US military shifts messaging in Africa, telling allies to prepare to stand on own
German-American dual citizen charged with planning attack on US Embassy in Tel Aviv
The man was carrying Molotov cocktails in his bag, authorities said
A dual American-German citizen appeared Sunday in federal court in Brooklyn on charges that he attempted to firebomb a branch of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, according to law enforcement officials.
Joseph Neumeyer arrived in Israel in April and on May 19 he posted on his Facebook account, “Join me this afternoon in Tel Aviv we are burning down the US. embassy” and “join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America. Death to Americans and f--- the west,” according to a criminal complaint.
That same day, Neumeyer arrived outside the branch office of the Embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv carrying a backpack, according to the complaint. Neumeyer approached and spat on a guard and the guard attempted to detain Neumeyer, who uttered profanities before turning and fleeing, leaving his backpack behind, the complaint said.
MORE: 2 Israeli Embassy staffers killed in 'act of terror' in Washington, DC
Law enforcement officials recovered from Neumeyer’s backpack several bottles that had been turned into Molotov cocktails, according to the complaint.
Israeli security forces stand in front of the US Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2024.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
He was arrested at the hotel where he was staying and deported from Israel to the U.S., according to authorities.
Neumeyer’s social media accounts also contained threatening posts that,among other things, called for the assassination of President Donald Trump, according to prosecutors.
"Neumayer was arrested earlier this week in Israel -- when Embassy officials discovered a backpack carrying multiple explosive devices and a social media account allegedly linked to Neumayer detailing intent to attack the Embassy and threatening President Trump," FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X.
"He will now face justice," Patel wrote.
Pope Leo XIV declares 'I am Roman!' as he completes process to be bishop of Rome
First American pope took possession of two papal basilicas in the Eternal City.
ROME -- ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV declared himself a Roman on Sunday as he completed the final ceremonial steps cementing his role as the bishop of Rome.
The first American pope was formally taking possession of two papal basilicas in the Eternal City, a formality that serves to ceremonially introduce Leo to his Roman flock.
One of the many titles that Leo assumed when he was elected May 8 was bishop of Rome. Given his responsibilities running the 1.4-billion strong universal Catholic Church, popes delegate the day-to-day governance of running of the diocese of Roman to a vicar.
Sunday's ceremonies at the St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major basilicas follow Leo’s visit last week to the St. Paul Outside the Walls basilica. Together with St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the four papal basilicas are the most important basilicas in the West.
Rome's Mayor Roberto Gualtieri welcomed Leo first at the steps to city hall, noting that his May 8 election fell during a Holy Year, an event occurring every 25 years to invite pilgrims to Rome. The city underwent two years of traffic-clogging public works projects to prepare and expects to welcome upwards of 30 million people in 2025.
Leo said he felt the “serious but passionate responsibility” to serve all Romans during the Holy Year and beyond.
Wearing his formal papal garb, Leo recalled the words he had uttered from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of his election. The Augustinian pope quoted St. Augustine in saying: “With you I am Christian, and for you, bishop.”
“By special title, today I can say that for you and with you I am Roman!” he said.
Leo, 69, the former Robert Prevost, replaced Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope, who died April 21 and is buried at St. Mary Major, near a beloved icon of the Madonna.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
US military shifts messaging in Africa, telling allies to prepare to stand on own
The U.S. military is backing off its usual talk of good governance and countering underlying causes of African insurgencies
TAN TAN, Morocco -- The U.S. military is backing off its usual talk of good governance and countering insurgencies' underlying causes, instead leaning into a message that its fragile allies in Africa must be ready to stand more on their own.
At African Lion, its largest joint training exercise on the continent, that shift was clear: “We need to be able to get our partners to the level of independent operations,” Gen. Michael Langley said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“There needs to be some burden sharing," Langley, the U.S. military’s top official in Africa, said on Friday, the final day of the exercise.
