Washington’s Top Commander for U.S. Forces in the Americas Says China’s Growing Presence in the Region ‘Keeps Her Up At Night’

The top commander for U.S. military forces in the Western Hemisphere, General Laura Richardson, speaks out regularly on the growing Chinese presence in the Americas. Image via The Atlantic Council.

Prior to his retirement last year, the top commander for U.S. forces in Africa, General Stephen Townsend, was among the most vocal Pentagon officials on the perceived threat posed by China to U.S. interests abroad. 

General Townsend’s replacement, Michael E. Langley, has been noticeably quiet on the issue, as the Pentagon’s concerns about China in the Global South have shifted, at least publicly, from Africa to the Americas.

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by Eric Olander

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