems of marginalization. Othergovernments in the region must begin to fix the lack of governance and weak securityinfrastructure that has enabled the LRA to thrive within their borders. In each country,this means focusing on the core rule of law institutions, reforming the security apparatus,and genuinely addressing political and economic grievances.

Inevitably, this will require our assistance -- both technical and financial -- that can helpto stabilize and strengthen not only the government but civil society as well. Given thecurrent fiscal climate, we must commit to providing support in a manner that ensurestransparency and accountability -- and is crafted in close coordination with those on theground. A failure to address the underlying political grievances in northern Uganda andthroughout the broader region could lead to new conflicts in the future, undermining thesuccess we all hope our military personnel will have.

###

African Union declares Ugandas LRA a terror group (Reuters)http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AL0A120111122November 22, 2011By 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 and childkidnappings in east and central Africa.
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The LRA, which says it is a religious group, emerged in northern Uganda in the 1990sand is believed to have killed, kidnapped and mutilated tens of thousands of people.

The designation was the bloc's first and follows U.S. President Barack Obama's decisionto send 100 military advisers to the region to support central African allies pursuing

group leader Joseph Kony and other rebel commanders last month.

"The (AU's) Peace and Security Council has decided to declare the LRA a terrorist groupin line with the relevant AU instruments and it requests the United Nations SecurityCouncil to do the same," the council's commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said after ameeting on the rebel group.

"The next step would be for all African countries to consider the LRA as such and toenact regulations and legislation that would forbid the activities of the LRA on theirnational territories and also make it punishable for any individual ...(to) assist in any waythe LRA to continue its criminal activities," he said.

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

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

"The provision of support by the U.S. government ... is consistent with the appeal we aremaking for individual international partners to re-enforce and support the capabilities ofour own regional states in order to enhance their efficiency in fighting the LRA,"Lamamra said.

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

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

Although now thought to number just a few hundred fighters, the LRA's mobility and thedifficulties of the terrain have made it difficult to tackle. Attempts to negotiate peacefailed in 2008 after Kony refused to sign a deal to end the killing.

###

Security: US advisers limited to support role in tracking down LRA (IRIN

Humanitarian 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 deployment of100 military advisers to central Africa is to improve coordination among the armies of
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countries affected by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) to avoid repeating the fiasco ofthe 2008 multinational offensive against the group.

They are not directly involved in the operation to find members of the Lord's ResistanceArmy, said Major James Rawlinson of the US Special Operations Command, Africa, in

a statement to IRIN. While they will be working and living closely with African securityforces, the focus is on enabling their ability 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 of the 100advisers would be based in Uganda but small teams would deploy forward inpartnership with local forces, to help them improve their skills on the front- lines.

They will carry small-arms weapons only for self-defence, he said. Vershbow would notdescribe the weapons for the Congressional panel.

The main goal, both said, is to help the militaries of Uganda, South Sudan, DemocraticRepublic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR) share intelligence, whichwould allow for prompt and concerted action against the LRA.

The failure of Operation Lightning Thunder in 2008 against an LRA camp by Uganda,the DRC and South Sudan, was blamed on poor coordination among the combatant forcesand a lack of operational secrecy. Seventeen US military advisers provided support forthe operation.

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

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

Our intention is to supplement host nation military efforts with advice and assistancethat maximizes the flow of information to, and synchronizes the activities of host nationunits in the field, said Rawlinson.

Vershbow said he hoped fusing the intelligence information with the operational planswould lead to the elimination of the remaining leadership of the LRA".

Raising questions

Congressman Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California, criticized Vershbow for beingvague about the US operations. In comments to CNN, Senator John McCain, aRepublican from Arizona, echoed those sentiments: The LRA is one of the mostatrocious and barbaric organizations in history and I applaud the goal, but I would like toknow more.


