Special to the NNPA from the Global Information Network

Dec. 13 (GIN) – With the departure of U.S. troops from Iraq, Djibouti – a major U.S. ally – will be the “central location” in fighting terrorism, according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta during his visit this week to the north African nation.

 The U.S. base in Djibouti, which borders Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, has more than 3,500 military personnel, most of them assigned to combat terrorism in Somalia, Yemen and other flash points.

“We’ve made a hell of a lot of progress,” Defense Secretary Panetta told the troops this week in Camp Lemonnier Thunderdome.

 In addition to ground troops, American drones are launched from Djibouti against Al-Qaeda operatives in the region, according to Globalsecurity.org. The country was an active participant during the Bush years in the detention and rendition of detainees, and held prisoners until U.S. intelligence agents determined where next to send them, according to testimony by the International Crisis Group before the African Commission for Human and Peoples Rights.

 This month, Washington announced the opening of a new multi-building embassy for Djibouti, constructed by Caddell Construction Company of Montgomery, Alabama.  The $147 million project generated jobs in both the United States and Republic of Djibouti, according to the press release.

 Meanwhile, Djibouti’s president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, in a recent interview with Jeune Afrique, a French language magazine, defended his regime from critics who cite the absence of a free press, TV or independent radio.  He also disputed charges by the International Federation of Human Rights of “all-out repression” and the existence of political prisoners in Djibouti jails. 

 Finally, U.S. advisors are believed to have been piloting a plane belonging to the Uganda People’s Defense Force that crashed near the Dem. Rep. of Congo this week where a military offensive against the Lord’s Resistance Army is underway. There were no survivors.