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Kenya 'critical' to U.S. military
By _______________, Washington Times
January 7, 2008
A destabilized Kenya would deprive the United States of
one of its
staunchest allies in _____________, because Nairobi
since September 11
has provided military bases, ___________________ and intelligence-
sharing to prevent al Qaeda from making inroads on the continent.
"For the eastern portion of Africa, Kenya is critical," said retired
Marine
Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong, a former deputy commander of U.S. Central
Command, which oversees U.S. military operations on the Horn of Africa.
"They are strategically located in the area bordering
Somalia," he
said. "They were critical for us in Somalia in the early 1990s. Without
them, we could not have operated. They allowed us to use their _________
while we were conducting operations in and out of Somalia, and they still
allow us to use those bases today."
A failed state in Kenya, as exists in Somalia, would
erase "one of the
top friendly militaries to the United States in Africa," the ____________
three-star general said.
The prospect of a destabilized Kenya arose in recent
weeks in the
aftermath of a contested Dec. 27 election that kept President Mwai Kibaki
in power. International observers reported ballot-counting irregularities.
Street violence broke out in the capital of Nairobi, killing more than
300.
"__________ is not peripheral to the struggle against terrorism,"
__________
said. "Kenya has been a reliable partner."
One of the Pentagon's first post-September 11 moves was
to set up
the ____________-troop Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa in the
small nation of Djibouti on Somalia's northern border. It trains area
military and police forces in ____________ techniques. In one instance
last January, it launched an AC-130 gunship attack on suspected al Qaeda
terrorists in Somalia.
President Bush in 2003 announced a $100 million aid
program — the
East African Counterterrorism Initiative — for Kenya, as well as Djibouti,
Ethiopia, Eritrea and Tanzania. U.S. military and civilian officials began
_____________ in Kenya to teach basic operations to counter al Qaeda,
such as how to watch over the country's long Indian Ocean coastline and
how to find and disarm _________ bombs. Kenya had no official "watch list"
to weed out terrorism suspects traveling through the country's seaports
and airports. Now it does.
Kenya has stood as a relatively ______________
democracy and free-
market economy on a continent plagued by despots, disease and
violence. Mr. Kansteiner said Nairobi does more than help the U.S.
militarily. It promotes ______________ in surrounding nations and sponsors
talks aimed at reconciliation among various warring factions in Somalia.
"They have been very attuned to private-sector growth," he said.
"They have done a good job of trying to reach out to the region and not
only make Kenya economically _______________, but also to integrate the
region's economies and private sectors."
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