AFRICOM Related Newsclips January 7, 2011

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office7 January 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

AFRICOM leaders to mull headquarters location (Stars and Stripes)(Pan Africa) When a new general assumes command of U.S. Africa Command thisyear, one of his first tasks will be to decide, amid much political maneuvering, whetherAFRICOM headquarters will move to another location.

Pros and cons of potential AFRICOM HQ locations (Stars and Stripes)(Pan Africa) This article looks at some of the pros and cons of potential locations forU.S. Africa Command headquarters.

Defense budget cuts: Roughly half of JFCOM will remain (HRMilitary)The Defense Department has found "a number of missions" at Norfolk-based JointForces Command that should be kept in Hampton Roads, Defense Secretary RobertGates said Thursday.

Police Storm U.S. Army HIV Research Clinic (Daily Nation)(Kenya) Police in Kericho stormed a United States Military HIV Research Programmeclinic following claims that a minor had died there while donating blood.

Sudan vote comes together after rocky Obama effort to prevent violence (WashingtonPost)(Sudan) Since Obama's Sept. 2 meeting, he has pressed Sudanese and world leaders fora timely referendum, and senior officials have pushed to speed up preparations. To theadministration's relief, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said this week thathe would accept the outcome.

US envoy cautions against power sharing in Ivory Coast (Nigerian Tribune)(Ivory Coast) A former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, has urgedWest African leaders to rule out power sharing in Cote d' Ivoire in their bid to resolvethe political standoff.

U.S. Slaps New Sanctions on Ivory Coast Leader (Associated Press)



(Ivory Coast) Frustrated by the refusal of Ivory Coast's president to cede power, theObama administration slapped wide-ranging sanctions Thursday on the African leaderand members of his inner circle as punishment for refusing to accept his loss in ademocratic election in November.

Incumbent Ivory Coast President Expels British, Canadian Ambassadors (Voice ofAmerica)(Ivory Coast) Ivory Coast's incumbent president is expelling the British and Canadianambassadors after their countries withdrew recognition of his envoys. Internationalpressure on the incumbent president is growing as the Obama administration hasfrozen his assets.

What Obama Needs To Do To Effectively Engage With Africa (Atlanta Post)(Pan Africa) As his duties as president got underway, Obama had an agenda to connectwith Africa but in lieu of pressing domestic and other foreign policy issues, he had to

move Africa further down on his to-do list. But now time is extremely precious beingthat he is in the third year of his term and his fourth year will be dedicated tocampaigning; hence, making it crucial that Obama marks Africa as a high priority taskon his list for 2011.

An Opening for Progressives? Obama to Step up Outreach to Africa in 2011 (ForeignPolicy in Focus)(Pan Africa) Earlier this week, the AP reported that Obama is quietly but strategicallystepping up his outreach to Africa, using this year to increase his engagement with acontinent that is personally meaningful to him and important to U.S. interests. This

story and the statement from Obama represent an opening for progressives in theUnited States.

DOD Announces $150 Billion Reinvestment from Efficiencies Savings (U.S.Department of Defense)Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced today a series of efficiencies decisionsdesigned to save the Department of Defense more than $150 billion over the next fiveyears primarily by reducing overhead costs, improving business practices and cullingexcess or troubled programs.

Gates Reveals Budget Efficiencies, Reinvestment Possibilities (American Forces PressService)The Defense Department has found $154 billion in efficiencies over the next five yearsand will be able to invest $70 billion of that saved money in more deserving accounts,Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.

DOD Directs Army, Marine Drawdowns for 2015, 2016 (American Forces PressService)



Budget pressures that have proven greater than anticipated mean the DefenseDepartment will trim end strength in its ground forces beginning in four years, DefenseSecretary Robert M. Gates said today.

Defense Department to Prune Senior Ranks, Freeze Staffing (American Forces Press

Service)The Defense Department will reduce its senior ranks and freeze civilian staffing levels,Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.

UN News Service Africa Briefs Full Articles on UN Website

y Liberia needs to do more to cut resources that could fuel conflicts, UN panelwarns

y UN seeks to boost peacekeeping troops as Côte d·Ivoire crisis continues

y Darfur: UN-African mission to boost civilian protection, support for peace

processy UNESCO chief pays tribute to late Mozambican artist Malangatana

y UN backs efforts against gender-based violence in southern Africa

-------------------------------------------------------------------------UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday and Wednesday, February 8-9, 2011; National DefenseIndustrial Association, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DCWHAT: Defense, Diplomacy, and Development: Translating Policy into OperationalCapability

WHO: Keynote Speakers include ADM Michael Mullen, USN, Chairman, Joint Chiefsof Staff; BG Simon Hutchinson, GBR, Deputy Commander, NATO Special OperationsForces Headquarters; ADM Eric T. Olson, USN, Commander, U.S. Special OperationsCommand; Gen Norton A. Schwartz, USAF, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air ForceInfo: http://www.ndia.org/meetings/1880/Pages/default.aspx ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT

AFRICOM leaders to mull headquarters location (Stars and Stripes)

STUTTGART, Germany ³ When a new general assumes command of U.S. AfricaCommand this year, one of his first tasks will be to decide, amid much politicalmaneuvering, whether AFRICOM headquarters will move to another location.

A recommendation is due to the Pentagon in 2012, and presumptive AFRICOMcommander Gen. Carter Ham has said locations in Europe and the U.S. would be takeninto consideration.



His review also will examine possible headquarters locations in Africa, testing how farthe U.S. has come in polishing AFRICOM·s image on a continent, where suspicionsabout American military intentions have run deep.

In addition to politics, several other factors will drive the decision, including

operational costs, proximity to the African continent and ease of travel, military officialsand experts say.

´Gen. Ham, if confirmed, promised to start with a clean sheet of paper,µ said Lt. Col.Tamara Parker, a Defense Department spokeswoman. ´He·ll take into account manyfactors.µ

As Ham looks for answers, one man he could call upon for input is a Navy officer nowworking at a dusty air station in the Nevada desert. At the moment, Cmdr. Otto Sieberis far removed from African affairs. But in 2009, he studied the issue.

Sieber, who authored an in-depth paper at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey,Calif., that analyzed where AFRICOM should be located, has a few recommendations.

Íf they decide to move it from Stuttgart, then it would definitely have to be someplaceon the eastern seaboard,µ Sieber said in a telephone interview. Íf I had to pick, I wouldsay New York, D.C. or Atlanta. Any of those would work.µ

AdvertisementMilitary leaders will have to cut through all of the political pressure andeconomic wooing, and conduct an objective analysis that serves the long-term strategic

interests of the command, Sieber said.

