Latest news with #MichaelLangley
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - How to avoid Africa's next water war
In 2023, Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, warned that African countries face new destabilizing challenges, including 'climate change [that] is increasing desertification.' One year earlier, Morocco, a close U.S. ally on the northwestern edge of the Sahara Desert, had already started taking bold steps to get ahead of the negative effects of climate change. In particular, it began building a series of dams to better manage its increasingly precarious water resources. Scheduled for completion between 2026 and 2029, the dams will lessen the impact of more frequent and more violent floods, and they will allow Morocco to adapt to longer and more acute droughts. However, while the dams proactively mitigate the risks climate change poses to Morocco's domestic stability, they are catalysts for broader regional destabilization. One of the dams, and its projected 35 billion cubic feet reservoir, is only 19 miles from Morocco's border with Algeria. The watershed filling the reservoir flows southeasterly, not further into Morocco but away from it and across the border into nearby Algeria. While the dam will safeguard Moroccan communities' water supplies, it will cut off water for more than 300,000 Algerians just on the other side of the border. Waters from the Oued Guir and the Oued Zousfana Rivers flow east out of Morocco's craggy Atlas Mountains and form the transboundary Oued Saoura watershed. The Saoura watershed is the primary water source for Algeria's Bechar and Tindouf provinces. Combined, these two semi-arid provinces are bigger than the United Kingdom or Italy. Bechar and Tindouf depend on Saoura water for drinking, agriculture and industry. Bechar, an Algerian city only 37 miles from the Moroccan border, is not some scrappy Saharan outpost, but a well-developed regional hub. The eponymous seasonal Oued Bechar flows through town, its banks brimming with palm trees. A brand new university with faculties in medicine, biology, physics, political science and other disciplines caters to 15,000 students. Fountains burble and splash in shaded campus courtyards. There is a state-of-the-art oncology hospital. Nearly all (98 percent) of Bechar's 35,000 households have running water. They also all have electricity, gas and internet access. Morocco's dams blocking the Saoura watershed threaten all of this. In April, the University of Bechar hosted a conference on water resource management and equitable usage. Water resource specialists and geopolitical experts from other Algerian universities and around the world presented studies about the calamitous effects that Morocco's dams will have on Algerian communities and case studies of other successfully resolved cross-border water crises. The burgeoning dam dispute between Morocco and Algeria is hardly unique: Climate change is exacerbating water conflicts around the world. In many instances, like disputes about water usage on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers between Turkey and Iraq, or between Ethiopia and Egypt on the Nile, or more recently between India and Pakistan on the Indus River, opposing parties pursue a negotiated solution for equitable cross-border water sharing. Negotiations are typically protracted, taking years, and they are often fraught, but guided by the United Nations' 1992 Water Convention, which obliges countries with cross-border water resources to 'use transboundary waters in a reasonable and equitable way,' negotiations aim at a mutually acceptable compromise. Algeria and Morocco are a long way from any compromise. Morocco is unilaterally pursuing a water resource management strategy that will negatively impact Algeria, accelerate desertification in the Sahara and potentially internally displace hundreds of thousands of Algerians. But because there are no diplomatic ties between Algeria and Morocco, there are no formal channels to negotiate equitable transboundary water usage. Bechar, however, is not just home to a palm-lined river, a shiny cancer center and a university bustling with students. It is also home to Algeria's 3rd Military Region. The military base stretches for miles on the city's southwestern side, including an airfield, a hospital, barracks, a school and even a playground and a pool. In May, Algeria's Army chief of staff, the country's highest-ranked uniformed officer, oversaw a live fire military exercise with 3rd Military Region forces, showcasing tanks, drones, mobile rocket systems, fighter jets, attack helicopters, shoulder-launched missiles and a mock ground assault. All within 30 miles of the Moroccan border and 60 miles from Morocco's dams. With a 2025 defense budget estimated to be $25 billion, Algeria has the largest defense budget in Africa and almost double that of Morocco. For Algeria, the dams' disruption of the Saoura watershed is a violation of Algeria's sovereignty. Langley, who just visited Morocco in May at the conclusion of the U.S. African Lion joint military exercise, is no doubt correct: Countries need to take steps to counter climate change's destabilizing effects. But countries also need to ensure that the preventative measures they take accommodate broader contexts so that they do not become drivers of the very instability that they are trying to counter. This is the case of Morocco's dams: They are solving for potential instability in Morocco while simultaneously increasing its likelihood in Algeria. The U.S. has exceptionally good relations with Morocco. Morocco is a major non-NATO ally, the highest ally status a country can have with the U.S. outside the NATO framework. It is one of only four Arab countries to have a free trade agreement with the U.S. and is a signatory to the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations with Israel. The U.S. should use its considerable influence with Morocco to encourage it to reach an agreement with Algeria for the cooperative and equitable management of their shared transboundary water resources under the U.N. Water Convention, lest Algeria feels compelled to secure its national interest and its citizens' wellbeing through other means. Geoff D. Porter, Ph.D., is the president of North Africa Risk Consulting, a nonresident fellow at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, and a professor at Fordham University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
