US struggles with shaky relations and troop cuts in African nations as military leaders meet

The forced U.S. troop withdrawals from bases in Niger and Chad and the potential to shift some troops to other nations in West Africa will be key issues as the top U.S. military officer meets with his counterparts at a conference. Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Botswana Monday as the U.S. faces a critical inflection point in Africa. Increasingly, military juntas that overthrew democratic governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are reassessing their ties to the U.S. and the West and turning to mercenaries linked to Russia.