"NATO...has established a close working relationship with the Puntland Coastguard....This is just a start. With 60 years of experience and coalition building, NATO is well placed to make things happen." [27]
In March ministers of the Puntland government met with Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 commander Commodore Steve Chick on board the HMS Chatham, current flagship of the NATO naval group in the region. The talks "covered ways in which further cooperation between NATO and the Puntland authorities could be developed in the future." [28]
According to a Puntland news source, NATO's activities aren't limited to operations in the waters off Somalia: "NATO has a working relationship with Puntland authorities in a bid to enhance its fight against the piracy scourge along the lawless waters of the Horn of Africa. Puntland has offered its help in terms of dealing with the gangs in the mainland." [29]
The European Union will soon begin training 2,000 Ugandan troops for deployment to Somalia to aid the Transitional Federal Government, which is fighting for its life even in the nation's capital.
Last October a Kenyan newspaper announced that Kenyan troops sailed to Djibouti to receive military training along with the armed forces of other regional nations. At the same time military officers from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden were in Kenya to "assist the region in the ongoing establishment of a united military force to deal with conflicts on the continent."
"The experts from the European countries, which are part of the Nordic Bloc, are based at the EASBRIG headquarters, at the Defence Staff College in Karen, Nairobi." [30]
EASBRIG, the East African Standby Brigade, "will be deployed to trouble spots within 14 days after chaos erupts, to restore order....The brigade will have troops from 14 countries....The military unit will comprise 35,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers plus 1,000 civilian staff. Kenya is already training 2,000 soldiers to be seconded to the force once it is in place." [31]
....
Japan's destroyers off the coast of Somalia and the nation's first foreign military base in the post-World War Two era in Djibouti are in line with the geostrategic plans of Tokyo's allies in North America and Europe.
Plans which are embodied most fully in the creation of the first U.S. regional military command outside North America in a quarter of a century, Africa Command. Long after pirates, al-Qaeda affiliates and other threats have ceased to serve as their justification, the Pentagon, NATO and Japan will retain their military footholds in Africa.
Related articles:
NATO: AFRICOM's Partner In Military Penetration Of Africa
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/nato-africoms-partner-in-military-penetration-of-africa
AFRICOM's First War: U.S. Directs Large-Scale Offensive In Somalia
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/africoms-first-war-u-s-directs-large-scale-offensive-in-somalia
U.S., NATO Expand Afghan War To Horn Of Africa And Indian Ocean
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/u-s-nato-expand-afghan-war-to-horn-of-africa-and-indian-ocean-2
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AFRICOM Year Two: Seizing The Helm Of The Entire World
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/africom-year-two-taking-the-helm-of-the-entire-world
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http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/africom-year-two-taking-the-helm-of-the-entire-world
Cold War Origins Of The Somalia Crisis And Control Of The Indian Ocean
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/cold-war-origins-of-the-somalia-crisis-and-control-of-the-indian-ocean
