Friday, January 13, 2006

To fight Al Qaeda, US troops in Africa build schools instead | csmonitor.com

To fight Al Qaeda, US troops in Africa build schools instead | csmonitor.com: "CAMP LEMONIER, DJIBOUTI – Pointing to his computer screen, Maj. Gen. Timothy Ghormley sounds more like a Peace Corps volunteer showing off holiday photos than the shaven-headed US Marine entrusted with defeating Al Qaeda in East Africa.

'That's what it's about right there,' he says, stabbing his eyeglasses at the pictures of African children celebrating as water gushes from a new well. 'Look at those kids. They're gonna remember this. In 25 years they'll say, 'I remember the West - they were good.' '"

n 2002, more than 1,500 US troops were sent to this former French colony in East Africa to hunt followers of Al Qaeda throughout the region. Now, under General Ghormley, their mission has evolved to preempt the broader growth of Islamic militancy among the area's largely Muslim population.

"We are trying to dry up the recruiting pool for Al Qaeda by showing people the way ahead. We are doing this one village, one person at a time," says Ghormley, commander of the joint task force based in Djibouti. "We're waging peace just as hard as we can."

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