Thread by @althecat

Ambassador Robert Godec, Acting Assitant Secretary of the Bureau of African Affairs is the lead U.S. Govt. official responsible for U.S. policy reponses to this crisis.

Here is his biography - state.gov/biographies/ro…

He is a long serving career diplomat but has had two assignments which point to deeper involvement in the wider U.S. security apparatus.

Three aspects of his biography jump out for me as being relevant to our understanding of U.S. engagement on this crisis.

1/ His last posting before returning to D.C. "He was U.S. Ambassador to Kenya from January 2013 to February 2019.  Ambassador Godec was assigned as the Chargé d’Affaires at U.S. Embassy Nairobi, Kenya in August 2012."

Immediately on his return he took up a teaching position associated with the US Military: "Ambassador Godec was Deputy Commandant and International Affairs Advisor at the National War College in 2019-2020."

"To attend the United States Army War College (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_…) a prospective student must be a serving colonel or lieutenant colonel with at least 16 but not more than 25 years of service at the starting date of the course."

This is a senior officer training college.

But perhaps most importantly, Godec was put in his current position very recently. After the war started. On the inauguration day.

"On January 20, 2021 he became Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs" [Src: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F.…]

Given the state of the U.S. Presidential transition, and the date of the announcement, it is reasonable to conclude that he was appointed to this position by the outgoing administration of Donald Trump.

And this is important because of Trump's activities towards the end of his presidency, in particular the crazy #GERD press conference on October 23rd the week before the election. timesofisrael.com/full-text-trum…

"Egypt is not going to be able to live that way...they’ll end up blowing up the dam. I said it and say it loud and clear, “They’ll blow up that dam.” And they have to do something. So whatever you can do to get them, Ethiopia, to do that, they’re going to have to. Okay?" - Trump

So lets look a bit more at Robert Godec's bio.

/2 The second thing that stands out is his posting before his service in Nairobi in August 2012. "Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the Bureau of Counterterrorism in the Department of State."

So Godec returned to Washington from Tunisia in 2009 to this position, a year before the "Arab Spring" which began in Tunisia in December 2010.

state.gov/about-us-burea…

"The Bureau of Counterterrorism leads the Department of State in the whole-of-government effort to counter terrorism abroad and to secure the United States against foreign terrorist threats."

In this role Robert Godec will have been working closely with the core military teams across the Dept. of Defence, CIA, NSA etc. And he was there for three years before being sent to Nairobi.

And during this period the 2009-2012 the U.S. counter-terrorism partner in the Horn of Africa was the Govt. of Ethiopia, led initially by Meles Zenawi and then after he died under Hailemariam Desalegn.

This period coincides with Susan Rice's tenure as US UN Ambassador.

And it also coincides with @PowerUSAID's initial Obama position on the National Security Council.

During Godec's service in Nairobi 2012-2019, Susan Rice had moved on to becoming National Security Advisor, while Samantha Powers took over the UN Ambassador role.

Recap: Acting @AsstSecStateAF Robert Godec is not just an old Africa State Dept policy hand. His recent focus appears to be counter terrorism. Which fits with his Nairobi ambassdor-ship assignment.
During the period 2009-2018 it is likely he was working directly with the TPLF.

And based on the @wikileaks cables this would have meant working with the security services managed by Getachew Assefa.

Note also that this was Godec's second assignment to Nairobi, and that during the 2009-2012 period he was working in the same policy arena as Samantha Powers.

And there is a final interesting biographical reference in Robert Godec's colourful and distinguished career working in the U.S. Foreign Service.

"Deputy Coordinator for the Transition in Iraq, charged with organizing the transition of policy and operational elements of the Coalition Provisional Authority and the standup of U.S. Mission Iraq."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition…

This is another very spooky role, this time under the Neo-con GW Bush Presidency, and this was a very big operation. One which, like the Obama Policy in Libya and Syria during Godec's time in Counter Terrorism, went spectacularly wrong.

Now this is just some opening research into the head of the @StateDept's African Bureau [Twitter: @AsstSecStateAF] but for me at least it is raising significant red flags, some of which may explain recent failures in U.S. Policy.

Among them the rise in Ethiopia of the OLA, another designated U.S. Terrorist organisation like the TPLF, but one which has also been granted a "Group Exemption".

The OLA, which recently announced a strategic partnership with the TPLF, appear to be very well armed, with modern sophisticated weapons. Their armaments are generally considered to be being trafficked across the border from Sudan.

From the praise heaped on Sudan during @PowerUSAID's recent visit and the subsequent handing over of Bashir to the ICC, it is clear that the U.S. has a close and growing relationship with Sudan.

This area of U.S. FP is under Godec's supervision also.

@PowerUSAID Whether the U.S. @StateDept is aware of arms trafficking to the OLA or not, but one would think that they would be.