Excerpts from article:
...Trump administration officials, however, are skeptical of the French counterterrorism mission's value and have refused so far to promise continued logistical and intelligence support that French forces rely on in their fight against al Qaeda and ISIS-linked groups, according to one current and one former U.S. official.
...The French plea for continued assistance with its Sahel mission comes as the Trump administration is weighing a wider drawdown of U.S. forces in Africa, as part of a strategic shift away from a global war on terrorism to countering "great power" threats posed by Russia and China.
...Although some U.S. officials are impatient with the French operation, the administration is debating more broadly whether Africa should be treated as a high national security priority or whether military and intelligence resources should be deployed elsewhere in the world, said Judd Devermont, who served as the national intelligence officer for Africa until 2018.
..."What I think is happening right now is less of a question about the efficacy of the French mission, but more of a bigger question - does the U.S. have national security interests in the Sahel, in the counterterrorism fight?" said Devermont, now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
...Seth Jones, a former adviser to the U.S. military and an expert on counterterrorism threats, said the French operation has produced mixed results but was still an important tool to stem the spread of extremist violence.
Submitted 1552 days ago
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