Tag Archives: US
20 May 2014
On 17 May five West African countries agreed to a plan focusing on enhanced military cooperation and intelligence sharing with the purpose of combating the regional threat from Boko Haram, the extremist group which abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in northern Nigeria last month. The meeting was organised by French President Francois Hollande, at the request of Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Johnathan, and was also attended by the heads of state of Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Benin. Senior American, British and European diplomats were also present. (more…)
Source: The New York Times | West African Nations Set Aside Their Old Suspicions to Combat Boko Haram
13 May 2014
On 12 May, The Guardian reported that the British Ministry of Defence revealed that British officers are based on the US military base in Djibouti, from which drone strikes against presumed terrorists in Yemen are launched. According to the Minster of Defence Mark Francois, ‘[the three officers] work within the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and are responsible for planning and supporting US military operations in the region. As embedded military personnel within a US headquarters they come under the command and control of the US armed forces, but remain subject to UK law, policy and military jurisdiction.’ (more…)
Source: The Guardian | UK troops working with US military at base for Yemen drone operations
Source: Human Rights Watch | A Wedding That Became a Funeral - US Drone Attack on Marriage Procession in Yemen | 2014
13 May 2014
Every year since the International Court of Justice’s 1996 Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, the UN General Assembly has adopted by a large majority a follow-up resolution. Each resolution reiterates that ‘the continuing existence of nuclear weapons poses a threat to humanity and all life on Earth’, and underlines ‘the unanimous conclusion of the International Court of Justice that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control’. The ICJ derived this obligation from Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which provides that
[e]ach of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
On 24 April 2014 the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) instituted legal proceedings before the ICJ against nine nuclear weapons possessing states: France, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel, China, Russia and North Korea. (more…)
7 May 2014
On 5 May, the US signed a 20-year lease on its military base in Dijbouti, in the Horn of Africa. The focus of the talks between President Obama and the president of Dijbouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, were represented by the critical role played by Camp Lemonnier, a base of 4,000 American service members and civilians. The camp is the only American installation on the continent and represents a hub for training and counterterrorism operations in Yemen and Somalia, thus playing a critical role. (more…)
Source: The New York Times | U.S. Signs New Lease to Keep Strategic Military Installation in the Horn of Africa
3 May 2014
Despite weaker Al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan, Al Qaeda’s affiliates in Somalia, Syria, Yemen and West Africa are exerting increasing influence in their regions. According to a US State Department report that was released this Wednesday, this poses new challenges for American counterterrorism officials. (more…)
Source: The New York Times | Qaeda Affiliates Gain Regional Influence as Central Leadership Fades
Source: U.S. Department of State | Executive Summary | BUREAU OF COUNTERTERRORISM | Country Reports on Terrorism 2013 | 30 April 2014