Stars and Stripes
AFRICOM pleased with Capitol Hill trip
No talk of budget cuts or restructuring during Gen. Ward’s appearance before House panel
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, March 29, 2009
Gen. William "Kip" Ward, Commander of the U.S. Africa Command.
STUTTGART, Germany — Gen. William "Kip" Ward couldn’t be blamed if he thought he was headed for a grilling from the congressional subcommittee that controls the purse strings for defense programs.
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Snippet(s):
"Following its rollout in 2007, AFRICOM has been engaged in something of a public relations war as it seeks to explain itself to people far and wide."
"Perhaps the lack of a showdown on Capitol Hill is a sign that the new command is making progress on the PR front. A Government Accountability Office report released this month noted that AFRICOM has made strides in its efforts to explain itself in Africa and to other U.S. agencies that feared a further militarization of U.S. foreign policy.
Still, skepticism persists about AFRICOM both in Africa and within U.S. diplomatic circles and nongovernmental aid groups, with which the command works in partnership, according to the GAO report. "
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"An African headquarters was part of the initial plan, announced by President George W. Bush in 2007, but the concept provoked a firestorm of controversy and suspicion in Africa about U.S. intentions on the continent. It didn’t take long for the military to abandon the idea, but suspicions linger."
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