PENTAGON CHIEF VISITS SOMALIA AHEAD OF ANTICIPATED TROOP CUTS
Nearly 700 expected to be withdrawn by the end of Trump’s time in office
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller met with U.S. troops and diplomats in Somalia on Friday, the first Pentagon chief to visit the strife-torn East African nation. He may also be the last.
The three-hour visit to Mogadishu, the Somali capital, came as the acting secretary was wrapping up an overseas trip to the Middle East and East Africa. For security reasons, the Pentagon announced the stopover only after Miller had left the country.
Miller is preparing to announce as early as next week that virtually all of the more than 700 U.S. military troops in Somalia will depart by the time President Donald Trump
leaves office in January.
Before that happens, Pentagon officials said, Miller wanted to thank the troops in person over the Thanksgiving holiday and to meet
with Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, the head of the military’s Africa Command, and Donald Yamamoto, the U.S. ambassador to Somalia. Townsend had pushed back on proposals earlier this year by Mark Esper, the defense secretary at the time, to draw down U.S. forces and other assistance in Somalia.
In a statement issued by his command Friday, Townsend did not mention the expected troop cuts, but seemed to anticipate them by seeking to preemptively reassure African allies that the United States remained committed to the region.
“Partnership and a range of U.S. assistance remains critically important to the stability, security and prosperity of this region,” said Townsend, who flew from his headquarters in Germany to meet with Miller in Somalia and Djibouti. “We must continue to work together and deliver whole-of-government, international and African solutions to address regional issues.”
Trump’s withdrawal plan would not apply to thousands of U.S. troops stationed in nearby Kenya and Djibouti, where U.S. drones that carry out airstrikes in Somalia are based. They would continue to conduct counterterrorism operations against al-Shabab, the alQaeda affiliate in East Africa, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Still, critics said the expected troop cuts would occur at a difficult time for Somalia. The country is preparing for parliamentary elections next month and a presidential election in early February. The removal of U.S. troops could complicate any ability to keep election rallies and voting safe from al-Shabab attackers. Political turmoil has also erupted in neighboring Ethiopia, whose army has battled al-Shabab.
Most of the 700 U.S. troops in Somalia are Special Operations forces stationed at a small number of bases across the country. Their missions include training and advising Somali army and counterterrorism troops and conducting kill-or-capture raids against al-Shabab.