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View Full Version : American Drone Bases Being Built Throughout Africa



Conley
09-21-2011, 09:52 AM
The United States is assembling a series of secret drone bases in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula to launch an aggressive campaign against al-Qaida-linked groups in Somalia and Yemen, the Washingon Post reported Tuesday night.

The Post said the new bases are in Ethiopia, the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean and on the Arabian Peninsula. The military has also flown drones out of Djibouti, at the conjunction of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The Post said the expansion of the drone program in the Arabian Peninsula reflected U.S. alarm over al-Qaida affiliates in Yemen and Somalia.

The United States began using drones launched from the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, to track pirates off Somalia in 2009. But diplomatic cables revealed by WikiLeaks show that the unmanned aircraft has also been used for counterterrorism missions over Somalia, the Post reported.

The Post said that to get the Seychelles to agree to allow the original drone base, U.S. officials said they didn't plan to arm the drones. The cable show U.S. officials were thinking about just that.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44603201/ns/us_news-security/?GT1=43001

How good can this intel be before we go weapons hot? I mean with nobody on the ground they just assume these villages and huts have AQ so they can blow them up and no media notices? To say nothing of the cost of all of this at a time when we should be slowing down. Apparently it is all about the shipping lanes.

MMC
11-17-2011, 07:10 AM
Yes.....now hows the African continent looking to the US. Troops Stationed in Djibouti. Drones attacks from out these places and we still got shit going for logistics for the Libyan Rebels. Plus we sent Advisors to Nigeria and the Central Republic. looks like we are amping up shit quickly.

Must be due to the fact that China has implanted thmeselves into the Continent with their companies and truly are running things. Like with Sudan.

waltky
10-26-2012, 07:51 PM
Obama gonna shake Djibouti with anti-terrorist drones...
:wink:
Report: US Expanding Anti-Terror Operations in Djibouti
October 26, 2012 - A Washington newspaper reports the United States has sharply escalated its counter-terrorism operations at a military base in the East African nation of Djibouti.


The Washington Post says unmanned drones on missions over Somalia and Yemen take off or land at the base an average of 16 times per day. It says about 300 personnel plan raids and coordinate the flights from inside a high-security compound at the base, Camp Lemmonier. Speaking to reporters Friday, U.S. Defense Department spokesman George Little said the base plays an important role in U.S. international security efforts. "[As] you know, Africa is becoming more and more important for the security and prosperity of the international community," he said. "There are threats in the region and our presence there is intended in part to address some of the threats in the region," Little said.

The Post said the Djibouti base has also become home to a squadron of F-15 fighter jets, which it reports are flying combat missions over Yemen in the war against al-Qaida. The Pentagon spokesman confirmed there are fighter jets at Lemonnier but did not confirm they are used in operations over Yemen. The U.S. is also known to operate drones from two other East African countries -- Ethiopia and the Seychelles islands.

http://gdb.voanews.eu/0FA931E6-D0C4-4355-9E47-F0D675B1E091_w640_r1_s_cx0_cy9_cw0.jpg
An undated handout image courtesy of the U.S. Air Force shows a unmanned MQ-1 Predator drone.

But the Post says those operations are nothing compared to the one at Camp Lemonnier. The paper calls Lemonnier the centerpiece of an expanding U.S. network of drone and surveillance bases in Africa, created to combat terrorist groups across the continent, including al-Qaida and Somalia's al-Shabab. It says the Defense Department is planning to spend $1.4 billion to expand its facilities at the Djibouti base. Pentagon spokesman Little said the size of the camp is not expanding but that the U.S. is doing additional construction at the site. Camp Lemonnier is the only U.S. military base in Africa.

The Post says it based its report on unclassified military records it obtained, including construction blueprints, drone accident reports and internal planning memos. Earlier this month, the Post reported the Obama administration is considering military strikes against al-Qaida militants in North Africa. Al-Qaida-affiliated groups seized control of northern Mali after a coup toppled Mali's government in March.

Source (http://www.voanews.com/content/report-says-us-is-expandingi-anti-terror-operations-in-djibouti/1533981.html)

Taxcutter
10-29-2012, 08:16 AM
Gotta whack the bad guys where they are.

Also Djibouti and the Seychelles are bases for maritime reconnaissance - to get a handle on pirates.

Cigar
10-29-2012, 08:26 AM
Sure as hell beats Boot on the ground.