US struggles with shaky relations and troop cuts in African nations as military leaders meet
The forced U.S. troop withdrawals from bases in Niger and Chad and the potential to shift some troops to other nations in West Africa will be key issues as the top U.S. military officer meets with his counterparts at a conference
GABORONE, Botswana (AP) — The forced U.S. troop withdrawals from bases in Niger and Chad and the potential to shift some troops to other nations in West Africa will be key issues as the top U.S. military officer meets with his counterparts this week at a chiefs of defense conference.
Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Botswana Monday as the U.S. faces a critical inflection point in Africa. Increasingly, military juntas that overthrew democratic governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are reassessing their ties to the U.S. and the West and turning instead to mercenaries linked to Russia for security assistance.
Speaking to reporters as he traveled to Gaborone, Brown said that as the U.S. pulls its 1,000 troops out of Niger, including from a critical counterterrorism and drone base there, other West African nations want to work with the U.S. and may be open to an expanded American presence.
The conference, he said, will give him a chance to speak with a number of his African counterparts, and listen to their objectives and concerns.
