War on Terror: US Forces in Tanzania

US military forces are working with the Tanzanian government to counter a terrorism threat, an American general said last week.

Gen Charles Wald made his comment in response to a journalist’s question about a report that Tanzania is not co-operating fully with the US on terrorism concerns. "There has been a terrorist presence in Tanzania," Gen Wald said. "I will say that we’re working with the Tanzanian government."

The Washington Times reported on March 3 that Tanzanian officials "have only haltingly co-operated with American efforts" to root out terrorists. The newspaper attributed the criticism to unnamed "Bush administration officials."

The Times also quoted an anonymous Western diplomat as saying, "The Tanzanians see terrorism as an international issue, not a domestic one, because most terrorists are imported. The problem with that argument is that Tanzania is a permissive environment."

US Treasury Department officials charged in January that the Tanzanian branch of a Saudi Arabian charity had engaged in terrorist activities.

Individuals in Tanzania associated with the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation plotted attacks last year against tourist hotels on Zanzibar, the US charged.

"The scheduled attacks did not take place due to increased security by local authorities, but planning for the attacks remained active," the Treasury Department added.

It further linked the Tanzania branch of Al Haramain to the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

For the past six months, the US has also posted a warning of possible attacks on Americans in East Africa, including Tanzania.

Some Tanzanians view the high level of American concern as exaggerated. They point out that no terrorist incidents had occurred on Zanzibar and that the Tanzanian mainland had also not suffered an attack for the past five-and-a-half years.

At his briefing in Washington on March 8, Gen Wald acknowledged US interest in establishing "forward operation locations" in sub-Saharan Africa for American military forces. The facilities would not amount to full-scale bases but would instead serve as refuelling and equipment-storage points.

Gen Wald did not indicate which countries might be asked to host the forward operation locations. He spoke to journalists following a recent trip to 10 countries in North, West and Southern Africa.

Gen Wald serves as deputy commander of the US European Command (Eucom). Based in Germany, Eucom has responsibilty for 93 countries, including all of the sub-Saharan region apart from the Horn.

The US Central Command, headquartered in Florida, oversees the 2,000 American troops stationed in Djibouti. Centcom also has operational responsibility for Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Meanwhile, the US last Friday renewed its advisory against travel to Kenya and 11 other nations in Eastern Africa.

In extending the warning for another six months, the US State Department said, "There remains the threat of future terrorist attacks in East Africa." Travellers to the region are urged to "carefully review their plans accordingly."

The announcement will disappoint the government as well as those Kenyans who are dependent on the tourism industry, which has suffered substantial losses as a result of US terrorism alerts. Citing improvements made in Kenya’s security systems, ministers have been urging the US to lift the travel advisory.