P 111533Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0072
INFO AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 
HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
REUKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000019 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
HQ EUCOM PLEASE ALSO PASS HQ AFRICOM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2017 
TAGS: MARR PREL MASS KPAO GB
SUBJECT: GABON:  AFRICOM COMMANDER'S SUCCESSFUL VISIT 
 
REF: A. 07 LIBREVILLE 0497 
     ¶B. 07 LIBREVILLE 0532 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Nathan Holt for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C) AFRICOM General William Ward's December 4-6 visit 
to Libreville found officials from both the Government of 
Gabon and the Economic Community of Central African States 
pressing for information on when and where AFRICOM will 
establish a headquarters or other facilities on the 
continent.  Gabonese President El Hadjj Omar Bongo Ondimba 
also had some advice:  adopt a regional strategy to avoid 
jealousy by countries passed over as a headquarters 
location.  Gen. Ward stressed that no decisions have been 
made on headquarters locations, that he is committed to 
consulting widely, that AFRICOM is coordinating a broad 
program of U.S. security assistance that is already in 
place, and that AFRICOM provides focus and efficiency that 
was impossible when the continent was divided among three 
different U.S. military commands.  The message appeared to 
resonate well with a wide range of audiences, including the 
Gabonese media and Libreville-based French military 
officers and diplomats.  End Summary. 
 
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Questions and Advice from President Bongo 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Meeting General Ward less than a week after 
celebrating his 40th anniversary in power, Gabonese 
president El Hadjj Omar Bongo Ondimba was 
characteristically blunt in his first question:  "Where 
will AFRICOM put its headquarters?"  Ward replied as he did 
throughout the visit:  no decisions have been made, but we 
are still consulting with friends about options.  One 
option is a single headquarters on the African continent, 
Ward explained.  Another is to have some form of 
decentralized headquarters presence in various regions. 
Bongo urged a regional approach.  If AFRICOM is based in 
one country, the other 53 African states will not 
understand and will be hostile, he said.  To set up a 
headquarters in an Anglophone state would put off the 
Francophones, and vice versa, the president argued.  If 
AFRICOM pursues a regional strategy, Bongo said, he will 
support the concept and promote it with other countries. 
 
¶3.  (C) Ward thanked the president for his counsel.  "We 
appreciate your support because you understand our true 
purpose," Ward said.  But other reactions have not been as 
positive, he explained, and AFRICOM is continuing a 
deliberate program of explaining its objectives and 
consulting with African countries and regional 
organizations.  AFRICOM will not rush to any decisions, 
Ward emphasized.  It is important to take time to make 
careful decisions, Bongo replied, but "once the decision is 
made you must move fast after that."  Africa is complex and 
has many problems, Bongo added, and AFRICOM will need to 
focus on bilateral as well as regional relations. 
 
¶4.  (C) Ambassador Reddick echoed Ward's message that 
AFRICOM is a component of U.S. foreign policy.  The State 
Department, and the Embassy, would work closely with 
General Ward, the Gabonese Government, and others to 
coordinate our bilateral and cooperation, she explained. 
Defense Minister Ali Bongo, present throughout the meeting 
and serving as translator, stumbled on the General's final 
military metaphor.  Every day, Ward said, a soldier gets up 
and "tries to improve his foxhole."  The meaning was 
eventually teased out--we will be persistent in building 
AFRICOM, whatever the obstacles--and the 45-minute session 
concluded with smiles and handshakes. 
 
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Meeting the Defense Minister 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Earlier on the morning of December 5, Ward met 
separately with Defense Minister Ali Bongo for a more 
free-flowing discussion.  Gabon is not influenced by 
AFRICOM's opponents, Bongo said.  Libya is against AFRICOM, 
he explained, because Qadhafi is lobbying for a single 
African army under the United States of Africa--which he 
would control.  Some "European friends" also go behind our 
backs and spread doubt about AFRICOM, Ali Bongo asserted. 
 
Gabon recognizes that the African Union alone cannot 
provide security, and that a balanced approach to external 
assistance is required.  "No more troops in Africa" was a 
recurring theme in France before the last election, Ali 
Bongo said, and the dynamics of French engagement may be 
shifting.  Darfur also absorbs enormous attention and 
international resources, he added. 
 
¶6.  (C) AFRICOM's regional focus could be useful in 
developing a more comprehensive approach to problems like 
Darfur, Ali Bongo asserted.  Gabonese peacekeepers in the 
Central African Republic help stabilize one of Sudan's many 
troubled neighbors, and CEEAC's recent military exercise in 
Chad's Bahr-el-Ghazal region was an important step forward 
in the regional body's ability to project forces into 
remote and difficult terrain.  AFRICOM support for CEEAC 
could reinforce those positive trends.  (The Defense 
Minister added that Chadian president Idriss Deby had 
pushed hard for the Bahr-el-Ghazal exercise as a show of 
force to Chadian rebels.  Other CEEAC leaders hesitated, 
however, fearing the exercise would provoke a rebel 
response.) 
 
