Nairobi (HAN) March 24, 2005-  Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld thanked the U.S. service members based here for their sense of duty. He said their service in the country on the Horn of Africa is important.

He spoke in a newly built maintenance facility on the base, adjacent to the Djibouti International Airport. Many of the 900 service members stationed at the base attended his talk. Rumsfeld then took questions.Rumsfeld spelled out why the men and women are in Djibouti. "We need to be where the action is," he said. "And there is no question but that this part of the world is an area where there is action."

He said their job in the global war on terrorism is difficult "and potentially dangerous." He told the men and women that they carry on their shoulders not only "the values of America, but the hopes of the world."

He said they're in place to prevent another more devastating attack. He said thousands of people died in the attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. But there are regimes that have the means and will and connections to terrorist organizations to use weapons of mass destruction to kill tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children.

"Our job, your mission, is to stop attacks of such magnitude," he said.

He said their presence in Djibouti proves the United States is not in this war alone, and that countries must unite to fight terror organizations and states that sponsor them.

The secretary answered some questions from the troops. One asked about pay and he explained that all service members will receive a 4.1 percent pay raise in January with mid-level enlisted personnel and mid-level officers receiving a targeted raise.

Another asked if there was some thought to lowering the age where reserve component personnel can receive retirement pay from 60 to 55. He said no and went on to explain that he is looking at ways that would allow some personnel to serve beyond their high years of tenure.

A third asked the secretary if Camp Lemonier would become permanent. He said there is a terrorist threat in the region from Yemen and in the southern part of Saudi Arabia. "These are serious problems," he said. "I suspect that if you look out one, two, three or four years, this facility will be here."

Finally, a service member asked the secretary about the possibility of getting smallpox vaccinations. He said there is smallpox vaccine available and "first responders" -- police, firefighters and medical personnel -- will be the first to receive the vaccination. "Second will be the people likely to be in a field of action where this disease could be a problem," he said. The vaccinations will be "rolling out" in the weeks and months ahead.

The secretary again thanked the personnel for their service. "Each of you volunteered. … You offered to put your lives at risk so that all Americans can be free and live in peace," he said. "That's a very special calling you've undertaken."

US Forces Fight Terrorism in East Africa 
By Al Pessin, Washington, 24 March 2005

Major General Samuel Helland

Major General Samuel Helland says his multi-national force is engaged mainly in working with local governments in East Africa, and across the Red Sea on the Saudi peninsula, to increase their capability to fight terrorists.

"There are terrorist networks alive and well in the Horn of Africa," he said. "So they're there, and they all know each other. I couldn't believe they don't. And I suspect they're connected to the worldwide network, just like we are."

General Helland says the al-Qaida terrorist network operates through local groups in Africa like the Eritrean Islamic Jihad, the Somali Mojahedin and Somalia's al-Itihad al-Islamiya. He says the goal is to disrupt the ability of local governments to control their territory, which makes it easier for the terrorists to operate. In addition, the general says he would not be surprised if some senior al-Qaida leaders fled to the region after the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, but he could not confirm whether that had happened.

He also could not confirm a report in Kenya's East African newspaper that a United Nations team has concluded terrorists are smuggling weapons through Kenya to use against Somalia's new government, once it tries to establish itself in Mogadishu. Kenya has denied the charge. General Helland said he can not say for sure because smuggling is rampant in the region. And he says the situation in Somalia is still too fluid for his task force to play any role.

"Right now all we can do is watch and provide our support. We have to wait for the political process to work before we can engage. And we're standing by," he added. "But until things become better and more stable, I think we'll just continue to watch and monitor."

General Helland commands 1,400 U.S. troops in East Africa, headquartered in Djbouti, as well as foreign forces attached to the task force. The force was created two-and-a-half years ago. The general says his troops are working to build trust among the local people and governments in order to promote anti-terrorism cooperation. He cited several successes, including an invitation from the town of Goday in Ethiopia to repair two mosques that had been damaged by wild animals.

"The fact that they were willing to come and ask us to do the work for them probably is what's more important than the amount of work that was done itself," said General Helland.

General Helland says the task force is also getting much larger responses to its offers to provide medical and veterinary care in various communities in Africa, and has helped Yemen build its Coast Guard capability to improve trade and keep terrorists out of its ports.