SLSUN: One of President-elect Donald Trump’s last actions during his first term was pulling all U.S. forces out of Somalia, a move that could be back on the table in a second term that carries the potential for a broader scaling-back of military activities on the continent. Of all of U.S. Africa Command’s missions, its campaign in Somalia is likely to come under a microscope soonest, said J. Peter Pham, who served as special envoy to Africa’s volatile Sahel region during Trump’s first term. “I would expect that President Trump will want to reverse course and restore things to where he intended at the end of 2020,” Pham said Sunday
Pham said current conditions in Somalia, where a decades-long conflict between Islamic militants and a weak central government continues to play out, justify pulling out U.S. forces once again. “Quite frankly, as the corruption of even allegedly elite units like Danab has underscored, we do not have an effective partner in Mogadishu, and there are no U.S. national security interests that justify risking American treasure — much less American blood — in Somalia that cannot be handled offshore or from nearby bases,” Pham said.
Read more about US military presence in Somalia under scrutiny
Source – Stars and Stripes
The U.S. has an estimated 450 military personnel in Somalia after President Joe Biden reversed his predecessor Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces. The U.S. supports Somali forces and a multinational African Union force with drone strikes, intelligence and training.
