A Strong Link in the Chain

Mauritania’s chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces tells ADF how his country seeks to offer stability in a troubled region.

During the week of May 19, 2014, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ghazouani, Mauritania’s chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, traveled to Tampa, Florida, in the United States, to attend the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference. While at the conference, Ghazouani participated in events alongside special operations commanders from 84 countries, as well as senior governmental officials, top academics and leaders from U.S. Special Operations Command. Ghazouani has served in a variety of roles in Mauritania’s security sector, including as director of National Security from 2005 until 2008. This interview has been edited for space and translated from the original French. 

ADF: During your career, how has the Mauritanian Army changed and evolved?

Ghazouani: Essentially, the Mauritanian Army has undergone an evolution that is very positive during the last few years, but I can’t be egotistical and say that it’s due to my influence. It’s due to two important factors. First, the most important is the fact that the Mauritanian government has been very conscious of the security situation in which the country finds itself. We have made a good analysis and evaluation at the national level and the subregional level. From this evaluation, the government decided that it was necessary to give top priority to the Armed Forces and security personnel, because without security there is no development. Our government has rightly perceived that security comes before all else.

The second aspect is the awareness that has developed among Mauritanian Soldiers. No matter the level –– be they officers, NCOs or enlisted men –– they understand that they must meet the challenges and understand that their country is threatened, and the lives of its citizens and foreigners living there are threatened, and all these threats come from terrorist groups. As it concerns me, I am only a Soldier among other Soldiers. My role is to take into account the instructions and direction given by the government and play the role of coordinator for this institution.

ADF: Mauritania has more than 5,000 kilometers of land borders and shares its largest border with Mali. What is the strategy used by the Mauritanian military to secure this vast border?

Ghazouani: Mauritania is a large country if we talk about its land area. But it’s a country with a population of less than 4 million. Therefore, that discrepancy presents us with some problems. A vast territory with a small population does not contribute much to security.

In order to secure the border, the principle is to use all means at our disposal. So how did we proceed? We have tried to mark out the entire border with bases. We created military bases that never existed before, including small bases that are manned by relaying units. And if you look at the border now, we have a base here, a base 200 kilometers away, a base 300 kilometers ahead, and it means that we are satisfied that along the entire border there is a military presence. Between these bases, what happens? There are mobile units that patrol constantly between bases to prevent the enemy from passing through at any moment, day or night. You’re going to tell me this is costly. That’s true; it is costly. It’s tiring for our men also. Especially for a country where there is a large deficit in the third dimension, that is to say aviation. We don’t have many aviation assets, and you can easily imagine that in a country with a vast territory, it is not ground forces or vehicles or the men aboard the vehicles that can best achieve this mission. It’s very difficult. But here also I would like to thank the U.S. government and our American colleagues who understood well the situation in which our country finds itself. They realized that we had the will necessary to do good work, and they’ve helped us a lot. Particularly, I thank them because they gave us great support and aid in the realm of donating equipment that allows us to conduct surveillance of our territory by air.

ADF: In recent years, Mauritania has had a strained relationship with Mali. Even before the crisis of 2012 and 2013 when Mali lost control over two-thirds of the country, northern Mali had been a haven for extremists. At times, they sought to cross the border and organize attacks on Mauritanian targets. How has the recent Malian crisis affected Mauritanian security?

Ghazouani: In fact, even before the outbreak of the crisis, I would say that we felt the effects of the insecurity in Mali. Mauritania was under a permanent menace on the part of the terrorists who came across the Malian border. Every time, terror groups attacked a base or a town, or kidnapped tourists or foreigners. Therefore, it’s during this period that preceded the crisis that we were under a veritable threat. When you allude to a somewhat tense relationship between Mali and Mauritania, in fact it wasn’t tense. Mali and Mauritania are two countries linked by many things. We are neighboring countries, brother countries, and we share many common traits. But, really, our authorities brought to the attention of the Malian authorities the danger that existed if they continued to close their eyes to the actions and the presence of terror groups and narcotraffickers in Malian territory. Unfortunately, they didn’t view it the same way and either didn’t believe it was dangerous or didn’t do anything to thwart the efforts of these groups. History has shown that we were right in saying to the Malians, “Pay attention” and “Do not accept the presence of terrorist groups on your territory, because next they will try to create their own state.” Unfortunately, that’s what happened. But Mauritania is always very concerned with the security of Mali, and we do what we can to help.

ADF: In your opinion, what is the current strength of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar al-Dine and related groups that have operated in the Sahel region for years? How much of a threat do they pose?

Ghazouani: You have to recognize that Operation Serval accomplished a lot. Moreover, I think that if that operation didn’t occur, we wouldn’t be speaking today about a Malian state. Because the terrorists already conducted an invasion that succeeded, and the Malian Army did not react. The extremists were 24 hours, maybe 48 hours, away from arriving in Bamako. And if they took Bamako, we would be in a situation that is unimaginable. So we can say that the operation saved Mali. It also caused lots of casualties among the ranks of terrorists and greatly succeeded in destroying the equipment that had been in their hands. But here, also, we must understand that the terror groups have evolved and were able to reconstitute during several years in this subregion, and they have a lot of money from different sources. They have money from Libya, money from ransom payments. So they were able to equip themselves and recruit a number of personnel. They exist today; even if they have lost certain leaders, the structure remains. For the moment, apparently, they’re keeping a low profile because they are under a military pressure that is very strong. But I think that over time they will reappear. Their leaders are currently on the move. When they suffered from strong pressure in northern Mali, they went to southern Libya. They have their depots, they have their arms, they have a rear base that is very strong. Therefore, should we think that terrorism has disappeared from this region? No, that hasn’t happened yet. It exists, but it’s true they have suffered losses.

