U.S. Mulls AFRICOM Future Amid Africa Policy Shift
The U.S. is considering merging Africa Command (AFRICOM) with European Command.
The United States is reassessing the future of its Africa-focused military command, AFRICOM, amid shifting global priorities and diminishing security influence across parts of the continent, General Michael Langley said Tuesday.
Speaking in Nairobi before a regional defense conference, Gen. Langley acknowledged internal discussions within the Trump administration about potentially merging AFRICOM with U.S. European Command to reduce bureaucratic overhead.
Langley stated he had urged African leaders to express their positions through diplomatic channels: “If we're that important to you, you need to communicate that and we'll see.”
AFRICOM was established in 2008 to address growing U.S. security interests in Africa, particularly Islamist insurgencies and strategic competition with China and Russia.
A string of military coups in the Sahel—most notably in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali—has forced Washington to reassess its military partnerships. In 2024, Niger ordered U.S. troops to vacate a $100 million drone base and withdraw nearly 1,000 military personnel.
While full military ties have frayed, Langley noted that intelligence sharing continues in some form with several of the region's new military regimes.