The head of Africa Command warned members of Congress about the multitude of threats to the United States emanating from the continent in testimony on Tuesday.
Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of AFRICOM, testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he laid out the terrorism landscape and provided insight into Russia’s and China’s investments in Africa.
“Due to a lack of effective governance and counter-terrorism pressure,” the terror group al-Shabaab “has only grown stronger and bolder over the past year,” while “Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslmin, or JNIM, has metastasized into a powerful, sprawling terrorist network now threatening Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and littoral West Africa,” he said in his written testimony.
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Townsend also expressed concern about the Islamic State, which he said exploits “ungoverned spaces, including recognition and creation of new branches elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa,” which “has increased the groups’ ability to destabilize local governments, exploit fragility and instability factors, and drive radicalism.”
The Army general warned lawmakers that violent extremist organizations have “shifted their weight of effort to Africa” and said the U.S. and partners “have not achieved the success we need” in “disrupt[ing] and degrad[ing] the most dangerous” groups, though he noted “al-Qaeda and ISIS in West Africa does not pose an immediate threat to the U.S. homeland.”
“Deadly terrorism has metastasized to Africa. Al-Qaeda’s Al-Shabaab in East Africa and ISIS and Al Qaeda groups in West Africa and elsewhere are among the world’s fastest growing, wealthiest, and deadliest terrorist groups and remain grave and growing threats that aspire to kill Americans, both there and in our homeland,” he told the senators.
China’s and Russia’s efforts in Africa also pose a threat to America, and the two adversaries to the U.S. “have long recognized Africa’s importance,” he added.
“Both nations leverage opportunities to erode U.S. influence with African nations. Both nations are gaining ground on the continent. Both nations successfully convert soft and hard power investments into new partnerships. Both nations exert political influence at U.S. expense,” Townsend added. “China continues to focus on the long game as its dominant position in African markets has allowed it to buttress autocracies and influence global political norms, technological standards, and commercial practices while offering an entry point for their military.”
The general also claimed that China’s work in Africa will allow Beijing to “project power eastward into the Middle East and Indo-Pacific theaters” within less than a decade, while noting that should it open a permanent naval presence in West Africa, it would “almost certainly” cause the Department of Defense to shift its naval force posture.
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Russia, according to Townsend, “continues to undermine rule of law by exploiting insecurity and diplomatic disputes to expand its presence in Africa,” and it primarily does that through its use of the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group, which has inserted itself into Libya, Sudan, Mozambique, the Central African Republic, and Mali.
A decrease in Department of Defense funding “is an area of concern for me” because “I assess it opens the door for China or Russia to usurp the U.S. as the partner of choice,” he said.
Just days ago, the Air Force disciplined eight service members following the conclusion of two concurrent investigations into the Manda Bay attack in Kenya that left three Americans dead. Investigators found that there was a “culture of complacency [that] permeated multiple leadership teams,” though there was not “criminal negligence or misconduct.”
