Last month, The New York Times reported that the U.S. Department of Defense was considering “a major reduction—or even a complete pullout—of American forces from West Africa.” The proposal is part of a worldwide review of overseas U.S. deployments, based on the Trump administration’s strategic framework of refocusing resources away from counterterrorism missions and toward competition with adversarial great powers like China and Russia. But for many observers, it was just the latest troubling sign of American disengagement from Africa.
For this week’s interview on Trend Lines, journalist Peter Tinti joins WPR’s Elliot Waldman for a conversation about the on-the-ground reality of U.S. military activities across Africa, as well as the diplomatic and security implications of a drawdown of U.S. troops. Tinti is currently a senior research fellow at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more complimentary articles in our weekly roundup every Friday. Sign up here. Then subscribe.
Listen:
Download: MP3
Subscribe: iTunes | RSS | Spotify
Relevant Articles on WPR:
America’s Downsized Relationship With Africa Is About to Go Totally Adrift
The ‘Myths and Lies’ Behind the U.S. Military’s Growing Presence in Africa
Why Africa’s Future Will Determine the Rest of the World’s
Trump’s ‘Prosper Africa’ Strategy Is Fixated on a Cold War-Like View of China
Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You can follow him on Twitter at @peterdoerrie.
To send feedback or questions, email us at podcast@worldpoliticsreview.com.