Djibouti on the Frontline Our World

al`Shabab in Somalia, and Al Qaeda. He has been granted rare access to

the only military base in the area. In the Horn of Africa, America is

stepping up its military operations. It has been launching the long`range

missions, including sending special forces into hotspots. In its sights,

al`Shabab in Somalia, and Al Qaeda in Yemen. Attacks by these groups

have culminated in the horror of last year's Westgate siege in

Nairobi. Now, neighbouring Djibouti has become a vital US `based and

strategic springboard. I have been given rare access to it, to find out

how America is countering what it calls violent extremism. The real

reason we are here is to neutralise al`Shabab in Somalia. But does

Washington's formula for confronting terrorism, including its

controversial rowing programme, risk making Djibouti itself a target.

Whatever it takes, if we can contain these people, OK. If we can get rid

of them, it is better. `` drone programme.

Somalia in the 90s was a country in turmoil. Wrap by famine and

warlords. America and the UN deployed forces to try to resolve

the desperate situation, but it ended in disaster. In the Black Hawk

Down incident, US helicopters were shot down, 19 US soldiers, and

hundreds of Somalis were killed. The world's superpower abandoned the

Horn of Africa. Omission from this day forward is to increase our

strength, do our job, bring our soldiers out, and bring them home ``

our mission. Fast forward 21 years, and US boots are back on the ground.

Not in Mogadishu, but in nearby Djibouti, on this French base. Even

today, there are echoes of Black Hawk Down. Out on the flight line,

the modern`day equivalent, the rescue teams on permanent standby to

extract downed personnel in trouble. We can do this 24 hours a day. To be

able to go out in steer environments, over water, land or

mountains, sometimes at night, and peak folks at wherever they are.

Taking off with these men on a training mission gave the eclipse of

how much this place has expanded in recent years. `` gave me a glimpse.

It has grown to over 4000 people, including specialist operations,

flight crews, medics and officers from other countries like Uganda,

Spain, Korea and Japan. They are all part of a huge multinational

coalition garrisoned in this tiny rift Valley republic. `` Rift

Valley. Djibouti is strategically

positioned, bordering the red Sea's shipping lanes, the Gulf of Aden,

Somalia, and across the water, Yemen. Little wonder the country has

become the sole US military base in Africa. These rescue teams are

reservists, raised in Florida. `` based in Florida. They train

exhaustively to pick up downed crews on land and in water. You are long

way from home, thousands of miles from the US, why are you here in

Djibouti? We are here at the request of the combatant commanders, to

provide an insurance policy, if you will, for American coalition forces

that are here. It is a noble mission, a lot like being a

firefighter. You are waiting for someone else's unfortunate events to

happen. Crossing the sprawling base, I can see a lot of new construction

under way. The signs are that America is here to stay. Inside his

headquarters, I went to see the man in charge of US forces. You are the

commander here, what is the mission of US forces? Why are you here? The

real reason we are here is to neutralise al`Shabab in Somalia.

That is why I am sitting here so I can assist the other nations to

neutralise al`Shabab in Somalia, so it will not threaten a US interest,

or our country, the US, as a whole. Across the border, in Somalia,

forces fighting al`Shabab militants are from the African Union. The US

is helping train them to do the fighting. Some suggest that just by

being here, with US boots on the ground in a predominantly Muslim

area, that is quite provocative. OK, again, our presence here, and it is

not that big, is to enable our East African partners to neutralise the

threat, so they can build the defence capabilities and situations

that allow the neutralisation of the extremists within East Africa `` and

institutions. Djibouti's capital does not feel

like a city on the edge of a danger zone. Its markets are peaceful, its

people largely accepting of the multinational military presence

here. Perhaps not surprising in a country with a small population and

a very observant police force. Djibouti stopped being a French

colony more than 30 years ago, but you can still see echoes of the

colonial past here in the capital. The boulevards, the patisserie is,

the architecture. These days, it feels like a garrison town for the

whole of East Africa, for a lot of international forces. With the

consent of the Djibouti government, the French, Germans, Italians, even

the Japanese are still here. Unlike Yemen and Somalia, there is no

public sense of militant Islam or anti` Westerners and. `` Westerners.

I have been coming here for more than 20 years, and people have never

expressed any resentment against the presence of these forces. If

anything, the local economy depends on them. Amidst the local economy, a

small beacon of luxury. A well guarded international hotel playing

host that week to a counter terrorism conference, convened by

the US State Department. Delegates were flown in from Yemen

and Somalia. The US Commander was there to, but does Djibouti worry

that it could be making itself a target for militants? We feel that

Djibouti is one of the top targets of al`Shabab in the region. We have

already heard about threats from their leaders saying that they will

send hundreds of human bombs to Djibouti. They have stated a number

of times that they will target Djibouti, but we are taking

necessary measures to at least avoid those kinds of terrorist attacks.

