US Defense Secretary Mark Esper is interested in seeing a substantial reduction in troops and operations ongoing in Western Africa, with the troops being redeployed to areas closer to Russia and China.
This comes, ironically, amid speculation about the Islamist factions in the Sahel, and suggestions this might be a growing priority for the US. Esper, however, has made much of wanting to have more troops directly lined up against Russia and China for “Great Power” competitions.
Among the pullouts in West Africa would be ending US operations in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. The end of US involvement in Niger would include abandoning the $110 million drone base that the US just got finished building and bringing into operation.
After West Africa, the plan is that the US will also draw down forces in Latin America, and subsequently then cut troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan, all as part of a new pivot to Eastern Europe and the Pacific.
Exactly how many troops are going to be involved isn’t clear, and indeed how many troops are in some of these areas is not publicly known any longer, given the Pentagon’s recent opacity on such figures.
The eagerness to make such moves at all represents Esper having only recently taken over the Defense Secretary post, and wanting to put his stamp on it.
Here’s a thought…West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, all of Europe, ALL of Asia, all of Australia/Oceana, all of South America, all of Central America…in short…bring all the damn troops HOME to actually and finally defend America for a change!!! Merry Christmas.
They are needed home, indeed. If nothing else, that would jump start local economies, as money would be spent at home.
Merry Christmas!
They will be sitting ducks for Russian and Chinese Hyper-Sonic missiles which they can’t defend themselves from. Esper is a f&!king idiot.
The prostitutes & strippers there just aren’t very attractive.
Smoke and mirrors. They’re not going to abandon all those bio weapons facilities in W Africa and just leave them for the locals to play around in. A drone base is one thing. A level 4 facility is another entirely.
Glad you mentioned the very little discussed US funded bio-weapon labs. West Africa is well concerned and openly critical about our bio-weapons labs operating in their countries, as well as they should, but the US has bio-weapon labs all over the world, but using politically correct names to mask their true deadly and secret research. One such US funded bio-weapons lab is called The Richard G. Lugar Center for Public Health Research in Tbilisi, Georgia and conducts bio-weapon research in spite of its Public Health moniker and the lab has been linked to many deaths of employed lab workers at that facility.
Did somebody ask American people if they want the war with Russia and China? All that increase in troops will do — is tell all those countries around Russia and China that they will be target. Nobody is asking those people as well.
And what makes Esper think that either of those countries will pay any attention to “increased numbers”. Wars will not be fought with ground forces.
Wars will be won by pushing the other side in defensive posture. But this will apply to naval and missile assets. Balance will be established. But it should be sought through military snd political negotiations , not rushing to place whole countries in harm’s way.
New technologies are either not understood, or Esper and company believe that other side will not use them until it is too late.
I will never bet on inferior thinking of those who have superior weapons.
David S has provided the exact words and actions needed!
The troops aren’t going anywhere: The Syria and Afghanistan effect.
All significant redeployment’s will have to be approved by the President. One must therefore assume that President Trump was informed of what Esper was going to say and approved. So much for our so-called anti-war President. So much for the ‘deep-state’ excuse. The total number of US soldiers abroad has hardly changed since Trump was sworn in.
The PRC and Russia will “threaten” and America will spend. Like the 1980s, only we are the Soviets and Trumf is Brezhnev.
Stupid strategy. A big part of China’s current success comes from the fact that they were the only ones investing in Africa for decades after the post-colonial era. All the sh*t in those phones, devices and solar panels they make? Mined in Africa. If we can get climate change under control (big if, I know), Africa is set to be one of the fastest growing markets this century. Uncle Sam can put all the gas-sucking battleships in the South China Sea they want, China’s gonna keep betting on black, and they might just win big. Africa should be skeptical of both outsiders. they need a new Non-Alignment Movement and bad.
there was only one nonaligned country and NATO destroyed and dismembered Yugoslavia . . Now days you better be aligned or you will be attacked .
The Non-Alignment Movement was founded by Yugoslavia’s Tito, Egypt’s Nasser, Indonesia’s Sukarno and India’s Nehru. The organization still exists but has become complacent and obsolete. The point of the organization was that poor nations united by a shared goal of sovereignty and anti-imperialism could stand up to superpowers like the US and the USSR. I think a new version that promotes micronationalism, pan-successionism and anti-globalism is still very much needed.