Four major rift systems in East Africa.

four rifts key

The four rift systems from different geologic time are illustrated above and below. You can click the maps to enlarge enough to read.
Tertiary Rift: runs through Uganda Kenya Ethiopia
Cretaceous Rift: runs through Sudan Kenya Mali
Jurassic Rift: crosses to include Yemen and the Puntland region of Somalia
Permian Triassic Rift: crosses the sea from Ethiopia through southern Somalia to Madagascar

The Tertiary Rift

Tertiary Rift Uganda Kenya Ethiopia: Tullow's Uganda discoveries now at 2.5+ billion barrels of reserves. Tertiary rift in Kenya/Ethiopia contains the same source and reservoir system as Uganda as confirmed by Leperot discovery by Shell in 1992.

The Cretaceous Rift

Cretaceous Rift Kenya Mali Sudan: Over 6 billion barrels of oil discovered on trend in the analogous system in Sudan. Thick oil stained section in the 1980s vintage Amoco/Total wells confirms hydrocarbon system.

The Jurassic Rift

Jurassic Rift Yemen Somalia: Prolific, proven play in Yemen expected to extend into Puntland, which shares a common geologic history. Yemen fields produce from high quality Cretaceous and Jurassic reservoirs and source rocks. Numerous oil shows from wells drilled by previous operators confirm Jurassic source rock.

The Permian Triassic Rift

Permo-Triassic Rift Ethiopia Madagascar: Multi-TCF gas reserves have been discovered in Triassic sandstones. Light oil has been tested in fractured Jurassic carbonates. El Kuran field discovered by Tenneco in the 1970s confirmed oil and gas in both systems.

Here is some detail of the Dharoor block in Puntland Somalia.

Dharoor Block Puntland Somalia

Here is some detail on Block 10A in Kenya where they are beginning to drill.

Block 10A Kenya

A seismic cross section of the Pai Pai prospect, site of drilling in Block 10A.

Pai Pai prospect Block 10A

A map of East Africa suggesting the underlying petroleum system.

East Africa petroleum system

These are the local totals for potential barrels of oil that Africa Oil Corporation expects to be able to recover from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Puntland in Somalia.

Potential oil

This is the total size of the potential oil prize in both barrels of oil and dollars.

Size of the prize in billions of barrels

Do note the caveat:

There is no certainty that any portion of the resources will be discovered. If discovered there is no certainty the the discovery will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources.

All of these countries and locations mapped are of interest to the United States and its Africa Command, AFRICOM. Many aspects of that interest have been covered here in this blog.

These earlier posts, along with their comments, are particularly relevant to East African oil.
Uganda – Stepping On the Mission Creep Accelerator
Why The US Is Chasing Kony And The LRA
If Uganda Has Oil It Must Need The Pentagon’s Democracy
Uganda – Oil Reserves To Rival Saudi Arabia?

Crossed Crocodiles

- SFG SALUTES WORKERS

The Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG) has extended its solidarity to workers throughout the world and their allies in the struggle to construct new societies.

In a statement, the SFG said the material condition of the Ghanaian worker has declined steadily since the CIA overthrew Nkrumah’s socialist government in 1966.

The statement signed by Comrade Kyeretwie Opoku, the convener of the SFG said “Everywhere, the working class confronts deteriorating working conditions, unsafe working environment, unemployment, privatization of essential services and the erosion f basic rights.”

The full text of the statement is published below:

Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains. You have a world to gain!

On International Worker’s Day, 1 May 2012, the Socialist Forum of Ghana extends its militant solidarity to workers throughout the world and their allies in the construction of a new society.

The material condition of the Ghanaian worker has declined steadily since the CIA overthrew Nkrumah’s socialist government in 1966. Since then governments have rammed through World Bank / IMF programmes designed to strengthen foreign corporate control over Ghanaian labour and national resources. They have flogged public assets for peanuts, deregulated investment, facilitated capital flight, attacked social spending and repressed industrial action. They have called on workers to sacrifice in order to attract the “investors” who it is claimed would somehow create a better future for all. 45 years later the fruits of workers’ sacrifice are the ravaged and decayed conditions of Tema once a proud planned industrial city. Now Tema is characterized by slums and unemployed youth. The situation in our mining and timber communities is even worse.

The situation of Ghana’s working class is not unique. Everywhere, the working class confronts deteriorating working conditions, unsafe working environment, unemployment, privatization of essential services and erosion of basic democratic rights. This is not all. The crisis of capitalism manifest since 2008 poses a stark danger to the survival of human civilization. The reckless aggression of the Western imperialism seeking by force to seize the energy resources of Third World countries and ward off challenges from more productive capitalist blocks could push the world into disastrous nuclear war. There is an equal danger that the wasteful consumption capitalism encourages based on reckless burning of hydrocarbons will undermine the climatic conditions for the survival of the human species. Capitalism has failed massively in Ghana and globally. It can offer no future.

Fortunately, everywhere the working class and its allies are fighting back. May Day 2012 witnesses a global resurgence of conscious working class struggle that transcends trade unionism and seeks the socialist transformation of society. Ghanaian workers too must prepare themselves to assume their historical leadership mission. The challenge ahead is a massive one. Imperialism remains a powerful, organized, strategic and vicious enemy. Indeed, in its death throes, it is more desperate and dangerous than ever. Victory will require discipline, study, organisation and even more sacrifice. At least the sacrifice is collective and honourable and the prize glorious. More importantly, history is on our side.

SFG pledges its humble and unflinching support to your cause.

Kyeretwie Opoku
Convener

Source: The Insight Newspaper http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-insight-newspaper/sfg-salutes-workers/232971986803785

Story by Mohamed Koroma, May 4, 2012

The Pan-Afrikan Community Movement (PACM), a community based movement of youths, students, women, employed and unemployed workers in urban and rural Sierra Leone, have called upon the government of the President Ernest Bai Koroma with a blunt message: the deployment of Sierra Leonean soldiers in Somalia is wrong. PACM maintains that “imperialist forces are behind the deployment of African soldiers in Somalia. In this respect, we oppose the use of Africans fighting Africans, an old imperialist strategy in Africa.”

According to a statement issued by the group, this follows an announcement by Seirra Leonean government that it will sending, as promised late last year, a contingent of nearly 1,000 troops to join Rwanda and Uganda “under the guise of AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) to fight Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.”