One of those measures is highly controversial. Drones. Djibouti has

been letting America launched from territory since 2002. They have

killed the number of militant leaders, that they have also killed

civilians and deeply unpopular Yemen. I ask, ask Djibouti's Foreign

Minister if this worried him. Whatever it takes. If we can contain

them, OK. If we can get rid of them, it is better. We don't have to waste

time asking every time if we should use drones or not. I think we can't

afford that. We are really surrounded with that threat. We are

small countries, lacking technical capacities, and when the US and

others can provide those capacities, we never turn down the

offer. Also at the conference was a delegation from Yemen. It is post`

Arab Spring government is struggling to contain a resurgent Al Qaeda. I

asked Yemen's epic Interior Minister what he thought of the drone

programme. TRANSLATION: In truth, I praise America's efforts in fighting

terrorism with us, as long as the rest of the world. Terrorism is a

very serious problem. It has come to threaten the world's stability and

security. When drone strikes are wrong, and they sometimes do, they

kill innocent people and are completely counter`productive. The

drone was circling, and fired at the building. TRANSLATION: My son was

standing outside, he was badly injured and later died. 12 other

people were also killed. I was close to them. They were all civilians.

What is euphemistically called collateral damage, this has nurtured

and the western sentiment in Yemen, and risks winning new recruits for

Al Qaeda. This drone strike was roundly condemned by local human

rights groups. The Yemeni government, just like the Djibouti

government, is unequivocal about confronting the Al Qaeda threat.

TRANSLATION: The danger from Al Qaeda towards Yemen is that it

targets people above all other things. Killing people has been the

only goal of all operations carried out by them. The commander of US

forces does not run the drone programme. It is controlled directly

from the US. He still battered away any criticism of it. In any joint

task force we always worked very hard to have a capability that

allows us to work with special operations and enforce independence.

Going back to my mission, in protecting, we are worried about

protecting the good people of East Africa, and we are worried about how

do we create this momentum to build stability, to build more capacity to

allow these people to be able to help us neutralise the extremists.

Those two capabilities together allow us to do that.

The Americans have a special reason to focus on terrorism in this corner

of the world. This Nigerian, recruited by Al Qaeda in Yemen,

almost succeeded in bringing down a US airliner, using explosives hidden

in his underpants. Three times now his Al Qaeda trainers have managed

to smuggle explosive onto planes. But it is also the vital shipping

lanes that are of great concern. TRANSLATION: The whole world's trade

passes through the Gulf of Aden. It is a very important passage. Many

terrorist acts that have taken place in Somalia and Yemen have affected

the root of this great navigational passage. There was a need to

establish significant joint cooperation in the field of

counter`terrorism in this region. Port security is taken extremely

seriously by the Americans. They have effectively created an

exclusion zone around Djibouti Harbour. It is the US Navy, with

local permission, that patrols the approaches and guards US ships in

port. Over 20,000 vessels a year pass through the Gulf of Aden.

Potentially, rich pickings for pirates and terrorists. The US Navy

presence here is both a safeguard and a potential target. Our main

threat is terrorists. We try and interdict all ships coming in, and

determine those that are civilian and those that have a hostile intent

against Americans. How can you tell an innocent fishermen from someone

trying to blow you up? We have a continuum of force. It is something

we used to determine intent from someone who wants to do bad, to

someone who's just not aware of what is going on. By our general

presence, we have this craft, we make an aggressive posture, and from

there we go to an actual hail, where we would call the ship on the

loudhailer to let them know it is an exclusion zone. What you do it still

comes to you and you are suspicious? We can raise weapons. If they

disregard that, we can fire warning shots. If they ignore that, we can

use deadly force. You have plenty of that? We are more than willing ``

more than willing to stop any threat. Djibouti may have become a

sovereign nation since independence with France but when it comes to

security, the Americans take their jobs seriously. The amount of these

regular patrols day and night. They are afraid of the USS Cole being

repeated, when an Al Qaeda suicide bomber came up alongside the warship

and blew a hole in the side and killed 17 US sailors. The attack on

the USS Cole in Aden Harbour was a massive shock to Washington. This

was a $1 billion warship with state`of`the`art defences punctured

by a man in a boat pretending to sell vegetables. The US Navy stopped

calling it even bought. `` calling at even harbour. It was the attack

the next year which convinced the US to stop...

Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are

with us or you are with the terrorists. In the aftermath of 9/11

Mac, the Americans returned to the Horn of Africa. They reopened a

former French army camp as their base. Within weeks, I went to

Djibouti in 2003 to see what they were up to. `` 9/11. The US military

wanted us to see this. They have a specific message for Al Qaeda. It is

that now that the US has a base here it in the Horn of Africa, they can

call up massive firepower at short notice. However far forward it is

projected, it count always keep US missions say. The attack on the US

consulate in an Ghazi in Libya, resulting in the death of the US

ambassador and others, showed the bond ability of US diplomats in

unstable country. `` Benghazi. This is the Pentagon's response, and

you rapid reaction unit trained to protect diplomatic missions. To make

sure that Benghazi doesn't happen again. These men are from the East

African response force. It is a new US Army unit set up to respond at

short notice to crises flaring through the region. They are on six

hours notice to move. Some of these men have returned from Juba in South

Sudan where they rescued in South Sudan where they rescued the

Norwegian ambassador and a number of civilians. Our primary job is to be

able to respond to a crisis where they need additional security forces

to allow the ambassador to maintain his or her post so they can do State

Department functions. If the attack happened now, you would be able to

get your guys there in hours? I could get myself all marine

counterparts who can deploy a significant force to allow an entity

to be secured at least until the situation is stabilised or we are

asked to evacuate by the order of the President. When it comes to

rescuing its people from hotspots, there is another tool in the

Pentagon's box. The MV22, the Osprey. Is this a helicopter or a

plain? It is a little bit of it at both. We were told that when the

designers work breathed, they wanted to design something like a bird.

This is close. These have the engines in them and can tilt up and

come down. You can take off vertically? Yes, that is the magic.

Taking off vertically means you can take off and land in a wide number

of areas. In dust and snow and in travelling, you have efficiency and

speed. It is all magic. Let's look inside. OK. The Marines are a very

good with this machine`gun. It provides defensive suppressive fire.

We can shoot back at anybody firing at us. This is my office. It is

largely software driven. We can change the software are little bit.

Change the way the aircraft flies. We are able to leveraging that to

rapidly make adjustments to little techniques that we pick up overtime

to give us greater capability. Very, very versatile aircraft. Very

survival aircraft. You don't find yourself in a position where you

have something that is going to knock you out of the sky. It is

pretty safe. When you were being shot at, EU here that pings of the

bullets? Nothing like that. Nothing so dramatic. `` did you hear. We

have things in the aircraft that can tell you when something is shooting

at you. That was all it was. You notice that somebody is shooting at

you and there is nothing to it. The MV22 Is a bizarre and efficient

airborne taxi. It delivers the Marines who have to perform the

actual missions. I asked Captain Wallin what he was thinking when

Aramco is down. You have a lot of adrenaline and you are with me and

you can trust. You take a few deep breaths and everything will be OK.

There is uncertainty on the ground. There are surprises. Things you

don't plan for when you get on the ground. That type of adrenaline,

that type of uncertainty, that is what you really feel on the ground.

Especially when the rant comes down. And yet, across the border in

Somalia, al`Shabaab is still a force to be reckoned with. I put it to the

US commander that despite all his resources and hardware, the US has

not yet eradicated militant extremism in East Africa. In the 11

years since this joint task force was set up, let's look at the

numbers. Al`Shabaab has struck outside its borders in Kenya, at

Westgate it set off attacks in Ethiopian, it has blown up people in

Uganda. You have had Al Qaeda three times put explosives on planes and

in some cases, bound for the US. He doesn't seem to be stopping

terrorism? `` it. Again, though, that's why we're here our job...

This is the mission we have been given. This is what my country has

put me here for. We are continuing to work in this method. Not with us

sitting right here in partnership and teamwork that we are building

here we give you, Kenya, Uganda and the other teams here, working

through the African mission support to Somalia. Those things were in

place when Westgate happened and it still happens. This is a complex

environment. There are good days and bad days. This is a tough

environment. What I've learned over 30 years is to focus on what you can

do and what I can do is continue to work on the mission.

The Americans are loud asked to see one more aspect of their mission

here. `` allowed. Inserting special forces rescue

paratroopers into a drop zone. Trained to land in hostel territory,

they are quick to jump into the sea below. We were told that they had

been schooled in survival like navigation and how to resist

interrogation. These men would certainly be a prize

catch for al`Shabaab. Today, they are practising jumping into the Gulf

of aid and `` Gulf of Aden. After hitting the water, they are located

and picked up by the US Navy. The Americans are not alone in the skies

over Djibouti. This is a French helicopter, operating from a French

aircraft carrier. It is refuelling from this U.S. Air Force tanker.

This air to air refuelling is just one small part of the huge buildup

of US/ coalition military operations here in the corner of Africa. ``

Horn of Africa. Nothing I have seen in the air, on sea, or on land gives

any indication that Washington is pulling back from this region. If

anything, with the forces withdrawing from Afghanistan,

Djibouti is likely to grow in importance. I intend to determine

how we can continue to fight terrorism without keeping America on

a perpetual wartime footing. Our systematic effort to dismantle

terrorist organisations must continue.

Choosing peaceful Djibouti as the original springboard makes it

strategic sense for Washington. This country hosts the only permanent

military base in Africa for the Pentagon. But how much longer can

Djibouti stay in new from the violence which has blighted its

neighbours? `` stay immune. Hello. It has been on the cold side

for many of us but that is set to change over the weekend for most of

us. We will see temperatures rising. It will warm up. Dry and hazy

sunshine around. Brisk wind blowing in from the south`east. Some parts

will mist out on the warm weather. How will things go on