Strategic selling points for New York and Washington include major internationalairports that provide relatively easy access to Africa for command staff, and theproximity of African consulates, embassies and other U.S. government agenciesinvolved on the continent, according to Sieber·s analysis.

Sieber·s study, which adopted an analytical model similar to the one used in theselection process for U.S. Southern Command·s headquarters move in the 1990s,investigated the respective merits of seven locations: Stuttgart, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco,New York, Atlanta and Charleston, S.C.. The top scores went to a New York, followedby Atlanta and Stuttgart. The African locations finished last amid concerns aboutinfrastructure, political stability and no direct access to stateside governmental agencies.

A Congressional Research Service report issued in November echoed those concernsabout setting up a headquarters in Africa.



´Living standards in Africa are among the lowest in the world, and DOD would beexpected to choose a politically stable location on the continent with good access tohealth care and schools and relatively low levels of corruption,µ the report stated.

Gen. William ´Kipµ Ward, who has led AFRICOM since 2007, has long downplayed the

importance of his headquarters location, saying the programs his team develops mattermore than where they are developed.

Still, during Ward·s frequent travels to Africa one of the more common questions hefields is whether the U.S. has plans for a base on the continent. The issue has been asource of controversy since the advent of AFRICOM, which was announced in February2007 and declared fully operational in October 2008 as an autonomous command freefrom its sister unit, U.S. European Command.

Regardless of where AFRICOM ends up, history shows that if a move happens it could

take years for a final decision. It took nearly seven years to identify a new U.S. SouthernCommand headquarters site, before the command departing Panama for Miami in 1997.The search involved roughly 100 locations.

With AFRICOM, the selection process should take similar care, Sieber said.------------------Pros and cons of potential AFRICOM HQ locations (Stars and Stripes)

Here is a look at some of the pros and cons of potential locations for U.S. AfricaCommand headquarters.

Stuttgart, Germany:

Pros: A proven headquarters location, where $140 million already has been invested ininfrastructure. Stuttgart shares a time zone with much of Africa, which makes it easierto do business. Travel times are significantly shorter to and from the continent thanfrom U.S. locales. Stuttgart also provides easier access to European Union partners whoare deeply engaged across Africa.

Cons: While it is difficult to measure the exact toll, a weak dollar, higher housing pricesand cost-of-living allowances all add up to a high cost of doing business in Europe.According to a 2009 GAO report, between 2010 and 2015, the DOD projects thatAFRICOM will require $2.1 billion to operate its headquarters, pay for interagencypersonnel, fund improvements to communications systems, conduct exercises andtraining for headquarters personnel, and cover operating costs in Africa. The upcomingheadquarters review will likely compare those costs against potential savingselsewhere.



Norfolk, Va.:

Pros: Hampton Roads includes joint installations, command-and-control resources, andtraining and education facilities. Located nearby are the Joint Armed Forces StaffCollege and NATO Allied Command-Transformation, which could keep the command

in close contact with NATO allies also engaged in Africa. Virginia, home to many activeand retired military members, also could provide a good pool of workers forAFRICOM·s civilian-heavy command.

Cons: No direct access to Africa on commercial airlines, which AFRICOM staff dependson now.

However, a new daily commuter flight from Norfolk to New York City will start upnext year and could minimize some of those negative effects.

Miami:

Pros: Already host to Southern Command, as well as Central Command in Tampa,Florida has a proven track record. Working alongside SOUTHCOM could offer someoperational efficiencies. The two commands also have shared strategic concerns, such asdrug trafficking from South America into western Africa, which could translate intocloser communication and cooperation.

Cons: There is no direct access to the African continent from Miami, where the cost ofliving also is higher than Virginia.

Atlanta:

Pros: The city is home to one of the largest airports on the east coast and offers directconnections to the African continent. The port of Savannah, Ga., also is a major shippingpoint for Africa-bound goods. The area possesses a large amount of militaryinfrastructure that could be converted into a new headquarters.

Cons: The southern city is far removed from both AFRICOM·s European partners andother U.S. government agencies, mainly based in Washington.

AFRICA:

Pros: With 53 countries in AFRICOM·s area of involvement, there are many potentiallocations. But only Liberia has expressed public interest in hosting the command. Themain advantage would be having a forward-deployed location that puts commandersin close contact with their African counterparts.



Cons: Liberia, along with many other potential hosts, lacks the infrastructure, schoolsand health care the command and its families would probably expect. An Africaheadquarters also would put the command far away from the U.S. governmentalagencies it works closely with.------------------

Defense budget cuts: Roughly half of JFCOM will remain (HRMilitary)

The Defense Department has found "a number of missions" at Norfolk-based JointForces Command that should be kept in Hampton Roads, Defense Secretary RobertGates said Thursday.

While details remain to be worked out, Gates said that roughly half of JFCOM'scapabilities "will be kept and assigned to other organizations."

That plan now has the official backing of Gates' boss.

Late Thursday, President Obama formally accepted Gates' recommendation to close, ordisestablish, the command. The date will be determined by the defense secretary, thepresident said in a memo.ment while detailing a significant round of military spendingcuts.

Meanwhile, Gates plans to dissolve the headquarters of Norfolk-based 2nd Fleet andtransfer its primary responsibilities ² training and mission preparation ² to U.S. FleetForces Command, also based in Norfolk. No ships would leave Norfolk as a result.

Gates said 160 military jobs would be affected, but did not say how. Sen. Mark R.Warner's office was briefed by a Pentagon official who said the jobs would be shifted toFleet Forces. A Navy spokesman could provide no further detail on how that wouldsave money.

The moves are a small part of an overall cost-cutting plan that Gates detailed.

He will cut $78 billion from the Pentagon's budget in the next five years by shrinkingthe military's ground force, increasing health care premiums for troops and othermeasures that will prove politically risky.

He also discussed a separate $100 billion in savings. However, the services will beallowed to reinvest that money in new weapon systems and programs that benefittroops, he said.

The move is part of a broader effort to help bring down the deficit by cutting themilitary's mammoth half-trillion-dollar annual budget.



Local reaction to Gates' plan varied.

Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, blasted the administration for cutting defense inlight of the growing threat posed by China. That includes the development of a carrier-killing missile, and just this week, reports that the country is testing a stealth fighter

meant to rival the F-22 Raptor.