Apart from Rwanda and Ugandan, Kenya and Ethiopia have also sent troops in Somalia, to fight the Al- Shabaab. The PACM, explained their opposition to Seirra Leonean participation by declaring,

“PACM holds the view that the deployment of Sierra Leonean soldiers in Somalia is wrong. We believe that the problem in Somalia cannot be resolved by military action. The deployment of Sierra Leonean forces there will only be seen by the people of Somalia as an attempt by the rulers of Sierra Leone to be part of the greater conspiracy, sponsored by western imperialist forces to dominate and further the long suffering of the people of Somalia and deepen the conflict. The deployment might also endanger Sierra Leonean citizens, as Al-Shabaab has already threatened to do.

We do not oppose the involvement of Sierra Leonean soldiers in other African problems, but we believe that, in this case, the “solution” is driven by outside forces. It is no coincidence, that over US$ 50 million have been provided so far by US for the procurement of military equipment of the Sierra Leonean military for what will only be a war of Africans killing other Africans.”

PACM also wondered how “Sierra Leonean soldiers can use military force to bring peace in Somalia where US forces have failed in 1993, Ethiopian troops and now Kenyan forces are failing since their invasion into Somalia, at the behest of US and imperialist forces earlier this year.”

PACM also condemned the use of violence by all sides in the conflict expressing its equal opposition to “all forms of violence including Al-Shabaab’s use of terrorist tactics of killing innocent people in their so-called war to institute sharia law in Somalia.”

“The war in Somalia is a PROXY WAR,” the statement went on, “with the US and other imperialist forces behind it. The objective is to ensure control of the horn of Africa for military, economic and political gains. This is also the reason for establishment of AFRICOM – The US military’s Africa Command. This militarisation of Africa is not unconnected with the discovery of oil and the rise of China as a major economic power in Africa. In short, the militarisation of Africa is part of the grand plan to control African mineral (including oil) resources.”

“Consequently,” the statement concluded, “PACM holds the view that the attempt to send Salone troops to Somalia under the guise of AMISOM, is not to help the people of Somalia, but to support Imperialist Proxy-wars in Africa. In that respect, PACM wish to join the progressive chorus of African peace campaigners, to oppose the new vigour of imperialism in Africa and call on the Government of Sierra Leone, led by Ernest Bai Koroma, a seemingly willing puppet of Western imperialism and neo-colonialism, to reverse the decision of sending troops to Somalia. Instead we call on the government, to pursue a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Somalia which can only be addressed by the Somali people themselves.”

Source: Mohamed Koroma; +232 (0) 88 878 273

Email: pacm1898@yahoo.com

Motto: Organising Communities for Afrikan Liberation & Social Change.

————————————————————————————————–

PACM STATEMENT ON THE PROPOSED DEPLOYMENT OF SALONE TROOPS TO SOMALIA

Freetown: 20^th April, 2012 – The Pan-Afrikan Community Movement (PACM) is a newly formed grassroots Pan-Africanist, community based movement of youths, students, women, employed and unemployed workers in urban and rural Sierra Leone. We stand for the self-emancipation and self determination of the oppressed and exploited Afrikan masses at home and abroad. We are opposed to privatisation, racism, sexism, neo-colonialism, and imperialist proxy wars in Africa. We are part of the worldwide resistance to globalisation and the struggle for global social justice.

ON THE DEPLOYMENT OF SIERRA LEONE TROOPS IN SOMALIA

Few weeks ago the government of Ernest Bai Koroma, announced that it will send, as promised late last year, a contingent of nearly 1,000 troops to join Rwanda and Uganda under the guise of AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) to fight Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia. Apart from Rwanda and Ugandan, Kenya and Ethiopia have also sent troops in Somalia, to fight the Al- Shabaab.

PACM holds the view that the deployment of Sierra Leonean soldiers in Somalia is wrong. We believe that the problem in Somalia cannot be resolved by military action. The deployment of Sierra Leonean forces there will only be seen by the people of Somalia as an attempt by the rulers of Sierra Leone to be part of the greater conspiracy, sponsored by western imperialist forces to dominate and further the long suffering of the people of Somalia and deepen the conflict. The deployment might also endanger Sierra Leonean citizens, as Al-Shabaab has already threatened to do.

We do not oppose the involvement of Sierra Leonean soldiers in other African problems, but we believe that, in this case, the “solution” is driven by outside forces. It is no coincidence, that over US$ 50 million have been provided so far by US for the procurement of military equipment of the Sierra Leonean military for what will only be a war of Africans killing other Africans.

PACM wonders how Sierra Leonean soldiers can use military force to bring peace in Somalia where US forces have failed in 1993, Ethiopian troops and now Kenyan forces are failing since their invasion into Somalia, at the behest of US and imperialist forces earlier this year.

PACM maintains that imperialist forces are behind the deployment of African soldiers in Somalia. In this respect, we oppose the use of Africans fighting Africans, an old imperialist strategy in Africa.

PACM wises to state that we equally oppose all forms of violence including Al-Shabaab’s use of terrorist tactics of killing innocent people in their so-called war to institute sharia law in Somalia.

The war in Somalia, is a PROXY WAR, with the US and other imperialist forces behind it. The objective is to ensure control of the horn of Africa for military, economic and political gains. This is also the reason for establishment of AFRICOM – The US military’s Africa Command. This militarisation of Africa is not unconnected with the discovery of oil and the rise of China as a major economic power in Africa. In short, the militarisation of Africa is part of the grand plan to control African mineral (including oil) resources.

Consequently, PACM holds the view that the attempt to send Salone troops to Somalia under the guise of AMISOM, is not to help the people of Somalia, but to support Imperialist Proxy-wars in Africa. In that respect, PACM wish to join the progressive chorus of African peace campaigners, to oppose the new vigour of imperialism in Africa and call on the Government of Sierra Leone, led by Ernest Bai Koroma, a seemingly willing puppet of Western imperialism and neo-colonialism, to reverse the decision of sending troops to Somalia. Instead we call on the government, to pursue a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Somalia which can only be addressed by the Somali people themselves.

For more information or media Interviews, please call: Mohamed Koroma = 232 (0) 88 878 273 Email: pacm1898@yahoo.com

XXXX

Stop the War, Hands Off Somalia!

