U.S. eyes Algeria as key partner in war on terror

[Al-khiyal]

The US is stepping up efforts to improve defense relations with Algeria to combat terrorism in Northern Africa and stymie the growth of terror cells that recruit in the region.

Algeria, which according to the Pentagon and analysts, appears on board with Washington’s aspirations, has also made moves to improve its own defenses, hoping to curtail domestic terrorism, though a recent attack by a group linked to al-Qaida proves that the war-torn country has far to go to secure its own house.

Last month, Peter Rodman, US secretary of defense for international security affairs, was in Algiers for talks with senior officials on ways to improve bilateral ties both defensive and otherwise.

Rodman’s visit was just the latest in a series of defense- and terror-related meetings between the nations. Outgoing defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld was in Algeria in February seeking ways to clamp down on terror in the region and augment military and counterterrorism operations between the US and Algeria.

In June, senior Bush administration security officials met in Algiers with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika for talks on improving military ties.

Renewed US interest in the Mahgreb appears to in part be prompted by bombings in neighboring Morocco, Algeria and nearby Spain, convincing Washington that the region has become an ideal terrorist recruitment center.

As far back as 2004, the Bush administration began taking a keener look at North Africa in hopes of curbing the violence and terror cell recruitment there.

“Terrorists are not born terrorists. Terrorists choose the way of violence because they believe something is lacking in their lives, their societies that cannot be obtained in any other way,” US Ambassador Cofer Black, then coordinator for counterterrorism at the State Department, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the department. Black said poverty was not solely responsible for breeding terror, noting the affluence of Osama bin Laden and some of the 9/11 terrorists.

Defense Department officials have lauded Algeria’s recognition of the socio-economic conditions that contribute to increased terror recruitment among the poor and disenfranchised and the country’s role in the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), a group of nine North and West Africa countries working together against Islamic militants in the Trans-Sahara region. Algeria is a leading partner in the group.

“The US supports counterterrorism efforts in the region by providing training and equipment in support of the TSCTP, as well as encouraging partner countries to cooperate among themselves and work toward regional stability and security,” Lieutenant Colonel Todd Vician, a Pentagon spokesman, told ISN Security Watch.

Vician said the US had allocated funds - totaling around US$1.6 billion for 2006 and 2007 - for training and educating Algerian military personnel. In 2006, the US also allocated US$100,000 to Algeria for the Counterterrorism Fellowship Program.

The expenditure may be small compared to the billions of dollars the US is spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the Pentagon spokesman stressed that “the US and Algeria have developed a good defense relationship” and that both nations were on the same page when it came to “fighting terrorism; combating ideological extremism; promoting regional stability; and countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”

The recent success of the relationship has some Algeria experts somewhat surprised. “The cooperation between the two nations is excellent. No one imagined a few years ago that Algeria and the United States would have such close cooperation, particularly in the defense area,” Dr Yahia Zoubir, professor of international relations and international management at Euromed Marseille, told ISN Security Watch.

But the relationship is not without its share of kinks, said Zoubir. “Algerians are reluctant to engage into stronger ties unless they are sure that this cooperation is not a one-way relation,” he said, noting that Algeria had had some problems in the recent past “obtaining lethal weaponry from the US” for combating terror and violence at home.

Last week, Algeria received a stark reminder that the violence that plagued the country in recent decades was not over.

Gunmen fired at a bus carrying employees of Brown and Root - Condor, an affiliate of the US-based multinational corporation Halliburton Energy Services, killing the Algerian bus driver and wounding several UK and US citizens in the attack just west of the capital.

On Monday, a military group believed to be linked to al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack, the first against foreigners there in several years. In a statement posted on the internet, purportedly by the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), further attacks were threatened.

"We reiterate our call to all Muslims in Algeria to keep away from the interests of the infidels to avoid harm […] once [these interests or individuals] are targeted," read the statement, whose authenticity has not been verified.

