OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso—As West African leaders and France were discussing their progress on countering armed Islamists’ advance across the Sahel during February’s G5 Sahel summit in N’Djamena, Chad, a fresh face beamed into the meeting. Just days into office and eager to show his commitment, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken came with a message of hope: The United States was back.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief: Uncertainty around the United States’ interest in the region, birthed during former U.S. President Donald Trump’s years, looked to be wiping away from the sands of the Sahel, a semi-arid region that stretches across North Africa. Washington was falling back into line behind an old ally, France. The only problem: The United States was back with the same old playbook, one that has yet to significantly help the struggling countries of Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Chad, and Niger as they try to combat the world’s fastest growing Islamist insurgency.
