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On 7/1/2010 5:23:54 PM General William E. Ward, commander of U.S. Africa Command wrote
I recently addressed the Senior Leader's Seminar (SLS) sponsored by the Africa Center of Strategic Studies (ACSS). With 39 African countries represented, this year's SLS was the largest and most diverse ever held by the ACSS.
The evening before my address, I attended a talk by my good friend and colleague, Ambassador Johnnie Carson, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. He gave an eloquent overview of the United States strategy in Africa, a transcript of which is available on Africa Command's home page. His address emphasized the alignment of diplomatic and defense efforts in support of building security capacity in Africa.
In my address the following morning, I described our Command's support to African partners in professionalizing their militaries and building their security capacity. I reaffirmed that a stable and secure Africa was in the national interests of the United States. Our work with African militaries reflects our mutual interests in strengthening African peacekeeping capacity, supporting the development of the African Union's regional security architecture, and addressing various transnational challenges on the continent, such as violent extremism, maritime insecurity, and trafficking in drugs, arms, and persons. The audience was receptive and engaged, and I was very pleased with the dialogue that ensued for the remainder of the session.
That afternoon, I spent some time with our friends at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon. After meeting with the U.S. Ambassador to Portugal, Michael Katz, I conducting an interview with two of the largest Portuguese media outlets-- the wire service "Lusa" and RTP, the country's largest television outlet. I emphasized the partnership and common objectives we share with Portugal and the Lusophone nations of Africa in the area of maritime security. I stressed that Africa Command's focus is on sustained security engagement with our African partners, and that our number one objective is to enable our African partners to manage their own security.
I returned to the SLS and helped honor my good friend General (ret) Martin Luther Agwai, former Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army and Chief of Defense, Nigerian Armed Forces, as ACSS presented him with its "Visionary of the Year" award. General Agwai was honored for his lifetime achievements, including his development of the Nigerian Armed forces into a world-class peacekeeping organization and for his accomplishments in commanding international peacekeeping troops in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Darfur.
I applaud the ACSS for conducting yet another superb SLS that afforded a tremendous opportunity for dialogue and collaboration toward the goal of a secure and stable Africa. Congratulations to Ambassador Mark Bellamy and his team for a job well done.
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