Freshman Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Virginia Beach, said he was "troubled" by the 2nd Fleetdecision and wanted to review the data and rationale behind Gates' decision.

Democratic Sen. Jim Webb and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland, both said theywould carefully review the package of cuts with an eye toward the nation's militaryreadiness.

Gates angered Virginia leaders in August when he announced plans to close JFCOM.

About 5,600 jobs in Hampton Roads are directly tied to the command. More than 3,000of those are defense contractors who might close or pull up stakes, depending on whathappens.

But relations appeared to thaw in late November, when Virginia leaders finally satdown with Gates and other Pentagon officials, agreeing to open up lines ofcommunication. Another bit of good news came Thursday, when Gates said he was"open to the concept" of moving the headquarters of U.S. Africa Command, which isnow in Europe, to Hampton Roads.

In a letter to Sen. Warner, Gates wrote: "As you noted, there are a number of factors thatmake the region a serious candidate to host the headquarters."

He cited recent investments in facilities in Norfolk and Suffolk, and the proximity ofNATO Allied Command Transformation.

However, an AFRICOM decision is not expected in the near term, certainly not before JFCOM is settled, Gates said.------------------Police Storm U.S. Army HIV Research Clinic (Daily Nation)

Nairobi ³ Police in Kericho stormed a United States Military HIV Research Programmeclinic following claims that a minor had died there while donating blood.

The officers forced their way into the heavily guarded facility and searched the blooddonation tents. They found two women waiting for a medical check-up.



The officers, who were accompanied by Majengo Ward Councillor Elijah Ruto, laterheld talks with senior researchers at the facility.

On leaving they told journalists, who were barred from entering the clinic, that thedeath claims were false.

Police officers dispersed a crowd of onlookers milling around the facility.

A source, who requested anonymity as she was not authorised to talk to journalists,said the facility received hundreds of people who donate blood for research or to knowtheir HIV status.

She disputed claims of people "selling blood", saying donors were adults who only didso after signing consent forms.

She added that blood donors were given Sh1,000 for transport back home "as most ofthem were quite sick and came from very poor backgrounds".

There have been allegations of a blood selling racket where brokers, who includedcommercial sex workers, lure girls to "donate" blood at the facility and then receive the"transport fees."

Efforts to get comments from the programme's deputy director, Dr Fredrick Sawe,failed as he was said to be out of the office.

Another official referred the Nation to the Kenya Medical Research Institute underwhich the project falls.

The Walter Reed Project, Kericho HIV Programme is led by US Department of Defenceand Kenyan medical professionals. It does research at five other military bases inKenya.

The mission of the programme is to develop and test improved means for predicting,detecting, preventing and treating infectious disease in East Africa.------------------Sudan vote comes together after rocky Obama effort to prevent violence (WashingtonPost)

On a steamy day in September, President Obama summoned senior officials to theSituation Room. A U.S.-mediated peace accord in Sudan was in danger of collapsingand the president was worried.



This wasn't just another African country in turmoil. Months earlier, Obama's director ofnational intelligence had warned that south Sudan was the world's most likely site fornew genocide. The president forcefully reminded his aides that 2 million people haddied in Sudan's north-south war, which ended in 2005.

"The president gave very clear guidance, which is that we don't have a lot of time.We've seen this movie before," said one official in attendance who spoke on thecondition of anonymity to be candid.

Four months later, a key part of the peace accord is about to become reality - areferendum that will in all likelihood see south Sudan secede. It is a remarkableturnaround; Sunday's vote had been imperiled by delays and the Sudanesegovernment's reluctance to lose the oil-rich south.

Since Obama's Sept. 2 meeting, he has pressed Sudanese and world leaders for a timely

referendum, and senior officials have pushed to speed up preparations. To theadministration's relief, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said this week thathe would accept the outcome.

And yet, solving the Sudan crisis has been a tortured journey for a president committedto avoiding the kinds of genocide that erupted under his predecessors. Obama and histeam wound up embracing elements of George W. Bush's approach that they had oncecriticized - specifically, offering incentives to a government accused of war crimes. Theadministration's diplomatic offensive came after a year of internal debate.

"This should have been an easy win for the administration. You had, within theadministration, a deep brain trust on this issue," said Mike Boyer of Humanity United,an advocacy group. "The administration got completely hamstrung not being able toreach internal agreement."

Senior officials say that they have labored steadily to build the groundwork for peaceand that they should be judged by the results.

"The question of 'How many carrots, how many sticks?' surely will prove lessimportant than 'What did our policy deliver for the people of Sudan?' " said SamanthaPower, a key Obama adviser on genocide prevention.

Power wrote a 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "A Problem From Hell," that harshlycriticized the U.S. government for not stopping genocide in Cambodia, Iraq's Kurdishregion, Rwanda and elsewhere.

After reading her conclusions on Rwanda, then-President Bush famously scrawled on amemo: "Not on my watch."



Bush succeeded in getting the 2005 Sudan peace agreement, ending Africa's longestwar. He was unable, however, to prevent what he acknowledged as genocide in thecountry's western region of Darfur. More than 300,000 people are estimated to havedied there as militias backed by Sudan's ruling party brutally put down a rebellion.

On the campaign trail, Obama called for tougher action against Sudan and a no-fly zoneover Darfur. He assailed as "reckless and cynical" a Bush offer to remove Sudan fromthe U.S. list of terrorism sponsors in exchange for allowing more peacekeeping troops.

The Obama administration was stocked with champions of the "save Darfur"movement, such as Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Hillary RodhamClinton. And Obama created an unprecedented bureaucratic structure aimed atpreventing genocide - including appointing Power to the National Security Councilstaff.

But on Sudan, the administration quickly ran into the constraints that had stymied theBush administration. Military action would be difficult because of a lack of availableU.S. troops and the risks of intervening in a Muslim country.

As for economic penalties, "we have so sanctioned Sudan that the bilateral threat ofsanctions is not what it might have been, let's say, with Rwanda," Power said.

J. Scott Gration, Obama's envoy in Sudan, thought it was important for the south tosolve its problems directly with the north. The southerners, who are mainly Christian

and animist, had long complained of discrimination by the Arab Islamic north.

"We want to be there as a partner, not a protector," Gration said in an interview.

The envoy decided he had to deal with Bashir's government to address the enormousdangers associated with the referendum and Darfur.

"In order to fix these very real problems that were threatening lives, human rights,physical property, there was no option but to engage and to build the relationship oftrust," he said.

