US Military Pullback in Africa Opens Door for China and Russia
NewsweekMAY 29
U.S. Signals Major Shift in Africa Military Strategy
Above: (L-R) General Christopher Cavoli, Commander of US European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Michael Langley, Commander of US Africa Command, at the start of a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington, DC, on April 3, 2025. Image copyright: Brendan SmialowskiAFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
This restructuring aligns with President Trump's vision to build a leaner, more lethal U.S. military focused on homeland defense, while reducing foreign military footprints. This approach promotes self-reliance among African partners and eliminates bureaucracy, saving potentially millions in defense spending while maintaining strategic influence through more efficient command structures.
Anti-Trump narrative
The Trump administration's scaling back of U.S. military engagement in Africa risks creating security vacuums that extremist groups will exploit to further destabilize the continent. Many African militaries remain ill-equipped to handle growing terrorist threats independently, and reducing AFRICOM's presence could diminish America's ability to counter expanding Russian and Chinese influence across the continent.
Establishment-critical narrative
It is outrageous for the U.S. and its shameless mouthpieces like Langley to call on African nations to take more responsibility for their own security and demand so-called burden-sharing. The U.S. itself is driving the neo-colonization and destabilization of the continent through its covert and dirty operations under the AFRICOM label, creating the military dependency in the first place that they are now getting tired of.