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National Security

White House secret meetings examine al-Qaeda threat in North Africa

By Greg Miller and Craig Whitlock,October 01, 2012

(Page 2 of 2)

Officials stressed that no decisions have been made about deploying armed drones or other lethal assets. The nearest U.S. drone base in Africa is across the continent in Ethiopia, and administration officials said they would consider unilateral strikes only as a last resort.

For now, the officials said, the emphasis is on replicating aspects of the counterterrorism formula in Somalia. The United States has conducted intelligence operations there, as well as strikes, but has mainly relied on African troops to battle an al-Qaeda-linked militant group known as al-Shabab.

Ham, the U.S. commander in Africa, has said that in Mali, that task has been made more difficult by political instability and the failure to act earlier. The United States, the Malian government and other countries “missed an opportunity to deal with AQIM when they were weak,” Ham told reporters during a visit to Senegal in July.

He called AQIM the “best-funded, wealthiest” affiliate, thanks to its lucrative practice of kidnapping foreigners for ransom and its smuggling prowess.

The Pentagon has been prohibited from giving military aid or training to Mali in the aftermath of the March coup. The ban, imposed by the State Department, is unlikely to be lifted until a democratically elected government can be reinstated.

In the meantime, the administration has been stepping up its military aid to Mali’s neighbors, including two that have been dealing with refugees and other spillover effects from the conflict there.

In July, the Defense Department allocated $6.9 million worth of military trucks, uniforms and communications gear for Mauritania. It also agreed to give Niger $11.6 mllion in equipment, primarily in the form of two Cessna airplanes that can be used for surveillance and to transport troops.

That same month, about 600 U.S. troops organized and led a joint military exercise, dubbed Western Accord 2012, with several West African nations, including Senegal, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Gambia. French troops also participated.

The Africa Command has continued to operate surveillance flights — under a classified program code-named Creek Sand – from a U.S. Special Operations forces base in Burkina Faso.

Senior U.S. officials said there was no American involvement in a reported June airstrike in northern Mali and that they still don’t know whether it occurred. Regional news organizations described a “mystery airstrike” that killed seven AQIM-aligned fighters traveling in a convoy of four vehicles.

Mali’s interim government has said that it would welcome a proposed peacekeeping force of about 3,300 troops from a 15-nation consortium known as the Economic Community of West African States.

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