US opens new front in war on terror by beefing up border controls...Sahara

[Khephra]

Rory Carroll, Africa correspondent, and Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Wednesday January 14, 2004
The Guardian

The US is sending troops and defence contractors to the Sahara desert of west Africa to open what it calls a new front in the war on terror.

A small vanguard force arrived this week in Mauritania to pave the way for a $100m (£54m) plan to bolster the security forces and border controls of Mauritania, Mali, Chad and Niger.

The US Pan-Sahel Initiative, as it is named, will provide 60 days of training to military units, including tips on desert navigation and infantry tactics, and furnish equipment such as Toyota Land Cruisers, radios and uniforms.

The reinforcement of America's defences in a remote, poorly patrolled region came on a day when US police forces gained important powers in the homeland to conduct searches.


more.........

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1122704,00.html

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. No sure what they're really up to

but Africa has been overlooked as far as being ripe for breeding terrorism for some time.