By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Africa is making progress in the war on terrorism with the help of the United States, but that effort could be undercut by the spread of HIV/AIDS among militaries, says the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) deputy commander, Air Force General Charles Wald.

The South African military, one of the most professional on the continent, "is doing a good job" meeting its peacekeeping commitments in places like Burundi, Wald said, but miscalculations in its purchase of weapons systems -- it could probably have used more air transport and fewer submarines -- and the high rate of HIV/AIDS infection among its troops are causing a severe drain on its future capabilities.

Wald made his comments at a briefing to journalists at the Foreign Press Center in Washington March 8 following a recent trip to the continent that included stops in Ghana, Algeria, Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, Namibia, Gabon, Sao Tome, Niger and Tunisia, which are among the 93 countries in Europe and north and sub-Saharan Africa that are fall within the range of EUCOM, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.

Wald said he was heartened by the consultations he had with top civilian and military officials, noting that "every place I go in Africa, where we talk about the war on terrorism, there is a resonance and an agreement that we have something in common." The threat that extremists pose to democratically elected governments is "universally understood," he said, and there is general agreement that we must confront these threats together.

Africa's profile within EUCOM has been raised, Wald said, in part by the illegal trade in "blood or conflict diamonds" from places like Sierra Leone, that have spurred great interest among terrorist organizations like al Qaeda and Hizbollah as "a funding source in a huge way."

Such terrorist groups operating on the continent "have been disrupted quite a bit," Wald noted, in part because of U.S.-African military partnerships like the Pan Sahel Initiative (PSI). Under the program, administered by the State Department, U.S. Special Forces troops are training military units in Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad to provide better internal security and to patrol borders more effectively.

The general emphasized that efforts like PSI and the African Contingency Operations Training Assistance (ACOTA) program, which is intended to upgrade the peacekeeping and peace-enforcement skills of African militaries, are equal partnerships. This is "a good thing for two reasons," Wald said. "One, the United States can't and won't do it all ourselves -- we shouldn't -- it [international terrorism] is everybody's problem. And number two is it gives countries pride to know they have significant input in helping solve this problem."

ACOTA, which has taken a low profile among U.S. military training programs, has gotten more attention lately because "South Africa has recently stated they intend to request this training, which is a really good thing for all of us ... a positive step," Wald said. Recent discussions with South African commanders in Stuttgart have convinced him that "over the last 14 months the relationship between the United States and the South African military has flourished. We see significant benefit in training with them."

On peacekeeping efforts in general, Wald said: "We think the regional approach ... is good. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a very good example of how collective security can work on the continent. The ECOWAS success in Liberia ... led by Nigeria and with troops from nine African countries ... is a great example of Africans helping themselves... a model of how things can work in Africa."

But that model is being undermined severely by HIV/AIDS, which is a "huge issue" now in Africa, according to Wald, even as the U.S. Department of Defense is devoting more than $20 million toward AIDS assistance for several African countries, including South Africa.

"This is a readiness issue for the continent's militaries," he said. "For example, in South Africa there are 75,000 people in the military. They have a significant AIDS incidence ... that means they can't deploy many of their people. Therefore, that military is not able do some of their [peacekeeping] missions. And we want South African militaries to do their missions; we want to help them do that."

Despite problems and challenges facing its military, South Africa remains important to America, Wald said, because "other countries in Africa are looking for leadership from South Africa -- their military as well as government. [But] I think for things to go the way we hope they will [in Africa], South Africa is going to have to play a significant part and be engaged. And they are going to have to transform their military to do that. And we'll help from the standpoint of intellectual capital, training and discussion" of problems like AIDS.

As for a direct U.S. military presence on the continent, Wald said: "We're interested in having forward operating locations" for stopping and refueling in Africa's vast distances. After all, he noted, "The continent of Africa is huge -- from Stuttgart to Cape Town is 6,500 miles -- the same distance as from Stuttgart to Los Angeles."

Asked by an Algerian journalist if he discussed a U.S. base with officials during his visit to Algiers, Wald said, "We are not interested in building a permanent base in Algeria." He added, however, that he was looking forward to an upcoming meeting with the North African military chiefs of staff in Stuttgart -- the first of its kind in the history of EUCOM.