By LOLITA C. BALDOR
CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates, making his first visit Monday to U.S. troops in the Horn of Africa, is looking to use the military's broader work with humanitarian and development efforts here as a role model for other places, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
Gates arrived in this tiny port nation early in Monday morning and went into meetings with national leaders and military commanders.
A main topic will be the Pentagon's new Africa Command, which was launched Oct. 1 and aims to help nations tackle regional terrorist threats and other crises, as well as promote development and stability. And a recurrent theme will be how the military can expand its work with civilian agencies to promote stability and greater security in Africa and around the world.
Djibouti, a key U.S. ally in this region, hosts the base for the military's Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, which defense officials tout as a unique effort that melds humanitarian and development efforts with the military's traditional training and security roles.
Senior defense officials traveling with Gates — who spoke on condition of anonymity because Gates' meetings were private — said the secretary intends to talk to commanders about what lessons have been learned from the program in Djibouti.
The U.S. is already looking to shift its main focus in Iraq from combat to one more centered on training and development.
In a speech last week, Gates called for a shift in the war on terror, using greater civilian and economic resources to win the type of counterinsurgency battles being fought in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. The U.S. must "focus our energies beyond the guns and steel of the military," he said.
One senior official with Gates described the terror threat in the Horn of Africa as relatively stable, although a small number of al-Qaida remain there. However, the official said the military has seen al-Qaida influence smaller local groups, including insurgencies in Somalia and Ethiopia. And those groups have the ability to trigger national and regional security problems.
Gates is also expected to talk with leaders about the progress in setting up Africa Command. Many of the details have not yet been decided, including the size of the U.S. force and the location of the headquarters and as many as five other regional teams.
Recently, however, a number of African countries — including Libya, Nigeria and South Africa — have expressed reservations about a move that could signal an expansion of U.S. influence on the continent and may focus primarily on protecting oil interests.
Currently there are about 1,900 U.S. troops in Djibouti, including those attached to the joint task force and those at the base at Camp Lemonier. Officials in the past have also acknowledged that there are special forces in the area.
The Horn of Africa, and particularly Somalia, has concerned the U.S. military since the U.S. launched its war on terror and al-Qaida in 2001 after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Al-Qaida had operated from safe havens in Afghanistan until U.S. forces invaded there that October.
A short time later, the U.S. military established a special group of forces based in Djibouti to work with Ethiopia, Kenya and other governments in the area to combat terrorists, including the al-Qaida group believed to still be there.
Gates is also expected to attend a regional security conference in Bahrain this week with military, foreign policy and defense officials from the Middle East. The summit, called the Manama Dialogue, will include discussions on Iraq, Iran and Gulf security.
