Archive for the ‘Africa’ Category
Sunday, October 28th, 2012
AMERICAN THINKER
October 28, 2012
Has General Ham Been Fired?
Mike Johnson
Has General Carter F. Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command, been fired for defying Leon Panetta on Benghazi?
Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, ran a piece Saturday afternoon titled “Interesting Rumor Concerning General Carter Ham and Stand Down Order.” This piece is presented as a rumor. It suggests that General Ham was told to stand down from sending aid to Benghazi, that General Ham on his own decided to proceed, and that he was then relieved of his command. Remember, all rumor at this point.
On 18 October 2012, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta participated in a “DOD News Briefing on Efforts to Enhance the Financial Health of the Force.” In his introductory remarks, Mr. Panetta said: “Today I am very pleased to announce that President Obama will nominate General David Rodriguez to succeed General Carter Ham as commander of U.S. Africa Command . . .”
I’ll have a lot more to say about General Carter Ham’s service in the months ahead, but let me say this. Under his leadership, AFRICOM has played a very central role in some very important missions, from the NATO campaign in Libya that led to the fall of Gadhafi; to successful counterterrorism efforts in Somalia and Yemen; to efforts that we are now involved in, in Nigeria, Mali and elsewhere. General Ham has really brought AFRICOM into a very pivotal role in that challenging region. Myself and the nation are deeply grateful for his outstanding service. This is not a rumor, but it also does not provide a reason for the change. Note that Mr. Panetta gives no insight into General Ham’s future. General Ham is not quite 61 years old and so has three years left before mandatory retirement age of 64. General Ham has been commissioned for 36 years but did serve as an enlisted man prior to gaining his commission, so he might have the mandatory retirement 40 years of service.
The New York Times ran an article by Elisabeth Bumiller titled “Panetta Says Risk Impeded Deployment to Benghazi.” The article refers to the night of 11/12 September and includes the following: As a result, Mr. Panetta said, he and two top commanders “felt very strongly that we could not put forces at risk in that situation.” The commanders are Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Carter F. Ham of Africa Command, which oversees American military operations in Africa, including Libya. You probably have seen similar clips on TV. The impression being given by Mr. Panetta is that the three of them agreed upon the course of action.
Not how it works in the military. The junior person present gives his views, the next junior, his, and so on up the line until the senior person, in this case Mr. Panetta, makes the decision. It is not a vote and there is only one person with a veto, the senior person, Mr. Panetta. Of course, he could have had marching orders from higher up in the chain of command. Note also that the NYT piece, written eight days after Mr. Panetta’s announcement, makes no mention of General Ham being replaced as commander of U.S. Africa Command. Is it not relevant?
Bumped
Mike Johnson is a concerned citizen, a small government conservative, and a live-free-or-die resident of New Hampshire. E-mail mnosnhoj@comcast.net
Page Printed from: www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/10/has_general_ham_been_fired.html at October 28, 2012 – 11:49:25 AM CDT
Posted in 9/11, Africa, Arab Winter, Benghazi Terrorist Attack, Dept of Defense, Election 2012, Foreign Policy, Libya, Military, Obama, Obama Administraiton and Policy, Radical Islam, Terrorism | No Comments »
Sunday, October 28th, 2012
Obama Administration Replaces Top Generals Following Benghazi Disaster
Posted by Jim Hoft on Saturday, October 27, 2012, 3:45 PM
General Carter Ham
The latest rumor making the rounds is that Barack Obama replaced General Carter Ham at Africom after the general made a move to help the US security officials at the Benghazi consulate and annex. Ham was replaced by Gen. David Rodriquez on October 18.
Tiger Droppings reported:
The information I heard today was that General [Carter] Ham as head of Africom received the same e-mails the White House received requesting help/support as the attack was taking place. General Ham immediately had a rapid response unit ready and communicated to the Pentagon that he had a unit ready.
General Ham then received the order to stand down. His response was to screw it, he was going to help anyhow. Within 30 seconds to a minute after making the move to respond, his second in command apprehended General Ham and told him that he was now relieved of his command.
The story continues that now General Rodiguez would take General Ham’s place as the head of Africom.
