U.S. Pentagon chief visits troops in Djibouti

By Kristin Roberts

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Pentagon chief Robert Gates landed in Djibouti on Monday to visit U.S. troops conducting non-combat missions aimed at winning support in a region Washington sees at risk of Islamist militancy.

The U.S. defense secretary will review the counter-terrorism operations of the 1,800 troops -- known as the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) -- to determine how they can fit within the U.S. military's new Africa Command, responsible for all U.S. military activities in the region.

The U.S. Defense Department says it expects Africa Command to engage more than other commands in development and humanitarian work -- the type of public diplomacy or "soft power" that Gates sees as critical to winning future conflicts.

"Soft power, given the nature of conflicts and given the places in which there will be conflict in the future, is increasingly important," said a senior defense official travelling with Gates.

"CJTF-HOA has been experimental and unique in that it is one of the places where we have integrated this concept of developmental, traditionally humanitarian-style outreach efforts in a non-combat environment."

The official said Gates was trying to assess how the activities of the Djibouti-based troops, such as building schools and paving roads, can be best applied in combat environments and how it can be integrated into other work of Africa Command.

"Kinetic efforts alone cannot achieve our goals in today's type of conflict," the official said en route to Djibouti from Washington.

Gates' trip was his first to Djibouti and to the Horn of Africa, and his first to the continent since the U.S. military launched Africa Command earlier this year. The decision to set up a command focused solely on Africa in part reflected Pentagon concerns about the risk of terrorism rising out of instability in the region.

The Pentagon chief's trip also comes just a week after Gates, in a major speech, called for a greater U.S. government role in reconstruction and development work, saying it was crucial in both counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism fights.

The Pentagon learned that lesson most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, where early combat successes in volatile areas were not followed by reconstruction, a responsive government presence or any improvement in basic services to local populations.

In many areas, that failure allowed insurgents in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan to regain territory, U.S. defense officials concede. (Editing by Sami Aboudi)

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