ADF: Recently, Mauritania has placed significant emphasis on civil-military actions that reach out to people living in the most vulnerable, isolated areas of the country. These include medical programs, drilling wells and road construction. Could you describe these programs and tell us why they are important to national security?

Ghazouani: Here is another aspect where we worked with our American friends, and I thank them for having initiated these programs of civil-military action with us. These actions cannot help but have good results. First, because they touch the population that is needy and far from major cities. They are in need of medical attention because public health cannot reach them. So, every time the military assists this population, if it’s a program for food or for medical care, these actions create links between civilians and the military. That’s very positive. Our experience shows it gives very good results because it’s a way the military can show its civilian brothers that they don’t only have the military aspect — they also have the human aspect.

ADF: Since being appointed chief of General Staff, what actions have you taken to improve the trust that people have for the military as an institution?

Ghazouani: These past years, we have made the first steps to show our willingness to be open to the population in a general way. This occurs vis-à-vis the elected officials such as deputies, senators, in addition to civil society organizations and everyday citizens. For several years we have organized what we call Open Door Days. A certain number of military sites are opened to visits by parliamentarians, civil society leaders and others. We organize trips and bring them into the units, the casernes, and we call that our Open Door Day. It means, “Here, this is your Army.” We say, “This unit is called this, their mission is this, go ahead, you can ask anybody questions, you can get into a tank, into an airplane and see for yourself.” We have found that it’s an important action that, at least, gives the right message that the Army is under the direction of political authorities, and we let it be known that we have nothing major to hide.

ADF: Mauritania has been proactive about preventing the spread of extremism and radical religion within its borders. What strategies have been used to prevent radicalization of the youth? What role does the military play?

Ghazouani: There have been some interesting things done at the governmental level. That is to say there has been an elaboration of a counterterror strategy. This strategy can be found in a document called “The National Strategy for Fighting Terror.” It’s a comprehensive policy so it engages all governmental departments. Every ministry has a role to play in fighting terrorism. Take, for example, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs: They ask imams from mosques and experts on the Muslim religion to put on conferences and seminars to educate young people or all people who are targeted by terrorist propaganda for recruitment. They tell them, “Look, pay attention, if these people tell you that taking up arms and going and fighting is part of Islam, don’t be fooled.” Our religion is very moderate. Our religion does not permit that someone should kill another or take property from another. So it’s awareness, it’s seminars, it’s all sorts of actions that the ministries take to counter terrorist propaganda. For example, the Ministry of National Education plays a role in this strategy by ensuring that the scholarship of students improves and there are fewer students who drop out and then do not know what to do. The Ministry of Labor plays an important role because there needs to be policies to employ young unemployed people so they don’t fall into the hands of terrorists.  In this same vein, the Army can be a good employer and can accomplish a lot. But honestly, I will tell you that it requires a clean criminal record to be recruited in the Army. We can’t recruit just anybody.

ADF: In 2012, one of the most difficult events in Mauritania’s recent history occurred when a Soldier inadvertently shot the president while he was driving back to the capital from his property outside Nouakchott. What actions did you personally take to maintain order immediately after this incident?

Ghazouani: At the level of the Army and at the level of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, I think that mission remains the same if the president is absent or if he is in a hospital recovering. It’s normal. The president is a man. He can be injured. Unfortunately, in this case he was injured as a result of a bullet fired by a Soldier, it’s true. But it is necessary to understand that the origin of this accident was precaution and vigilance. This young sublieutenant found himself in a unit that he was training, and he wanted to control all the vehicles that passed by because he was at the limit of the desert at the entry to Nouakchott. It’s a vigilance, but a vigilance a bit elevated, we can say. On the subject of the injury of the president, I think that he was very well-taken care of and treated in France. Even during the period when he was recovering, he was regularly in contact with the civil and military authorities he regularly speaks to nearly every day on the phone. I think that it was a difficult time for Mauritania but also a period that gave assurance that the administration works well. There was no crisis in the absence of the president. Everyone did their work, and things continued normally.

ADF: The conference that you are attending here in Tampa is focused on the international integration of special operations forces. Do you hope for more integration of special operations forces among West and North African countries?

Ghazouani: It’s a great objective but an objective that is very difficult to achieve. The ideal is the integration of special forces. That’s the final objective, perhaps, but before that, you must establish relations and contacts between the different special forces from different countries. It’s these encounters that permit interoperability between the forces. So I think the goal is very interesting, but I do not think we will arrive at it easily from one day to the next. Because, currently, there are difficulties for certain countries to organize joint military actions, which is even more of a reason to arrive at this integration. But we cannot lose sight of the fact that these decisions must be made on a political level. Our political decision- makers must reach an accord on integration and, after, we can go there. It’s a very worthy objective and, as a military, we’re very interested in it. The more we rub shoulders with our colleagues from other countries, the more enriching it is, the more it gives us experience, and the more it allows us to discover procedures and doctrines of our neighboring nations. That’s a positive thing.