Obama's State Department defends relationship with Rwanda in U.S. Congress

KPFA EVENING NEWS, 12.15.2012

William "Kip" Ward, center left, in gray camouflage, was the first AFRICOM (
U.S. Africa Command) commander.  Seen here with Rwandan Defense Minister James 
Kabarebe, center right, with Rwandan troops in Rwanda.  

The first AFRICOM  (U.S. Africa Command) commander is seen here in Rwanda, with Rwandan National Defense Minister James Kabarebe, whose command of the M23 militia fighting in Congo, has been documented in the latest UN Group of Experts report on the undeclared war known as "the Congo conflict." The Rwandan military is one of the Pentagon's most useful "military partners" on the African continent, but this aspect of the U.S. relationship to Rwanda - and Uganda, another useful Pentagon "military partner" - was not much discussed at the 12.11.2012 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.

The hearing was nevertheless important in that it acknowledged the truth of the UN Group of Experts report - that Rwanda and Uganda are not only "behind," but commanding and sending arms and soldiers to the M23 militia in eastern Congo.  For more on this undeclared war, see World Watches as Rwanda and Uganda Violently Assault and Dismember Congo, and more on the Black Star News, the San Francisco Bay View's Africa and the World section, and my website, anngarrison.com.

To sign a petition to ask UN Ambassador Susan Rice to back targeted sanctions against the top officials in Rwanda and Uganda, see change.org:  Susan Rice U.S. Ambassador To United Nations (212) 415-4050: Back UN Sanctions Against Kagame/Museveni for Backing M23 Terrorists

And, tune into KPFA's Morning Mix, with Sabrina Jacobs, from 8:00 to 9:00 A.M.Pacific time, on Monday morning, 12.13.2012.   KPFA 94.1fm-Berkeley, and streaming on the web at kpfa.org, in I-Tunes, and on the new Pacifica Radio Android and I-Phone app.