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China is putting the final coat of paint on a dock in the East African nation of Djibouti that is large enough to host its nuclear submarines and aircraft carrier. It’s not the only location in Africa where China is trying to gain a military advantage, it just happens to be the one down the road from an American base.
China has of late placed big bets on the African continent, building everything from ports and roads to soccer stadiums and presidential palaces, often using “debt diplomacy” or loans structured so that a few missed payments yield a 99-year lease to the Chinese government. U.S. Africa Command, stood up in 2009, oversees 6,000 troops operating across 53 nations on the continent with just 0.3% of the DOD budget. Its objectives include helping to fight al Qaeda- and ISIS-affiliated terrorists and train up partner militaries in the great power competition unfolding across the continent.
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President Joe Biden spoke about the need to confront terrorist groups in globally dispersed new safe havens as he announced the end of the war in Afghanistan Wednesday,
“Over the past 20 years, the threat has become more dispersed, metastasizing around the globe,” Biden said in his White House address.
“Al Shabaab in Somalia, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al Nusra in Syria, ISIS attempting to create a [caliphate] in Syria and Iraq and establishing affiliates in multiple countries in Africa and Asia,” he said, naming a few of the places America’s global combatant commands are working to root out terrorists.
Biden signals globally dispersed terrorism fight, renewed look at Africa msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
‘Not warranted’: Armed Services leaders call for National Guard drawdown at Capitol Print this article
The top Republican and Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee declared Thursday there is no need for the National Guard at the U.S. Capitol, jointly calling for a “measured drawdown.
“We are deeply troubled by the current level of security around the United States Capitol,” Chairman Adam Smith of Washington and ranking member Mike Rogers of Alabama said in a statement.
“It’s time for us to review what level of security is required, so they can return home to their families and communities,” the duo wrote more than two months after pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol on Jan. 6. “The present security posture is not warranted at this time.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin overruled the opinion of National Guard Bureau Chief Dan Hokanson when he approved a two-month extension of the National Guard presence at the Capitol following the riot of former President Donald Trump s supporters on Jan. 6.