End Imperialist Proxy Wars in Africa Now!!

Workers United Will Never Be Defeated!!!

“Former parliament speaker Dioncounda Traoré was sworn in on Thursday as interim president after Amadou Toumani Touré resigned under the 6 April agreement.

The 70-year-old mathematician turned politician is expected to name a prime minister soon, and to organise elections within 40 days.

He has threatened “total war” against the northern rebels, who seized a vast swathe of territory amid the disarray that followed the 22 March coup, which the mutineers justified by accusing Touré’s government of mishandling the Tuareg rebellion.”

The following interview with Andy Morgan from March 27 provides knowledge, history, and insight regarding what is going on with the Tuareg uprising in Mali.

“Q: Could you give us the general picture of what is going on in Mali at the moment?

A: The Tuaregs have been fighting an insurgency against the central power in Mali since the late 1950s but in terms of open fighting, since 1963. So this is a very old story. What we are seeing is the latest chapter, but a chapter with a great many differences. The Tuaregs this time are better equipped, better trained and better led than they ever have been before and as a result they have been able to clinch a series of military victories which have given them control of the northern half of Mali …

…

Q: What about the AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb)? Does this group exist and are there any links with the MNLA as some have suggested?

A: No Tuareg has ever killed or maimed another human being in the name of religion – certainly not in the last sixty years. I say that just to make clear that there is no cultural affinity between the Tuareg and AQIM. There is no question that AQIM does actually exist, this has been verified, but the more difficult question is who are its friends and enemies? They carry out kidnappings and have murdered people, including soldiers and policemen and have carried out suicide attacks. But there is a great deal of conjecture about this whole issue. What does certainly happen is that many western African and North African governments use Al Qaeda to discredit political or independence and autonomy movements.”

Here is the map of Mali from near the end of March.

Map of Mali with the MNLA claims and positions as of March 28, 2012, before the MNLA captured Timbuktu

An excerpt from The Causes of the Uprising in Northern Mali by Andy Morgan:

“Iyad Ag Ghali, Ansar Eddine and Mali-AQIM collusion theory

Iyad’s creation of Ansar Eddine and his reported ties with a certain Abou Abdelkarim aka Le Targui, one of the minor AQIM leaders operating in the southern desert, have opened the flood gates to national and international speculation about the possible links between the Tuareg rebel movement and Islamic terrorists, a link that the Malian government is all to keen to stoke and publicise in order to discredit the movement. As his name indicates, Abdelkarim le Targui is supposedly a Tuareg, a native of the Tinzawaten region and the erstwhile preacher at the mosque in In Khalil, a remote and fairly lawless border town in the far north east of Mali. He is reportedly a subordinate of the thuggish emir Abou Zeid, and leader of his own small katiba called Al Ansar which was responsible for kidnapping the septuagenarian French humanitarian worker Michel Germaneau in 2010. According to an announcement by Abdelmalik Droukdel, until recently the supreme leader of AQIM, which was posted up on the AQIM website, Abdelkarim Le Targui was also responsible for murdering Germaneau in cold blood as well as negotiation major drug deals on behalf of AQIM with the representatives of a Colombian drugs cartel in Guinea-Bissau. Not the kind of person you should be associating with if you want to present yourself as a legitimate political organisation.

Iyad’s association with Abdelkarim Le Targui is vague and conjectural. Some Tuareg even argue that far from being a true targui, Abdelkarim is an Algerian Arab, like all the other AQIM leaders in the southern desert. Nonetheless this link, together with the perceived religious extremism of Iyad and his Ansar Eddine movement, has spawned a smear campaign in Bamako which aims to convince the world that the MNLA are in cahoots with AQIM. The AFP reporter in Bamako even claimed that Abou Zeid took part in a recent MNLA attack on the army in the village of Aguel’hoc north of Kidal. Nothing is more poisonous to the international image of the Tuareg cause than this taint of fundamentalism and AQIM, not even the Gaddafi links.. “AQIM was parachuted in and installed in our territory by the Malian government,” declares Hama Ag Sid’Ahmed, with total conviction. “It was the initiative of certain drugs barons, who are advisors to the President, in the shadows of the Koulouba Palace [The Presidential palace in Bamako]. They brought them into the Timbuktu region and then to Kidal. In return for the release of the 32 hostages in 2003, a pact of non-aggression was signed between Bamako and Al Qaeda, who then progressively occupied this territory. Those contacts became permanent and it’s clear that since then all the operations led by the terrorist groups have originated in Mali, and the terrorist have always fallen back to Mali. It’s their safe haven. Everyone knows that the terrorists are in communication with military leaders, and that politicians from Bamako meet the terrorist emirs quite regularly.”

There are several reasons why that taint is wholly unjustified. The first is that since the inception of the MNA and MNLA movements, one of their loudest, most cherished and oft repeated aims is to rid their homeland of AQIM, an organisation which they consider to be one of Mali’s most effective weapons in its fight against their cause

Far fetched? Maybe. Like Professor Jeremy Keenan’s controversial theory that AQIM are a creation of the Algerian DRS, the Mali-AQIM collusion theory remains conjectural. But the circumstantial evidence that links a cabal of Malian army and secret service operatives, usually Arabs from the north of the country close to the upper echelons of Mali’s political and military hierarchy, to the huge drug smuggling operations that have blighted the stability of the northern deserts in recent years and to AQIM is very strong. It’s hardly a secret anymore that a consensus exists among US, French and Algerian diplomats in the region that Mali has been long on words but short on action in its dealings with AQIM since 2006. The frustration with Mali’s lack of firm resolve and decisive action in this regard, despite the millions of dollars in aid that it has received from the US and France specifically for the purpose of fighting terrorists on its soil, has been growing exponentially in the embassies and foreign ministries of the world powers. Apart from one clash with AQIM in the desert north of Timbuktu back in 2006, there have hardly been any confirmed reports of the Malian army doing any damage to AQIM at all. In fact, the most determined opposition that AQIM has encountered during its five year campaign of terror in Mali has been at the hands of the ADC, the Tuareg rebel movement launched in 2006, who skirmished with the terrorists several times between 2006 and 2009, with lives lost on both sides. And now that the entire might of the Malian army has been thrown against the Tuareg uprising with such devastating force, including fighter jets, tanks, armoured vehicles, missiles of every stamp and thousands of troops, it’s little wonder that Tuaregs, diplomats, analysts and commentators are feeling a tad cynical about Mali’s repeated assertions in recent years that they’ve never had the military wherewithal to deal with the AQIM threat.. He cited the then recent case of a joint Algerian-Malian operation to attack an AQIM base that had failed because the AQIM katiba in question had been tipped off in advance. All these frankly startling revelations are contained in the US Embassy cables leaked by Bradley Manning and Wikileaks. In fact, there is no better way to understand what really went on in the northern deserts of Mali between 2006 and early 2010 than to read those US Embassy cables. The level of intelligence, analysis and research contained in them is often of the highest order. And yes, they do reveal that the US Embassy has also suspected Mali of at best tolerating and at worst colluding with AQIM at one time or another.