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Richard Downie, a fellow and deputy director of the Africa Programme at the Center forStrategic and International Studies in Washington DC, cautioned that the increased USinvolvement did not guarantee the LRAs days were numbered.

I think you do have to be a little bit cautious in your expectations, he said. The

difficult thing here is ultimately the responsibility is going to lie with the militaries on theground.

Ashley Benner, a policy analyst for the Enough Project, a Washington-based NGO thatadvocated for the US mission, worried that only sending advisers will not make enoughof an impact and, when the desired results are not seen, will likely lead to their prematurewithdrawal.

She called on the Obama administration to urge African countries to improve theirspecial forces, convince European countries to provide logistical assistance, defusetensions between regional governments, and ensure the protection of civilians.

The advisers should be tasked with helping to develop and coordinate a targetedapprehension strategy and improve US oversight of mission planning and execution, shesaid. Only then do we have a real chance of finally apprehending Joseph Kony and hissenior commanders and bringing them to justice.

###

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&hpNovember 22, 2011By David D. Kirkpatrick and Alan Cowell

CAIROThe ruling military council agreed on Tuesday to speed up the transition tocivilian rule in a deal made with Islamist groups but which seemed unlikely to satisfy thedemands of liberal parties and the more than 100,000 protesters who gathered in thecenter of the capital to demand an immediate transfer of power.

The agreement came after the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces met withrepresentatives of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups in a session thatwas boycotted by most other political parties. The deal called for a new constitution and apresidential election no later than next June, as well as a new civilian cabinet to be led bya technocrat prime minister rather than a politician.

Under the agreement, the first round of elections for a national assembly would go aheadas scheduled on Monday, a major goal of the Brotherhood, which stands to win a largeshare of the seats. But it would also leave the civilian government reporting to themilitaryeffectively a continuation of what amounts to martial law in civilian clothesuntil next June.
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With the police crackdown galvanizing anger at what protesters see as the militarycouncils increasingly open play for long-term political power, it was unclear whetherany credible civilian leader would take the job of prime minister if the governmentremained subordinate to the military.

No one is going to accept another civilian government micromanaged by the militarycommanders, said Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative forPersonal Rights.

Referring to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces by its initials, Islam Lotfy, aonetime leader of the Muslim Brotherhood youth movement, said: The people will notbe happy if the SCAF just give them some painkillers. Mr. Lotfy was among theinstigators of the revolution; he was later expelled from the Brotherhood for starting amore centrist breakaway political party with other young Brothers.It may be the solution will be the SCAF delegating responsibilities to a new cabinet withfull authority to manage the country, he said.

Protesters in Tahrir Square in central Cairo battled with the police in nearby streets forthe fourth straight day, braving an increasingly lethal crackdown in what seemed to be aleaderless expression of rage. The brutal treatment of the protesters prompted theresignation of the first civilian cabinet, which the military council accepted on Tuesday.

Each day the crowds have grown at the epicenter of Egyptian resistancefirst to theformer president, Hosni Mubarak, ousted in February and now to the militarycommanders who replaced himand the violence has mounted as well.

Intense skirmishes continued on the main avenue leading to the Interior Ministry. Thoughthe security forces could have reached the square from other streets and the protesterscould have attacked the Interior Ministry from other directions as well, each sidecontinued to hammer the otherprotesters with rocks, the security forces with tear gasthat wafted back through the squarealong the same charred and pockmarked block.

Many of the protesters wore green face masks, of the type used by medics, to try to filtertear gas fired by security forces in the ebb and flow of the fighting along streets litteredwith debris. Both sides sought to reinforce makeshift barricades.

A reporter for Al Jazeera held up a spent tear-gas canister to a camera and said itsmarkings said it was manufactured in the United States. But the words were not easilylegible to viewers.

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

A new banner across the center of the square declared, This land is owned by theEgyptian people. Tents and a field clinic to treat injured protesters were being set upnearby.


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The fighting on Tuesday came as criticism of the military spread beyond Egypts borders.In a statement, Amnesty International said the ruling commanders had been responsiblefor a catalog of abuses which in some cases exceeds the record of Hosni Mubarak.

The military had been seen as the linchpin of the political transition after the enforced

departure of Mr. Mubarak.

It was the institution Islamists hoped would steer the country to early elections that theywere poised to dominate. Liberals regarded it as a hedge against Islamist power. And theObama administration considered it a partner that it hoped would help secure Americaninterests.

But the violent crackdown and the resignation of the civilian cabinet were blows to thetenuous legitimacy of the ruling military council.

Reeling from the swift collapse of the militarys authority, the Muslim Brotherhood,

Egypts largest Islamist group, urged protesters to show restraint or risk delaying theelections.

Many activists, though, were talking about renewed signs of divisions inside the MuslimBrotherhood.

Reopening a split that emerged at the start of the revolution in January, many of theyounger members of the group were said to be coming to the square in defiance of theirelders orders to stay home in order to avoid upsetting the elections.

Just like in January, I think the older leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood will eventuallyfollow as well, said Mr. Bahgat of the Personal Rights Initiative.

Referring to the same quandary, Mr. Lotfy, the onetime leader of the Brotherhood youth.said young Brotherhood followers will have to take our own decision between what theorganization wants and what our conscience tells us to do.

But other Islamists, some more conservative and others more moderate, joined secularparties in calling for the protest Tuesday to demand that the military hand power to acivilian authority.

In the report by Amnesty International, drawn up before the paroxysm of violence beganin Cairo and other cities on Saturday, Philip Luther, an Amnesty official, said militaryrulers had continued the tradition of repressive rule which the anti-Mubarak protestshad sought to end.

Those who have challenged or criticized the military council like demonstrators,journalists, bloggers, striking workershave been ruthlessly suppressed, in an attemptat silencing their voices, he said. Mr. Luther said the human rights balance sheet of the


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military rulers showed that the aims and aspirations of the anti-Mubarak protests hadbeen crushed.

The brutal and heavy-handed response to protests in the last few days bears all thehallmarks 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 of violent clashes,and several doctors treating patients at a field clinic and nearby hospital said several hadbeen killed by live ammunition, contrary to denials by the Interior Ministry. More than1,500 people have been seriously injured in the clashes, the Health Ministry said. Twomore people died in protest at Ismailiyah on the Suez Canal on Monday, news reportssaid.

Though all the political leaders called for elections to begin on schedule next week, agrowing number acknowledged privately that the violence was likely to force their delaypotentially adding to the unrest. And even as the political leaders unified around thedemands, new divisions emerged among them over how the military might begin to handover power.

Some liberal groups, led by the former diplomat and presidential candidate MohamedElBaradei, called for the military council to give up power immediately to a civiliangovernment of national rescue. Other liberals said they sought only the replacement ofthe current cabinet with a new civilian team with more power to make decisionsindependently of the council.

Mr. Hamzawy, the founder of a new liberal party and a parliamentary candidate wellpositioned for a seat from an upscale district of Cairo, said in another Twitter messagethat he still favored holding elections before picking a new national unity governmentthat would continue to govern under the military council, but called for replacing thecurrent prime minister, Essam Sharaf.

Im still convinced that elections are the way to transfer power and I changed myposition along with others to demand Sharafs dismissal after yesterdays statement, hesaid.

In the square, some protesters worried about who might succeed the military council andits leader, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, even as they chanted for his ouster.

People dont want military rule, and they wont leave here until the field marshal goestoo, said Omar Tareq, 18, a university student from the province of Qalyoubeya. But Idont really know what happens if he does. Who will take hold of the country?

###


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Nigeria police link Boko Haram sect to politicians (BBC News)http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15829203November 21, 2011By a Non-attributed Author

Nigerias secret police have said Boko Haram Islamic militants are receiving fundingfrom certain politicians in the north. The intelligence agency said it had arrested analleged spokesman for the group, who told them he was sponsored by a politician inBorno state.

