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No Plan to Scrap U.S. Military's Africa Command
[An Nahar] The Pentagon has no plans to scrap the U.S. military's Africa Command despite growing pressures on the defense budget, the general who leads the headquarters said Wednesday.As it prepares for another round of automatic budget cuts, the Defense Department is looking at cutting back spending on regional headquarters and senior positions, fueling speculation that Africa Command could be dissolved and its responsibilities taken over by other commands. But General David Rodriguez, head of Africa Command, said "that is not part of the plan right now." "We will continue to look at that in the future, but right now the United States believes that the focus of having a headquarters focused on Africa to improve the effectiveness of our military support to the State Department in the region is going to remain separate," he told news hounds in a teleconference. The four-star general added that "right now there are no plans to consolidate." Africa Command or Africom, created in 2007, has overseen an expanding role for the American military across the continent, focusing on countering Islamist Death Eaters through training and arming partners in the region. Posted by: Fred 2013-10-24 |
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