United States: US boosts war on terror as Kenya marks August 7
The United States has boosted the war against terror and enhanced economic relationship with Kenya, a senior US official said yesterday.
The US Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale yesterday said that the US was committed to peace and security in the region, including commercial interests.
“We will continue to enhance counterterrorism, defence, and maritime surveillance security cooperation through intelligence sharing and capacity building,” he said.
Hale was speaking at the August 7 Memorial Park where he laid a wreath to commemorate the victims of the 1998 bombing of US Embassy Nairobi, and also in remembrance of the lives lost in Dar es Salaam.
The Under Secretary said that over the past 21 years, the US and Kenya’s security cooperation had grown and deepened.
“The United States and Kenya trust each other — with our lives when needed. We will maintain our strong strategic alliance with Kenya to fight the terrorist threat from Al Shabaab,” he said adding that the fight also targeted others threatening to destabilise the peace in Kenya.
He was accompanied by the US Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter in preparation for today’s commemoration of the 21st anniversary of the attack.
Freedom
He said the US remembered and mourned those who were killed, and stand with all who were injured or affected.
“In an awful moment, the lives of thousands changed forever, as did the lives of their families and friends,” he said.
Hale said the Al Qaeda’s immediate purpose was to kill and destroy, but they also sought to divide the friendship between Kenya and America, and to undermine freedom, justice and peace.
“They failed then as terrorists continue to fail today. Over the past 21 years, our security cooperation has grown and deepened,” he said.
The Under Secretary is on a three-day tour in the region and had travelled to Somalia, Kenya and Sudan.
On August 5, he visited Mogadishu and met with senior officials from the Federal Government of Somalia and the United Nations to discuss the political, security, and economic reform agenda.
Today, he will be in Khartoum to meet with representatives from the Transitional Military Council and Forces for Freedom and Change, along with civil society actors, including women and youth, who were in the forefront demanding change in Sudan.
He is expected to encourage full and timely implementation of the agreements reached on July 17, and August 4, to create a civilian-led transitional government, and underscore our expectation that the transitional government will reflect the will of the Sudanese people.
