More money for the Defence Bill — as expected Last Thursday, November 16, the US Senate unanimously passed a nearly $700 billion defence authorisation bill and sent it to the president's desk. The 2018 defence bill allots about $634 billion for Pentagon operations and nearly $66 billion for wartime missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. “I call upon the president to sign this important legislation into law — and in doing so acknowledge that this is the level of defence spending necessary to meet current threats, prepare for the challenges of an increasingly dangerous world, and keep faith with our men and women in uniform,” Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, the Armed Services Committee chairman, said in a statement. As reported, the defence legislation total amount includes $12.3 billion for the Pentagon's Missile Defence Agency and for a more rapid buildup of the nation's missile defences. It also orders an increase of more than 20,000 active-duty and reserve troops over last year's level. The army gets the largest boost and will receive 7,500 more active-duty army soldiers and 1,000 additional reserve troops. The defence bill provides money for 90 F-35 joint strike fighters, 20 more than President Trump asked for, as well as 24 F/A-18 Super Hornet jet fighters, 10 more than requested by the administration, and three littoral combat ships, two beyond the initial budget request. Meanwhile, it was announced that the number of US troops in Afghanistan was raised by more than three thousand. “As you know, we just completed a force flow into Afghanistan, so the new number for Afghanistan is approximately 14,000,” Leutenant General Kenneth F McKenzie Jr., the Joint Staff director, told reporters at a televised briefing at the Pentagon, adding that it “might be a little above that, might be a little below that, as we flex according to the mission.” On a different front, a spokesperson for Africa Command, Robyn Mack, told POLITICO that the US presence in Somalia has increased from around 200 to more than 500 this year. According to Africa Command, the US has conducted 28 airstrikes in Somalia this year, nine of them this month — November. Speaking of Africa... Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held ministerial talks last week with foreign ministers and representatives of 37 African countries at the State Department in Washington. In remarks made ahead of these talks, Tillerson mentioned that the Trump administration wanted to refocus the US relationship with Africa on trade and investment. “Africa is a growing market with vast potential. Five of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies are in Africa, and consumer spending there is projected to exceed $2 trillion by the year 2025,” he said. The secretary also noted US exports to sub-Saharan Africa grew from $17 billion in 2010 to more than $25 billion in 2014. Tillerson said that last year, US direct investment in Africa grew to $57.5 billion, the highest level to date. “By 2050, the population of the continent is projected to double to more than 2.5 billion people, with 70 per cent of that population being under the age of 30,” Tillerson said. “All of these young people will have expectations for entering the workforce.” Talking about fighting terrorism, he said the US was helping 20 African countries to train, deploy and sustain more than 27,000 African peacekeepers this year in United Nations and African Union missions. Tillerson also urged African countries to help isolate North Korea, which he called a threat to all nations. “I urge you to take additional measures to pressure the DPRK by downgrading your diplomatic relationships with the regime, severing economic ties, expelling all DPRK laborers and reducing North Korea's presence in your country in all other ways it may be found,” he said. Africa always needs attention. Words are always more prevalent than deeds.
