AFRICOM plus US involvement in Africa 2018 onwards

[KingJaja]

One must wonder how AFRICOM, let alone the USA, will be seen after President Trump's '#### hole' remarks that labeled all of Africa.

I don't think any African policy maker believes Trump is a friend of the continent, or takes the continent seriously or has anything apart from barely concealed disdain about the continent.

But that is not the most important issue; Trump slammed tariffs on Rwanda for banning the importation of second hand clothing from US and Trump is also threatening South Africa with tariffs and for voting against them in the UN - and not supporting the movement of the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Any smart person knows that US considers Africa to be strategically irrelevant. Trump makes it painfully obvious.

You can't say US is thinking 10 - 20 years down the line with respect to its engagement with Africa. It is clear they don't think Africa has any role to play in America's future - especially with the shale boom and the end of US dependence on foreign energy supplies.

[davidbfpo]

A long article that tries to cover many issues and two passages:

National Security Advisor John Bolton is scheduled to unveil the Trump administration’s new strategy for the continent in a speech to the conservative Heritage Foundation on Thursday. It is expected to focus on countering near-peer adversaries rather than counterterrorism. The White House is not expected to ask for more funding for diplomacy, intelligence gathering or foreign aid, according to NBC News.

The announcement comes just weeks after the Pentagon said it would be cutting 10 percent of its troop presence in Africa over the next several years, including half of the counterterrorism forces operating in West Africa. The Defense Department said in a statement that the goal was to “realign our counter-terrorism resources and forces operating in Africa over the next several years in order to maintain a competitive posture worldwide.”

Link:https://www.defenseone.com/politics/2018/12/small-wars-great-power-trumps-africa-reset-could-change-us-militarys-role/153485/?

[davidbfpo]

Cross-posting a SWJ article as it is very relevant here and is by the former AFRICOM CO.
Link:http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art...accountability

[AdamG]

Remember the air support delay (despite French alacrity) in the Niger SF ambush?

U.S. Africa Command is hoping to finish two new air bases in 2019, one in Niger and one in Somalia, to stage operations against militants in the region. Niger Air Base 201, a future hub for armed drones and other aircraft, was supposed to be completed this year. The region’s difficult weather and harsh conditions are pushing completion back to the middle of 2019, officials told Air Force Times.

Air Base 201 will eventually house the U.S. armed drone mission in Niger that currently operates out of Niger’s capital, Niamey.

In the Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia, a former Soviet-built air base called Camp Baledogle is being refurbished and converted to better handle the evolving multinational mission in the country.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/y...ng-completion/

[davidbfpo]

A short commentary by Paul Rogers and the sub-title gives the context:

Where people have few life chances and little help from the government, the militants’ promise of order and basic services is winning recruits.

Adding this comment on Burkina Faso by a journalist:

The country’s poorest regions in the north and east have been neglected, with the government providing minimal health services, education, jobs and infrastructure. Locals have in response taken up arms and forged links with militant groups who promised, and delivered, more services than the state.

Link:https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/def...-west-africa/?

Added here as it provides the context for AFRICOM, even if it is reducing in size due to President Trump's decisions.

[davidbfpo]

IIRC the author is opinionated and critical of AFRICOM, but that caveat aside his article does pose questions. Notably:

since AFRICOM began, key indicators of security and stability in Africa have plummeted according to the Defense Department’s Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a Pentagon research institution. “Overall, militant Islamist group activity in Africa has doubled since 2012,” according to a recent analysis by the Africa Center.

Link:https://theintercept.com/2019/07/29/...rica-violence/

If AFRICOM's role is to help nation-states combat jihadist insurgencies then neither "roll-back" or containment appears to be working. The author contends, in part supported by the DoD analysis, it is making things worse.