President George W. Bush created a new command to oversee all military operations in Africa 18 years ago. U.S. Africa Command was meant to help “bring peace and security to the people of Africa.”
The Trump administration now has AFRICOM on the chopping block as part of its sweeping reorganization of the military. According to the general leading the command, its mission is far from accomplished.
Gen. Michael Langley, the head of AFRICOM, offered a grim assessment of security on the African continent during a recent press conference. The West African Sahel, he said last Friday, was now the “epicenter of terrorism” and the gravest terrorist threats to the U.S. homeland were “unfortunately right here on the African continent.”
The embattled four-star general — who noted his days were numbered as AFRICOM’s chief — was speaking from a conference of African defense chiefs in Kenya, where he had been imploring ministers and heads of state to help save his faltering command. “I said: ‘OK, if we’re that important to [you], you need to communicate that,’” he explained, asking them to have their U.S. ambassadors make entreaties on behalf of AFRICOM.
Current and former defense officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide candid assessments, were divided on whether Langley deserves a measure of blame for the dire straits the command finds itself in.
One former defense official spoke highly of Langley, calling him “an effective and transformational leader” who “rapidly grew into the job and developed strong, fruitful relationships with members of Congress.”
A current official, however, said almost the opposite, calling the four-star general a “marble mouth” who did a poor job of making a case for his command, “fumbled” relations with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and diminished AFRICOM’s standing with legislators. Asked by messaging app if the latter assessment was accurate, a former Africa Command official sent a laughing emoji and replied “no comment” followed by “but yes.” (The official said he could be quoted as such.)
Hellbound and Down 