A senior Malian politician once had the temerity to declare in a private meeting at the US Embassy in Bamako that the presence of AQIM in the north east of the country was a good thing, as long as it meant that the Tuareg rebel movement wasted its resources and time trying to combat it. At another meeting, the new Algerian ambassador informed his US counterpart that he suspected collusion between Mali and the terrorists

If the implantation of AQIM on Tuareg soil was part of a deliberate Malian strategy, then it has been extraordinarily effective. The main campaign of AQIM kidnapping and extortion began in March 2008 (interestingly there had been a five year hiatus since the 2003 hostage incident), just when relations between Mali, the ADC and Ag Bahanga were reaching their nadir. Since that time AQIM has knocked the Tuareg rebellion squarely off the front page, both national and internationally. Until January 17 of this year that is. The presence of AQIM in Mali put the country in the front line of the USA’s global war on terror, giving it kudos and a receptive ear in Washington whilst justifying the huge amounts of money, training and equipment that America lavished on Mali in the context of its Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Programme (TSCTP) and Pan Sahel Initiative (PSI). It has also emptied the north of foreign journalists, foreign observers, foreign NGO workers, foreign tourists and foreigners in general, whose presence could have been inconvenient for certain shady army or secret service (DGSE) operations, especially those linked with the drug trade. Most of all, AQIM have simply throttled the region and deprived its Tuareg population of any hope of building a viable future and developing a strong economy. In short, AQIM has crippled Tuareg society in Mali’s north east. No wonder MNLA have vowed to rid their land of Al Qaeda.. Apparently Iyad tried to sell his plan for an Islamic inspired movement to the Ifoghas meeting in Abeibara by promising that his political approach would be no different to that of the moderate Islamic parties that have come to power following the Arab uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. There also happens to be another Islamic organisation in Mali with the name Ansar Dine. It has a vast following amongst southern Malians, who flock to football stadiums in their thousands to hear the preachings of the movement’s leader, Cherif Ousmane Madani Haidara. Ansar Dine preaches tolerance, democracy and social morality inspired by faith in the teachings of The Prophet. It is also an ardent critic of government corruption and incompetence. Perhaps Iyad sees his movement as a Tamasheq off shoot of the bigger Ansar Dine. Who knows? “What’s very important is that all the religious leaders of the Adagh des Iforas have categorically rejected this foreign Salafist culture that has been planted in their midst,” Hama Ag Sid’Ahmed declares with emphasis. “I know that Iyad is an important person in the region and I know that he’s involved in religious matters. But I cannot believe that he would completely abandon the tolerance that is part of our Tuareg culture. Not for one second. Maybe Iyad and others realise that AQIM has a hold on some of our young people, and they’re trying to present a different message about Islam that might possibly win back all those that the Salafists have co-opted into their ranks.”’

And yet Iyad Ag Ghali’s Ansar Eddine movement continues to sow the seeds of doubt and Mali’s propaganda machine continues to milk any possible connection between the MNLA, Iyad and AQIM for all its worth

There is also this article that is worth noting:

Terrorism In The Sahara And Sahel: A ‘False Flag’ In The War On Terror? – by Richard Trillo

“Some Sahara analysts believe that AQIM, which was formed in 2007, is a false flag organisation. In this scenario, many of AQIM’s members may be genuine Islamic ideologues from Algeria, with a background in the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) that were formed after the cancellation of Algeria’s 1991 elections in which the Islamic Salvation Front won a sweeping victory. The activities of these AQIM ground troops, however, are said to be coordinated by none other than the Algerian intelligence service itself, in a strategy aimed at justifying the country’s authoritarian government, procuring arms and drawing their American military partners into the region in the “Global War on Terror” (there is a significant American military presence in the Sahel, notably a large US training base at Gao, in Mali).”

And a comment to the article says:

“I was in Mauritania spring 2009. On June 25 (2009, not 2010) Christopher Leggett, a husband and father of four, was shot multiple times. Leggett was an American aid worker teaching computer classes. At the time AQIM issued statement: “Two knights of the Islamic Maghreb killed Christopher Leggett for his Chistianizing activities”. Soon after more than 100 Peace Corps volunteers were evacuated to Senegal. (The Peace Corp had worked in Mauritania 40+ yrs)

In Novemeber 2009 AQIM also kidnapped three Spanish aid workers in Mauritania…

Agree, the operations of AQIM appear focused on running blackmarket opperations (smuggling, drugs, money-laundering & protection rackets). It appears to me AQIM does not want witnesses, foreign observers, especially those trusted by locals. Leggett and the three Spanish aid workers were neither political targets nor ransom targets (corporate engineers/execs).

AQIM violence not only drove off tourists, but also aid workers… which may have been their objective.”

Outsiders who are trusted by local residents might bring back reports of what is really happening. Those with a political agenda might want the outside to know of their deeds when they are effective. They may have less to hide. Those with a criminal agenda might want to prevent any whiff of real information from reaching the wider world. They may have much more to hide.

Here is more from the interview with Andy Morgan in Global Dispatches on the subject of Mali’s Tuareg Rebellion.

“From about October 2011 onwards, they basically started preparing the uprising, with long meetings out in the desert where they indulged in a great deal of soul searching about what had gone wrong in previous uprisings, so as to get it right this time. What happened is that they entered into an alliance with a much younger group of Tuaregs, you might say young intellectuals, very Internet savvy young Tuaregs, who set up the National Movement of Azawad, the MNA at the end of 2010. They eventually merged with the MNLA. This was an important move as one of the aspects that was deemed to be lacking in previous uprisings was good communications with the international media, and with the world at large.

