Raffi Khatchadourian: Blowback in Africa
[Raffi Khatchadourian traveled to Chad in 2005 for the International Reporting Project at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.]
EVER since Chad gained independence 46 years ago, it has been a world-class model of political dysfunction. In the 1970's, Chad's president, François Tombalbaye, compelled civil servants to renounce Western customs, undergo a tribal initiation rite known as yondo and profess belief in a nationalist creed he called Chaditude. He was executed in 1975. In the 1980's, a rebel leader named Hissène Habré led an army to the presidential palace and seized power. He became known as the "African Pinochet" and murderously pursued opponents for nearly a decade.
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Sam Weber
In 1990, Mr. Habré was chased out by an armed faction led by Chad's current president, Idriss Déby. Now Mr. Déby is facing his own rebellion.
Americans might dismiss this numbing cycle of coups as esoteric history belonging to a troubled and distant country. They shouldn't. The C.I.A. armed Mr. Habré for years, and since 2003, the United States military has been training and equipping Mr. Déby's army, making his fight to stay in office our fight, too.
Last year, Chad took part in a vast, international military exercise organized by the United States — the largest exercise of its kind in Africa since World War II, according to the Defense Department. This summer, American forces will continue to advise Chadian soldiers, and Congress is expected to allocate $500 million for a five-year program to train and equip several Saharan armies — including Mr. Déby's.
The military hopes these initiatives will help contain the threat of terrorism by bringing order to the Great Desert and its borderlands. For centuries, the Sahara has been a lawless realm, and with millions of Muslims living across the region in isolated communities, counterterrorism officials fear that Islamic militants may seek sanctuary there.
But dispensing military aid to Chad now — with Mr. Déby fighting hundreds of rebels backed by Sudan — seems reckless....
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EVER since Chad gained independence 46 years ago, it has been a world-class model of political dysfunction. In the 1970's, Chad's president, François Tombalbaye, compelled civil servants to renounce Western customs, undergo a tribal initiation rite known as yondo and profess belief in a nationalist creed he called Chaditude. He was executed in 1975. In the 1980's, a rebel leader named Hissène Habré led an army to the presidential palace and seized power. He became known as the "African Pinochet" and murderously pursued opponents for nearly a decade.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Sam Weber
In 1990, Mr. Habré was chased out by an armed faction led by Chad's current president, Idriss Déby. Now Mr. Déby is facing his own rebellion.
Americans might dismiss this numbing cycle of coups as esoteric history belonging to a troubled and distant country. They shouldn't. The C.I.A. armed Mr. Habré for years, and since 2003, the United States military has been training and equipping Mr. Déby's army, making his fight to stay in office our fight, too.
Last year, Chad took part in a vast, international military exercise organized by the United States — the largest exercise of its kind in Africa since World War II, according to the Defense Department. This summer, American forces will continue to advise Chadian soldiers, and Congress is expected to allocate $500 million for a five-year program to train and equip several Saharan armies — including Mr. Déby's.
The military hopes these initiatives will help contain the threat of terrorism by bringing order to the Great Desert and its borderlands. For centuries, the Sahara has been a lawless realm, and with millions of Muslims living across the region in isolated communities, counterterrorism officials fear that Islamic militants may seek sanctuary there.
But dispensing military aid to Chad now — with Mr. Déby fighting hundreds of rebels backed by Sudan — seems reckless....