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 24 people.Boko Haram said it had carried out bomb and gun attacks in the north-eastern town ofDamaturu early this month, in which at least 63 people were killed.

The targets of these attacks included churches and the headquarters of the Yobe statepolice.

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

Parts of the group say they want sharia law more widely applied across Nigeria, but mostfactions are focused on local issues.

The secret police (SSS) said they had discovered links between Boko Haram and regionalpoliticians after the arrest and questioning on 3 November of an alleged spokesman forthe 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 Haram extremistshave political patronage and sponsorship," SSS spokeswoman Marilyn Ogar said.

The statement also said Mr Konduga had been behind threatening text messages sent tojudges and politicians.

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

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

The group has since re-emerged, carrying out a series of shootings and bombings.
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There has been speculation about whether Boko Haram has links with external extremistgroups, 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-idUSTRE7AL0JM20111122November 22, 2011By Francois Murphy and Ali Shuaib

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

Earlier, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor conceded that the capturedson of Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, may be tried in Libya rather than in The Hague,

meaning he faces the death penalty if convicted.

In forming a government, the NTC faced the tricky task of trying to reconcile regionaland ideological interests whose rivalry threatens to upset the country's fragile stability,three months after the end of Gaddafi's 42-year rule.

"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 not represented."

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

Juwali appeared to have staked his claim to the job after his forces captured Saif al-Islamat the weekend and flew him to their hometown.

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

His appointment was unexpected as diplomats had predicted the job would go to Libya'sdeputy envoy to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi, who had rallied diplomats to turnagainst Gaddafi early in the revolt against his rule.

The decision to leave out Dabbashi was a "surprise," but was probably motivated by theneed to appease representatives of Derna, a big anti-Gaddafi powerbase, one diplomattold Reuters.

Hassan Ziglam, an oil industry executive, was named as finance minister, andAbdulrahman Ben Yezza, a former executive with Italian oil major ENI, was made oilminister.
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PROSECUTION

Libya is struggling to build new institutions out of the wreckage of Gaddafi's one-manrule, when corruption was rampant and state institutions were left to decay.

The Hague-based ICC has indicted Saif al-Islam for crimes against humanity. But chiefprosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on a visit to Tripoli that Saif al-Islam could betried inside Libya as long as the trial complies with ICC standards.

"Saif is captured so we are here to ensure cooperation. Now in May, we requested anarrest warrant because Libyans could not do justice in Libya. Now as Libyans are decidedto do justice, they could do justice and we'll help them to do it, so that is the system," hetold reporters on his arrival in Tripoli.

"Our International Criminal Court acts when the national system cannot act. They havedecided to do it and that is why we are here to learn and to understand what they are

doing and to cooperate."

Libyan officials have promised a fair trial but the country still has the death penalty on itsbooks, whereas the severest punishment the ICC can impose is life imprisonment.

"The law says the primacy is for the national system. If they prosecute the case here, wewill discuss with them how to inform the judges and they can do it. But our judges haveto be involved," said Moreno-Ocampo.

Saif al-Islam was captured in an ambush deep in the Sahara desert and is now being heldin the town of Zintan, in the Western Mountains region where his captors are based.

An NTC spokesman in Tripoli had described the arrest of Saif al-Islam, the last ofMuammar Gaddafi's offspring whose whereabouts had been unaccounted for, as "the lastchapter in the Libyan drama."

An official in Zintan told Reuters steps were already underway for Saif al-Islam'sprosecution. "A Libyan prosecutor met with Saif (on Monday) to conduct a preliminaryinvestigation," said Ahmed Ammar.

