The U.S. military is backing off its usual talk of good governance and countering insurgencies' underlying causes, instead leaning into a message that its fragile allies in Africa must be ready to stand more on their own.
At African Lion , its largest joint training exercise on the continent, that shift was clear: "We need to be able to get our partners to the level of independent operations," Gen. Michael Langley said in an interview with The Associated Press.
"There needs to be some burden sharing," Langley, the U.S. military's top official in Africa, said on Friday, the final day of the exercise.
For four weeks, troops from more than 40 countries rehearsed how to confront threats by air, land, and sea. They flew drones, simulated close-quarters combat and launched satellite-guided rockets in the desert.
Maneuvers mirrored previous editions of African Lion, now in its 25th year. But mostly gone now is language that emphasizes ideas the U.S. once argued set it apart from Russia and China.