But that approach - from an administration that had talked tough on Sudan - madeGration a lightning rod. U.S. anti-genocide groups were outraged by the politicalneophyte's blunt comments, including his declaration that the International CriminalCourt's indictment of Bashir's for genocide would "make my mission more difficult."

Lengthy debates on Sudan erupted within the administration, with U.N. AmbassadorSusan E. Rice and others urging a less accommodating approach, officials said.



In recent months, Gration has had a lower profile, with the administration namingambassadors to focus on the referendum and Darfur. But the administration hasadopted much of his approach, offering to delist Sudan as a terrorism sponsor if thereferendum is honored and the two sides resolve border, oil and other issues.

Andrew S. Natsios, a Bush envoy who had advocated engagement with Sudan's rulingparty, said Obama had "swung past the Bush administration in pursuing a conciliatorypolicy toward the north."

But he said that in the administration's desire to be evenhanded, it "appeared to haveneglected the south," a traditional U.S. ally.

Advocacy groups had criticized the Obama administration as lacking high-levelinvolvement on Sudan. With the referendum in trouble, though, the administration

accelerated its efforts. Deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough beganrunning frequent Sudan meetings at the White House.

On Sept. 24, the president appeared at the United Nations with top representatives ofSudan's north and south, calling for the referendum to occur on time. A communiquewith that message was signed by 34 countries.

The southern Sudanese, who had complained that Gration was favoring Bashir, wereheartened by Obama appeals to world leaders to support the referendum.

"It has actually created a situation whereby Bashir has no other way but to say he'sgoing to be the first to accept" the results, said Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, head of the southSudan mission in Washington.

The U.S. emphasis was on "ensuring this is not an American message" but a global one,Power said, that included countries such as China that had economic leverage onSudan. "That's what elevating [genocide] prevention looks like," she said.

Many flash points could still spark violence, including unresolved disputes over the oil-rich border region of Abyei, which is claimed by the south.

Power said the administration is "sensitized to the importance of preventing violencebefore it occurs rather than responding after the fact. And we now have the structuresin place that spur us to look further ahead than most bureaucracies tend to do." Butwith Sudan, "there is a huge amount left to be done before anybody can say preventionworked."------------------US envoy cautions against power sharing in Ivory Coast (Nigerian Tribune)



A former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, has urged West Africanleaders to rule out power sharing in Cote d' Ivoire in their bid to resolve the politicalstandoff.

Campbell, a senior fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council of Foreign Relations(CFR), a Washington-based think tank, spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) onWednesday.

`Ì will urge ECOWAS not to go down the power sharing road as it happened inZimbabwe and Kenya.

``Because what power sharing does is that it enables a big man who has lost an electionto remain in power, and from that perspective this is a particularly sensitive time inAfrica.

``There is going to be referendum and election in Sudan and elections in Nigeria.

``The spread of power sharing may well tempt those who lose those elections to try toeither somehow hang onto power or gain power or (even) some options of power.

``Power sharing is undemocratic,·· he said.

NAN reported that incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo had refused to cede power toAlassane Ouattara, who is officially regarded by the international community as the

winner of the November 28 presidential elections.

ECOWAS, which has been mediating in the matter, had threatened ``legitimate use offorce·· to get recalcitrant Gbagbo out of office.------------------U.S. Slaps New Sanctions on Ivory Coast Leader (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON³Frustrated by the refusal of Ivory Coast's president to cede power,the Obama administration slapped wide-ranging sanctions Thursday on the Africanleader and members of his inner circle as punishment for refusing to accept his loss in ademocratic election in November.

The sanctions bar American citizens from doing business with incumbent PresidentLaurent Gbagbo, his wife Simone Gbagbo and allies Desire Tagro, Pascal AffiN'Guessan and Alcide Ilahiri Djedje. Any assets they have in the United States are nowfrozen.



In a statement, the Treasury Department said the five were blacklisted for "actionsthreatening the peace and national reconciliation process" in the West African country.

"Laurent Gbagbo continues to demonstrate wanton disregard for the will and well-being of the people of Cote d'Ivoire," said Adam Szubin, who heads Treasury's Office of

Foreign Assets Control. "Today's designations will isolate him and his inner circle fromthe world's financial system and underscore the desire of the international communitythat he step down."

The 65-year-old Mr. Gbagbo has refused to move aside since Alassane Ouattara wasrecognized as the winner of the Nov. 28 presidential run-off election. Human rightsgroups accuse Mr. Gbagbo's security forces of abducting and killing hundreds ofpolitical opponents.

The U.S. already applied travel sanctions on Mr. Gbagbo and 30 of his allies last month.

Obama has twice tried to call Mr. Gbagbo without success, and administration officialsbelieve the Ivorian leader intentionally avoided contact.

Mr. Tagro has been Mr. Gbagbo's chief of staff since the November election while Mr.N'Guessan is chairman of the political party Mr. Gbagbo founded nearly three decadesago and has acted as the president's spokesman. Mr. Djedje is Mr. Gbagbo's selection forforeign minister. All have helped Mr. Gbagbo resist a democratic transfer of power,according to the Treasury Department.

Mr. Gbagbo came to power a decade ago and ruled through a civil war two years later.

He then overstayed his legal term that expired in 2005. The presidential election wasrescheduled at least six times.

Sanctions typically have failed to reverse illegal power grabs in Africa in the past. MrOuattara, who has been confined to a hotel protected by U.N. peacekeepers, has askedother West African nations to send special forces to remove Mr. Gbagbo.------------------Incumbent Ivory Coast President Expels British, Canadian Ambassadors (Voice ofAmerica)

Ivory Coast's incumbent president is expelling the British and Canadian ambassadorsafter their countries withdrew recognition of his envoys. International pressure on theincumbent president is growing as the Obama administration has frozen his assets.

Incumbent government spokesman Ahoua Don Mello says Canadian ambassadorMarie Isabelle Massip and United Kingdom ambassador Nicholas James Westcott areno longer welcome in Ivory Coast.



In an announcement on state-run television, the spokesman said the ambassadors areno longer recognized by the government of incumbent president Laurent Gbagbothrough principles of reciprocity concerning diplomatic relations after the Canadianand British governments announced they would no longer recognize Gbagboemissaries.

The European Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the AfricanUnion, and the United States say Mr. Gbagbo should hand over power to theinternationally-recognized winner of November's vote, former prime minister AlassaneOuattara.

The U.S. Treasury Department is banning U.S. citizens from business deals with Mr.Gbagbo, his wife Simone, and three top aides including foreign minister Alcide Djedje.All of their assets within U.S. jurisdiction are now frozen.

