Commentary Examines French Military Commitment in Somalia

Commentary Examines French Military Commitment in Somalia LeMonde.fr Friday, October 16, 2009 Commentary by Philippe Bernard: "Paris Uses Fight Against Al-Qaeda to Justify Its Involvement" Why does France now appear to be on the front line in the attempt to getSomalia out of chaos? The question was hardly raised until 14 July. However, it was revealed on that date that two French agents had been abducted by Islamist groups in Mogadishu (only one of whom has since been released). The veil was thus lifted on this -- until then discreet and even secret -- commitment. Paris is not satisfied with merely supporting Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the president of the fragile Federal Transition Government (GFT), politically. Rather, it intends to give him "concrete assistance," in other words, military. This involves "stabilizing this country, preventing al-Qaeda from propagating and a center of instability from spreading," an official source now explains, while distinguishing this military aid from French involvement in the European counter-piracy measures. "France will not let al-Qaeda establish a sanctuary at our door, in Africa," hammered Nicolas Sarkozy in front of the ambassadors on 26 August, as he explicitly targeted the Sahel and Somalia. Officially, Paris does not intervene on Somali territory, which remains fatally associated with the 18 American soldiers killed by insurgents` bullets in 1993, even though the abduction of two French nationals revealed a discreet French presence. Initially, starting in May, France helped "put together a Somali government security force." This was reportedly a matter of training a bodyguard unit for the president, a mission in which the two abducted agents allegedly took part. "This is a way for France to get close to the center of power without a major financial investment," analyzes an informed observer. "Embryo of an Army" However, Paris did not stop here. The resumption of Islamist offenses onMogadishu since spring encouraged it to launch a program to train 500 soldiersat the end of July. The first phase of this program, concerning 150 men, has just been completed. According to Paris, this "embryo of a Somali army" is not being trained on Somali territory but in Djibouti, where the French have a military base. It is assured that France`s contribution is limited to this military training and does not include supplying weapons. The United States is discreetly arming the GFT and it should ensure that the soldiers thus trained will continue to be paid. The loyalty and combativeness of men recruited in this manner remains uncertain in the chaos of a country left to the devices of clan militias."Soldiers are being trained without a thought being given to the political context in which they are going to be employed," criticizes Roland Marchal, a specialist on the region at the "Sciences Po`s" Center for International Studies and Research (CERI). His prognosis, supported by past experience, is somber: "The trained soldiers will split up into three parts: one will join the Islamist opposition, the other will prefer to stay home because its pay will not have reached it; only the last third will fight to defend the government." The academic also underscores the vagueness surrounding the consequences of the French initiative, particularly the lack of a relay from the European Union (EU). France`s partners suspect it of wanting to get them to fund an operation aimed at developing their very strategic base in Djibouti. Moreover,the French minister of defense, Herve Morin, proposed (putting forward the "threat" to "European security") on 6 October that the EU extend France`s "pioneering initiative" by funding the training of 3,000 additional Somali soldiers. People in Nicolas Sarkozy`s entourage underscore that the survival of the frail Somali government, threatened by Islamists, is a precondition for all political efforts and that "France, for its part, is active." The fact that this "action" has not been the object of the least public debate does not seem to pose a problem. (Description of Source: Paris LeMonde.fr in French -- Website of Le Monde, leading center-left daily; URL: http://www.lemonde.fr) © Compiled and distributed by NTIS, US Dept. of Commerce. All rights reserved. Italian Commentary: London Times Taliban Payment Story `Full of Errors,` `Lies` Il Giornale Friday, October 16, 2009 Commentary by Fausto Biloslavo: "A Phony Scoop Full of Errors and Lies" Bribes for the Taliban, paid by Italy`s secret services in Afghanistan, allegedly cost 10 French soldiers their lives when they were killed in an ambush last year. This slanderous allegation was made by the aristocratic Times of London yesterday in an article that quite simply does not hold water. "Garbage" is what Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa called it, ordering his lawyers to sue the British daily. According to the Times, our intelligence paid "tens of thousands of dollars to Taliban commanders and local warlords to keep calm" the area of Sorobi, located 70 km to the southeast of Kabul. Just under 200 Italian troops manned a base at Tora, an outpost in eastern Afghanistan, from December 2007 through July 2009. The aim of the payments was to prevent attacks on the Italian troops and casualties, "which would have caused political difficulties at home." In actual fact, there were fully eight clashes that left one dead and five injured among our own and Afghan forces. Warrant Officer Giovanni Pezzulo was killed in the infamous Uzbin valley, a Taliban stronghold, on 13 February. The Times even gets the date of his death wrong, claiming that it occurred in 2007. Milan-born Sergeant Davide Lunetta, with the 4th Alpine Paratroopers` Regiment, was decorated by NATO as noncommissioned officer of the year for the courage he displayed on that day, and he was awarded a medal at the Quirinale (Italian president`s official residence) on 3 November. In another battle, the Bolzano Rangers saved the precious technology of a USdrone that had crashed, from the Taliban`s clutches. Alpine General Alberto Primicerj ended up in an ambush while inspecting the Sorobi area on 3 February. So much for the "calm" area described the Times thanks to bribes paid by our intelligence services. And that is not all: The Sorobi task force confiscated about 100 hidden weapons stores and hundreds of kilograms of drugs. The Palazzo Chigi (Italian prime minister`s official residence) stressed in a communique that "the government has never authorized or permitted any kind of monetary payment to members of the insurgency of Taliban inspiration inAfghanistan, nor does it have cognizance of any such initiatives enacted by the previous government." A far from secondary aspect is relegated to one of the last few lines in the Times report. The center-right won the election in April 2008 and the government took office on 8 May. (Former Prime Minister) Romano Prodi was in the driver`s seat up until that date and orders forAfghanistan came from (then) Defense Minister Arturo Parisi. According to the Times, Italian intelligence "hid" the Taliban payoff from the French who took over in August2008. The most slanderous charge is that 10 French soldiers ended up getting caught in an ambush on account of that failure and were slaughtered in the infamous Uzbin valley on 18 August. Yesterday Admiral Christophe Prazuck, a spokesman for the French General Staff, branded the Times report as "groundless," and NATO issued a denial too. In actual fact, our allies were well aware of the situation in Sorobi. Our men informed the French officers, when handing over command to them in early August 2008, that they should "take special care in the Uzbin valley," the most dangerous part of Sorobi. The Times argues that US intelligence officers "were flabbergasted when they discovered, through wiretaps, that the Italians had `bought` the militants also in Herat province." This, to the point where their representative in Rome is said to have protested with the Berlusconi government in June 2008. The Palazzo Chigi "rules out the allegation that the ambassador of the United States (Ronald Spogli at the time-- Il Giornale editor`s note) lodged a formal complaint in connection with hypothetical payments" to the Taliban. The Times is unaware of the fact that there is a classified NATO document where the Sorobi case is indicated as a successful model to be imitated. And that document is signed precisely by a British officer. The Italian intelligence agents` job in Sorobi was to "facilitate" the contingent`s security. To do this, they had to obtain intelligence, which costs money because a friendly pat on the back is not enough in Afghanistan. All of the allied intelligence services do it. It takes a huge leap of the imagination to go from that, to arguing that we were bribing the Taliban and that our doing so in secret caused the poor French soldiers` deaths. And that is not all: The Sorobi task force troops used a different system rather than dollars. They took an engineer with them to build a well, they brought food on mules to villages isolated by the snow, and they built schools and first aid posts. In exchange, they received information regarding hidden weapons stores and explosive booby traps. (Description of Source: Milan Il Giornale in Italian -- right-of-center daily owned by the Berlusconi family)