Moulton Statement on the Withdrawal of Defense Attachés from Africa

SALEM, Mass. — Following today’s reports that the Trump administration has withdrawn multiple defense attachés from American embassies throughout Africa, Representative Seth Moulton made the following statement:

“The Trump administration continues to damage our global partnerships and capabilities through ineptitude. The president talks tough on China and Russia but his actions tell a different story. Removing our defense attachés from countries in Africa shows his dangerous lack of commitment to countering our adversaries as they court leaders and build infrastructure across the continent, and it undermines our influence in this critical part of the world.

This move, along with four years of turmoil at the State Department—that began with a hiring freeze and has decimated the ranks of the diplomatic corps—undermines our global mission to counter violent extremists in Africa and around the world.  

As recently as two days ago, the Navy SEALs conducted a hostage rescue in Nigeria, rescuing a 27 year old U.S. Citizen, Philip Walton. These types of operations would be even more dangerous and in many cases impossible without the personal relationships that American diplomats and attachés build with our regional allies and partners.

I traveled to East Africa in February as part of a congressional delegation, and I experienced the importance of those allies and partners and a whole-of-government approach to countering the influence of Russia and China.

The short-sighted withdrawal of the attachés along with downgrading the rank of the Defense Attaché in eight key allied countries has not been officially announced to the public or to Congress and should not be exempt from oversight. Just as I asked Secretary Esper about the importance of allies and partners in Africa during his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee in February, I have requested that the Secretary of Defense and AFRICOM Commander provide the justification and rationale for this move. I look forward to their quick response.”

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