How to avoid Africa's next water war
In 2023, Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, warned that African countries face new destabilizing challenges, including 'climate change [that] is increasing desertification.' One year earlier, Morocco, a close U.S. ally on the northwestern edge of the Sahara Desert, had already started taking bold steps to get ahead of the negative effects of climate change. In particular, it began building a series of dams to better manage its increasingly precarious water resources. Scheduled for completion between 2026 and 2029, the dams will lessen the impact of more frequent and more violent floods, and they will allow Morocco to adapt to longer and more acute droughts. However, while the dams proactively mitigate the risks climate change poses to Morocco's domestic stability, they are catalysts for broader regional destabilization. One of the dams, and its projected 35 billion cubic feet reservoir, is only 19 miles from Morocco's border with Algeria. The watershed filling the reservoir flows southeasterly, not further into Morocco but away from it and across the border into nearby Algeria. While the dam will safeguard Moroccan communities' water supplies, it will cut off water for more than 300,000 Algerians just on the other side of the border. Waters from the Oued Guir and the Oued Zousfana Rivers flow east out of Morocco's craggy Atlas Mountains and form the transboundary Oued Saoura watershed. The Saoura watershed is the primary water source for Algeria's Bechar and Tindouf provinces. Combined, these two semi-arid provinces are bigger than the United Kingdom or Italy. Bechar and Tindouf depend on Saoura water for drinking, agriculture and industry. Bechar, an Algerian city only 37 miles from the Moroccan border, is not some scrappy Saharan outpost, but a well-developed regional hub. The eponymous seasonal Oued Bechar flows through town, its banks brimming with palm trees. A brand new university with faculties in medicine, biology, physics, political science and other disciplines caters to 15,000 students. Fountains burble and splash in shaded campus courtyards. There is a state-of-the-art oncology hospital. Nearly all (98 percent) of Bechar's 35,000 households have running water. They also all have electricity, gas and internet access. Morocco's dams blocking the Saoura watershed threaten all of this. In April, the University of Bechar hosted a conference on water resource management and equitable usage. Water resource specialists and geopolitical experts from other Algerian universities and around the world presented studies about the calamitous effects that Morocco's dams will have on Algerian communities and case studies of other successfully resolved cross-border water crises. The burgeoning dam dispute between Morocco and Algeria is hardly unique: Climate change is exacerbating water conflicts around the world. In many instances, like disputes about water usage on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers between Turkey and Iraq, or between Ethiopia and Egypt on the Nile, or more recently between India and Pakistan on the Indus River, opposing parties pursue a negotiated solution for equitable cross-border water sharing. Negotiations are typically protracted, taking years, and they are often fraught, but guided by the United Nations' 1992 Water Convention, which obliges countries with cross-border water resources to 'use transboundary waters in a reasonable and equitable way,' negotiations aim at a mutually acceptable compromise. Algeria and Morocco are a long way from any compromise. Morocco is unilaterally pursuing a water resource management strategy that will negatively impact Algeria, accelerate desertification in the Sahara and potentially internally displace hundreds of thousands of Algerians. But because there are no diplomatic ties between Algeria and Morocco, there are no formal channels to negotiate equitable transboundary water usage. Bechar, however, is not just home to a palm-lined river, a shiny cancer center and a university bustling with students. It is also home to Algeria's 3rd Military Region. The military base stretches for miles on the city's southwestern side, including an airfield, a hospital, barracks, a school and even a playground and a pool. In May, Algeria's Army chief of staff, the country's highest-ranked uniformed officer, oversaw a live fire military exercise with 3rd Military Region forces, showcasing tanks, drones, mobile rocket systems, fighter jets, attack helicopters, shoulder-launched missiles and a mock ground assault. All within 30 miles of the Moroccan border and 60 miles from Morocco's dams. With a 2025 defense budget estimated to be $25 billion, Algeria has the largest defense budget in Africa and almost double that of Morocco. For Algeria, the dams' disruption of the Saoura watershed is a violation of Algeria's sovereignty. Langley, who just visited Morocco in May at the conclusion of the U.S. African Lion joint military exercise, is no doubt correct: Countries need to take steps to counter climate change's destabilizing effects. But countries also need to ensure that the preventative measures they take accommodate broader contexts so that they do not become drivers of the very instability that they are trying to counter. This is the case of Morocco's dams: They are solving for potential instability in Morocco while simultaneously increasing its likelihood in Algeria. The U.S. has exceptionally good relations with Morocco. Morocco is a major non-NATO ally, the highest ally status a country can have with the U.S. outside the NATO framework. It is one of only four Arab countries to have a free trade agreement with the U.S. and is a signatory to the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations with Israel. The U.S. should use its considerable influence with Morocco to encourage it to reach an agreement with Algeria for the cooperative and equitable management of their shared transboundary water resources under the U.N. Water Convention, lest Algeria feels compelled to secure its national interest and its citizens' wellbeing through other means. Geoff D. Porter, Ph.D., is the president of North Africa Risk Consulting, a nonresident fellow at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, and a professor at Fordham University.
