From Afghanistan to Somalia, the U.S. is developing a new stance that’s bringing troops home from places where it may have overstayed its welcome. As Biden is wanting for Afghanistan to govern itself, Trump echoed similar sentiments by slowly decreasing American presence in countries where he felt we didn’t belong.
While Trump has been excoriated for his views and policies on Muslims, minorities and people of color, most notably the Muslim ban and his handling, or mishandling, of the uproar of protests nationwide after the brutal killing of George Floyd — infuriating the left, he was actually pretty consistent with trying to bring troops home from many countries — perhaps placating the left, as he was the first president since Reagan to not engage in a new war.
Trump has expressed his dissatisfaction with America’s involvement in conflict countries around the world. He reduced the number of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. “Nearly 16 years after the September 11th attacks, after the extraordinary sacrifice of blood and treasure, the American people are weary of war without victory nowhere is this more evident than the war in Afghanistan” Trump complained. “The longest war in American history 17 years, I share the American people’s frustration.”
And by the end of 2020, Trump declared that all troops be removed from Somalia. Well, they are not completely removed from the entire region. They’re kind of working remotely from neighboring countries. So while some troops are returning home, others are packing their bags only to cross country lines into Djibouti and Kenya. The U.S. military, however, did not give much details about how many soldiers will be sticking around in the region.
As Trump made his announcement of leaving Somalia in his last month in office, Biden echoed similar sentiments with Afghanistan within his first few months in office, as he is trying to focus on domestic issues, like COVID, the relief packages, and his proposed infrastructure bill that’s in the trillions. So saving money by bringing troops home from across the seas can help with other domestic projects, as “billions [of dollars spent] each year makes little sense to me and to our leaders,” Biden said. “I concluded that it’s time to end America’s longest war. It’s time for American troops to come home. Our reasons for staying have become increasingly unclear.”
As with Afghanistan, 19,000 forces from various African countries are also planning to leave Somalia by the end of 2021. Kenya and Ethiopia are the largest troop contributors to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and their reduction of troops is hurting AMISOM. Ethiopia’s focus on Somalia seems to be shifting to internal issues that it has been facing with the Tigray region. And Kenya’s ongoing tension with Somali over a number of other issues, which Qatar momentarily seemed to resolve back in May, might contribute to its withdrawal from the region.
There are mixed feelings about the troops’ departure across the region. According to Colonel Ahmed Abdullahi Sheikh, who commanded Danab Brigade between 2016 and 2019, “You can launch and stage operations from countries like Djibouti and Kenya, but it’s not the same as being in the country. You can’t train a force remotely.” U.S. withdrawal “could have a pretty big impact,” says Omar Mahmood, an analyst at the International Crisis Group (a conflict research organization). “The American advisory role is invaluable for Danab.”
And the remote strikes usually come with the inevitable deaths of civilians. As Ilhan Omar stated that “Drone attacks in Somalia take place at night,” and that the U.S should “pay compensation on those who lost their lives,” something most families have not seen. “We are subject to international law,” Omar continued. “ And therefore, compensation should be paid if someone has been illegally killed by another state.”
Since the Korean war, the U.S has compensated civilians and families, called ex gratia payments, for those who have experienced “property damage, personal injury, or death,” as a result of the U.S. military’s involvement in such accidents. However, in 2019, the Defense Department has shown data from 2015-2018 where the total amount spent on ex gratia payment was $4.9 million, and all the money went to Iraq and Afghanistan only.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes $3 million in payments. But it’s just an authorization, not a legal requirement to make such payments. So for example, in 2019, the NDAA authorized payments to Syria, Libya, Yemen and Somalia; however, the military did not make the ex gratia payments to any of these countries. The Pentagon strategically pays to specific countries to improve relations with the U.S., where the U.S. has armed forces on the ground. Although human rights activists have beseeched the Pentagon to make these payments to more countries, the Pentagon is yet to respond.