…

Q: When we talk about Tuaregs we are talking about many different tribes, spread over different countries. Some say the MNLA is just a small group of a few thousand fighters. What sort of support does the MNLA have from Tuaregs as a whole?

A: There are roughly 1.5 million Tuaregs, although an accurate census does not exist. They are spread out over 5 countries: Mali, Algeria, Libya, Niger and Burkina Faso. They have a very complex clan and tribal structure, at the top of which you have 5 large confederations which are then broken down into tribes, then clans and families etc. It’s very complex. They don’t all see eye-to-eye and historically they have fought against each other, sometimes very bitterly. The idea of a Tuareg identity is a relatively recent phenomenon. Up till about 50 years ago, they did not see themselves as a unified people, they saw themselves as different families, tribes and clans – nomads from different parts of the desert who often fought against each other.

Q: So who are the MNLA?

A: The MNLA are basically led by Tuaregs from the north-east of Mali, especially by two particular clans, called the Iforas and Idnan. The Iforas are the traditional rulers of north-eastern Mali. The Idnan are also a traditional warrior clan, bearing in mind that their society is very hierarchical and each clan had its different role. All of these old structures have been modified and deconstructed over the last one hundred years, but basically these two groups, the Iforas and the Idnan, are very much at the head of the MNLA. Support for the MNLA amongst Tuaregs is quite broad, partly as a result of the MNA’s propaganda and certainly before this latest conflict happened, I got the feeling from talking to various friends, that a lot of Tuaregs felt that at last they had a rebel organisation that was worthy of their cause. However they do not represent all Tuaregs by any means, and even less, all the people living in the north of Mali, where there are quite a number of different ethnicities apart from the Tuareg, including Arabs, Songhai and Peulh. All I can say is that it’s been along time since a rebel movement has enjoyed the level of support that the MNLA have, but this support is by no means universal.

Q: Is there any internal opposition?

A: There is one group that is seemingly opposed to the MNLA and they are called the Inghad. They are the former subordinate or ‘vassal’ class in the old hierarchical structure, subordinate to the more noble Idnan and Iforas Tuaregs. Many of the Inghad were in favour of the Tuareg lands becoming part of the Republic of Mali, as the socialist principles upon which the Malian Republic was built meant that they were freed from their subservient status in Tuareg society. One of the most frequently touted names in this conflict is a Tuareg military commander called Colonel al-Hajj Gamou. He has been the Malian army’s champion in the north-east for quite a number of years and he is an Inghad, from one of these vassal tribes. Ag Gamou has been built up as the defender of the Malian cause in the north. Apart from the Libyan Tuareg presence in the MNLA, there have also been a lot of desertions to the MNLA from the Malian army since December, as the Malian army did comprise a large number of Tuaregs. The actual number of people in the MNLA is difficult to gauge but I am sure that the numbers are growing.

Q: What are the aims of the MNLA?

A: They want a country of their own, a country called Azawad, which will comprise the three northernmost provinces or regions of present-day Mali – Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal. There has long been a debate within Tuareg society about what they want; autonomy within a federalist Malian structure or a completely independent state. After the last big rebellion in the early 1990s, when the suffering among the civilian population was quite extreme, many Tuaregs fell back to a more conciliatory position, saying that they did not want an independent country but wanted their rights; cultural rights and economic rights. This position has hardened in recent years to the point where the MNLA want absolute independence for Azawad, the long-dreamed-of Tuareg state.

…

By saying that they are only interested in Mali, the MNLA are trying to limit the fear and concern of neighbouring states that a Tuareg uprising in Mali will lead to Tuareg uprisings elsewhere in all the 5 other countries where Tuareg are present.“

Morgan continues to describe in more detail why the nearby countries are extremely nervous about the situation. He speaks about the reasons for the coup, and the very real grievances the Malian military had against their government. He discusses the origin and nature of Ansar al Din, and the links and frictions between it and the MNLA, and the AQIM. Morgan describes how AQIM’s kidnapping and drug running destroyed tourism and related business in northern Mali. This led to bad feelings towards AQIM. Morgan discusses how during peaceful times, Malians and the Tuareg generally get along pretty well. And he discusses the tensions between Mali and Mauritania.

Ansar al Din probably caused Alexandra at Libya360 to write:

“I have been expressing concern for Tuareg for several months. My research uncovered two parallel movements. One, a genuine uprising of the Tuareg. The other, an imperialist-backed initiative aimed and manufacturing consent for the takeover of another African nation and the genocide of the Tuareg.

The US and the French have had their Special Operations forces in northern Mali and neighboring countries for most of this century, and the French long before that. The French have been particularly active in Niger. The US has used this time to create a decade of lies in order to establish the GWOT in the Sahara and give some legitimacy to AQIM in order to justify anti-terrorism.”

Moeen Raoof writes:

“The conflict in Libya has had a devastating effect in Niger and Mali where the nomadic Tuareg peoples in the Sahara Desert regions of northern Niger and Mali and southern Libya have been involved in a spate of kidnappings and armed uprisings known as the ‘Tuareg rebellion’. This is especially dangerous for northern Niger in and around the town of Arlit, an industrial town located in the Agadez region, where uranium is mined by French companies in two large uranium mines (Arlit and Akouta).

…

Put simply, this is about Uranium to be found in the Tuareg areas of Mali, Niger and Libya, the next step will be UN/ECOWAS/NATO Peace-keepers, Military intervention and killing of thousands of Tuaregs.”

Not only is uranium an issue, oil is in the picture as well. As Andy Morgan puts it:

“Q: What about oil and gas? Is the area strategic in terms of its mineral resources?

A: Yes, one thing that has been happening in the last 5 years is that northern Mali has been explored, and parcelled off as lots for oil drilling. Those lots have already been sold off – and I should say this is where things get very murky and where some serious investigative journalism needs to be done. Total, the French oil company, were involved in the exploration, as were the Qatar Petroleum Company. As we know, both Qatar and France were heavily involved in the overthrow of Gaddafi and many Malian commentators see a conspiracy theory in which France (remembering that France and the Tuaregs did try and set up a Tuareg state back in the ’50s prior to Malian independence which was quashed by the FLN in Algeria and the leaders of independent Mali) have always rued the fact that they lost all their colonies and access to the rich minerals in northern Mali. So many Malians see the Tuareg rebellion as being engineered by the French.”