In a written statement, the director of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of ForeignAssets Control says Mr. Gbagbo continues to demonstrate wanton disregard for the willand well-being of his people. Adam Szubin says the ban will isolate Mr. Gbagbo fromthe financial system and underscores the desire of the international community that hestep down.

Mr. Gbagbo appears to have no intention of leaving office, saying he won re-electionbecause the constitutional council annulled as fraudulent nearly ten percent of allballots cast. Mr. Gbagbo chaired his first cabinet meeting of the year Thursday, focusingon security and the economy.

Mr. Ouattara meanwhile remained secluded at an Abidjan resort hotel where he isguarded by U.N. peacekeepers. The head of that force wants the Security Council tosend as many as 2,000 additional troops to Ivory Coast in the next few weeks to helpresolve this political crisis.

But Mr. Gbagbo says all of the nearly 10,000 U.N. peacekeepers who are already heremust leave because they have lost the confidence of civilians.

Foreign minister Djedje says peacekeepers are interfering in Ivory Coast's internalaffairs.

Djedje says the United Nations mission in Ivory Coast has deviated from its originalrole and is now acting in complicity with rebels. Djedje says the Gbagbo governmentcan not accept that and no longer trusts U.N. peacekeepers, so they must leave.

The spokesman for the United Nations mission in Ivory Coast says 210 people havebeen killed since the disputed election, including 14 deaths this week in a western



province that the U.N. says are not necessarily a direct result of the ongoing politicalcrisis.

Mr. Ouattara says he still believes the situation can be resolved peacefully.

Mr. Ouattara told U.N. radio here that the results of the election were clear and werecertified by the United Nations. Laurent Gbagbo lost the vote, and Mr. Ouattara says hisclaim to the presidency based on a ruling by the constitutional council is without merit.------------------ What Obama Needs To Do To Effectively Engage With Africa (Atlanta Post)

As his duties as president got underway, Obama had an agenda to connect with Africabut in lieu of pressing domestic and other foreign policy issues, he had to move Africafurther down on his to-do list. But now time is extremely precious being that he is in thethird year of his term and his fourth year will be dedicated to campaigning; hence,

making it crucial that Obama marks Africa as a high priority task on his list for 2011.

All eyes are especially on him since he has a unique personal connection to thecontinent via his father and other family members who know first hand about thecorruption that many countries there face. Also, he has some big shoes to fill thanks tohis predecessors.

It starts with former president Clinton who put the spotlight on U.S. and Africanrelations on his 1998 tour³the first major visit by a U.S. president in 20 years³duringwhich he made an array of pledges that included aid for African schools, a contribution

to the Rwanda·s genocide survivors fund and a donation to build roads, airports andother infrastructure on the continent. But it was former president Bush who set the barhigh for future presidents since he was heavily engaged with Africa throughout alleight years of his term, pledging assistance to Ghana in fighting malaria, establishingthe Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the millennium challenge account.

Even more so, the U.S. as a whole has an important stake in Africa. With a continent of53 countries that make up more than one-quarter of the membership of the UnitedNations and has voting power in other international forums, it·s best for the U.S. tomaintain a healthy rapport for when a vote needed. Among other things that are ofinterest to the U.S., Africa is the source for about 20 percent of American oil imports andis potentially a significant market for American exports.

´The U.S. would not want to lose its global influence by ignoring Africa, especially nowthat you have new players on the rise like China, India [and] Brazil, all [of which] arelooking to Africa and making strategic inroads onto the continent,µ says Jendayi Frazer,a distinguished service professor at Carnegie Mellon University.



In support of Obama making a lasting and effective connection with the Africancontinent, experts offer the following suggestions on how he can do it successfully:

1. More Interaction: ´High level visits are one of the most effective ways to connect withAfrica,µ says David Shinn, an adjunct professor in the Elliott School of International

Affairs at George Washington University. This means a visit longer than the one dayObama spent in Ghana. Obama should also reach out to leaders more and extendinvitations to them to visit Washington.

2. More Action, Less Talk: If democracy is indeed a top priority of the Obamaadministration as it relates to Africa, then we need to start seeing some type of policies,initiatives, or programs around it, offers Frazer. ´The Agriculture development andfood security initiative that was announced in 2009 was warmly received but wehaven·t yet seen what the program actually consists of,µ she says.

3. Be Less Preachy: ´While it·s important that the United States give priority to thoseAfrican countries that are working hard to democratize and improve human rights, theUnited States should not give the impression that it is preaching to governments whosereputations on these issues are less than what the international community expects,µsays Shinn.------------------An Opening for Progressives? Obama to Step up Outreach to Africa in 2011 (ForeignPolicy in Focus)

Earlier this week, the AP reported that Obama is quietly but strategically stepping up

his outreach to Africa, using this year to increase his engagement with a continent thatis personally meaningful to him and important to U.S. interests.

This story and the statement from Obama represent an opening for progressives in theUnited States. and in Africa to begin to push the Obama Administration on its short-sighted Africa policy. The last two years have been more or less a honeymoon wherefolks were so enthralled by a son of Africa in the White House that there was notenough hard criticism of the Administration·s policies, which continued ratherseamlessly from Bush.

As you know, extractive industries - oil, gas and mining remain the dominant lensthrough which U.S.-Africa policy is set. AFRICOM and the expansion of U.S. militarismin Africa is a tool through which the United States can secure its narrow interests inAfrica·s resources. In addition, the Obama Administration is pushing hard on its ´Feedthe Futureµ Initiative ² which translates on the ground into land grabs for biofuels andgenetically modified foods.



The key in the coming year will be the degree to which progressives can positionourselves to challenge harmful policies while pushing forward alternatives on foodsovereignty (local food), land rights, human rights, environmental justice, economic justice (debt cancellation) and peace (stop the flow of weapons and militarycontractors). Many of these themes will be featured at the World Social Forum in

Senegal next month.

The article focuses on elections noting that,

The administration is monitoring more than 30 elections expected across Africa thisyear, including critical contests in Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Out of the 30, there will be 12 key elections in Africa this year (including thereferendum in Sudan and Presidential elections in Nigeria, Uganda, Liberia ² all ofwhom now have oil). This will bring more sustained mainstream media coverage to

Africa than in other years.

An Obama trip to Africa will intensify that coverage. Rumors are flying as to whereObama will go and when. My bet is on the UNFCCC which will be in South Africa inDecember.