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CEEAC 
----- 
 
¶7.  (C) CEEAC's Secretary General Sylvain Goma was out of 
Libreville during Ward's visit, and he declined to allow a 
newly-arrived deputy to formally receive the AFRICOM 
commander at CEEAC headquarters.  General Ward and his 
party were nevertheless able to meet unofficially with the 
Deputy Secretary General in charge of administration, 
Claude Tike Tike, and with the outgoing CEEAC Deputy 
Secretary General for Peace and Security, Ambassador Nelson 
 
SIPDIS 
Cosme. 
 
¶8.  (C) Cosme told us that CEEAC heads of state now 
understand AFRICOM better.  However, some issues still need 
clarification.  For instance, some states fear that AFRICOM 
will lead to reductions in USAID of other USG assistance. 
When asked how he thought AFRICOM could help CEEAC, Cosme 
said the organization could use assistance in 
telecommunication, training for the stand-by force, 
maritime safety and logistics, and air safety.  Ward said 
all of these elements could be covered by current or 
planned U.S. initiatives.  Like President Bongo, Cosme 
stressed that to effectively engage CEEAC we must first 
engage the leadership of CEEAC member states.  Cosme 
nevertheless also urged that AFRICOM training and material 
assistance be coordinated, and if possible disbursed, 
through CEEAC. 
 
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Talking to the French 
--------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C) General Ward and his party also had breakfast with 
a group of Libreville-based French diplomats and military 
officers, who peppered him with questions.  The Deputy 
Commander of French Forces in Gabon explained that 
Libreville is a good base for French regional activities, 
since CEEAC leadership, its planning cell, and the nucleus 
of its future standby brigade are all based here.  If 
AFRICOM is to support CEEAC, he asked, will there be 
coordination with France?  Certainly, Ward replied, once a 
decision was reached on when and how AFRICOM will engage. 
AFRICOM will also work closely with African countries and 
several regional organizations--not just CEEAC.  Ward 
pointed out that there is a French liaison officer helping 
to plan and execute the program of the Navy's Africa 
Partnership Station (APS).  Ward also noted that he had 
consulted only the previous week with French General 
Georges Alain about AFRICOM matters. 
 
¶10.  (C) The French DCM interjected that French support for 
CEEAC is through the European Commission, and that the EC 
is currently CEEAC's primary donor.  Multilateral efforts 
are better than bilateral ones, she contended. 
 
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Need for a Security Assistance Office 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (C) General Ward had a working lunch with Ambassador 
Reddick and her country team in the Embassy's conference 
room.  Whatever decision is made about the location of 
AFRICOM's headquarters or regional offices, the Ambassador 
 
said, Embassy Libreville urgently needs a Security 
Assistance Office (SAO) of at least two people to support 
the expanding program of military engagement in Gabon and 
Sao Tome, and to provide a platform for any further 
expansion of AFRICOM activities.  The Ambassador also led 
Ward and his team on a short tour of our small chancery, 
pointing out space the SAO could occupy.  Ward replied that 
AFRICOM recognizes the need to establish more SAOs on the 
continent and will look closely at Libreville.  AFRICOM 
does not yet have a full complement of headquarters staff, 
he pointed out, and is tackling several difficult staffing 
issues simultaneously.  The Ambassador thanked General Ward 
for his visit, and that of the AFRICOM Survey Team (Ref. A) 
in November, and said that the Embassy is committed to 
doing all it can to make AFRICOM a success. 
 
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Positive Media Coverage 
----------------------- 
 
¶12.   (C) Local media coverage of the generals' visit was 
extensive and largely positive, drawing heavily on 
Washington-cleared, Embassy-supplied materials.  Accounts 
of the visit appeared in Gabonese newspapers, radio, 
television and internet sites, with many repeating the 
theme that AFRICOM's objective is to work closely with 
African nations and regional organizations, and bring 
better coordination to security assistance programs that 
are already underway.  Reuters and Radio France 
International (RFI) also covered the visit, although RFI 
lost its tape and was unable to broadcast excerpts from a 
one-on-one interview with General Ward as he emerged from 
his meeting with President Bongo.  The Bongo meeting was a 
focus for most local press reports.  There was, to our 
knowledge, no negative or critical coverage. 
 
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Comment 
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¶13.  (C) General Ward's visit was quite successful, and we 
hope to welcome him back to Libreville soon.  Gabon remains 
a willing partner for AFRICOM initiatives.  President 
Bongo's advice to adopt a regional approach, deserves 
serious consideration.  So does his recommendation to 
consult widely, then act quickly once we 
decide when and where AFRICOM will deploy on the African 
continent.  End Comment. 
 
REDDICK