Will Trump let Mali fall to the jihadists?

The third time will not be the charm. As radical jihadis close in on Bamako, the capital of Mali and a city with roughly the same population as Los Angeles, the United States appears woefully unprepared, if not AWOL.

President Donald Trump has yet to appoint an assistant secretary of state to oversee and coordinate policy in Africa at a time when Russian and Chinese influence has surged and Africa has become the epicenter for rare earths and commodities trade. The U.S. Embassy in Mali has only a skeleton staff. African states in the region, including U.S. partners like the Ivory Coast and Senegal, will soon need to brace for the arrival of millions of refugees.