Africa has hosted more coups d’état than any other continent — and Washington is tied to many of its recent ones. At least nine military leaders since 2008 have received US military training, the most recent example being Lt Col Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who overthrew the government of Burkina Faso in January 2022, less than two years after participating in Flintlock, a special-operations training led by US special forces.

As Nick Turse has reported extensively for the Intercept, the United States has funneled billions of dollars into “security assistance” in West Africa since 2005. With this cash comes weapons, gear, vehicles, and more — along with American commandos who train and assist local forces in counterterrorism efforts directed toward Islamic insurgents in the tumultuous Sahel region. At least 29 US military bases are scattered across the continent, with 12 concentrated in the Sahel. Yet the amount of violence perpetrated by Islamic insurgents in the Sahel doubled in 2021 — far surpassing the 10% increase reported across Africa as a whole — with an estimated 2,005 incidents and 4,839 fatalities reported.

American guns and money haven’t slowed the spread of Islamic extremism across the continent, even in regions where US forces are most heavily concentrated.