###Somalia: Security Council urges comprehensive global response to maritime piracy

(UN News Centre)http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40478&Cr=somali&Cr1=

22 November 2011The Security Council today reiterated its condemnation of maritimepiracy and armed 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 a comprehensiveinternational response to the scourge.
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In a resolution adopted unanimously the Council recognized the need to investigate andprosecute not only suspects arrested at sea, but all those who facilitate piracy, includingkey figures of criminal networks involved in organizing, financing and benefiting frompiracy.

The Council renewed its calls on States and regional organizations that have the capacityto take part in the fight against piracy to do so, in accordance with todays resolution andinternational law, by deploying naval ships, arms and military aircraft, and throughseizures of boats, vessels and any other equipment used to carry out acts of maritimepiracy, or for which there is reasonable ground to suspect that they will be put to suchuse.

The 15-member United Nations body encouraged Member States to continue tocooperate with Somalias Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in the fight againstpiracy, and took note of the TFGs primary role in combating piracy.

The Council also extended for another year the authorization under which States andregional organizations cooperating with the TFG may enter Somalias territorial waters tosuppress piracy and use all necessary means to stop the crime.

It urged Member States to assist Somalia, at the request of the TFG and with notificationto the UN Secretary-General, to strengthen its capacity to bring to justice those using thecountry to plan, facilitate, or engage in acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, stressingthat any such measures must be consistent with international human rights law.

The Council reiterated its decision to continue its consideration of the establishment ofthe specialized anti-piracy courts in Somalia and other States in the region withinternational participation and support.

States should also criminalize piracy under their domestic law and consider theprosecution of suspects, the imprisonment of convicted pirates or facilitators andfinanciers of acts of piracy, the Council stated in its resolution.

The Council urged all States to take appropriate actions under their existing domesticlaw to prevent the illicit financing of acts of piracy and the laundering of its proceeds.

The resolution also calls upon States, in cooperation with the international policeorganization, Interpol, and the European law enforcement agency, Europol, to furtherinvestigate international criminal networks involved in piracy off the coast of Somalia,including those responsible for illicit financing and facilitation.

###


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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.htmlNovember 22, 2011

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- South Africas rulingAfrican National Congress government overwhelmingly passed a secrecy law Tuesday,ignoring months of protests from activists and editors and criticism from two Nobellaureates.

Critics said the law, which makes it illegal to reveal state secrets, will have a chillingeffect on whistle-blowers and investigative journalism. Their main complaint is that themeasure doesn't allow a legal defense for acting in the public interest in exposing asecret, for example by revealing criminality, corruption or incompetence on the part ofofficials or the government.

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

Activists supporting transparency and freer access to government information wore blackTuesday, in protest against the vote by the ANC-dominated parliament.

The ANC argued it had to update apartheid-era laws on state secrecy and rejectedcriticisms that its own measure was not much better than that of the white 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 state accountableonly 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 hewas disturbed by the battering ram approach by ruling party lawmakers. He told SouthAfrican media that the struggle against apartheid was a struggle for all people to have avoice, a principle that shouldnt be betrayed.

Mandela's foundation said the law's shortcomings were not difficult to resolve. It said thebill should focus on whether any harm was done through releasing a secret, not merelythe fact that secret information was released.

The foundation also called for moves to narrow the grounds on which information couldbe classified as a state secret. Information should not be classified secret if the publicinterest outweighed the possible damage to state security, it said.

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

Debt failure leaves Pentagon budget in limbo (Stars and Stripes)http://www.stripes.com/news/debt-failure-leaves-pentagon-budget-in-limbo-1.161398November 22, 2011

By Leo Shane III and Chris Carroll

WASHINGTONAs 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 budget with little ideahow much money theyll have.

When the debt reduction committee on Monday announced its failure to develop a plan tofind $1.2 trillion in federal spending trims or new revenues, it triggered an automatic$600 billion in defense spending cutscalled a sequestration mechanismover thenext decade.

