Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller made a quick visit on Friday to the Somalia capital Mogadishu accompanied by the Africom Commander, U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend. The trip, the first by an American Defense Secretary which was not announced in advance, was confirmed in separate releases from the Defense Department and the U.S. Africa Command. Miller, who was put in the post on November 9 after President Trump fired his predecessor in a post-election Pentagon reshuffle, is said to be planning to remove the approximately 700 U.S. troops currently assigned to the east African nation.
The visit by the two top-level officials follows a report by the New York Times that a CIA officer, who was part of the paramilitary forces combating al-Shabab in Somalia, was killed in a counterterrorism operation in recent days. In a recent Quincy Institute examination of a five-year expansion of U.S. military activity in Somalia, Elizabeth Shackelford concludes: "The current military-led strategy promises no end to lethal interventions, and the costs and risks associated with it exceed the threats it is meant to address."
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller announcing the draw down of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq by Jan. 15, 2021 at the Pentagon. Miller, who made a quick visit to Mogadishu on November 27, is expected to approve the withdrawal of the approximately 700 American forces now in Somalia.
Africa: Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Joins Africom Commander on Visit to Somalia and Djibouti
Africom, 27 November 2020
U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command, was joined by acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller on a multi-day trip Nov. 25-27 to Djibouti and… Read more »
Africa: Africom Commander Meets With Djiboutian Foreign Minister
Africom, 27 November 2020
U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, and U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti Larry E. André met with Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf… Read more »
Somalia: U.S. Defence Auditor Warns Somalia Still 'Too Weak' to Stand On Its Own
Nation, 27 November 2020
Somalia's security forces may still be too weak to stand on their own, an independent auditor of the US Defence said on Wednesday, warning of a possible resurgence of militant… Read more »
Somalia: Realigning Our Engagement with Our Interests in Somalia - Report
Quincy Institute, 10 November 2020
In U.S. foreign policy circles today, the bar to justify ending a military intervention is higher than it is to keep one going. Small wars have become routine foreign policy tools,… Read more »
Somalia: International Relations and Cooperation On Security Council Briefing On the Situation in Somalia
Govt of SA, 23 November 2020
A3 + 1 Joint Statement delivered by Ambassador Jerry Matjila of the Permanent Mission of South Africa, to the United Nations, during the Security Council briefing on the situation… Read more »
U.S. Army Sgt. Don Baldwin, 1-186th Infantry Battalion, Oregon National Guard, points to the horizon while explaining items of interest to look out for during a security patrol in Somalia, on December 3, 2019.
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In a rare acknowledgement of civilian casualties from the U.S. Africa Command's military operations in Somlia, the AFRICOM commander, U.S. General Stephen Townsend said in a report ... Read more »
Director for East and Southern Africa for Amnesty International, Deprose Muchena, says "the U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM, has not only failed in its mission to report civilian ... Read more »
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