French Defense Minister Florence Parly made a public plea this week for the United States to remain engaged in Africa.
The military relationship between NATO allies Paris and Washington is “as solid as ever,” she said, adding that France knows “perfectly, Washington’s priorities, which are increasingly looking towards the Far East.”
“We understand that,” Parly said at a joint news conference with Defense Secretary Mark Esper after a Monday morning meeting at the Pentagon. But she said, “The U.S. support is critical to our operations and that its reduction would severely limit our effectiveness against terrorists.”
Esper said his review of the U.S. counterterrorism mission in Africa is not complete, and “no decisions yet have been made.”
“In due course, we will make them. I’ve been consulting now with Minister Parly for many months, and we will continue to do so as we make decisions and as we consult, going forward.”
Esper credited France for being “a real leader” in the Sahel region of northern Africa, noting its commitment of thousands of troops, but — echoing a theme of the Trump administration — said other countries need to fill the departing boots of U.S. service members.
“France has reached out to other European allies,” he said. “I think it’s time for other European allies to assist, as well, in the region, and that could offset whatever changes we make as we consider next steps in Africa.”
Parley reiterated that U.S. support “is really critical to our operations,” especially in light of this month’s agreement between France and the G-5 nations of West Africa to combine their military forces, as well as Paris’s commitment of an additional 220 French troops.
Read more from our senior writer on defense and national security in today’s edition of Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense.