Energypedia provides an outline of Mali’s oil blocks, and this piece of information from October 2011:

“Algerian state energy group Sonatrach will start long-awaited drilling for oil in Mali’s section of the Taoudeni Basin by mid-2012, the company’s managing director said on Malian state radio. Sonatrach signed a deal for oil exploration in Mali in 2007, but progress has been slow in the basin, which straddles Mali, Algeria and Mauritania. The area is overrun by gunmen, some of whom are linked to al Qaeda”

The Taoudeni Basin in Mali, which extends far into Mauritania, and somewhat into Algeria, is thought to be the location of significant reserves of oil.

There is an interview with a spokesman for the MNLA from March 28 at Afrik.com

MNLA : « L’indépendance ne se donne pas, elle se mérite, google translation here. Mossa Ag Attach, communications officer for the MNLA tells us in the interview that the MNLA is determined to control (free) the three northern cities, Kidal, Gao, and Timbuktu. He indicates the MNLA is happy to negotiate so long as the government of Mali will respect Azawad independence. You can check for more from the source at the MNLA website.

The international community is hyping the threat of terror, linking it to the Tuareg victories in the north of Mali. But if Mali’s army and political elite have been a more active partners and participants with AQIM’s drug smuggling and criminal endeavors, the Tuareg may make life more difficult for AQIM, and cost some big people money. Also, how does the quest for oil and uranium interact with AQIM’s criminal endeavors?

The north of Mali is hostile and unfamiliar to soldiers from the south. ECOWAS has spoken of sending troups, but getting actual troop commitments is chancy, and no way guaranteed.

If the upper echelons of Mali’s army and political elite are allied with AQIM, and the US knows this, then all the train and equip is another example of the US knowingly partnering with the perpetrators, and actively concealing the truth. What is the goal of such a policy?

Be sure to read the entire article, The Causes of the Uprising in Northern Mali by Andy Morgan. I only included a small portion here. He covers many more aspects of the recent history and the present situation.

Check the interview as well Mali’s Tuareg Rebellion.

Earlier posts by Crossed Crocodiles relevant to this topic:

Inherent contradictions of AFRICOM – lies and illusions

US Policy Versus Democracy In Mali

Lied Into the War On Terror In the Sahara

New York Times catapults the propganda for AFRICOM

Obama’s African Rifles – Partners/Surrogates/Proxies

Supplying Arms and Military Training – The US Gift to Africa

h/t David/Daoud

h/t Joerg Tiedjen

for informative links

Crossed Crocodiles

We are currently building our Working Committee on Mumia AbuJamal and would be happy if anyone is interested.

Pan-Africanist International Ali-Masmadi Jehu-Appiah, <panafricanistbriefs@gmail.com>  And Or,

: Peter Terryn, <pterryn@yahoo.com>

Special Programme- Last Saturday of Campaign Before Anniversary:
CONFERENCE: International Video Conference,
SCREENING: ‘In Prison My Whole Life’
CONCERTS and MUSIC

The great tide of history flows, and as it flows it carries to the shores of reality the stubborn facts of life and man’s relations, one with another. One cardinal fact of our time is the momentous impact of Africa’s awakening upon the modern world. The flowing tide of African nationalism sweeps everything before it and constitutes a challenge to the colonial powers to make a just restitution for the years of injustice and crime committed against our continent.

But Africa does not seek vengeance. It is against her very nature to harbor malice.

-  Kwame Nkrumah . [See: "Pan-African Leader Kwame Nkrumah In His Own Words & His Son Gamal Nkrumah Reflects On His Father’s Legacy http://bit.ly/qtqDE0

For us, unfortunately, this is just the tip of an iceberg. Trayvon Martin, a young African-American boy of seventeen years old, was shot and killed on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida by George Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighbourhood watchman. Trayvon who was visiting his fiancée had just gone out to a local store to buy some candy and ice tea.

He was not armed. Trayvon is stalked by a relatively heavy built George Zimmerman, who is armed. The very fact of following Trayvon was already against the law. More  so, this is against the express instructions by the police not to do so! George Zimmerman had determined that Travon was "suspicious", and complained to the police, using expletives that "they always get away!", and confronted the unarmed young boy, shot him and killed him.

It is outrageous enough that this could happen, but it is even more outrageous that the murderer is still free! We find it extremely alarming that this is happening in a country that likes to pride itself as a champion of human rights in the world, and even goes to the extent of interfering militarily in the affairs of other nations in the name of human rights, the rule of law, and Justice for all.

As Pan-Africanists, we follow the advice of Africa's man of the millennium, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, when he admonishes us as follows: "Finally, we must encourage and utilise to the full those still all too few yet growing instances of support for liberation and anti-colonialism inside the imperialist world itself." [See: Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of imperialism by Kwame Nkrumah http://bit.ly/i6AnzR] We need to let Uncle Sam take a deep look at himself, and come to terms with the fact that it takes more than cosmetic changes in the skin of the President, to begin to proclaim a post-racial America, and to deal effectively with racism, racial profiling, criminalization of the African youth, and the prison industrial complex.

Charity, they say, begins at home. Before they come preaching to us about whom we should have sex with, as though the most important problem facing Africa is who sleeps with who. We oppose its neo-liberal agenda driven by its handmaidens – the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This agenda allocates costs to the public purse, and hands profits to private interests. It has and continues to widen the gap between the rich and the poor, to subvert the sovereignty and democratic will of peoples and nations everywhere.

The minimum that is expected from the United States of America is the respect for the human rights of her own citizens. The rate at which these stories are spring up is extremely alarming. And it is about time that America took care of our brothers and sisters in America, if they really mean well to Africa. Where is the confidence if even this is the treatment being meted out to her own citizens. We did not see much complaint from the US when the NTC was maltreating Black African migrant workers in Libya, during and after the war. Even though it is clear that at the time President Gbagbo was being indicted, the ICC had documented 48 cases of death in which he was “suspected” of involvement. It is instructive to note that the ICC is more than aware of the fact that within a spate of three days, 1600 innocent people massacred there by the pro-Ouattarra forces, carried out a systematic massacre of civilians in Duekuoue, in the Western part of La Cote d’Ivoire, and confirmed by numerous independent sources.

