Boozman to talk defense in Africa trip
Last updated Monday, March 24, 2008 5:05 PM CDT in News
By Aaron Sadler
THE MORNING NEWS
WASHINGTON -- Third District Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, left Monday for a weeklong visit to Africa that he said will focus on military and defense issues.
African nations play a pivotal role in the war on terror, because terrorist groups thrive in underdeveloped countries on the continent, he said.
A congressional delegation that includes Boozman and Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., will meet with heads of state and representatives of the African Union, a loose-knit political group comprised of African nations.
Boozman said some terrorist groups work outside the government's reach in isolated regions. It's up African governments to control their activity.
"We depend on the local governments to work with us, to give us information and to be supportive," Boozman said. "It's not to their advantage to have these types of lawless people operating within their borders."
This trip marks the fourth time in five years Boozman has visited Africa. Like in his previous two trips, Inhofe joined him. Two other members of Congress were tentatively scheduled to be on the trip.
The itinerary includes stops in the Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Zambia. A visit to American installations in Germany is also on the schedule.
Boozman is on the Africa subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs committee.
Boozman said his time in Africa will be spent discussing the role of NATO, the U.S. military's operation in Africa and U.S. missile defense.
He said the delegation will review humanitarian efforts on the continent, particularly as it relates AIDS prevention and the civil war in the Darfur region of Sudan. Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have died in the conflict.
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ironfortified wrote on Mar 24, 2008 11:19 PM: