U.S. wages quiet battle in Africa

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CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti -- Three high-definition television screens, a bank of green military radios and detailed maps line the walls; laptop computers cover three rows of tables; and military officers such as Lt. Cmdr. Victor Cooper keep 24-hour vigil.

The Joint Operations Center, tucked inside a former French Foreign Legion post, is the heart of the Bush administration's quiet battle against Islamist militants operating in six nations in East Africa and in Yemen.

From here, the U.S. military monitors Marine beach landings, Navy warships, Army infantry maneuvers and Air Force flights, staying in close communication with Central Command headquarters in Qatar and troops in the field.

On a recent day, U.S. soldiers trained with local troops in rural Ethiopia, civil affairs officers helped with rehabilitation projects in Kenyan towns, and Marines landed on a deserted beach in Djibouti.

Offshore, NATO ships coordinated operations with the task force, searching ships in international waters for weapons and terrorists.

"We are the gathering point and dissemination point for all information," said Cmdr. Cooper, of Jackson, Miss.

Sometimes his job gets boring, he said, but then, that's good.

The task force uses military training, humanitarian aid and intelligence operations to keep northeastern Africa and Yemen from becoming the next Afghanistan, said Marine Brig. Gen. Mastin Robeson, commander of the task force.

The 1,800 personnel at Camp Lemonier coordinate U.S. military operations in Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen. The region, largely ignored before the war on terrorism, is now one of the war's main theaters.