By General Carter Ham, commander, U.S. Africa Command
Ambassador Henry Ensher
Deputy Assistant Secretary Shari Villarosa, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
U.S. AFRICOM Public Affairs  Print     Share  

ALGIERS, Algeria, 

Sep 8, 2011 — General Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), made his second visit to Algeria September 7-8, 2011, where he attended an international conference for partnership, security, and development.

The conference was hosted by national representatives of the Combined Operational Joint Military Staff Committee -- Algeria, Mali, Niger, and Mauritania -- and attended by delegations from more than 14 North American, European, and Asian nations.

The conference, Ham said, "convinces me that while there is a particular threat here in the sub region, the international community recognizes that terrorism and its related criminal activity has to be addressed more comprehensively by all the nations of the world."

During his trip, Ham joined U.S. Ambassador to Algeria Henry Ensher and Deputy Assistant Secretary Shari Villarosa, U.S. State Department Office of the Coordinator for Counter Terrorism, at a press conference September 8 to discuss regional issues such as terrorism and related security threats, the situation in Libya, and his concerns on weapons proliferation.

"Helping Libya become a safe and stable state will require the best efforts of the neighboring countries and of the international community," Ham said. "Concerns such as the proliferation of weapons and other matters, economical development, the formation of a new government in Tripoli, will require everyone to assist the Libyan people in forming a new government."

He also addressed the location of the command's headquarters, stating that the headquarters will remain in Stuttgart for the foreseeable future. To a related question, he stated the United States was not seeking to establish military bases in Africa.

"There are no plans whatsoever to establish any ... U.S. military bases in Africa," Ham said.

Ham's first visit to the country was earlier this year in June, where he met with military and civilian leaders, discussed how to address the threat of extremism in the region, and explained U.S. AFRICOM's role in strengthening cooperation between U.S. and African nations.

The following is a transcript from the press conference:

QUESTION (through translator): Has Libya become a real hot bed, or is it a pretext by the government in place -- under the pretext of stability in order to change the governments in place in the region? That's the first question and the second one is in the framework of countering terrorism do you think that this is possible to be made without the contribution of Maghreb countries?

GENERAL HAM: If it's ok, I'd like to address the second question first. It was very clear to me yesterday as we entered the conference hosted by Algeria that addressing the threat of terrorist and criminal activity is an international concern and I think Algeria's leading role in organizing this conference demonstrates the understanding that this is an international problem so at this conference that Algeria has organized it's not only the countries of the Sahel but the many, many countries in the region and across the globe as well as several international organizations. That convinces me that while there is a particular threat here in the sub region, the international community recognizes that terrorism and its related criminal activity has to be addressed more comprehensively by all the nations of the world.

Your question, your first question about Libya is perhaps a more political question, but from a military and security standpoint, I think it is â? what we are seeing unfold in Libya is an opportunity for people to express their desire for self determination, and while there certainly is an important security and military role in Libya, it's just as important, perhaps even more important, that the role of diplomacy and economic development be addressed.

QUESTION (through translator): His Excellency the ambassador stated in his remarks there have been meetings with several senior officials from the government of Algeria. During these meetings, have there been any specific request made by the Algerian government in terms of security cooperation? And the second question is AFRICOM's headquarters isbased in Stuttgart. How is that reflected in terms of cooperation with African states? Is it only intelligence, military intervention, or technical assistance or what are the aspects of this cooperation?

GENERAL HAM: Our headquarters is in Germany. That actually was a practical decision a few years ago. When the command was formed, it was formed out of an existing headquarters based in Germany. So it was a practical decision actually to just remain in Germany. Early on there was some discussion of the possibility of establishing a headquarters in Africa, but doing so would require a great expense, and the United States, like Algeria, like many other countries, is in a period where we have to be very careful about our expenses. So I think for the foreseeable future our headquarters will remain in Germany and it's a good location for us. It's less than two hours from Algiers, for example.

To your first question about the partnership between the United States military and Algeria -- and partnership I believe is the right word to use. What we seek to do is establish opportunities for the U.S. military and the armed forces of Algeria to increasing cooperate, to train together, to learn from each other so that both forces can become more capable. And while I am very pleased about the partnership activities so far, I believe that there is much more that we could be doing in the future.

