A shift in 'forces devoted to counter-terrorism operations in Africa' may imply a larger focus on fighting 'traditional adversaries such as Russia and China,' according to NBC News.
Recently, U.S. officials have announced changes in troop allocation both in the Middle East and in Africa, alerting experts of possible shifts in focus towards combating its alleged ‘adversaries’ around the world.
An official traveling with U.S. National Security adviser John Bolton told reporters that the President is considering leaving some troops behind in Syria after the announced withdrawal, according to the Guardian.
The adviser was headed to Israel and Turkey to discuss the details of the United State’s army withdrawal from Syria with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan.
The remaining U.S. forces will be stationed at the al-Tanf military outpost in Syria.
Russia and Turkey have recently agreed, during a high-level meeting in Moscow, to coordinate actions on the ground once the United States fulfills President Donald Trump’s promise to withdraw troops from Syria.
At the same time, the U.S. is moving troops to Iraq to continue fighting ISIS in the neighboring country.
Somalia will also see a scale-up of U.S. military presence on its territory allegedly directed to fight the al-Shabab group, officials told NBC News.
According to U.S. security experts, the group is no longer a direct threat to the United States, and U.S. officials believe al-Shabab has been greatly weakened by military operations, including air-strikes.
But this move would appear to be a strategy to shift “forces devoted to counter-terrorism operations in Africa and focus more on traditional adversaries such as Russia and China,” according to the U.S. news agency.
Meanwhile, it was announced that there was yet another resignation in the Defense department, with Admiral Kevin Sweeney resigning from his post as the Pentagon’s chief of staff. The former official avoided mentioning the President in his resignation letter. The resignation takes place during a sensitive moment in United States’ foreign police further entrenching the negative reactions to the President’s handling of security policy from within his administration.
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, who picked Sweeney for the post, abruptly quit his post a few days ago over discrepancies with the President, “While the U.S. remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies,” Mattis wrote in his resignation letter.