The rebel movement that carried out these atrocities have a clear leader and an accomplice in the one in whose name they were fighting, the one who paid the piper and called the tunes, Allhassan Ouatarra. His rebels were under the command of Guillaume Sorro, who later became Allhassan Ouattara’s Prime Minister. There has been a wall of silence as to what steps the ICC is taking even to attempt to investigate these crimes. The ICC appears to be so effectively biased as to show no interest whatsoever in bringing the perpetrators of these horrible crimes to Justice because, like Zimmerman, they are the hands of a system that gives them protection for what they are doing to us! Whilst the ICC was busy preparing for the prosecution of President Laurent Gbagbo, Guilliaume Sorro, only received a letter of congratulations from the ICC, upon his appointment as the Prime Minister of La Cote d’Ivoire. To make matters worse, the ICC has even threatened that they will only try President Laurent Gbagbo, and “not do the rebels” simply because of budget cuts.

The level of impunity is alarming! As Jeremiah Taterssall of the University of Florida,  put it the other day, ”A man that needed help got a bullet instead. It’s so sad that this is still happening. Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. was on Democracy Now today and gave a powerful testimony. http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/29/killed_at_home_white_plains_ny. This is what happens when a society combines gross militarism, the politics of perpetual fear, and institutionalized racism. Chamberlain is another Adu-Brempong who is another Oscar Grant, who is another Troy Davis who is another Trayvon Martin.”

And this is for you, Brother Mumia Abu Jamal, even as we march for Justice for Trayvon Martin, we do not forget you! On the contrary we feel strengthened with the conviction that we know you are with us in spirit and in truth! The candles are many, but the light remains the same. We have the pleasure to share with our Facebook friends an interviews conducted by Peter Terryn of Iamwe please see his work on The History of MOVE as told by Ramona Africa http://on.fb.me/Ide3re, and also, http://iamwe.be/ and an expert on our special Working Committee »Towards…OCCUPY FOR MUMIA & END MASS INCARCERATION April 24th, 2012, 58th Birthday Anniversary of Mumia Abu Jamal! Minister of Agitation interviewed Mumia Abu-Jamal  We are with you!

Above all else, our hearts go to the grieving family in these extremely difficult and painful moments. We insist on stating firmly that we stand firmly with them in demanding Justice for Trayvon. If we don’t do that for our own, who will do it for us?

Above all else, our hearts go to the grieving family in these extremely difficult and painful moments. We insist on stating firmly that we stand firmly with them in demanding Justice for Trayvon. If we don’t do that for our own, who will do it for us?

“We have to prove that greatness is not to be measured in stockpiles of atom bombs. I believe strongly and sincerely that with the deep-rooted wisdom and dignity, the innate respect for human lives, the intense humanity that is our heritage, the African race, united under one federal government, will emerge not as just another world bloc to flaunt its wealth and strength, but as a Great Power whose greatness is indestructible because it is built not on fear, envy and suspicion, nor won at the expense of others, but founded on hope, trust, friendship and directed to the good of all mankind.”  Kwame Nkrumah, [See: I Speak of Freedom http://bit.ly/I7rC03]

In demanding Justice for Trayvon, we affirm the human rights of all!

Justice for Trayvon!

For Life, the Environment, and Social Justice!

Social Media Outreach
Pan-Africanist International – a grammar of Pan-Africanism and its manners of articulation.

BBC reports that “Mr Mutharika, 78, suffered a cardiac arrest on Thursday and state media said he was being treated in South Africa. Medical and government officials said on Friday that he was dead but there was no formal announcement, leading to fears of a power-struggle.” It is perhaps no exaggeration that a power struggle took place owing to the very special circumstances under which this drama is taking place. Xinhua reports on April 6  that:

“The Malawi government on Friday night declared that Vice President Joyce Banda illegible to take over the reigns of leadership in any event that President Mutharika is incapacitated or deceased as per the constitutional requirement citing the fact that she formed her own party as the reason.”

On the same day, the Malawi Chief Justice Lovemeore Munlo told senior government officials that they would have to transfer power to Vice President Joyce Banda as per constitutional requirement following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika.

We are posting this to elicit views and possible solutions to the perceived problem. For those interested in the maintenance of the status quo, anything that can prolong the interim status of Jean Ping’s African Union Commission should be a welcoming news. But for those of us looking for a positive change in the way the African Union is run, this is a major set-back. How are we to ensure the exit of the French puppet, Monsieur Jean Ping? They have already questioned Malawi’s preparedness to host the AU Summit, scheduled for the June 23-30, 2012 in Lilongwe, Malawi. The first person to kick against it was Malawi’s Vice-President and bizarre “opposition leader”, Joyce Hilda Banda! Does this mean the fate of the forth-coming AU Summit is now in the balance? In whose interest is that going to serve? Is the Jean Ping controlled AUC making any alternative arrangements to ensure a successful summit come June 23rd?

What would hosting an AU Summit without Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir mean to the resolve of the African Union to ignore the arrest warrant by the ICC?
President Bingu wa Mutharika. was prepared to respect the wishes of the AU rather than those of the imperialists. Under intense diplomatic and economic pressure by the US not to host President Omar Al-Bashir, the Malawi Presidential spokesperson Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba told zodiak online that “Malawi can not speculate if it will stop the Sudanese President from visiting Malawi or not.” Asked why Malawi allowed Mr. Al-Bashir during the COMESA summit in 2011 when other African countries refuse to host the indicted president, Dr. Ntaba said Malawi makes her own decisions. “Such countries are free do that but Malawi hosted him during the COMESA because the African Union recognizes him. The AU agreed to continue inviting Mr. Al-Bashir so he is welcomed by the entire continent”.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued two arrest warrants against President Omar Al-Bashir to answer about 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, but Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Professor Peter Mutharika said the whole government machinery needs to sit down to decide whether to allow, deny entry or arrest al-Bashir if he comes again.

“I am just a Foreign Minister. I am too small for this. This is a big decision. The entire government has to meet to decide. Let’s wait and see what happens,” said Mutharika when asked whether government will take another risk to upset donors by allowing al-Bashir into the country in July.