Morocco World
12-06-2025
- Business
- Morocco World
AFRICOM Chief Rules Out Move to Morocco, Citing Budgetary Reasons
Rabat – General Michael Langley, the head of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), said this week that the idea of relocating the command's headquarters from Germany to Morocco is not under consideration, primarily due to budgetary reasons. Langley made the remarks in response to a question from Congressman Abe Hamadeh before the US House Military Affairs Committee. 'I know you have a lot of positive things to say about Morocco, and I do as well, as they were the first country to recognize the United States' independence, and it seems like their alliance is increasing with us,' the congressman said. He then asked whether the US command seeks to relocate its headquarters from Germany to Morocco. In response, Langley stressed that the operational benefit of moving to Morocco would not outweigh the financial cost. 'The benefit operationally of us being able to operate from Stuttgard headquarters onto it does not benefit in an amount the cost of moving to headquarters would be a big dent for our budget,' the AFRICOM chief said. He added that it is more advantageous for AFRICOM to consider the overall cost. 'We would not benefit from moving our headquarters onto the African continent,' Langley stated. He concluded his remarks by stressing the importance of Morocco as a 'great partner,' noting that what the North African country does in exporting security is tremendous. In May, Morocco hosted the 21st edition of the African Lion military exercise, the largest in Africa. The event brought together military representatives from the US and several other countries, taking part in military exercises against security threats, including terrorism. US officials have consistently described Morocco as a strategic ally in countering security threats across the region and beyond. In March, Langley emphasized the importance of Morocco as a strategic partner, noting that African armies are viewing Rabat as a model. 'Morocco is a reference in defense and stability,' he said, expressing confidence that the partnership between the two countries will continue to grow and contribute to the continent's stability and security. Throughout the years, the US remained the largest exporter of arms to Morocco with 69% of the global imports, followed by France and Israel. In light of these close military ties, several lobbyists have been campaigning against Morocco, which has been hosting the maneuver for 21 years now. Former republican senator James Inhofe was among the most staunch supporters of Polisario in Washington, continuously maneuvering against Morocco. 'I have pushed [the Pentagon] to look at alternative locations for the annual African Lion military exercise that's been hosted in Morocco previously,' news website Defense News recently quoted Inhofe as saying at a hearing in 2022. 'I'm pleased that [Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin] is in agreement with me on this issue.' Nonetheless, AFRICOM officials have long defended Morocco's hosting of the exercise, acknowledging that it will be difficult to find an African country able to replicate what Morocco has been able to do over the years as the host of the African Lion. Tags: AFRICOMrelations between the US and Morocco
Ya Biladi
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
AFRICOM chief praises Morocco but rules out HQ move from Germany
Speaking yesterday in Washington, General Michael Langley, head of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), addressed the Military Affairs Committee on security developments across the African continent. He dismissed, for the time being, the prospect of relocating AFRICOM's headquarters from Stuttgart, Germany, to Morocco. «From an operational perspective, the cost-benefit analysis... the benefit of moving to Morocco wouldn't exceed the cost», he said in response to a question from Republican Representative Abraham Hamadeh. «I would say from a cost analysis perspective, I think we are advantageous where we are right now when we look at the overall cost. We would not be benefiting from moving our headquarters onto the African continent», Langley added. Nevertheless, Langley, who has led AFRICOM since August 2022, underscored Morocco's strategic importance. «Morocco is a great partner, and what they do in exporting security is tremendous, especially in the sub-Saharan countries», he noted.
