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Be within or Outside the Game, but not in between

By on March 23, 2010
Because of the growing threat of Al-Qaeda branch- AQMI – in the Sahel countries, the U.S AFRICA COMMAND, established in 2006, is seeking a hosting country for its General Headquarters.
The recent visits of General William Ward, commander of AFRICOM in the region and that of Vicki Huddlestone, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa at the Pentagon, explain Washington’s concern “about the spread of terrorism in the Maghreb and West Africa.

The Deputy Secretary of State Johnny Carson said in February: “We have observed, during the last thirty months, the increasing activity of AQIM in the Sahel, which murdered and or kidnapped European citizens in Mauritania and Niger before transferring them to Mali. He also stated that terrorist activity in Algeria have gone over 200 attacks in 2009.
All this insecurity challenges the international community, and of course the sub-region to adopt a common front and tackle the growing threat of Al-Qaeda branch (AQIM) in the region.
That’s why The U.S efforts overlap with those of the European Union. Both are interested in the stability of the Sahel, and none of them wants to leave the field open to the other. However, both of them know that any strategic collision of their separate approaches won’t serve their interests, aroused by the region.
Meanwhile, AFRICOM continue to look for an African country to move to from Germany, and Algiers still sounding loud it will not be that heaven. So why does the issue matter to Algiers?

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