Pompeo Seeks to Assure African Partners as U.S. Weighs Troop Cuts
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U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, left, shakes hands with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew in Addis Ababa, on Feb. 18.
Photographer: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo sought to reassure African allies that the U.S. is committed to fighting the spread of Islamist militancy even as the Trump administration weighs cutting troops stationed across the continent.
Security concerns have been a key focus of Pompeo’s trip this week to Senegal, Angola and Ethiopia, his first visit to the continent as secretary of state. He acknowledged that a troop review is under way, but said the U.S. would work with partners and explain its decision -- comments that suggested the U.S. is indeed planning a pullback.