Ghanaian Envoy Commends U.S.-African Military Partnership

Washington -- The African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI), a U.S. military partnership with African nations aimed at enhancing their peacekeeping skills, deserves to be continued and even expanded, says Ghanaian Ambassador Alan Kyerematen.

Kyerematen, a former senior executive with Unilever whom President John Kufuor chose to be his advocate for greater business ties with the United States, told the Washington File recently, "From the limited exposure that I've had to the [ACRI] program, I would have to say that it is one of the more visible and successful components of the U.S. government collaboration with Ghana."

Noting that conflict has undercut many of the economic and political reforms attempted in Africa, the diplomat said ACRI was valuable because it could help ensure through its training of African militaries that "we have a constructive response for engaging effectively in crisis situations."

The military partnership began in 1996 and, so far, ACRI has helped train about 8,000 troops from seven African countries in peacekeeping activities that include convoy escort, logistics, negotiation techniques, command and control, and protection of refugees while instilling a respect for human rights and democratic values. The goal is to have a force of 12,000 troops that can operate as a cohesive unit to implement peacekeeping requirements identified by multilateral organizations like the United Nations or regional entities like the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

While U.S. troops act as trainers and the program provides logistical and communications equipment, ACRI does not furnish weapons or ammunition as part of the program.

Kyerematen said he liked ACRI because "the program is practical and the training sessions that were implemented as part of the program have gone a long way to enhance the skill levels of the Ghanaian participants. I know it is run very well. My understanding is it that it would continue, but in what way we are not quite sure."

Some observers, such as House Africa Subcommittee Chairman Ed Royce, have suggested ACRI might be made more robust by including weapons training in its program. Royce told a House Africa Subcommittee hearing last year: "A shortcoming of ACRI is that it is limited to training in [United Nations] Chapter VI peacekeeping operations," which restrict the use of lethal force.

Royce said he favored a more robust U.S.-African military partnership modeled on the U.S.-African partnership program called "Operation Focus Relief (OFR)," which helped train and arm seven Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Senegalese battalions to counter rebels in Sierra Leone last year.

In testimony before that House Africa Subcommittee hearing, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs William Bellamy told lawmakers, "The enhanced capacity for peacekeeping and complex humanitarian response that the ACRI partnership provides is very much in line with this administration's overarching goals in Africa."

Asked by a member of the Africa Subcommittee if the Bush administration would continue to ask for funding for ACRI, Bellamy said, "This administration is committed to maintaining ACRI, or ACRI-type programs, at least at the level of the previous year and hopefully at a greater level than we've been funded at in 2000 and 2001."

Asked if he believed making ACRI more robust was a good idea, Kyerematen said he would need to know more details about expanding ACRI in that area. But he added, "In the context of being able to maintain stability and security within the region, which normally goes beyond [non-lethal] peacekeeping, I would say that it would be useful."