US Forces Coming to Oil-Rich Gulf of Guinea - USAF Commander
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Vanguard (Lagos)
August 10, 2004
Posted to the web August 10, 2004
Habib Yacoob
Abuja
THE United States yesterday said it was deploying forces to the oil-rich Gulf of
Guinea, off Nigeria's coastline, because the region's vast oil and gas resources were
of strategic economic importance to America and the rest of the world. Besides, the
Nigerian Air Force has started taking delivery of the US$3million worth of spare parts
meant for repairs and maintenance of the nation's Hercules C-130 combat aircraft
earlier promised it by the United States Government.
Commander of the US Air Forces in Europe, General Robert Fogleson stated this during a
visit to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Jonah Wuyep at the Defence Headquarters.
General Fogleson said with the increasing threats of global terrorism, the deployment
of US forces in the Gulf of Guinea was necessary if only to help protect a region that
is currently of great importance to America's stability.
"We recognise there is going to be times around the world when the US military, in
this case the US Navy, may have to respond to different conditions. Often, the US Air
Force, the US Navy get involved in going to places where there have been some kind of
humanitarian crises and so we will push forces out in the different regions and as you
also know, there are times when we push our forces out in the world to care about
potential terrorist activities they come across.
"But I can tell you this (Gulf of Guinea) was a broad-based exercise and that
particular one was used as a sub-set of that broad range exercise," he stated, adding
"this region (Gulf of Guinea) is important to the stability of the United States and
it's important to the stability of the world in a sense because of the petroleum
resource that you have in your country and so it's no surprise to me that if the US
Navy, the US Government wanted to exercise, that they will take the areas that are of
great importance to them."
Fogleson under whose command the Gulf of Guinea falls however assured the US Navy's
deployment in the region would not constitute any threat to the territorial integrity
of Nigeria as the warships will exercise hundreds of miles off Nigeria's coastline. He
asked for cooperation and concerted efforts with Nigeria to deal with global
terrorism, noting that no country on her own could successfully execute the task.
Speaking earlier, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Jonah Wuyep disclosed that the
Nigerian Air Force has received from the US Government part of the US$3million worth
of spares promised it to enable it repair the nation's broken down Hercules C-130
aircraft.
"One had hoped that our return to democratic governance in 1999 would rekindle this
co-operation. Unfortunately, for one reason or the other, things have not picked up as
fast as we would have wanted. Notwithstanding, I must hasten to acknowledge the recent
$3million aid package from the US Government to the NAF for the procurement of C-130
spares," he said.
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The Nigerian Air Force boss also called for an urgent co-operation with the US Air
Force to enable the country combat any potential terrorist threat in the Gulf of
Guinea which he said should be of concern to both countries given the region's rich
oil and gas resources.
Wuyep therefore solicited further assistance of the US Air Force to enable the
Nigerian Air Force complement the efforts of the Nigerian Navy in providing adequate
security in the Gulf of Guinea.
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