Multinational Law Enforcement Is Complicated

There's an interesting news article from the Associated Press that highlights the complexity of dealing with Somali piracy: MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Dutch commandos freed 20 Yemeni hostages on Saturday and briefly detained seven pirates who had forced the Yemenis to sail a "mother ship" attacking vessels in the Gulf of Aden, NATO officials said. In a separate incident, gunmen from Somalia seized ...

Robert Oakley on Somalia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan

Few Americans know more about Africa and the Middle East than Robert Oakley, whose distinguished diplomatic career included stints U.S. ambassador to Zaire , Somalia, and Pakistan;Special Envoy to Somali; director of State's Office of Combatting Terrorism; and Assistant to the President for Middle East and South Asia. With help from my colleague Shuja Nawaz, director of the Atlantic Council's new ...

Barry and the Pirates

There've been a number of blog posts over the last couple days accusing President Obama of fecklessness, cowardice, and being out-toughed by the French with regard to his handling of the Somali pirate situation. Fairness compels me to point out that the current spate of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and East Africa began roughly two years ago and Obama ...

Mbeki Resigns

South African president Thabo Mbeki has resigned: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - South African President Thabo Mbeki agreed to resign after the ruling party ordered him Saturday to step down, a move that could heighten turmoil in Africa's economic powerhouse. Mbeki's rival and heir apparent Jacob Zuma was not expected to take over immediately. Another figure in the ruling African National Congress ...

Bill Clinton Champions Monogamy

From the Department of You Can't Make This Stuff Up:  Bill Clinton is now the poster boy for monogamy. Clinton's advice to beat Aids: stay faithful Bill Clinton made a plea yesterday for a new emphasis on monogamy as a key element in the battle against Aids.  The former US president, not noted for his ability to keep his ...

Mugabe Re-Elected in Landslide

OTB projects, with 0% of the precincts reporting, that Robert Mugabe will be re-elected as president of Zimbabwe by a wide margin. Exit polls reveal that the prime factors in motivating voters are a fear of being murdered and the lack of opposition candidates on the ballot. Security was also a prime concern: "I've got no option but ...

EU Soldiers Accused of Torturing Congolese Civilians

A group of Swedish soldiers have alleged that they witnessed French soldiers torture Congolese civilians during operations in the area in 2003. Five years ago, the European Union sent some 1,500 soldiers to DR Congo as part of a UN mission to take action against the bandits marauding the north-eastern part of the country. The troops were there to protect the ...

A Picture of Hell (Zimbabwe)

Via the LAT: Grim tales from ZimbabweLife here is full of Catch-22 dilemmas that would strain credulity if they were fiction: It costs more to go to work than you can possibly earn, for example. There is no economy to speak of, either, just the black market, where even the government gets its dollars. And hospitals, like the one ...

Sudan Pardons Teddy Bear Teacher

Gillian Gibbons, who was facing the death penalty for allowing school kids to name a teddy bear Mohammed, has been pardoned by Sudan's president after the intervention of the British government. A British woman jailed in Sudan for insulting religion was to be released on Monday after being granted a presidential pardon for insulting religion by naming a teddy bear ...

Darfur Mission Desperate for Helicopters, Trucks

The latest UN effort to bring peace to Darfur could fail before it starts for want of some trucks and helicopters. The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission to Darfur may fail unless countries can provide helicopters and lorries, a top UN official says. Foot-dragging by Sudan over the make-up of the force could also threaten the mission, he warns. The 26,000-strong ...

South African Nuclear Plant Attacked

Apparently, one of South Africa's nuclear plant has recently been the victim of an attempt to breach its security. On the same night last week that four robbers shot an emergency officer at Pelindaba, West of Pretoria, another attempt was made to bypass the nuclear site’s security. The site’s outer security perimeter was breached in both incidents, SA Nuclear Energy Corporation ...

Africa Command to be Based in Germany

Noah Shachtman is somewhat surprised to learn that the U.S. military's new unified Africa Command will not be based, as its name suggests, in Africa but rather in Stuttgart, Germany. The U.S. military’s newest command, Africa Command, could have only a small minority of its people actually working on the continent. Theresa Whelan, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for African ...

Sudan Ready to Declare Cease-Fire

Sudan is on the verge of yet another cease-fire. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said Friday his government is ready to implement a cease-fire with rebel forces at the start of peace talks over the conflict in Darfur, scheduled for next month in Libya. It was the first time al-Bashir — in Italy to meet with the Pope and Italy's leaders — ...

Bono the Jerk

At the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference Bono displayed behaviors that could be considered not only rude but elitist and possibly even racist, depending on how you look at it. But the second, more interesting theme--echoed by every speaker--is that traditional aid and charity, whether distributed by nation-states or nongovernmental bodies, have failed. Andrew Mwenda, a Ugandan journalist and social ...

Price Caps Crippling Zimbabwe Economy

Zimbabwe's already shaky economy is going into a tailspin after Robert Mugabe ordered price caps. Robert G. Mugabe has ruled over this battered nation, his every wish endorsed by Parliament and enforced by the police and soldiers, for more than 27 years. It appears, however, that not even an unchallenged autocrat can repeal the laws of supply and demand. One month ...