Larry Hanauer: A Withdrawal of U.S. Military Staff in Africa Will Only Benefit China

A U.S. Army soldier provides security for a U.S. Air Force C-130 Super Hercules during a stopover in Somalia on February 6, 2020. Image via AFRICOM.

U.S. President Donald Trump is widely expected to enact a significant drawdown of U.S. forces in South Asia, the Mideast, and in Africa, before he leaves office next January, according to a report today in The New York Times.

The troops in question in Africa are based in Somalia, where a contingent of U.S. forces have been deployed to fight Islamic militants.

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by Eric Olander

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