No. of Recommendations: 2
As expected, US troops have now been kicked out of Niger. Since the Russkies were already inside the airbase we built (and it was the most expensive thing the Air Force ever built), they'll be enjoying whatever infrastructure we left behind.
Hopefully we exited the place the same way we cleared out of NATO bases in France back in the day (by blowing stuff up and leaving de Gaulle with a pile of trash to sweep up).
Weakness.
Has.
Consequences.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/05/14/us...U.S. threats led to rupture of vital military ties, Nigerien leader says
In an exclusive interview, Prime Minister Zeine blamed the U.S. for the breakdown in bilateral relations, culminating with the planned ouster of American troops.Oh, that's interesting. Do tell:
In an exclusive interview, Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine put the blame for the breakdown squarely on the United States, accusing American officials of trying to dictate which countries Niger could partner with and failing to justify the U.S. troop presence, now scheduled to end in the coming months. Niger has been central to efforts to contain a growing Islamist insurgency in West Africa.
The rift between the former allies has created an opportunity for Russia, which has moved quickly to deepen its relationship with Niger, dispatching troops to the capital, Niamey, last month to train the Nigerien military and supplying a new air defense system. Russian and U.S. troops now occupy opposite ends of an air base.Say, remember when Biden was going to soothe allies upset over Trump's mean tweets?
He said the Nigerien leaders took particular umbrage at remarks by Molly Phee, the State Department’s top official for African affairs, who he said had urged the government during a March visit to Niamey to refrain from engaging with Iran and Russia in ways objectionable to Washington if Niger wanted to continue its security relationship with the United States. He also said Phee had further threatened sanctions if Niger pursued a deal to sell uranium to Iran.
“When she finished, I said, ‘Madame, I am going to summarize in two points what you have said,’” recounted Zeine, who has led negotiations with the United States. “First, you have come here to threaten us in our country. That is unacceptable. And you have come here to tell us with whom we can have relationships, which is also unacceptable. And you have done it all with a condescending tone and a lack of respect.”How's that working out?
Did we need that drone base, really?
That base has been “impactful” for counterterrorism efforts across the region, said Gen. Michael E. Langley, who heads U.S. military operations in Africa. In an interview earlier this year, Langley warned that the U.S. losing its footprint in Niger would “degrade our ability to do active watching and warning, including for homeland defense.”Guess not.
