Tunisia takes its turn in Ward’s PR push

[unhappycamper]

Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward, commander of U.S. Africa Command, is greeted Tuesday by Tunisian military leaders at Tunis-Carthage International Airport. Ward visited the northern Africa country for two days last week.


Tunisia takes its turn in Ward’s PR push
By Charlie Coon, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, June 02, 2008

TUNIS, Tunisia — Twenty-five reporters filed into an anteroom at the U.S. Embassy and waited for the American general.

They came ready with questions, and Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward was ready with answers: Was the U.S. establishing a military base in Bizerte, a city in northern Tunisia? (No.) Are U.S. troops going to get involved in regional African conflicts? (Not for the military to decide.) How do you know al-Qaida has bad intentions? (Because they say so.)

AFRICOM, the new U.S. command headed by Ward, has been fighting an image problem since it was announced in February 2007. Stories about imperialism, military occupation and U.S. motives have run regularly in the African press and Internet.

Ward and his deputies have spoken in person or over video teleconference with media from dozens of African nations since the command stood up on Oct. 1.

On Wednesday it was time to clear the air in Tunisia, a moderate Muslim nation on Africa’s northern, Mediterranean coast.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55253



uhc comment: It appears the natives are not interested in a foreign power on their shores --> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=14328 . Time to catapult the propaganda.