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| Africa North |
| U.S.Â’s Africom Trains Host NationÂ’s Forces To Battle Terrorism |
| 2012-02-10 |
| U.S. Africa Command has been quietly battling terrorism on the African continent, relying heavily on special forces. But amid a shrinking Pentagon budget and increased use of special forces in Afghanistan under a new military strategy, Africom may have fewer resources to counter a growing terrorism threat. Africom's mission is to bolster the capability of host African governments and militaries to fight domestic threats, including terrorism, without the large costs of with waging war in a foreign territory. The elite military forces under Special Operations Command-Africa, based in Stuttgart, Germany, achieve that cost-effectiveness. The exact number of special forces in the region is classified. But this week, Navy Adm. William McRaven, commander of Special Operations Command, said there are about “3,000 folks deployed outside of Afghanistan,” including the African continent and Yemen, in the Arabian Peninsula. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #1 This includes a lot of stuff that doesn't need to involve special forces. One example: the Navy has been working for a long time with cooperative African governments on maritime / riverine issues with a focus on anti-terrorism. It's been a quiet and (from what I read) successful mission. Plus it's comparatively cheap. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2012-02-10 19:05 |