Sure enough Obama nominated Gen. David Rodriguez to replace Gen. Carter Ham as commander of U.S. Africa Command.
The Stars and Stripes reported:
President Barack Obama will nominate Army Gen. David Rodriguez to succeed Gen. Carter Ham as commander of U.S. Africa Command and Marine Lt. Gen. John Paxton to succeed Gen. Joseph Dunford as assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Thursday. (more…)
Posted in Africa, Arab Winter, Benghazi Terrorist Attack, Election 2012, Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Libya, Military, Obama, Obama Administraiton and Policy, Radical Islam, Terrorism | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 24th, 2012
NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE www.nationalreview.com The Corner
First, Aid the Living
A U.S. ambassador is missing and his diplomatic team is desperately fighting off terrorist attacks. Our commander-in-chief and his national-security team in Washington are listening to the phone calls from the Americans under attack and watching real-time video from a drone circling overhead. Yet the U.S. military sends no aid. Why?
On September 11, at about 10 p.m. Libyan time (4 p.m. in Washington), Ambassador Chris Stevens and a small staff were inside our consulate in Benghazi when terrorists attacked. The consulate staff immediately contacted Washington and our embassy in Tripoli. The White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and numerous military headquarters monitored the entire battle in real time via the phone calls from Benghazi and video from a drone overhead.
Our diplomats fought for seven hours without any aid from outside the country. Four Americans died while the Obama national-security team and our military passively watched and listened. The administration is being criticized for ignoring security needs before the attack and for falsely attributing the assault to a mob. But the most severe failure has gone unnoticed: namely, a failure to aid the living.
By 4:30 p.m. Washington time, the main consulate building was on fire and Ambassador Stevens was missing. In response, the embassy in Tripoli launched an aircraft carrying 22 men. Benghazi was 400 miles away.
At 5 p.m., President Obama met with Vice President Biden and Secretary of Defense Panetta in the Oval Office. The U.S. military base in Sigonella, Sicily, was 480 miles away from Benghazi. Stationed at Sigonella were Special Operations Forces, transport aircraft, and attack aircraft — a much more formidable force than 22 men from the embassy.
In the past, presidents had taken immediate actions to protect Americans. In 1984, President Reagan had ordered U.S. pilots to force an airliner carrying terrorists to land at Sigonella. Reagan had acted inside a 90-minute window while the aircraft with the terrorists was in the air. The Obama national-security team had several hours in which to move forces from Sigonella to Benghazi. (more…)
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Posted in Africa, Arab Winter, Dept of Defense, Election 2012, Foreign Policy, International Affairs, Libya, Middle East, Obama, Obama Administraiton and Policy, President Ronald Reagan, Radical Islam, Terrorism | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 16th, 2012
Ryan’s Benghazi Surprise
The irony of ironies: The Biden-Ryan debate was more about foreign policy than the economy and jobs. And yet another irony: Paul Ryan, an expert on all things fiscal, revealed a much better knowledge base of foreign policy than anyone thought existed. Shows how smart and well-rounded he really is.
In fact, Ryan’s Benghazi slam, right out of the chute, won him the debate. This terrorist attack is going to be a huge presidential-race issue. Americans are furious at the Obama-Biden-Clinton stupidity and mismanagement surrounding the tragic Benghazi deaths. They are enraged at the Benghazi cover-up. Ryan accused Biden of malfeasance in every aspect of this tragedy. It was a tremendous body slam right from the start.
And Biden mislead everyone with a string of falsehoods. He said the administration did not have complete intelligence at the start of the crisis. But we now know they did have sufficient intelligence to realize that the killing of Ambassador Stevens and three others had nothing to do with spontaneous reactions to a YouTube video, and that it was a planned al-Qaeda attack.
