From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: 3,000 US Troops, German War Planes In Kenya HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- "The start of "Edged Mallet" follows news last week that Germany wants to station navy planes in Mombasa, Kenya's chief port, to monitor shipping in the Indian Ocean as part of its contribution to the U.S.-led war on terror." 3,000 U.S. Troops Training in Kenya February 2, 2002 7:57 am EST NAIROBI (Reuters) - Three thousand U.S. troops were due to begin a joint military exercise with Kenya in the east African country's coastal region this weekend, a U.S. embassy spokesman said on Saturday. The exercise, known as "Edged Mallet," had been planned since before the Sept. 11 attacks rekindled Washington's interest in the region as a whole and Kenya's neighbor Somalia in particular. "They've been wanting to do something like this along the beach for a number of years, and they started planning it late last spring," said a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. The United States fears the lack of central authority in Somalia could make it an ideal haven for extremists and has launched a series of intelligence operations in the region to assess whether to target Somalia in its war on terror. The embassy spokesman said that "Edged Mallet" predated Washington's increased interest in Somalia and was part of an ongoing series of U.S.-Kenya military activities designed to help the two countries work together more efficiently. Three U.S. ships, including an amphibious assault craft, will be involved in the exercise, which is due to last several weeks. Kenyan ground forces will join about 1,000 Marines coming ashore for maneuvers in coastal military exercise grounds. Parts of the event will involve wargames-style training with small arms, while others will include humanitarian training such as building bridges or providing medical services, the spokesman said. The start of "Edged Mallet" follows news last week that Germany wants to station navy planes in Mombasa, Kenya's chief port, to monitor shipping in the Indian Ocean as part of its contribution to the U.S.-led war on terror. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
