adminof so-called security sector reforms from reactionary elements that peddle alien agendas.
The conference, which drew intelligence officers from African Union member states, is being held under the theme: “The nexus between Africa’s natural resources, development and security”.
A poignant theme given the increasing militarisation of the continent by the US that has since formed a standing army, the so-called US Africa Military Command that is designed to abet its foreign policy goals in Africa.
Africa’s strategic importance to the traditional western rabble-rouser was exposed in the report titled, ‘More Than Humanitarianism: A US Strategic Approach towards Africa’ that was produced by the Committee on Foreign Relations, a US think-tank that said Africa was of increasing strategic importance to the United States and was likely to become more important than the Middle East as a source of US energy imports.
Thus the need for greater co-operation in intelligence cannot be over-emphasised. Infact the history of Cissa itself is a greater call to action.
Cissa was mooted after our security forces captured a planeload of 69 mercenaries of various nationalities who were on their way to stage a coup in Equatorial Guinea on March 7 2004.
This development sent everyone in intelligence services in Africa, rethinking mutual security.
Cissa was subsequently formed in Abuja, Nigeria on August 26, 2004, bringing together intelligence and security services from 49 AU member states. Its aims and objectives include assisting the AU and specifically the Peace and Security Council to effectively deal with security challenges confronting the continent.
Zimbabwe has been in western crosshairs over the past decade and only managed to deter aggression because of the vigilance and deterrence of its acclaimed security forces.
Cissa is thus quite providential coming as it does at a time the MDC-T is clamouring for security sector reforms.
We take this opportunity to remind the MDC-T leadership that it’s not the security forces who need changing but the party’s quisling politics and policy of western appeasement that sees them being used as cats paws by westerners. These need to be changed so that the party can become truly Zimbabwean and believe in the same founding values and national ethos that our security forces swore to defend.
Our security forces were formed from the integration of Zanla, Zipra and Rhodesian Front soldiers; most of the RF shoulders gradually phased out through early retirement over the years leaving a patriotic core of Zanla and Zipra cadres at the heart of the security forces.
As such the ZDF command is largely made up of freedom fighters who are well aware of the origins and objectives of the MDC in all its variants.
This is the MDC-T’s real gripe with the security forces.
The Cissa conference and the continued secondment of officers from the Sadc region for training at the Zimbabwe Staff College and National Defence College respectively, coupled with the distinguished service ZDF staff continue discharging on UN peacekeeping missions all point to the respect the ZDF commands internationally.
The same cannot be said of the MDC-T that continues to lose support at home and abroad.
Surely it is the MDC-T that is in dire need of reform.
Online Reporter