QUESTION (through translator): The gentleman is from the Spanish Press Agency, and he would like to come back to the Libyan crisis. Saying recently there have been [a] lot of voices especially yesterday during the conference held by Algeria, saying that the Libyan crisis is yet an additional threat to the Sahel, particularly due to the proliferation of weapons in the area. What's your comment about that?

GENERAL HAM: I agree that there is a threat of proliferation of weapons from Libya, and we are very concerned -- all of the nations are very concerned about small weapons, rifles and weapons similar to that, but also explosives and shoulder fired air defense systems. The United States and most other nations have been very clear that the control of weapons is the responsibility of the National Transitional Council in Libya.

But as I became very aware yesterday, all of the nations of the sub region and indeed the international community are seeking ways to help the National Transitional Council control those weapons. The United States Department of State has had two teams travel throughout the region, to include here in Algeria, to meet with the government officials to seek opportunities to control these weapons. As with all matters of regional security, it will require the best efforts not only of the countries in the region, but of the international community as well to control this problem.

QUESTION (through translator): Journalist from Liberte newspaper has two questions and the first one concerns AFRICOM's image. There have been several critics about AFRICOM's role and these critics have come both from Washington as well as from African states. That's the first question and the second one is there are more and more symptoms showing us that Libya is heading to become yet another Afghanistan because all ingredients are there to show us this: the horizontal government, the tribal system, the increase in Islamism. Do you think that we are heading to be another -- for Libya to be yet another Afghanistan?

GENERAL HAM: I am concerned about the image of United States Africa Command across the continent and more broadly in the international community. When the command was begun about three and half years ago, there was concern in Washington and other places that we would overly militarize United States foreign policy in Africa.

The ambassador and Ms. Villarosa will certainly have a better view of this, but in my opinion we have proven those critics false. We try to be a good partner with African states and we operate under two guiding principles. The first is simply that a safe, stable and secure Africa is in the best interest not only of the United States but of the international community. The second principal is perhaps even more important, and that second principal is that it is Africans who are best able to address African security challenges. Where United States partnership is welcomed and desired, then we seek to do just that.

We do not seek bases in Africa other than one operating base in Djibouti. Large bases are not a part of our plan; they are not supportive of what we hope to do with our African partners.

There is one part of your question I wish was really true, I wish we had a large budget; actually our budget is quite small.

To your second question about the future of Libya the most important point is that the future of Libya is up to the Libyan people. It's easy now about six months later to forget how this all began. This began by Mr. Qadhafi threatening to hunt down people in Benghazi like rats. This is language Africans has heard before, and so the international community, operating under the UN Security Council Resolution 1973, took a bold decision to act. We'll never know for sure how many lives were saved by that action, but I'm convinced that many thousands were.

So the challenge now is how does the international community help Libya become the kind of nation that the Libyans want? This will require economic, diplomatic, and security support from across the globe, but I am perhaps an eternal optimist, but I believe that Libya is headed for better days. Many challenges to be sure, but the opportunity for Libyan people to make their own determination is what's most important.

AMBASSADOR ENSHER: Would you -- perhaps, Ms. Villarosa had a couple comments about our overall government approach toward fighting terrorism in cooperation with other countries that she would like to offer.

SECRETARY VILLAROSA: Yes ... we have long recognized that military power alone is not going to eliminate the threat of terrorism. And what we have to do is have a whole of government approach, and we in the State Department work very closely with the Defense Department, with AFRICOM, but also with some of our law enforcement agencies- the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigations; with our development agency, USAID. The Secretary Clinton calls this diplomacy, development, and defense. We have almost constant interagency discussions in Washington and overseas so that we are perusing a genuinely comprehensive "whole of government" approach and working with the relevant partners in other nations.

QUESTION (through translator): The lady is from radio channel 3 and has got a few questions. The first one is regarding accusations both by CNT as well as by some French circles that Algeria's standing position towards the Libyan crisis has been qualified as an ambiguous one. Don't you think this further destabilizes the region, particularly further through Algeria's recent decision to close borders with Libya? That's the first question, and the second one is there are more and more fears in the United States that the activity in Islamism increases in the region. Don't you think that this fear is further reinforced by NATO's intervention? In other words, don't you think that NATO's intervention has made things worse? And the third point is about weapons proliferations. Don't you think that NATO's intervention has made things worse, because they knew beforehand that it was a vulnerable region, so they, don't you consider that as a wrong approach or mistake in their approach? And the fourth question is about AFRICOM. You said that you have little budget; don't you think that your budget should go into peace and stability operations and not to funding further wars, particularly that there is starvation in several African states?

