WASHINGTON, (HAN) March 24, 2005-   As stability and security increase in Afghanistan and Iraq, terrorists will look for other places where they cannot only find sanctuary but also continue to operate, receive supplies and indoctrinate new recruits, the general in charge of coalition forces on the Horn of Africa said here today. Marine Maj. Gen. Samuel T. Helland, Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa commander, spoke to Pentagon reporters from Camp Lemonier, Djibouti. The task force includes representatives from all branches of the U.S. military and staff officers from eight coalition countries. It oversees counter terrorism operations for U.S. Central Command in Sudan, Yemen, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and the Seychelles as part of the global war on terror. “Terrorists thrive in chaos,” Helland said, “where there is no rule of law and where they can meld in with the population.” He said that by isolating those places and understanding who’s there, what they do and where they go, “then we can probably deny terrorists the safe haven they are seeking as they move throughout the CENTCOM area of responsibility.” He called the strategy “a regional approach to stability.” Helland said the task force works with host nations to identify core competencies and to enhance stability through security training, maritime interdiction operations training, and civil-military operations. By educating the population and encouraging self-determination, he said, the task force’s goal is to “isolate the terrorist from his support, which is the population, … and maybe prevent him from moving into available safe havens.” Together with Coalition Task Force 150, Helland said, the CJTF is stemming the flow of terrorist activity in the Horn of Africa. “CTF 150 is on the seas in the Gulf of Aden,” he said, working to stem the flow of smuggling. “We work with them on a daily basis,” Helland said. “We share information. … We provide support when necessary. We protect their ships when they come into harbor, and we work with them across lines of communication.” As one example of success, Helland cited maritime interdiction. “Two years ago, we started out with no coast guard capability in Yemen,” the general said. “Since that time, we’ve been able to put two ships into Aden -- one a German ship, the other one, British. And the price of insurance in Aden itself has gone down three times – just because of the presence of the coast guard that we trained.” Helland said the possibility always exists that al Qaeda may have been in the Horn of Africa “either visiting, trying to recruit, trying to proselytize, to spread their ideology, or gain support for their mission,” but he couldn’t place al Qaeda in the region definitively. “With the increase in stability and security in Afghanistan and Iraq, Helland said al Qaeda has “to move around.” He pointed out that this worldwide network without boundaries uses surrogate terrorist organizations and local criminal elements who have the pipelines or the capability to move drugs, explosives, or weapons around the area. Helland said the global war on terror will be “a long fight, a generational fight” and that the United States and its coalition partners must stay engaged, maintain a presence … and “keep building that trust, that confidence, and the credibility of those nations in the Horn of Africa, so we can continue to prosecute this war against terrorism.” Sources:  Horn of Africa General Describes 'Regional Approach to Stability' -Terri Lukach American Forces Press Service 

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.