U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN'S TRIP TO AFRICA

On 25 September 2023, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin addressed reporters in Nairobi, Kenya. He was in the country during his first official visit to Africa for meetings with African leaders, including Kenyan President William Ruto and Cabinet Secretary of Defense Aden Duale. Speaking about the ongoing crisis in Niger, he said "While we give diplomacy a chance, we will also evaluate any future steps that would prioritize both our diplomatic and security goals." He declared that Washington had "not made any significant change to our force postures and ... we really want to see a diplomatic solution, a peaceful end" to the ongoing crisis in Niger.Earlier, during a meeting in Washington with President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique on 22 September 2023, Secretary Austin noted that "across the continent, we've seen autocrats undermine free and fair elections and blocked [sic] peaceful transitions of power. When generals overturn the will of the people, and put their own ambitions above the rule of law, security suffers, and democracy dies." He went on to say that "As a Biden administration strategy for sub-Saharan Africa notes, effective, legitimate, and accountable militaries and other security forces are essential to support open, democratic, and resilient societies and to counter destabilizing threats. Or to put it more bluntly, militaries exist to defend their people and not to defy them. And Africa needs militaries that serve their citizens and not the other way around."And on 27 September 2023, in remarks Austin made in Luanda, Angola, he observed that "other countries may see African countries as proxies or even pawns," but the United States wants "to move forward together, through growing partnerships rooted in mutual cooperation and mutual respect." Thus, "our outstanding U.S. Africa Command, led by General Michael Langley, provides a range of support to our partners in Africa, and that includes professional military education, capacity-building, counterterrorism, logistics and much, much more."