WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2020) A bipartisan group of US congressmen in a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper urged him to retain the American military presence in Africa amid reports that significant pullbacks may be on the Pentagon's agenda.
"We write to express our concern regarding the potential for a major reduction of American forces in the African theater," the letter said. "While we understand your decision to review our force posture and to deploy our military as efficiently as possible, we are concerned that a narrow focus on confronting Russia and China in great power competition is a shortsighted action that both diminishes our overall national security posture and our ability to lead with American values and influence."
Esper has repeatedly said his ultimate goal is to reduce counterterrorism deployments throughout the world so that thousands of US troops can be either sent home for refitting and retraining or dispatched to the Indo-Pacific region to confront bigger challenges presented by China and Russia.
"The execution of stability operations in Africa and meeting China and Russia in great power competition are not mutually exclusive," the lawmakers, led by House Armed Services Committee Vice Chair Anthony Brown, wrote.
The New York Times reported earlier that a decision on the possible withdrawal could be expected in January and would include abandoning a recently built drone base in Niger and ending assistance to French forces battling militants in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
