“France’s defence minister departs for Washington on Sunday hoping to convince officials to keep U.S. soldiers in West Africa, where French authorities are under pressure after years of trying to bolster local forces against Islamic extremists.”
Here we see France’s full recognition of the deadly threat of “Islamic extremists” in West Africa. On Jihad Watch, we call them what they are: jihadis, whose actions are fully backed by Islamic texts that they are all too proud to tout. French leaders, with their globalist policies, have failed to protect their own citizens, even while “the French government has claimed that fighting jihadism in the region is essential in the global struggle against terrorism.” The situation in West Africa is grave:
There is a danger from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in the region, and ISIS claims the terror groups in the area of Mali, Niger and Burkino Faso constitute a “province” of the caliphate. “There’s a variety of terrorist organizations that are operating in the area that have declared allegiance to ISIS and al-Qaida.
However, “President Donald Trump insists the U.S. must focus on containing Russia and China, with Africa seen as less of a direct threat — and one that should be left to France and the European Union.”
These days, “Macron has shifted right and begun talking tough on immigration, especially on the perceived abuses of France’s generous social welfare system,” but for the wrong reasons. It’s all political, as he desperately seeks to keep his opponent Marine Le Pen at bay.
Nearly 124,000 people requested asylum in France last year, a record number and an increase of 23 percent from the previous year. The requests came mainly from Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan and France’s former African colonies, but also from Albania and Georgia, two countries that France says respect human rights.
“Macron Sends Defence Chief to U.S. to Beg Trump to Keep Troops in Africa,” AFP, January 26, 2020:
(AFP) — France’s defence minister departs for Washington on Sunday hoping to convince officials to keep U.S. soldiers in West Africa, where French authorities are under pressure after years of trying to bolster local forces against Islamic extremists.
Florence Parly’s visit comes just days after her tour of the Sahel region, a vast arid expanse where states have little more than nominal control, allowing jihadist fighters to flourish.
Paris and its allies consider the region increasingly critical for ensuring Europe’s security against jihadist threats and for stemming an unchecked flow of migrants across the Mediterranean.
The United States has been a key ally for France’s 4,500-member Barkhane operation, providing intelligence and surveillance via drones as well as in-flight refuelling and logistical transport, at a cost of $45 million a year.
“The American commitment to the region is essential because they provide critical capabilities, some of which cannot be replaced,” an official in the French presidency told AFP this week.
But President Donald Trump insists the U.S. must focus on containing Russia and China, with Africa seen as less of a direct threat — and one that should be left to France and the European Union.
American military chiefs have confirmed they are considering a drawdown of troops from Africa.
“I want to make sure, as we look at counterterrorism, that I first and foremost am addressing threats to the homeland,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told journalists this week.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, has said a decision on the deployment of 7,000 U.S. special forces in Africa, particularly those in the Sahel, could come by early March.
“The question that we are working with the French on is the level of effort we are supporting the French with,” he said. “Is it too much? Too little? About right?”
Risky withdrawal
President Emmanuel Macron admitted a U.S. pullout would be “very bad news,” after a summit with France’s five Sahel partners earlier this month — not least because EU nations have shown little enthusiasm to join the fight.
France first deployed forces in 2012 to counter Islamic insurgency that had assailed much Mali’s north.
Since then the operation has been expanded to Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, tasked with building up a homegrown G5 Sahel force capable of fighting the jihadists on its own.
Prominent U.S. lawmakers such as Republican Lindsey Graham have urged Trump to uphold the Africa missions, warning of the risk of increased terror attacks in the Sahel and beyond…..