News24
12-06-2025
- Business
- News24
US military adjusts Africa security strategy
Africa should take greater ownership of its own security challenges. That was the message recently communicated by General Michael Langley, head of US Africa Command (USAFRICOM). The unit is part of the US Department of Defence and is responsible for all defence operations and security cooperation on the African continent. The announcement comes as the United States rethinks its military strategy in Africa, signalling a significant shift in its approach to security on the continent. This adjustment aligns with a broader strategic pivot under the Trump administration, which is prioritising homeland security and a leaner, more lethal military force, while reducing the US military footprint overseas, including in Africa. But what could it mean for the continent? Africa's global relevance With its growing population and vast natural resources, Africa is strategically important to Europe and the United States. 'Africa is a strategic partner with a large and growing youth population - projected to double by 2045 according to the African Economic Outlook,' Adib Saani, a foreign policy and security analyst, told DW. 'The continent is rich, holding vast mineral resources and strategic reserves like uranium that both Western and Eastern countries heavily rely on.' The continent was also home to 11 of the world's 20 fastest-growing economies in 2024. 'The US and others engage with Africa not just out of goodwill but because these resources are vital for running industries worldwide,' Saani said. This makes the relationship mutually beneficial - a win-win for Africa and the rest of the world. Adib Saani However, the Trump administration's defence strategy has shifted focus away from protecting the US from threats emanating from abroad, including countering terrorist organisations such as the so-called 'Islamic State' (IS) militant group and al-Qaeda, which have expanded their presence and capabilities in Africa. 'Sharing the burden' of security operations Previously, US military efforts in Africa combined defence, diplomacy and development. 'America has been a close partner in countering violent extremism, especially in Eastern and West Africa,' Saani explained. 'We have relied heavily on US logistics, training and intelligence sharing to address these threats. In terms of human security, the US has also contributed through USAID and other programs that have helped lift many out of poverty.' USAFRICOM head Langley said the military's priorities now focus on homeland protection, encouraging instead 'burden sharing' with African partners. He said the goal is to build local military capacity to enable independent operations and reduce reliance on US forces. This shift was evident during the latest African Lion joint military exercise. The annual event is the largest military exercise on the continent and emphasizes combined air, land and sea operations with more than 40 participating nations. The latest edition, in May, lacked the US-led efforts usually apparent and instead focused on collaboration and cooperation. What could reduced US involvement mean? Yet foreign policy analyst Adib Saani warned that a diminished US presence could create a power vacuum, emboldening militant networks and undermining years of counterterrorism efforts. 'If the US withdraws its support, it would hit us hard. It could embolden terrorists to carry out more lethal and audacious attacks, knowing there is no major power backing our fight. This would also dampen the morale of our soldiers who face these threats daily, and place significant economic pressure on affected countries,' he said. Abukar Mohamed Muhudin/Anadolu via Getty Images USAFRICOM currently deploys roughly 6 500 personnel across Africa and has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in security assistance. With that gone, Saani worries Africa will not be able to be fully independent when it comes to security. 'It will be difficult in terms of logistics and technology - we are simply not there yet. Security is a shared responsibility and works best when it involves multiple actors. In my opinion, Africa cannot do it alone.' Russia, China step in to fill security vacuum African countries will need to look for other allies - both new and old, say experts. China has already launched extensive military training programs for African forces, replicating aspects of the US military model, while Russian mercenaries have established themselves as key security partners in North, West and Central Africa. 'China's approach in the past has mainly been economic,' Saani explained. The US, he pointed out, has primarily focused on military support, in addition to providing economic help. 'The Russians have strong presence with both economic and military involvement. It feels like everyone is competing for attention. The clear message is that there's a need to diversify partnerships. We can't rely solely on the US; we may also need to engage more with the Russians and others.' Can Africa succeed alone? Some voices say the lack of US support could be a wake-up call for African countries, forcing them to consider their own resources and rise to the challenge. African nations must now take the opportunity to review their security resources, Saani said, and collaborate more closely. 'Building up our defence industry is also critical. This means developing industrial capacity and enhancing the capabilities of our armed forces,' he added. 'We also need to tackle corruption to ensure that funds are not getting lost in people's pockets but are instead used to improve people's lives.'
