At the heart of this year’s African Lion military exercise, the United States signaled a dramatic shift in its engagement on the continent. Gone is the long-favored narrative of “good governance” and addressing root causes of insurgency. In its place, a blunt message that Africa’s fragile allies must learn to shoulder more of their own security burdens.
“We need to be able to get our partners to the level of independent operations,” said Gen. Michael Langley, head of U.S. Africa Command, during an interview with the Associated Press. “There needs to be some burden sharing,” he added on the final day of the four-week joint military training event involving over 40 countries.
The pivot marks a departure from past U.S. messaging, which had emphasized a three-pronged “whole-of-government” approach integrating defense, diplomacy, and development, a counterbalance to the more transactional strategies employed by Russia and China in Africa.
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In this year’s drills, troops rehearsed air, land, and sea maneuvers, deployed drones, conducted close-quarter simulations, and fired satellite-guided rockets in the Moroccan desert. While the exercises resembled past editions of African Lion, the philosophical underpinnings have clearly evolved.
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“We have our set priorities now — protecting the homeland,” Langley said, citing support to countries like Sudan. “And we’re also looking for other countries to contribute to some of these global instability areas.”
The tone aligns with broader moves inside the Pentagon to create “a leaner, more lethal force,” which includes trimming leadership positions in regions like Africa. The timing is critical, as U.S. rivals expand their footprint. China is deepening ties through training initiatives, while Russia’s mercenary networks rebrand and entrench themselves in North, West, and Central Africa.
Langley, who is expected to step down later this year, once championed an approach grounded in systemic development. Just last year, he highlighted how governance, not just firepower, was key to long-term peace.
“I’ve always professed that AFRICOM is not just a military organization,” he said at the time. He argued that only through stable governance could African nations overcome layered threats like desertification, crop failure, and extremism. “Good governance,” he added, “is an enduring solution to a number of layered threats.”
Today, that perspective has taken a backseat. Langley acknowledged that integrated efforts have produced results in some places, notably Ivory Coast, where economic investment and defense collaboration have reduced attacks from jihadist groups near the northern border. But these cases remain the exception, not the rule.
“I’ve seen progression and I’ve seen regression,” he said.
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U.S. officials now view Africa as the emerging epicenter of global terror activity. Al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates have multiplied, according to a senior defense official who described Africa as central to both groups’ current strategy. “We see Africa as the epicenter for both al-Qaida and Islamic State,” said the official, who spoke anonymously.
Despite this, Africa has rarely figured prominently in Pentagon priorities. Still, the U.S. has invested heavily, deploying around 6,500 personnel across the continent and spending hundreds of millions in security assistance. Even so, partner militaries often lack the capacity to act independently, leaving critical gaps in regions under siege.
In Somalia, for example, the U.S. has ramped up airstrikes under President Donald Trump, targeting al-Shabab and IS operatives. Yet Langley admits the Somali army is still struggling.
“The Somali National Army is trying to find their way,” he said. “There are some things they still need on the battlefield to be very effective.”
The situation is similarly bleak in West Africa’s Sahel region, where local forces face persistent insurgent threats with minimal air power and poor infrastructure. “Many of them do not have very strong air forces and are not able to monitor the movement of militants,” said Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at Control Risks. “The infrastructure is extremely poor.”
Even before Western retrenchment from the Sahel, whether voluntary or forced by hostile juntas, military capacity was already stretched. Now, regional vacuums are being filled by Russia and China, while extremist groups consolidate control in remote areas.
In 2024, West Africa accounted for over half of global terrorism fatalities, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace. Somalia was the deadliest nation for terrorism outside the Sahel, responsible for 6% of terrorism-related deaths worldwide.
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