The funding cut was designed to be so politically unpalatable as to force the committee toreach a compromise. Instead, it has become the basis for the next budget fight, withRepublican leaders vowing to find ways to undo the automatic cuts and Democraticleadersincluding President Barack Obamasaying theyll block any efforts to shiftthe debt-reduction burden solely onto other federal programs.

Defense officials are already compiling the fiscal 2013 budget, due to be unveiledpublicly in February. Before the debt committees failure, Pentagon planners werealready tasked with trimming anticipated defense spending by roughly $450 billion overthe next 10 years, part of earlier cost-cutting agreements by Congress.

The new triggered cuts would push that total to more than $1 trillion in the same span. OnMonday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called that level of cuts dangerous to nationalsecurity.

The [cuts] would lead to a hollow force incapable of sustaining the missions it isassigned, he said. If implemented, [they] would also jeopardize our ability to provideour troops and their families with the benefits and the support they have been promised.Our troops deserve better, and our nation demands better.

For now, Pentagon officials are still planning as if the sequestration will not happen.The work is going forward on the 2013 budget, and it will be reflective of and onlyreflective ofthat $450 billion number, Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby saidTuesday.

The difference between the two funding targets would be a fiscal 2013 defense budget ofaround $525 billionjust a few billion less than the department spent this yearversus a budget of around $470 billion.
http://www.stripes.com/news/debt-failure-leaves-pentagon-budget-in-limbo-1.161398http://www.stripes.com/news/debt-failure-leaves-pentagon-budget-in-limbo-1.161398http://www.stripes.com/news/debt-failure-leaves-pentagon-budget-in-limbo-1.161398


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George W. Bush to raise cancer awareness in Africa (Associated Press)http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8cNovember 22, 2011By Jamie Stengle

DALLAS (AP)Former President George W. Bush will travel to Africa next month toraise awareness about cervical and breast cancer, an effort he calls a "natural extension"of a program launched during his presidency that helps fight AIDS on the continent.Bush, former first lady Laura Bush and officials with the George W. Bush Institute areheading to Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia from Dec. 1 through Dec. 5, where they'll visitclinics and meet with governmental and health care leaders.

"We believe it's in our nation's interest to deal with disease and set priorities and savelives," Bush told The Associated Press.

In 2003, Bush launched the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, orPEPFAR, to expand AIDS prevention, treatment and support programs in countries hithard by the epidemic.

The new program, called the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative, seeks to expand theavailability of cervical cancer screening and treatment and breast care education in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

Bush said existing AIDS clinics will be used to screen and treat cervical cancer, which isfour to five times more common among those living with HIV than those who don't havethe virus. Last year, 3.2 million people received antiretroviral treatments as a result ofPEPFAR.

The initiative is a partnership among several organizations, including the Bush Institute,PEPFAR and the United Nations' program on HIV and AIDS. Its goal is to reduce deathsby 25 percent in five years among women screened and treated through the initiative.

"We want to show what works and hopefully others across the continent of Africa willjoin us,'" Bush said.

Dr. Eric G. Bing, director of global health at the Bush Institute, said it's often moredifficult for African women to reveal they have cancer of the reproductive organs than toreveal they have HIV. There are more support groups and treatment available for HIVthan cancer, he said.

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

Bush moved to Dallas after leaving office in 2009. The George W. Bush PresidentialCenter, which is set to be completed in 2013 on the campus of Southern Methodist
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8chttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8chttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8chttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8chttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIAXPc60udcGj9r_cJt5KCKwhiUA?docId=320ebdde694645d09b2e134f3ac1db8c


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University, will include his presidential library and the already-operating policy institute.Besides global health, the institute focuses on education reform, human freedom andeconomic growth.

Bush said he and the former first lady will be "pouring our hearts" into the Bush

presidential center as it grows.

"This is where we will spend the rest of our lives in the sense of being involved withpublic policy," Bush said.

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END OF REPORT

AFRICOM Related-Newsclips 23 Nov 11

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