As a signatory to the ICC’s statute, Malawi is obligated to execute the world court’s warrant and arrest the Sudanese leader on its soil, but the country failed to do so when al-Bashir came for the Comesa summit in October last year. Currently, Malawi is facing a case with ICC which in December reported the country to UN Security Council because it failed to cooperate with the court. The decision by Malawi to invite al-Bashir to a trade summit last October was also part of the concerns that led to the suspension of K58.5 billion (about $350 million) Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) energy grant last week.

Is the Joyce Banda Administration ready and willing to host the summit? Is she ready to accept all accredited AU delegations to Malawi, including Sudan’s president? Is the independence of the African Union at stake? President Bingu wa Mutharika was strongly opposed by the imperialists, Joyce Banda is apparently a darling. The United States declared recently that “Malawi government will affect its chances to get back to the  US$ 350.7 million worth of assistance  meant to revitalise the country’s faltering energy sector if it will hosts fugitive Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir at the June’s Africa Union summit.”

Conflict of interest and a successful AU Summit?

It is not clear why the 18th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa chose to disregard clear provisions in its own Constitutive Act which asks for the replacement of the failed candidate, Jean Ping, by African Union’s Deputy Commissioner, Erastus Mwencha. The story was that this was a compromise, under the condition that Jean Ping was not going to contest the post afterwards. Strangely after the decision, the first thing we heard was that Jean Ping was rather going to contest, whilst South Africa’s Home Minister, Dr. Dlamini-Zuma was not. Of course, coming from the Voice of America, we took this with a pinch of salt and were subsequently vindicated. The problem that arises with Jean Ping in the seat as acting Chairperson of the AU and an interested party in the forth-coming contest, produces serious conflict of interest. The summit can be organized without any hitches, if Jean Ping is assured of winning. and it is vulnerable to sabotage if Jean Ping is not sure of victory.

What might seem to matter to the Jean Ping camp is how to stay in office beyond the June summit. No summit means continuity, so that would be a logical option for a failed candidate who is not sure of his future in a successful summit.  Is it not about time that another venue is scheduled for the Summit? Do we trust the AUC to do the right thing?

Bingu wanted to host the AU summit, Joyce Banda did not!

Malawi Vice President Joyce Banda is on record to have asked Pressident Bingu wa Mutharika “to eat a humble pie and inform the African Union that the country which is facing economic challenges cannot afford to host the summit of Heads of State and Government scheduled in June.” Banda said the resources which would be used for the summit can be channelled to other pressing issues affecting the country such as buying medical drugs and paying civil servants. www.nyasatimes.com reported that “Speaking at Kasiya in Lilongwe, Banda said government cannot afford to host 54 African countries when people in the country are facing a lot of problems including a looming hunger and that people in Lower Shire need relief following flooding.” The Vice President was quoted as saying, “I humbly appeal to government not to host the coming African Union summit but rather use the money to supply drugs in hospitals, buy ambulances and improve our economy,”

“There is no money to waste, there is still six months to go they can find another venue in the continent,” she added as the crowds cheered.

Soliman Bouchuiguir, former president of the Libyan League for Human Rights with symbiotic ties to the National Transitional Council, generated the pack of lies that justified NATO’s war allegedly to protect the Libyan population. He is currently the new Libyan ambassador to Switzerland.

• - Gen. Wesley Clark. Retired 4-star US Army general. Supreme Allied Commander of NATO during the Kosovo War. [See: Gen. Wesley Clark Weighs Presidential Bid: "I Think About It Everyday" http://bit.ly/xKO56Y @democracynow.]

AMY GOODMAN: Now, let’s talk about Iran. You have a whole website devoted to stopping war.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Www.stopiranwar.com.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you see a replay in what happened in the lead-up to the war with Iraq — the allegations of the weapons of mass destruction, the media leaping onto the bandwagon?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, in a way. But, you know, history doesn’t repeat itself exactly twice. What I did warn about when I testified in front of Congress in 2002, I said if you want to worry about a state, it shouldn’t be Iraq, it should be Iran. But this government, our administration, wanted to worry about Iraq, not Iran.

I knew why, because I had been through the Pentagon right after 9/11. About ten days after 9/11, I went through the Pentagon and I saw Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz. I went downstairs just to say hello to some of the people on the Joint Staff who used to work for me, and one of the generals called me in. He said, “Sir, you’ve got to come in and talk to me a second.” I said, “Well, you’re too busy.” He said, “No, no.” He says, “We’ve made the decision we’re going to war with Iraq.” This was on or about the 20th of September. I said, “We’re going to war with Iraq? Why?” He said, “I don’t know.” He said, “I guess they don’t know what else to do.” So I said, “Well, did they find some information connecting Saddam to al-Qaeda?” He said, “No, no.” He says, “There’s nothing new that way. They just made the decision to go to war with Iraq.” He said, “I guess it’s like we don’t know what to do about terrorists, but we’ve got a good military and we can take down governments.” And he said, “I guess if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem has to look like a nail.”

So I came back to see him a few weeks later, and by that time we were bombing in Afghanistan. I said, “Are we still going to war with Iraq?” And he said, “Oh, it’s worse than that.” He reached over on his desk. He picked up a piece of paper. And he said, “I just got this down from upstairs” — meaning the Secretary of Defense’s office — “today.” And he said, “This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.” I said, “Is it classified?” He said, “Yes, sir.” I said, “Well, don’t show it to me.” And I saw him a year or so ago, and I said, “You remember that?” He said, “Sir, I didn’t show you that memo! I didn’t show it to you!”

AMY GOODMAN: I’m sorry. What did you say his name was?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: I’m not going to give you his name.

WATCH VIDEO http://www.democracynow.org/2007/3/2/gen_wesley_clark_weighs_presidential_bid

“‘Europe is today the only force capable of carrying forward a project of civilization. … America and China have already begun the conquest of Africa. How long will Europe wait to build the Africa of tomorrow? While Europe hesitates, others advance.”

Not wanting to be left behind, Dominique Strauss-Kahn around the same time expressed his desire for a Europe stretching “from the cold ice of the Arctic in the North to the hot sands of the Sahara in the South (. . .) and that Europe, I believe, if it continues to exist, will have reconstituted the Mediterranean as an internal sea, and will have reconquered the space that the Romans, or Napoleon more recently, attempted to consolidate.”