But Big Oil and other powerful U.S. companies and the negative impact of U.S. gunsand training will remain a serious challenge to peace and stability on the continent.------------------DOD Announces $150 Billion Reinvestment from Efficiencies Savings (U.S.

Department of Defense)

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced today a series of efficiencies decisionsdesigned to save the Department of Defense more than $150 billion over the next fiveyears primarily by reducing overhead costs, improving business practices and cullingexcess or troubled program.

In anticipation of an era of modest defense budget growth, Gates launched acomprehensive effort last May to reduce the Department·s overhead expenditures. Thegoal was to sustain the military·s size and strength over the long term by reinvestingthose efficiency savings in force structure and other key combat capabilities.

Specifically, the military services were directed to find at least $100 billion in savingsthat they could keep and shift to higher priority programs. To achieve the savingstargets, service leadership conducted a thorough and vigorous scrub of bureaucraticstructures, facilities, programs, business practices, civilian and military personnel levels,and associated overhead costs.



The measures announced today are the latest in a series of DoD reform initiatives, toinclude the President·s last two annual defense budgets, which have rebalanced theDepartment·s spending habits while increasing investments in proven capabilities mostrelevant both to current wars and to the most likely future threats.

´Meeting real-world requirements. Doing right by our people. Reducing excess.Being more efficient. Squeezing costs. Setting priorities and sticking to them. Makingtough choices. These are all things that we should do as a Department and as a militaryregardless of the time and circumstance. But they are more important than ever at atime of extreme fiscal duress, when budget pressures and scrutiny fall on all areas ofgovernment, including defense,µ said Gates.

´While America is at war and confronts a range of future security threats, it isimportant to not repeat the mistakes of the past by making drastic and ill-conceivedcuts to the overall defense budget. At the same time, it is imperative for this

Department to eliminate wasteful, excessive, and unneeded spending. Indeed, to doeverything we can to make every defense dollar count.µ

The service departments achieved savings in several areas, including the number andsize of headquarters staffs, base operations, energy consumption, and facilitiessustainment. At the same time, the service leaders undertook the normal process ofsetting priorities and assessing risks in preparing the fiscal 2012 budget request ² aprocess that led to the recommended termination or restructuring of a number oftroubled or unneeded weapons programs.

The services will keep the savings they were motivated to find and reinvest in theneeded capabilities each service needs to support the warfighter. The bulk of thesavings will be used by the service departments to make key investments in areas suchas ship building, long-range strike, missile defense, intelligence, reconnaissance andsurveillance (ISR), wounded warrior care and facilities, and much more.

Specifically, the Department of the Navy is proposing to use efficiencies savings to:

Accelerate development of a new generation of electronic jammers to improve theNavy·s ability to fight and survive in an anti-access environment;Increase the repair and refurbishment of Marine equipment used in Iraq andAfghanistan;

Develop a new generation of sea-borne unmanned strike and surveillance aircraft;Buy more of the latest model F-18s and extend the service life of 150 of these aircraft asa hedge against more delays in the deployment of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF); and



Purchase additional ships ² including a destroyer, a littoral combat ship, an oceansurveillance vessel and fleet oilers.

The Department of the Navy proposed efficiencies savings of more than $35 billion overfive years to include:

Reducing manpower ashore and reassigning 6,000 personnel to operational missions atsea;

Using multi-year procurement to save more than $1.3 billion on the purchase of newairborne surveillance, jamming, and fighter aircraft;

Disestablishing several staffs (but not the associated platforms) to include submarine-,patrol aircraft-, and destroyer-squadrons plus one carrier strike group staff; and

Disestablishing the headquarters of Second Fleet at Norfolk, Va., and transferringresponsibility for its mission to the Navy·s Fleet Forces Command.

For the Department of the Air Force, this efficiencies process made it possible to:

Buy more of the most advanced Reaper UAVs and move essential ISR programs fromthe temporary war budget to the permanent base budget. Going forward, advancedunmanned strike and reconnaissance capabilities must become an integrated part of theservice·s regular institutional force structure;

Increase procurement of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle to assure access tospace for both military and other government agencies while sustaining our industrialbase;

Modernize the radars of F-15s to keep this key fighter viable well into the future;Buy more simulators for JSF air crew training; and

Develop a new long range, nuclear-capable penetrating bomber, which will be designedusing proven technologies, an approach that should make it possible to deliver thiscapability on schedule and in quantity.

The Air Force proposed efficiencies measures that will total some $34 billion over fiveyears and include:

Consolidating two air operations centers in the United States and two in Europe;Consolidating three numbered Air Force staffs;



Saving $500 million by reducing fuel and energy consumption within the Air MobilityCommand;

Improving depot and supply chain business processes to sustain weapons systems, thusimproving readiness at lower cost; and

Reducing the cost of communications infrastructure by 25 percent.

The Department of the Army would use its savings to:

Provide improved suicide prevention and substance abuse counseling for soldiers;

Modernize its battle fleet of Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, and Strykerwheeled vehicles;

Accelerate fielding to the soldier level of the Army·s new tactical communicationsnetwork.

Accelerate procurement of the service·s most advanced Grey Eagle UAVs; andBuy more MC-12 reconnaissance aircraft to support ground forces, and begindevelopment of a new vertical unmanned air system to support the Army in the future.

The Army proposed $29 billion in savings over five years to include:

Terminating the SLAMRAAM surface to air missile, and the Non-Line of Sight Launch

System, the next-generation missile launcher originally conceived as part of the FutureCombat System;Reducing manning by more than 1,000 positions by eliminating unneeded task forcesand consolidating six installation management commands into four;Saving $1.4 billion in military construction costs by sustaining existing facilities; andConsolidating the service·s email infrastructure and data centers, which should save$500 million over five years.

Of the $100 billion identified by the service departments, approximately $28 billion willalso be used over the next five years by the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps todeal with higher than expected operating expenses such as fuel, maintenance, healthcare and training costs.

In addition to directing the four services to find savings, Gates announced last August aset of initiatives aimed at reducing overhead costs and improving efficiency across theDoD as a whole ² with special attention to the headquarters and support bureaucraciesin the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the combatant commands, and other defenseagencies and field activities.



Gates announced today that this effort ² combined with a government-wide freeze oncivilian salaries ² has yielded approximately $54 billion in savings over the next fiveyears. These savings include further reducing the contractor staff cadre, consolidatingIT support, culling redundant intelligence organizations, eliminating unnecessary

reports and studies, freezing civilian staff levels and pay, downgrading overseascommands, decreasing the number of generals, admirals and civilian executives, andmodest increases in TRICARE premiums on military retirees.

