Biden Military Review Leaves Troops Where They Are, for Now

Politics|Biden Military Review Leaves Troops Where They Are, for Now

WASHINGTON — Pentagon officials announced the results of a astir yearlong reappraisal of the country’s subject beingness overseas connected Monday, but the proposal included fewer changes successful the positioning of American troops.

The report, billed arsenic a “global posture review,” aimed to fig retired however to champion deploy U.S. troops and weaponry astir the world, peculiarly fixed the administration’s oft-stated volition to displacement the American subject absorption toward the powerfulness struggle with a rising China and distant from decades of struggle successful the Middle East and South Asia.

In fact, the astir substantive alteration successful the unclassified information of the reappraisal appears to beryllium improvements astatine airfields successful the Asia-Pacific region. The Pentagon volition besides marque infrastructure improvements astatine bases successful Guam, Defense Department officials said.

The Biden medication announced successful September that it had formed a caller concern with Australia and Britain to deepen practice successful the Asia-Pacific region. Under the agreement, which followed concealed deliberations among the 3 countries, Australia dumped a declaration with France to bargain diesel submarines successful favour of gathering nuclear-powered submarines with the assistance of the United States and Britain. The United States is besides expected to nonstop much deployments to Australia.

But the review, ordered up by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III successful March, sidesteps a determination connected what to bash astir unit numbers successful Africa, peculiarly Somalia, pursuing President Donald J. Trump’s determination to propulsion retired determination past year.

A Defense authoritative said the medication volition proceed to enactment toward figuring retired unit numbers for East Africa. That determination has taken connected caller value arsenic Ethiopia slides into civilian warfare and the Islamic extremist radical Al Shabab continues attacks successful Somalia.

Meanwhile, successful West Africa, the Biden medication has promised France that it volition bolster the country’s counterterrorism efforts, including perchance sending further reconnaissance planes and drones to a $110 cardinal airfield that the United States built successful the godforsaken scrub adjacent Agadez, Niger.

Mara Karlin, a Defense Department argumentation official, said during a quality league Monday astatine the Pentagon that the unit beingness successful Africa would beryllium “appropriately scoped” to show coercion threats crossed the continent.

The reappraisal is besides unclear connected what President Biden plans to bash to antagonistic Russian aggression connected the borderline with Ukraine, wherever Moscow has deployed troops for the 2nd clip this year, prompting fears of a subject incursion. In April, successful what was considered a connection to Moscow, Mr. Austin announced that the United States would summation its subject beingness successful Germany by astir 500 unit and that it was scuttling plans introduced nether Mr. Trump for a ample unit simplification successful Europe.