Friday November 16, 2018
The Pentagon has approved a long-awaited plan to reduce the number of US
troops conducting counterterrorism missions in Africa over the next three
years, three US officials tell CNN.
One defense official told CNN that the planned reductions would reduce the
number of US counterterrorism troops and their enablers who support operations
by approximately 25%.
Officials say the projected plan will reduce the total number of US forces
assigned to US Africa Command by "less than 10%."
While the exact number of affected forces is unknown, there are
approximately 7,200 Department of Defense personnel assigned to Africa Command
at present.
However, given the relatively few number of US troops assigned to
counterterrorism missions in Africa, any reductions could still have an adverse
effect.
Special Operations Command Africa has approximately 1,200 troops operating
in about a dozen countries such as Niger, Somalia and Cameroon, where they
primarily advise local forces battling a variety of terrorist groups.
US officials have been communicating the plan to African partner nations
over the last few weeks and an official announcement is expected soon.
The Pentagon confirmed the plan in a statement issued later on Thursday.
"The Department of Defense released the National Defense Strategy
earlier this year and provided clear guidance on how the department will
prioritize efforts and resources for long-term competition with China and
Russia, and build a more lethal force for major combat," Pentagon
spokesperson Cdr. Candice Tresch said in a statement.
"We will realign our counter-terrorism resources and forces operating
in Africa over the next several years in order to maintain a competitive
posture worldwide," she said while adding that "this realignment
specifically projects to reduce forces by about 10 percent over the next
several years."
"The department and US Africa Command remain committed to ensuring the
end result remains a mission-focused, adaptable and agile force with placement
and access on the continent dedicated to assisting our African and
international partners," she added.
The planned reductions are part of a broader global effort intended to help
better align the US military's global posture with the Trump administration's
new National Defense Strategy which focuses more on "near-peer"
competitors like Russia and China as opposed to counterterrorism missions.
According to two officials familiar with the decision, the plan "will
realign counterterrorism resources and forces operating in Africa over the next
several years" in order "to maintain a competitive posture
worldwide" while also adopting a more "sustainable" approach to
counterterrorism.
"Being prepared for a counterterrorism fight is not the same as being
prepared for a fight with Russia or China," a senior defense official told
CNN.
The official said that the US would be "changing, and yes, reducing
some of our efforts" and said "by recouping some of this investment,
it allows us to train, experiment and plan for the near peer competitors."
Senior US military commanders warned last year that the terror threat in many African nations was growing,
particularly in West Africa.
Defense officials said the reduction would have little to no impact on US
troops conducting missions in Somalia, Djibouti and Libya.
The senior defense official said that the US was more concerned about
terrorist threats emanating from North Africa, where ISIS's Libyan branch
continues to have a presence, and East Africa where the al Qaeda affiliate
Al-Shabaab is located.
US troops in Djibouti are also involved in operations targeting the al Qaeda
and ISIS affiliates in nearby Yemen.
Those concerns helped shield US counterterrorism forces operating in those
areas from any significant cuts.
In West Africa, the plan will be to shift US troops away from tactical-level
counterterrorism missions out in the field and shift them more into advisory
roles at the strategic level, farther from the front line.
A senior defense official said that the presence of US allies in West and
Northwest Africa, including thousands of French troops, helped reduce the risk
of the US shifting from a "persistent presence" to a "periodic
presence" there.
While US troops are primarily in a supporting role, they have encountered
combat on multiple occasions, including a 2017 ambush in Niger that left four
Americans dead.
Even before the planned reduction, senior military officials told CNN that
US troops operating in Africa faced greater resource constraints than in places
like Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan.
But defense officials say that despite the reductions, the new plan will
"preserve the majority of US security cooperation, partnerships and
programs in Africa that strengthen partner networks and enhance partner
capability."
And the counterterrorism campaign appears to be continuing apace with the US
military carrying out an airstrike earlier this month in support of local
partner forces that killed four Al-Shabaab militants near Araara, Somalia.
As part of the administration's new China- and Russia-focused strategy, over
the summer Africa Command submitted to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff a plan to significantly reduce the number of US forces in Africa.
And while the Pentagon is seeking to focus its efforts more on Moscow and
Beijing, US officials have expressed concerns about the growing Russian and
Chinese presence in Africa.
Russia has sent military assistance to factions in Libya and trainers to the
Central African Republic, while China has established major economic ties to a
multitude of African nations and has built a major military base in Djibouti,
close to a US installation.
The senior defense official told CNN that "there's always a risk"
that Russia and China may seek to "backfill" the US military presence
in Africa but said the US is taking steps to mitigate that risk.