World is at war, US official says

A senior US military official has said that a world war is under way and stressed it is essential for African states to eliminate terrorism. Delivering a speech in Addis Ababa on behalf of Brig Gen Mastin Robeson who commands the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CTJF-HOA), military adviser Marine Col Paul Melshen noted the need for a secure environment in the region. He was addressing a regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) conference on preventing and combating terrorism, which took place in the Ethiopian capital from 25-27 June. Robeson was accompanying Gen Tommy Franks, commander of the US Central Command, who visited Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea. “There should be no doubt, we are at war, and it is a world war," Melshen told ministers and top security officials from the IGAD countries. "There is simply no other name for it.” “In order for nations to truly develop and take their appropriate place on the world stage politically, socially, and economically, they must do so within a secure environment,” he said. “It will be impossible for African nations to develop to their vast potential and to take their long-deserved place at the leading edge of the hierarchy of states, unless they eliminate terrorism within their own countries." "International business and international investment are the superhighways to rapid development," he added. "Unless nations can provide a secure environment, international business simply will not invest their money in an environment wrought with fear and uncertainty.” He said the task force was ready to assist the Horn countries in any way possible to combat terrorism. "We are not concerned as to who does these operations or who gets the credit,” he said. The CTJF-HOA defines its sphere of operation as Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Yemen. IGAD member countries comprise Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.