Congress Fawns Over Failed General
We’re losing in Africa, commander tells congress; is thanked anyway
When four star General Michael Langley appeared before Congress this week to cap off his military career and say goodbye to his chummy benefactors, the retiring head of the military’s Africa Command revealed a stunning failure to improve or even preserve the security of the continent and the U.S.
Somehow this glaring admission did not prevent senators from heaping embarrassing amounts of praise on the general, at a hearing that is meant to hold the Pentagon accountable.
“Based upon the testimony this morning, I’d like to move [that] we extend the terms of these two generals for another four years,” said Senator Angus King of Maine, referring to Langley and another general nearing retirement.
“Without objection,” concurred Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who chairs the committee.
“ You have made the United States safer; you have made our forces in Europe and Africa stronger,” Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said. “On behalf of this committee, thank you for your distinguished service to our nation.”
One after another, Democratic, Republican and even independent senators agreed on Langley’s greatness and how masterfully he had conducted his job bringing peace and stability to the continent. The performance on Capitol Hill was all the more shocking because in his testimony before the committee, Langley told his overseers that he had completely failed.
“Back in 2007, when we were stood up,” Langley said of his command’s founding, “we looked at the challenges across the globe and especially the challenge of terrorism. … At that time, the global presence of terrorism on the African continent was 2 percent … today it's 43 percent.”
The U.N. is even more pessimistic.
Africa “remains the epicenter of global terrorism, with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 59 per cent of all terrorism-related deaths worldwide,” according to a recent report. In 2024 alone, the African Union (AU) Counter-Terrorism Centre documented over 3,400 terrorist attacks and 13,000 civilian fatalities on the continent.
Most of that terrorism was previously concentrated in the north and in the Sahel, the transition zone between Islamic North Africa and the sub-Saharan nations. But in 2024, terrorism started spilling over into coastal West Africa. Violent attacks there, the UN says, have increased 250 percent in the past two years. The tiny nation of Burkina Faso is now leading the world in terrorism deaths with a 68 percent increase in the past year, with “little support to help reverse the trend,” says Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General.
Speaking of the Sahel and West Africa, Langley gave a dire assessment in his annual posture statement:
“The region has recently experienced a wave of military coups, with countries like Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Niger facing upheaval as military officers ousted elected governments. These disruptions stem from entrenched corruption, slow economic development, weak democratic institutions, and limited strategic patience. Terrorist groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS have exploited these vulnerabilities, thriving in poorly governed regions and preying on underserved populations. Public discontent has intensified, fueled by lingering frustrations with former colonial powers. Central governments, often overstretched, have struggled to counter insurgencies, address corruption, deliver essential services, and resolve inter-ethnic disputes over limited resources.”
This bleak picture didn’t seem to bother the senate in the slightest. Instead of responding, ‘Now wait a minute, general, isn't it your job to reduce terrorism and bring stability and peace to Africa?,’ the Senate was falling all over itself to lick his boots. The committee even asked the retiring commander what more resources AFRICOM needed.
The web of U.S. military bases, war games, training opportunities, and arms sales AFRICOM has overseen since its creation a decade ago has not only presided over this rise in terrorism, but it has also stood by helplessly as the security situation and future prospects deteriorated.
In 2024, wars continued in Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone, there were attempted or successful coup d'états. (Since 2020, there have been nine successful and seven failed coups in West and Central Africa.) In Chad, the government killed political opposition leader Yaya Dillo, who was running against his cousin, the current president. In Senegal, the government postponed the mandated presidential election.
Islamist groups continued to grow in 2024, particularly in the Sahel region, with JNIM (Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen) intensifying its activities in countries like Burkina Faso and Mali. Operating mainly in the Sahel region, JNIM recorded a significant rise in attacks in 2024, killing some 1,000 civilians.
Al Shabaab in Somalia and Boko Haram in Nigeria and Cameroon, accounted for over 500 deaths, according to the UN. ISIS affiliates Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWA) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) flourished. Newer groups, like the Allied Democratic Forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama in Mozambique, gained ground.
Instead of even a partial acknowledgement that he could have handled things better, Langley breaks out a wish list: more special operations, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) equipment; counter-drone technologies, and missile defense. Langley also alludes to “other platforms” he’d like to discuss with the friendly committee in closed hearing.
Here’s the exchange:
SENATOR TOMMY TUBERVILLE: Sounds like from your testimony that Africa is in trouble — 40 percent rise in terrorism. What's your most pressing need that you can tell us for what we can help you with?
GEN. LANGLEY: Senator, thanks for that question. My number one operational priority is protection of the force. And so, as I stipulated in my opening statement, I focused on matching capabilities to the threat. When we match capabilities to the threat, first calls for integrated air missile defense and it calls for ISR and other platforms would add to the capacity and capability of protecting the force. In closed session, I would be able to elaborate with more specificity….
“Protection of the force” is the military’s euphemism for that the top priority of the command is to reduce the risk of basing and operating U.S. military forces in Africa. Langley even brags that when the United States had to withdraw its 1,000 person base from Niger in 2024 because of a military coup, it did so in a “safe, orderly, and responsible” way. Achievement medals all around.
Taxpayers can expect a bill for more bases and whatever else the command says it needs in the forthcoming Pentagon budget, which President Donald Trump said yesterday would cross a record-shattering $1 trillion. (Don’t worry, Trump also said he was going to be “very cost conscious.”)
The lesson here is that it’s all about what the command needs; not what Africa or America needs.
Succeed or fail, the generals always win.
— Edited by William M. Arkin
As a “Jack-of-all-trades” in Foreign Military Sales and security policy I can state unequivocally that AFRICOM has wasted a decade under less than stellar leadership. A continent in desperate need of strong leadership and guidance, has instead been forced to turn its eyes to China for a “fast buck” and limited security guarantees. The epitome of a “lost continent”.
"a stunning failure to improve or even preserve the security of the continent and the U.S."
You are making the mistake of thinking that security is what they were after.
The entire point of the America's post-WWII foreign policy is to prevent any resource rich nation from selfishly improving the material conditions of its population. By raising living standards, they are also raising the price of labor and natural resources.
How will the oligarchs afford their support yacht if they have to pay retail? You know, the yacht they need to support their other, bigger yacht that can't fit in the marina!
"Domino theory" was all about keeping costs down and profits up. Improved living conditions and higher wages for the workers means less obscene profits. A fair wage for a fair day's work is unamerican.