GENERAL HAM: Those are very long questions; I'll try to give brief answers.

First, it's not for the United States to address questions about Algeria's foreign policy; that is for the Algerians to address. To your second and third questions, I would refer back to earlier responses. Had the United Nations not made a decision; had the United States and its allies not responded, there is no question in my mind that thousands of Libyan innocent citizens would have been killed, and it would have been unconscionable for the United States and others to allow that to happen.

Perhaps I wasn't clear or perhaps you didn't understand my earlier question about what it is that Africa Command tries to do. It is our objective to partner with African states in ways that are helpful to those African countries. In my experience of more than 35 years as a soldier, I have found that no one more than a soldier abhors war and conflict, so I reject in the strongest possible terms your assertion that the United States is seeking to conduct military operations.

QUESTION (through translator): He has got two questions; the first one is: all the U.S. delegations and officials that come to Algeria speak highly, and of you highly, the cooperation and the level of partnership between our two countries. They only speak about positive things but never of any problems between both countries. I am referring here particularly to [Blue Lantern?] program. What is your comment about that? That is the first question. And the second one is, I would like to go back to AFRICOM's bases in Africa. Is it planned or are there any thoughts of Libya hosting AFRICOM and having a base there, particularly not only considering current circumstances, but also because there are lots of other foreign governments that are thinking of establishing themselves in Libya of the long term, and I'm thinking particularly of France.

GENERAL HAM: I'm sorry I do not know Blue Fountain so I can't respond -- Blue Lantern.

SECRETARY VILLAROSA: That's for me.

GENERAL HAM: Okay, Ms. Villarosa. Let me just be very clear; there are no plans, no plans whatsoever to establish any bases - U.S. military bases in Africa - other than the one base we currently have that we operate in Djibouti.

SECRETARY VILLAROSA: With regard to your first question, the reason that you hear so many positive words from the United States with regard to our cooperation with the government of Algeria is because it is very good. We â? and it is getting better, but like any friendship we don't necessarily agree on 100 percent of every issue, but because we respect each other and we do have a good friendship. We're able to discuss issues easily between friends and amicably resolve them.

QUESTION (through translator): The lady is from Le Monde newspaper. I think that many of you came to the same conclusions yesterday, and I heard that there is a forum that the United States is hosting in September on counterterrorism. What is the point of that forum considering all these intelligence sharing activities, but also military cooperation?

SECRETARY VILLAROSA: On September 22, a group of nations, not the United States, but including the United States, will announce the formation of a Global Counterterrorism Forum, in New York. The reason for this, setting up this forum, is the increasing realization that terrorism is not a U.S. problem. It is not a problem for any one country to handle by itself. It is very much a global problem and the best way to confront this challenge is to work together, to learn from each other in terms of how we can most effectively eliminate the terrorist threat. So the point of the Global Counterterrorism Forum will be to exchange views between experts and see how â? and offer suggestions, mobilize resources for countries that are interested in improving their abilities, and its focused on civilian law enforcement, the judiciary and criminal justice system, (and I'm talking too long) and countering violent extremism.

QUESTION (through translator): The lady is from Al-Bilad newspaper and she says there have been lots of talks recently in the media about Algeria hosting al-Qadhafi's family. What is the U.S. position towards this?

SECRETARY VILLAROSA: Basically the United States is supportive of the UN position and there [are] various resolutions that have been passed by the United Nations and I'm sure that Algeria is well aware of these UN resolutions.

AMBASSADOR ENSHER: Maybe I will just add a little bit to that if you don't mind. Just to add one thing there, and that is that we are confident that Algeria is fully supportive of all aspects of international law. It is a very serious part of Algerian foreign policy and we have complete confidence in their ability to respect the UN requirements on this. Thank you.

(Sidebar question for General Ham)

QUESTION (through translator): How do we confront now the threat that was created by the Libyan crisis in the Sahel region, particularly when it comes to the proliferation of weapons?

GENERAL HAM: Helping Libya become a safe and stable state will require the best efforts of the neighboring countries and of the international community. Concerns such as the proliferation of weapons and other matters, economical development, the formation of a new government in Tripoli, will require everyone to assist the Libyan people in forming a new government.