Overreach in Africa: Rethinking U.S. Counterterrorism strategy
Key points
Due to an overly broad definition of threat, the United States currently commits far too many military resources to counterterrorism, especially in Africa.
The United States is pursuing military action against at least thirteen terrorist groups in Africa, but only one of those groups has the “global reach” to be a threat to Americans. Consequently, the U.S. military is fighting a slew of counterinsurgency—not counterterrorism—wars in Africa today, a strategy that borders on nation-building.