Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and his undersecretary, Elbridge Colby, have made clear that the United States will not engage in counterterrorism in Africa unless the cells pose a direct threat to the American homeland.

As Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimin, or JNIM, an al Qaeda-linked insurgent group, tightens its blockade over Mali‘s capital, Bamako, regional officials are awakening to the possibility that a group as radical and uncompromising as the Islamic state could soon control vast swaths of territory in Africa. The White House and Pentagon may not deem Mali important, but the second-order effects could be huge.