For four weeks, troops from more than 40 countries rehearsed how to confront threats by air, land, and sea. They flew drones, simulated close-quarters combat and launched satellite-guided rockets in the desert.
Maneuvers mirrored previous editions of African Lion, now in its 21st year. But mostly gone now is language that emphasizes ideas the U.S. once argued set it apart from Russia and China.
Messaging about the interwoven work of defense, diplomacy and development once formed the core of Washington’s security pitch. In their place now are calls for helping allies build capacity to manage their own security, which Langley said was a priority for President Donald Trump’s Defense Department.
“We have our set priorities now — protecting the homeland. And we’re also looking for other countries to contribute to some of these global instability areas,” he said, referencing U.S. support for Sudan.
The shift comes as the U.S. military makes moves to "build a leaner, more lethal force,” including potentially cutting military leadership positions in places like Africa, where America's rivals continue to deepen their influence.
China has launched its own expansive training program for African militaries. Russian mercenaries are recalibrating and cementing their role as security partner of choice throughout North, West and Central Africa.
In an interview a year ago, Langley emphasized what U.S. military officials have long called a “whole of government approach" to countering insurgency. Even amid setbacks, he defended the U.S. approach and said force alone couldn't stabilize weak states and protect U.S. interests against the risk of violence spilling out.
“I’ve always professed that AFRICOM is not just a military organization,” Langley said last year. He called good governance an “enduring solution to a number of layered threats — whether it be desertification, whether it be crop failure from changing environments, or whether it be from violent extremist organizations.”
The “whole of government approach" no longer occupies the same place at the center of U.S. messaging, though Langley said holistic efforts have worked in places like Ivory Coast, where development coupled with defense had reduced attacks by jihadi groups near its volatile northern border.
But such successes aren't a pattern.
“I’ve seen progression and I’ve seen regression,” said Langley, who is scheduled to exit his post later this year.
The U.S. military's new posture comes even though many African armies remain ill-equipped and insurgent groups expand.
“We see Africa as the epicenter for both al-Qaida and Islamic State,” a senior U.S. defense official said earlier this month, noting both groups had growing regional affiliates and the Islamic State group had shifted command and control to Africa. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
Africa has rarely ranked high on the Pentagon's list of priorities, but the U.S. has still spent hundreds of millions of dollars on security assistance and has roughly 6,500 Africa Command personnel on the continent. In some regions, the U.S. faces direct competition from Russia and China. In others, regional affiliates of al-Qaida and the IS still require direct military action, Langley said.
The messaging shift from “whole of government” to more burden-sharing comes as fears grow that rising violence could spread beyond hotspots where insurgents have expanded influence and found vacuums in which they can consolidate power.
Parts of of both East and West Africa have emerged as epicenters of violence. In 2024, more than half of the world’s terrorism victims were killed across West Africa's Sahel, a vast desert territory ruled by military juntas, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace. The group, which compiles yearly terrorism statistics, also found Somalia accounted for 6% of all terrorism-related deaths, making it the deadliest for terrorism in Africa outside the Sahel.
Since Trump took office, the U.S. military has escalated airstrikes in Somalia, targeting IS and al-Shabab operatives. But despite air support, Somalia's army remains far from being able to maintain security on the ground, Langley acknowledged.
“The Somali National Army is trying to find their way,” Langley said, adding that they had regained some footing after years of setbacks. “There are some things they still need on the battlefield to be very effective.”
Similarly in West Africa, the notion that states could soon have the capacity to counter such threats is a distant prospect, said Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at Control Risks, a security consulting firm. Even before Western influence began to wane in the Sahel, needed military support was limited, threats remained active, and local militaries were left without the tools to confront them.
Western powers with a presence in the Sahel have gradually scaled back their engagement, either by choice or after being pushed out by increasingly hostile governments.
“Many of them do not have very strong air forces and are not able to monitor the movement of militants, especially in areas where roads are very difficult to traverse, the infrastructure is extremely poor,” Ochieng, who specializes in the Sahel and Great Power competition in Africa, said.
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