The Pentagon has formally ordered all 1,000 remaining U.S. combat troops in Niger to leave within the next few months, ending a major counterterrorism operation and pushing Russia to the West in a fight for influence in Africa. The nations were to be victorious again.
The Niger military government has made the following final decisions: Expel U.S. Army But the Biden administration spent weeks pretending that no order had been issued and that Niger’s rulers could still change their minds. Even if the junta insisted, the Biden team insisted it would take time to complete negotiations for an “orderly and responsible withdrawal.”
But on Friday, anonymous U.S. officials said Said politiko The Pentagon has already instructed 1,000 American soldiers in Niger to begin preparations for departure. Details remain hazy, but the person said it is likely that only the U.S. embassy security personnel will remain in Niger by the end of the summer.
All other U.S. forces are believed to have withdrawn to “other locations within the region where they can still operate.” Niger is critical to U.S. and European counterterrorism efforts in the extremist-infested Sahel region, and U.S. forces may also be withdrawn from Niger’s neighbor Chad.
Supporters of Niger’s ruling military junta gather at the start of a protest calling for people to fight for their country’s freedom and resist foreign interference in Niamey, Niger, August 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
Congressional Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for leaving the U.S. military in a dangerous situation with an unclear mission and an uncertain future. April, Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) Said US troops stationed in Niger were effectively held hostage by President Joe Biden, an “indecisive commander in chief.”
Gates added:
Our military is currently sitting on a powder keg due to political indecision at the top of the State Department and the Pentagon. The military junta is in charge and they hate us and think we are disingenuous and predatory, but this situation is similar to what we saw with the Benghazi attack in 2012. The groundwork seems to be being prepared for a catastrophic diplomatic collapse.
On May 3, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Confirmed It has been announced that Russian forces have entered Air Force Base 101, a facility in Niamey, the capital of Niger, where the US military is based. A senior defense official said the Russians were living in a separate hangar at the air base to avoid contact with U.S. forces, but acknowledged the situation was “not good.”
Critics of the Biden administration say the U.S. military is already short on supplies and medical supplies, and the move in by Russian troops will make it even more difficult to improve the situation, with replacement troops unable to be rotated to Niger. It pointed out.
Russia’s presence is reportedly For now, the force is small, about 100 soldiers for every 1,000 U.S. troops, but even a small force could engage in surveillance and provocation. Furthermore, a portion of the Russian military is clearly made up of former soldiers. Wagner group mercenarya cohort not noted for high levels of discipline or inhibited behavior.
Chris Meyer, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, said: Said CNN reported Friday that talks with Niger’s government continue with the aim of maintaining a small counterterrorism force while “downgrading it to a level that Nigerians can tolerate.”
Meyer said the junta’s determination to “withdraw, or at least withdraw in very small numbers” the U.S. military, was “profound.” One major obstacle is clearly the need for American aircraft to continue flying into Niger to resupply even the very small remaining forces.
An anonymous U.S. military official told CNN that contrary to Meyer’s statements, “any hope that a small number of troops will remain in the country is largely wishful thinking at this point.”
In another piece of wishful thinking, Meyer was hoping that Russia might blunder so badly that Niger and its African client states would demand return to the United States.
Now some of these coup regimes have decided to side with Russia, and now they are the dogs that caught the car. And if results are not achieved not only in the security field, but also in many other things that are part of governance, over time the facts will begin to outweigh even the most sophisticated misinformation and disinformation.
A report released in April by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change was suggested Meyer’s scenario is highly unlikely to materialize unless Western countries become more comfortable with military dictatorship.
The report says much of North Africa has become a “coup belt,” and military rulers tend to be nervous that conflicts between the United States and Europe involve human rights decisions and persistent demands for a return to civilian rule. he pointed out. With no such conditions attached to Russian military aid or Chinese funding, “looters” are moving into the region, while jihadist groups are having a field day recruiting disaffected youth.
