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With US AfriCom in Stuttgart, Tanks for Sudan
Hijacked Off Somalia, UN Not Involved
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
October 1 -- The United States'
African Command began operations today, not on the Continent but from
an office
in Stuttgart, Germany. Initial plans to base it near the Gulf of
Guinea, from
which 25% of oil consumed in the U.S. will soon come, were opposed by
such
African countries as Nigeria and South Africa. And so now the U.S.
pro-consul
will operate by remote control, with his subordinates placed in U.S.
embassies.
Just as the
Caucasus conflict in August is seen as centering around energy
transportation,
specifically pipelines, the opening of AfriCom is seen as reacting to
China's
perceived inroads into Africa's oil supplies. Experts say that China
has
concessions in Sudan in southeast and perhaps north Darfur; the
involvement of
U.S. military contractor Lockheed Martin in peacekeeping in Darfur is
seen by
these experts as related to the U.S. energy and mineral interests.
The speed
with which the game is moving is exemplified by the Ukrainian ship
currently
hijacked by so-called pirates off the coast of Somalia, filled with
tanks and
other war materiel bound, it is claimed, for Kenya. Others say the
ultimate
destination was Sudan, either the national government in Khartoum, or
the South
Sudanese government in Juba.
Inner City
Press asked the Urn's Spokesperson on October 1 what involvement the UN
has in
ascertaining the planned destination of the tanks, given the UN arms
embargo on
weapons to be used in Darfur.
UN's with Sergey Lavrov and Condi
Rice, cooperation on ships off Somalia coast not shown
We have no
involvement, said UN Spokesperson
Michele Montas, noting the members of the Security Council are
discussing it. Video here.
In
fact,
Russian navy vessels are speeding to the scene. On this one, it may be
that the
two rivals in the past and perhaps future Cold War will be able to
cooperate.
Longer terms, experts are urging the U.S. to cooperate more with China,
offering it a chance to avoid some trillion dollars in
naval investments. Like
the piracy off the coast of Somalia,
China is concerned about possile seizure of ships, particularly those
bearing
on, in the Malacca Straits. AfriCom is one more chess move in
this complicated
game.
Watch this site, and this Sept. 18 (UN) debate.
* * *
These
reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here
for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
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