Then Biden denied that the State Department asked the White House for stronger Benghazi security and was turned down on several occasions. But we know this to be true from various sources. We even know that State Department officials saw the Benghazi attack in real time. These untruths will dog Biden on the campaign trail. (more…)
Posted in Africa, Arab Winter, Conservatism, Democrats, Economy, Election 2012, Foreign Policy, GOP, Libya, Obama, Obama Administraiton and Policy, Radical Islam, Representative Paul Ryan (R), Terrorism | No Comments »
Sunday, October 14th, 2012
Posted in Africa, Arab Winter, Democrats, Foreign Policy, International Affairs, Libya, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, Obama, Obama Administraiton and Policy, Radical Islam, Terrorism | No Comments »
Sunday, September 23rd, 2012
September 22, 2012
Egypt’s New Leader Spells Out Terms for
U.S.-Arab Ties
CAIRO — On the eve of his first trip to the United States as Egypt’s new Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi said the United States needed to fundamentally change its approach to the Arab world, showing greater respect for its values and helping build a Palestinian state, if it hoped to overcome decades of pent-up anger.
A former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mr. Morsi sought in a 90-minute interview with The New York Times to introduce himself to the American public and to revise the terms of relations between his country and the United States after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, an autocratic but reliable ally.
He said it was up to Washington to repair relations with the Arab world and to revitalize the alliance with Egypt, long a cornerstone of regional stability. (more…)
Posted in Africa, Arab Winter, Dictators, Egypt, Election 2012, Foreign Aid, Foreign Policy, Israel, Media, Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood, Obama, Obama Administraiton and Policy, Palestine, Protestors, Radical Islam, Religion, Religious Freedom, Shariah Law, Social Issues, Violent Protestors, Women's Issues | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 18th, 2012
KUHNER: Bubba’s America
Clinton’s endorsement befits Obama
Former President Bill Clinton has emerged as a hero to many Americans, especially liberals. He has become a Democratic icon, a deeply beloved figure. This is why he was tapped to give the nomination speech for President Obama at the Democratic National Convention. The delegates in Charlotte, N.C., loved it. The reason is simple: His presence — and words — reminded everyone of better days. The 1990s were fat years, an age of supposed peace and prosperity. Mr. Clinton gave Mr. Obama his stamp of approval. Bubba assured America that a second Obama term would deliver economic recovery and a revived middle class — akin to a return to the 1990s.
As usual, he was peddling snake oil. His speech was vintage Clinton: dishonest, self-indulgent, cynical, wonky, pretentious and disconnected from reality. The fact is the 1990s was a disastrous decade, which America is still paying for. It was not just a holiday from history — dominated by an orgy of consumer spending and the coarsening of our culture — but something more pernicious: the squandering of our power and wealth. Mr. Clinton did not preside over America’s boom. Rather, he played a pivotal role in triggering our national decline.
Under his watch, the forces of radical Islam gathered steam — and went largely unopposed. The Taliban tightened their grip over Afghanistan. Pakistan attained the Muslim world’s first nuclear bomb. Iran embarked upon its nuclear program. Somalia became a jihadist haven. Mr. Clinton’s military interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo enabled Islamists to infiltrate the Balkans. Al Qaeda declared war on the United States. The 1993 World Trade Center attacks, the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, and the 2000 suicide assault on the USS Cole — Islamic terrorists were able to strike American targets with near impunity. Sudan’s government even offered to hand over Osama bin Laden to Washington. Mr. Clinton’s response: no thanks. Instead of confronting the rise of Islamofascism, he ignored it. The Sept. 11 terrorist atrocities were a direct result of Mr. Clinton’s negligent, reckless policies.
Moreover, he actively aided and abetted China’s march to global dominance. His administration transferred vital missile and nuclear technology to Beijing in exchange for illegal campaign contributions. China’s vassal state, North Korea, was allowed through the Agreed Framework agreement to buy the time needed to eventually become a nuclear rogue nation. His administration solidified trade ties with Beijing, encouraging China’s communists to embark upon economic liberalization combined with one-party rule. America’s market was flooded with cheap and shabby Chinese goods. Economic nationalism was sacrificed at the altar of globalization. (more…)
Posted in Afghanistan, Africa, American History, Big Government, China, Clinton, Congress, Democrats, Economy, Election 2012, Entitlements, Foreign Policy, Free Trade, Globalization, Government Regulation, History, Housing Market, Illegal Immigration, International Affairs, Iran, Liberalism, Missle Defense, National Defense, North Korea, Nuclear Energy/Weapons, Pakistan, Political Corruption, Politics, Progressive Movement, Radical Islam, Russia, Spending, Terrorism, U.S. Presidents | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
Worshippers massacred
By JON GAMBRELL
Last Updated: 10:40 AM, December 26, 2011
Posted: 12:13 AM, December 26, 2011
LAGOS, Nigeria — Terror attacks across Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect killed at least 39 people yesterday, with the majority dying on the steps of a Catholic church after celebrating Christmas Mass, their blood pooling in the dust.