Hoping to counter and quell terror threats with improved firepower, Algeria decided to spend a portion of its recent oil and gas fortunes on an array of Russian weapons, including MiG fighter planes and other military gadgetry.

In return, Russia has earned rights to Algeria’s lucrative oil and gas reserves in a deal some consider crucial to the former Soviet Union’s aspirations to become a world leader in the gas industry.

During a trip to Algiers in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin finalized a deal in which Algeria will purchase US$7.5 billion worth of fighter planes, other aircraft and updates for its current fleet of MiG fighters. In exchange, the country will give Russian oil giant LUKoil and state-run gas giant Gazprom access to some of North Africa’s most bountiful oil and gas fields.

Russia will reportedly deliver 36 MiG 29SMT fighters, 28 Su-30MK interdiction aircraft and 16 Yak-130 Mitten combat trainers, as well as upgrade 36 older MiG-29s, and provide ground-based radar systems and training for technicians and pilots.

In its eight-year war for independence with France (1954-1962) that cost some 350,000 Algerian lives, the former Soviet Union was the country’s main arms supplier. Back then, Algeria was a strategic nation for undermining the authority of NATO ally France and asserting the Soviet presence in the region.

While the first visit by a Russian leader to Algeria went largely unnoticed in western circles, it did raise some eyebrows in Washington, where US State Department officials made certain to obtain more details of the deal from both their Russian and Algerian counterparts.

With Russia supplying arms to Algeria in exchange for oil, those watching the situation speculate that Washington’s interest in improving its own ties with the country will move even further up its list of priorities in the coming year.

U.S. eyes Algeria as key partner in war on terror

[Al-khiyal]

Javier Solana: Algeria is EU’s essential partner in fight against terrorism and illegal immigration

[Al-khiyal]

U.S. ambassador in Algeria Robert Ford: U.S. benefits from Algerian anti-terrorism experience

[Al-khiyal]

"We’ve learned a lot from Algerian anti-terrorism experience"

[Al-khiyal]

ALGIERS, Feb 24 (KUNA) -- U.S. Undersecretary of State for General Diplomacy Karen Hughes said Saturday her country made use of Algeria's experience in the field of terrorism combat.

In a press briefing after her meeting with Algerian Foreign Minister Mohammed Bedjaoui here, Hughes said Algeria's pioneering experience in the field of terrorism combat could benefit the countries that were still suffering the threats of that epidemic.

Out of its interest in Algeria's experience, the United States initiated a sector in the Pentagon for African affairs to work with African, especially the North African, countries in the field of combating terrorism, she asserted.

Hughes hailed here visit to the North African country as "positive and fruitful." The visit helped her get acquainted with Algeria's position towards challenging questions for the United States such as Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

The U.S. senior official voiced her country's gratitude for Algeria for the latter's "excellent and important cooperation" in the areas of economy, security and education.

Hughes, a former advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush, was mandated to refine the U.S. policies in confronting the ideological support received by global terrorist organizations.

She arrived here Saturday morning for a one-day visit to Algeria.

U.S. interested in Algeria's experience in terrorism combat - Hughes

[Al-khiyal]

Algerian PM receives U.S. official

[Al-khiyal]

ALGIERS, Algeria - The Algerian government would reject any U.S. request to set up a new military command center for Africa in Algeria, the foreign minister said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Mohammed Bedjaoui sought to dispel speculation in Algerian media that the country could be asked to host a new U.S. command for Africa sought by President Bush.

Algeria "won't accept military bases on its territory - no matter which country they belong to," Bedjaoui told state radio, adding that "no country has made any requests in that direction."

If the United States were to ask for Algeria to host the command, "the response would be negative because we consider the presence of such bases on our soil incompatible with our national sovereignty and independence," he said.

Bush has said Algeria is an ally in the U.S.-led counterterrorism effort. An Islamic militant group known as the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, which claims ties to al-Qaida, operates out of the north African country.

Last month, Bush authorized the Pentagon to set up a new command to oversee its operations in Africa by September 2008.

Algeria says it won't allow U.S. command