In addition to terminating the Marine Corps· Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, Gates alsostated that he is placing the Marine Corps· short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL)variant of the JSF on the equivalent of a two-year probation because of significanttesting problems. As a result, the development of the Marine variant will be moved tothe back of the overall JSF production sequence. To fill the gap created from the slip inthe JSF production schedule, the Department of the Navy will buy more Navy F/A-18s.

The formal announcement of the President·s fiscal 2012 budget submission next monthis also expected to call for a $78 billion reduction to the FYDP, to include no real growthin defense spending in fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2016. But because of the rigorous reformefforts undertaken over the past year, it is possible for the DoD to absorb this reductionin the projected top-line without significant impact to warfighting capability, althoughit will necessitate a reduction in the size of the Army and Marine Corps starting in fiscal2015. The total savings generated by DoD-wide overhead efficiencies, the civilianstaffing and pay freeze, and the future decrease in ground forces, when added together,are roughly equivalent to the sum of the top-line reductions projected in the FYDP.

With the efficiencies savings, Gates said he is confident the Department can effectivelymeet the threats it is likely to face over the next few years. But he also stressed theFYDP represents the minimum level of defense spending necessary given the complexand unpredictable array of security challenges the United States faces around the globe.Beyond this five year time frame, the savings from overhead efficiencies and forcereductions will have mostly run their course.

Gates concluded by talking about the importance of following through on all DoDreform measures while maintaining adequate levels of funding.

´This Department simply cannot risk continuing down the same path ² where ourinvestment priorities, bureaucratic habits, and lax attitudes towards costs areincreasingly divorced from the real threats of today, the growing perils of tomorrow,and the nation·s grim financial outlook,µ Gates declared at the conclusion of today·sannouncement. ´These times demand that all of our nation·s leaders rise above thepolitics and parochialism that have too often plagued considerations of our nation·sdefense ² whether from inside the Pentagon, from industry and interest groups, and



from one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other. I look forward to working throughthe next phase of the President·s defense reform effort with the Congress in the weeksand months ahead ² to do what·s right for our Armed Forces and what·s right for ourcountry.µ------------------

Gates Reveals Budget Efficiencies, Reinvestment Possibilities (American Forces PressService)

The Defense Department has found $154 billion in efficiencies over the next five yearsand will be able to invest $70 billion of that saved money in more deserving accounts,Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.

The secretary announced the savings and reinvesting of the efficiencies during aPentagon news conference.

Gates emphasized that the nation is at war and faces a range of future security threats.Ít is important to not repeat the mistakes of the past by making drastic and ill-conceived cuts to the overall defense budget,µ he said. Át the same time, it isimperative for this department to eliminate wasteful, excessive and unneededspending.µ

Gates said he wants every dollar invested in defense spent in the smartest manner. Theefficiencies continue a process to reshape and re-balance the defense budget that hasalready saved the nation $300 billion, he noted.

The secretary announced efficiencies in modernization accounts. He said he agrees withthe Navy and Marine Corps recommendation to cancel the expeditionary fightingvehicle program, which already has consumed $3 billion to develop and would requireanother $12 billion to build.

Gates said he also will restructure the F-35 joint strike fighter program. The Air Forceand Navy variants of the fighter are on schedule, but the short take-off and landingvariant is experiencing significant testing problems.

Ás a result, I am placing the STOVL variant on the equivalent of a two-yearprobation,µ Gates said. Íf we cannot fix this variant during this time frame and get itback on track in terms of performance, cost and schedule, then I believe it should becancelled.µ

The secretary said he also wants changes to the military·s TRICARE medical program,noting that fees have not risen since the program was introduced in 1995. He said hewill propose modest increases to fees for working-age military retirees.



These changes also will be part of the fiscal 2012 budget request. The Army will cancelprocurement of the SLAMRAAM surface-to air-missile and the non-line-of-sight launchsystem.

The efficiencies will change the way the department uses information technology,

consolidating hundreds of information technology centers to save more than $1 billion ayear, Gates said.

Át the same time,µ he added, Í am not satisfied with the progress we have made inthis area since August, and expect to make a follow-on announcement with a specificplan of action by next month.µ

The efficiencies will cut the number of contractors. Óverall, we will cut the size of thestaff support contractor cadre by 10 percent per year for three years and realize nearly$6 billion in total savings,µ the secretary said.

A third efficiency will trim the size of the defense work force and place more in areaswith the most pressing need, he said. This should yield $4 billion in savings, he added.

Gates also said he·s initiating changes in the defense intelligence apparatus, and willeliminate or downgrade general and flag officer positions. He will also eliminate ordowngrade 200 senior executive positions.

The efficiencies will eliminate the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense forNetwork Intelligence and Information, the Business Transformation Agency and the

U.S. Joint Forces Command, Gates said, though roughly 50 percent of Joint ForcesCommand will survive and be assigned to other organizations.

In April, Gates instructed the services to find at least $100 billion over five years inoverhead savings that they could keep and shift to higher-priority programs. They havedone so. In addition, defense agencies have found $54 billion in possible efficiencies.

Air Force leaders have proposed efficiencies that will total $34 billion over five years.The Army has proposed $29 billion in savings, and the Navy looks to savings of $35billion over five years.

Of the $100 billion in savings, the services will use about $28 billion to deal with higher-than-expected operating expenses. These costs include health care, pay and housingallowances, sustainment of weapons systems, depot maintenance, base support andflight hours and other training.



´Frankly, using the savings in this way was not my original intent or preference,µ Gatessaid, ´but we have little choice but to deal with these so-called ¶must-pay· bills ²- andbetter to confront them honestly now than through raiding investment accounts later.µ

But this still leaves the services with $70 billion to reinvest in higher priority systems. In

the Air Force, this will mean the service can buy more Reaper unmanned aerial vehiclesand enable the service to move this capability from the war budget to the base budget.It will also allow the service to increase procurement of the evolved expendable launchvehicle and to modernize radars aboard the F-15 Eagle to keep the fighter jet flying andfighting longer.

The Air Force also will be able to invest in development of a long-range, nuclear-capable bomber.

The Army will invest in soldiers by improving suicide-prevention and substance-abuse

counseling. The service will also modernize its battle fleets of Abrams tanks, Bradleyfighting vehicles and Stryker wheeled vehicles. The service also will accelerate fieldingof the newest tactical communications network and will invest in more unmannedaerial vehicles and a new unmanned helicopter.