Authorities acknowledged they could not bring enough emergency medical personnel to care for the wounded outside St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla near Nigeria’s capital.
Elsewhere, a bomb exploded amid gunfire in the central Nigeria city of Jos and a suicide car bomber attacked the military in the nation’s northeast as part of an apparently coordinated assault by the sect Boko Haram.
The Christmas Day violence, denounced by world leaders and the Vatican, shows the threat of the widening insurrection posed by Boko Haram against Nigeria’s weak central government.
The first explosion struck St. Theresa Catholic Church just after 8 a.m. The attack killed 35 people and wounded another 52, said Slaku Luguard, a coordinator with Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency. (more…)
Posted in Africa, Radical Islam, Religion, Terrorism | No Comments »
Sunday, December 4th, 2011
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The Conquest of the West
Posted 10/28/2011 ET
On Oct. 31, the U.N. Population Fund marks the arrival of the 7 billionth person on Earth and raises the population estimate for the planet at mid-century to 9.3 billion people.
There is a possibility, says the United Nations, that, by century’s end, world population may reach 15 billion. What does this mean for Western civilization?
It may not matter, except to identify who inherits the estate. For while world population is exploding, Western peoples are dying. Not a single European nation, except Muslim Albania, has a birth rate that will enable it to replace its present population.
By mid-century, Western man will be down to 12 percent of world population. By century’s end, he will be a tiny fraction, roughly equal to the white population of Rhodesia when Robert Mugabe came to power.
The demographic winter of the West has set in. (more…)
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Posted in Africa, China, Demographics, Europe, Mexico, Radical Islam, Russia, U.N. | No Comments »
Thursday, October 27th, 2011
KUHNER: Obama’s Arab winter
President plays active role in America’s decline, Islam’s rise
Illustration: Obama and Islam
President Obama is empowering radical Islam across the Arab world. He is presiding over both the American decline and the rapid advance of our mortal jihadist enemies. From the Middle East to North Africa, the Arab Spring has turned into an Islamist winter. Contrary to the administration’s claims, the popular uprisings have not led to a “rebirth of freedom” – the emergence of liberal democracies in distant Arab lands. Rather, Muslim fundamentalists have used street protests against corrupt, autocratic regimes as a Trojan horse to expand Islamic militancy.
In Tunisia, an Islamist party with ideological ties to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is poised to win national elections. Its goal is to repeal the nation’s secular traditions (inherited from the French empire) and erect a Muslim theocracy. Its platform calls for banning alcohol, forcing women to wear the veil and implementing Shariah law. Non-Muslims and women are to be treated as second-class citizens.
Next month, it will be Egypt’s turn to hold elections. The Muslim Brotherhood is expected to gain the largest number of parliamentary seats. Its aim is to restore the global caliphate and return Cairo to the rule of fundamentalist clerics. Its foreign policy is based upon hatred of Israel and America. The Sinai already has become a sanctuary for terrorists and a staging ground for attacks on Israeli cities. Since the overthrow of strongman Hosni Mubarak, rampaging Muslim mobs have murdered numerous Coptic Egyptians and destroyed Christian churches. More than 100,000 Christian Copts have been expelled – an act of deliberate religious cleansing. About 8 million Copts are left in Egypt. The Brotherhood views them as a “threat” to the “Egyptian nation.” The country could be on the verge of religious and civil war, yet Mr. Obama is shamefully silent about the anti-Christian pogrom taking place. (more…)
Posted in Africa, Egypt, Foreign Policy, International Affairs, Iraq - Surge, Libya, Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood, National Defense, Obama, Obama Administraiton and Policy, Protestors, Radical Islam, Radical Left, Religion, Shariah Law, Syria, Terrorism, Violent Protestors | No Comments »
