The deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs said in an interview earlier this month that the United States has vital interests on the continent and will work with African countries to protect those interests.
Maureen Farrell says Africa is a diverse continent with more than 1.5 billion people in 54 countries, speaking hundreds of languages and having hundreds of cultures, and a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. He emphasized.
Still, Farrell said there are commonalities. Countries in some subregions and certain climate zones share concerns, and the U.S. government often works with them on all aspects of government, from the economy to diplomacy to security and more, he said. said.
But all of this is being done based on feedback from colleagues in Africa, as opposed to feedback from the desks of policymakers here in Washington. “It all blends together without any confusion,” she said.”That’s a nuance that clearly needs to be understood to be effective.”
Listening and engaging with African leaders is a key part of Farrell’s job and a key aspect of Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley’s strategy, head of U.S. Africa Command. Mr. Farrell, Mr. Langley, and Air Force CQ. Gen. Brown Jr. just returned from the African Defense Secretary’s Conference in Gaborone, Botswana, where they listened and interacted with African leaders.
“This was a great opportunity for the chairman and combatant commanders to hear directly from senior-level personnel in uniform,” Farrell said. Together with Mr. Farrell, the two U.S. leaders held numerous bilateral meetings with African defense secretaries and were able to engage in intensive discussions. He said the discussion on West Africa was particularly important as Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States following recent coups.
“There is some interesting politics and threat information at play regarding the withdrawal of these three states from ECOWAS,” she said. Farrell said African countries in the region and beyond are paying close attention to the political implications of policy decisions regarding uniformed military service in the region.
Farrell said African leaders strongly desire African solutions to African problems and many countries are working together. She noted that the two countries offer different approaches to the problems of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Southern African Development Community has deployed peacekeeping forces to the eastern region of Congo. SADC is also deploying peacekeepers to Mozambique, where ISIS-related violence has killed thousands and displaced more than 800,000 people since 2017.
African countries are also cooperating in the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia.
“These are all African-led efforts,” Farrell said. “There are many examples of African leadership on security solutions.”
One of the continent-wide issues is climate change. Farrell said the Sahara Desert is growing and Sahel countries are feeling its effects. This means increased migration and struggles for resources, from water to food to energy.
“The expansion of the Sahel region poses resilience challenges for the peoples of the Sahel region, the West African coast, and the entire West African region,” Farrell said. “The drought problems plaguing the Horn of Africa are increasing security pressures. Added to this are the economic challenges of the global food crisis caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine. All these problems are straining the African system.”
He said the continent was also still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. “All these economic challenges create friction in society and are easy fodder for conflict,” she says. “I think our security services providers on the continent are very aware of the pressures of resource constraints and what that creates in terms of security challenges for them. The reality is that we also recognize that the trigger is usually on the water.”
She pointed to Lake Chad, the main water source for Niger, Chad and Nigeria, as an example. In recent years, the size of the lake has decreased dramatically, putting tremendous economic and political pressure on these countries. “If you look at the size of Lake Chad over the long term, you see that it has shrunk in years, not decades. Just a few years,” she says.
Farrell said Africa’s future will require more African leadership. The United States is willing to listen to and defer to African leaders. “Our African colleagues are leading the way and will continue to do so,” she said. “I think the challenge for us in Washington and its partners and allies is to properly support these mechanisms, rather than insisting on our own worldview.”
Africa has its challenges, but it also has its opportunities. She noted that Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates are investing in the continent. India, Japan, and South Korea are economically and diplomatically active with African countries. “I think these movements are something we need to pay attention to,” she said. “There is no question that the rest of the world views this continent as important, not just in resource extraction, but also in diplomatic maneuvering and economic investment. These trends are important for the Department of Defense to consider. I think it needs to be part of the equation.”
China and Russia are also interested in expanding their influence on the continent. “Africans recognize that they have a choice and are choosing to engage with African partners for mutual benefit,” Farrell said. “It is part of the picture that other actors are involved. We are interested in partnering with Angola, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and many other countries because we value these countries. bilateral relations, and often the role of those countries in the broader region. ”
“Threats may arise from the engagement of other actors on the continent (China and Russia), but generally our priority is to engage with our African partners for our own mutual benefit.” she continued.