The Navy will accelerate procurement of electronic jamming gear and fundrefurbishment of Marine Corps equipment. The service is also looking to develop a newgeneration of sea-borne unmanned strike and surveillance aircraft, and to buy more F-18 Super Hornets. The Navy also will be able to buy more ships, including a destroyer,a littoral combat ship and fleet oilers.

Gates stressed the need to make cuts carefully and judiciously.

´To maintain the kind of military needed for America·s leadership role requires notonly adequate levels of funding, but also fundamentally changing the way our defenseestablishment spends money and does business,µ Gates said. ´That is why it is soimportant to follow through on the program of reform and overhead reduction.

´This department simply cannot risk continuing down the same path -² where ourinvestment priorities, bureaucratic habits and lax attitude towards costs are increasinglydivorced from the real threats of today, the growing perils of tomorrow and the nation·sgrim financial outlook,µ he added.------------------DOD Directs Army, Marine Drawdowns for 2015, 2016 (American Forces PressService)



Budget pressures that have proven greater than anticipated mean the DefenseDepartment will trim end strength in its ground forces beginning in four years, DefenseSecretary Robert M. Gates said today.

Únder this plan, the U.S. Army's permanent active-duty end strength would decline by

27,000 troops, while the Marine Corps would decline by somewhere between [15,000]and 20,000, depending on the outcome of their force structure review,µ Gates said.

The secretary and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoketo reporters at the Pentagon on the results of defense efficiencies initiatives begun inMay to trim support costs and ensure funding for military modernization.

´The projected reductions are based on an assumption that America's ground combatcommitment in Afghanistan would be significantly reduced by the end of 2014, inaccordance with the president's strategy,µ Gates said. The Army also will lose the 22,000

troops it added in a temporary end-strength increase approved in July 2009, he added.

Éver since taking this post, now more than four years ago, I have called for protectingforce structure and for maintaining modest, but real, growth in the defense topline overthe long term,µ Gates said. Í would prefer that this continue to be the case, but thiscountry's dire fiscal situation and the threat it poses to American influence andcredibility around the world will only get worse unless the U.S. government « gets itsfinances in order.µ

Gates said even after force reduction, both services would remain larger than they had

been when he became secretary -- the Army almost 40,000 troops larger, and the MarineCorps anywhere from 7,000 to 12,000 troops larger.

Both services support the decision, the secretary said, noting Marine Corps leaders havespoken of trimming back the increases their force structure has seen in recent years.

Í think [the Marines] see this as « more of an organic process within the Marine Corpsin terms of their priorities and their needs,µ Gates said. Ín the case of the Army, this isa situation where the Army is supportive of this decision. I think « that supportderives from understanding the importance of this in terms of their other priorities, aswell.µ------------------Defense Department to Prune Senior Ranks, Freeze Staffing (American Forces PressService)

The Defense Department will reduce its senior ranks and freeze civilian staffing levels,Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.



´The monetary savings from « reductions in senior personnel will be relativelymodest, and mostly consist of the extra staff and amenities that, by tradition, followhigh rank,µ Gates said.

The secretary and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke

to reporters at the Pentagon on the results of defense efficiencies initiatives begun inMay to trim support costs and ensure funding for military modernization.

The primary purpose of reducing senior rank structure is ´to create fewer, flatter, moreagile -- and thus, more effective -- organizations,µ Gates said.

In announcing the second set of initiatives in August, Gates said he would appoint asenior task force to assess the number of positions for general and flag officers andSenior Executive Service employees. As a result of that assessment, the department willeliminate more than 100 general officer and flag officer positions from the 900 it

currently authorizes, the secretary said today.

Óf those, 28 are billets that were created after 9/11, primarily for the wars in Iraq andAfghanistan,µ Gates said. ´They will be reduced as appropriate, as major troopdeployments wind down.µ

More than 80 other flag or general-officer positions spread among the services, theDefense Department and the combatant commands ´will be eliminated ordowngraded,µ Gates said.

Defense will also eliminate nearly 200 of the 1,400 civilian positions from thedepartment·s Senior Executive Service or equivalent positions, Gates said.

As the department prunes its senior ranks, it also will put a check on overall staffnumbers by freezing the number of employees at current levels for the next three years,Gates said.

´Since the beginning of this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, we've been operating undera freeze in the number of positions, with very limited exceptions « within the Office ofthe Secretary of Defense, the defense agencies and field activities and the combatantcommands,µ the secretary said.

Gates said he instructed those organizations to ćonduct a clean-sheet reviewµ torebalance resources, staff and functions within and across their components to reflectthe department's most pressing priorities.

´The resulting review produced a number of opportunities to trim the size of the workforce, yielding more than $4 billion in savings over the next five years,µ he said. Í will



recommend to the president that we hold to these limits in overall DOD staff levels forthe next three years.µ

While new requirements may emerge that require further staff support, the secretarysaid, those needs should be met by shifting personnel from other, less important

activities within the organization.------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs Full Articles on UN Website

Liberia needs to do more to cut resources that could fuel conflicts, UN panel warns

6 January ² Liberia, a country once torn asunder by civil war, has made some progressin seeking to cut off the illegal supply of diamonds, timber and other natural resourcesthat have been used to finance wars in West Africa, but more needs to be done,according to a United Nations panel.

UN seeks to boost peacekeeping troops as Côte d·Ivoire crisis continues

6 January ² The United Nations is seeking up to 2,000 additional troops for its nearly9,000-strong peacekeeping mission in Côte d·Ivoire where the outgoing president·srefusal to step down despite his opponent·s electoral victory has sparked fears ofrenewed civil war.

Darfur: UN-African mission to boost civilian protection, support for peace process

6 January ² The head of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force inSudan·s troubled region of Darfur said today that the mission will continue tostrengthen its operations this year to improve security and provide better protection tocivilians, while supporting efforts to resolve the conflict there.

UNESCO chief pays tribute to late Mozambican artist Malangatana

6 January ² The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) today paid tribute to Valente Ngwenya Malangatana, arenowned Mozambican artist and UNESCO Artist for Peace, who died on Wednesday.

UN backs efforts against gender-based violence in southern Africa6 January ² In an effort to help law enforcement agencies in southern Africa respond togender-based violence effectively, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime

(UNODC) said today that it has launched a handbook and a training curriculum toimprove the capacity of national police forces in the region to combat the problem.

Documents

AFRICOM Related Newsclips January 7, 2011