Al-Shabaab Emblem (Wikipedia Commons) 

By  Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

WASHINGTON  DC –  Ranking  Republican member of the Senate Armed Armed Services Committee Sen. Jim Inhofe Tuesday called on the Pentagon to consider re-deploying U.S. troops to Somalia to counter the sharp rise in extremist activity by  al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab terrorist group.  US President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of nearly all US troops from Somalia during his final days in office.  The US had about 700 troops in the country helping local forces battle al-Shabab and Islamic State militants.  Sen.  Inhofe questioned witnesses at the annual posture hearing for United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) and United States Central Command (CENTCOM).  The Republican Senator strongly advocates for an “enduring” U.S. troop presence in Somalia. 

“I opposed the last administration’s decision to pull nearly all of our troops out of Somalia and move them to Djibouti and Kenya and pursue an over the horizon counter-terrorism strategy that increases risk and decreases our effectiveness. We’re seeing this play out on the ground in Somalia as things get worse and Al Shabab gains in strength.”

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)

Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) serves as the top Republican, or the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.  Sen. Inhofe was a staunch supporter of former President Trump. (Credit: inhofe.senate.gov)

Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, and Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of U.S. Africa Command, testified during Tuesday’s Senate Armed Armed Services Committee posture hearings on security challenges in the Middle East and Africa.  Sen. Inhofe told Gen. Townsend that he had opposed Trump’s move to pull out US troops in Somalia. The Senator then reminded Gen. Townsend that he called Al-Shabab a primary enemy in Somalia and “the largest and most kinetically active  al Qaeda network in the world.” Sen. Inhofe then asked Gen. Townsend:  “Have you submitted a request to your chain of command to put  DOD forces back into Somalia on a full time basis .  If yes, when did you  submit request and have you got a response.”  Gen. Townsend responded that his “chain of command” (Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin) is considering the “advice”  to re-deploy U.S troops to Somalia. 

“All the characterizations you just relayed there about Somalia and the threat from  Al Shabab are correct. I have submitted advice to my Chain of Command, and my chain of command is still considering that advice. I’d like to give them space to make that decision. I can go into a bit more detail in closed session.”

-Gen. Townsend,  AFRICOM Commander 

Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, Commander, U.S. Africa Command provides testimony the Senate Armed Services Apr. 22, 2021 Washington D.C. (Photo U.S. Africa Command) 

Gen. Townsend acknowledged that the pullout of of U.S. troops from Somalia has made it more difficult to counter terror groups that could threaten American interests. 

The AFRICOM chief said deadly terrorism has metastasized to Africa.

Those threats include terrorist groups al-Qaida and al-Shabab in East Africa and al-Qaida and ISIS in West Africa and elsewhere,  Gen. Townsend  said. 

AFRICOM Commander “Troubled” Over African Countries UN vote on Russia-Ukraine Resolution

During Tuesday’s  posture hearing,  U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand asked Gen. Townsend how did he view “our African partners opinion of Russia’s Invasion in Ukraine.”   In an emergency session on March 2, 2022, the United Nations (U.N.) voted on a resolution to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The resolution garnered widespread support across U.N. members as a whole, but African countries were divided in their votes:  Only 28 out of the 54 African countries (just over 51 percent) represented in the U.N. voted in favor of the resolution, sharply contrasting to the 81.3 percent of non-African countries that voted in favor of the resolution.  Only one African country, Eritrea, voted against the resolution, joining  Belarus, Russia, North Korea, and Syria. 

“If you saw the vote play out in the UN. About half of Africa voted to condemn Russia’s invasion. The other half either elected to abstain or did not vote. I think only one voted (Eritrea) to support Russia. It is troubling to me that half the continent abstained or did not vote. I think that is because they are trying to see how this is going to play out. Many of them have strong economic ties to Russia…and I think they are biding their time.”

-Gen. Townsend