AFRICOM nominee stresses patience

[unhappycamper]

AFRICOM nominee stresses patience
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, September 28, 2007


WASHINGTON — The general tapped to lead the new U.S. military command in Africa remains confident that the military presence will eventually be a welcome partner on the continent.

Gen. William “Kip” Ward, at his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, acknowledged some initial resistance to AFRICOM from countries such as South Africa.

But he stressed patience on winning over skeptics, saying that the new command needs time to debunk myths and explain what the U.S. goals really are.

“These things take time, and that’s why the investment over time is so important,” he said. “The trust and confidence we hope for must come not through just words but also the things we do, interacting over time.”

The new command, which will oversee training operations under way between U.S. forces and African military personnel, is expected to become operational next month, pending Ward’s confirmation.

He did not release any new details to Congress about plans for an African headquarters for the new command. Currently, it is being stood up in Stuttgart, Germany, and officials have said they expect the majority of staff to be stationed outside of Africa.


Rest of article: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49111



uhc comment: The reason we are there? In a word, O-I-L.

[flashl]

1. Skeptics? This is Rumsfelds' baby. n/t