Pentagon To Cut By Half Special Forces In Africa

An American Special Forces soldier training Nigerien troops during an exercise in April outside Agadez, Niger.CreditTara Todras-Whitehill for The New York Times

New York Times: Pentagon May Cut Commando Forces in Africa in Major Military Review

WASHINGTON — A sweeping Pentagon review of elite United States commando missions is likely to result in a sharp cut — by as much as half over the next three years — in Special Operations forces in Africa, military officials said.

Ordered by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in recent weeks, the assessment of Special Operations units worldwide follows an ambush in Niger that killed four American soldiers last fall. The review is an outgrowth of a Defense Department strategy that focuses on combating rising threats from Russia and China.

More than 7,300 Special Operations troops are working around the world, many of them conducting shadow wars against terrorists in Yemen, Libya, Somalia and other hot spots. The Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla., has also assumed important new missions in recent years, like taking the lead on combating weapons of mass destruction.

Pentagon officials said Mr. Mattis and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are worried that the commandos are spread too thin. The two leaders have ordered the military’s Special Operations and Africa commands to present a range of options by mid-June to balance rising security challenges — which also include North Korea and Iran — with vital counterterrorism operations.

Read more ....

Update #1: US mulls reduction of soldiers in Somalia (Business Daily)
Update #2: US special forces in Somalia reportedly facing major cuts (Daily Nation)

WNU Editor: What is the point of having special forces in Africa when this is the policy that they must follow .... U.S. Commandos in Africa Are Told to Avoid Combat Missions or ‘Do Not Go’ (The New York Times).