U.S. agrees to withdraw American troops from Niger

[Celerity]

A top State Department official accepted the West African nation’s demand that American forces leave, a move the Biden administration had resisted

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/19/us-troops-niger/

https://archive.ph/SAEqe

Nigeriens participate in a demonstration in the capital, Niamey, on April 13 to demand the withdrawal of U.S. military personnel. (Mahamadou Hamidou/Reuters)

NAPLES, Italy — The United States informed the government of Niger on Friday that it agreed to its request to withdraw U.S. troops from the West African country, said three U.S. officials, a move the Biden administration had resisted and one that will transform Washington’s counterterrorism posture in the region. The agreement will spell the end of a U.S. troop presence that totaled more than 1,000 and throw into question the status of a $110 million U.S. air base that is only six years old. It is the culmination of a military coup last year that ousted the country’s democratically elected government and installed a junta that declared America’s military presence there “illegal.”

“The prime minister has asked us to withdraw U.S. troops, and we have agreed to do that,” a senior State Department official told The Washington Post in an interview. This official, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation. The decision was sealed in a meeting earlier Friday between Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Niger’s prime minister, Ali Lamine Zeine. “We’ve agreed to begin conversations within days about how to develop a plan” to withdraw troops, said the senior State Department official. “They’ve agreed that we do it in an orderly and responsible way. And we will need to probably dispatch folks to Niamey to sit down and hash it out. And that of course will be a Defense Department project.” A Pentagon spokesman did not immediately offer comment.

The United States had paused its security cooperation with Niger, limiting U.S. activities — including unarmed drone flights. But U.S. service members have remained in the country, unable to fulfill their responsibilities and feeling left in the dark by leadership at the U.S. Embassy as negotiations continued, according to a recent whistleblower complaint. The Sahel region, including neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, has become a global hot spot for Islamist extremism in recent years, and Niger saw such attacks spike dramatically following the coup. For U.S. officials who viewed the base as an important counterterrorism asset, the withdrawal agreement is a significant setback. “I think it’s undeniable that it was a platform in a unique part of African geography,” the State Department official said.

For years, the Pentagon has deployed a mix of mostly Air Force and Army personnel to Niger to support a mission scrutinizing militant groups in the region. Until the coup last year, the arrangement included counterterrorism drones flights and U.S. and Nigerien troops partnering on some patrols. Niger’s eviction notice last month followed tense meetings with top officials from the State Department and the Pentagon, whom Nigerien leaders accused of attempting to dictate that the West African nation have no relationship with Iran, Russia or other U.S. adversaries. Efforts by top American officials to persuade Niger to get back on a democratic pathway so that U.S. assistance could resume have made little headway.

snip

[speak easy]

1. Last week, at least 100 Russian military instructors arrived in Niamey

Last week, at least 100 Russian military instructors arrived in Niamey, marking an escalation of Niger’s security relationship with Moscow that analysts said could make it difficult, if not impossible, for the United States to continue its own security cooperation.

[riversedge]

3. Dictator Putin arrives. damn, I do feel sorry for the people of Niger!

[malaise]

2. What are US troops doing's anywhere in Africa?

Asking for non-Americans

[Voltaire2]

4. It is almost as if we were an empire

with imperial garrisons stationed all over the globe. But that can’t be right.

[malaise]

6. Nailed it

[WarGamer]

11. Neoconservatism 101... Bill Kristols daddy would be happy.

[Celerity]

5. Could Africa replace China as the world's source of rare earth elements?

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/could-africa-replace-china-as-the-worlds-source-of-rare-earth-elements/

Rare earth elements—a group of 17 metals—are critical for both human and national security. They are used in electronics (computers, televisions and smart phones), in renewable energy technology (wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicle batteries), and in national defense (jet engines, missile guidance and defense systems, satellites, GPS equipment, and more). In 2021, global demand for rare earths reached 125,000 metric tons. By 2030, it is forecast to reach 315,000 tons.

Concerningly, production of these rare earth minerals has remained concentrated. China has a dominant hold on the market—with 60% of global production and 85% of processing capacity. In light of growing geopolitical tensions around China and Taiwan, the U.S, Australia, Canada, and other countries are seeking to reduce their reliance on China as a source of rare earths production and processing.

This opens up a window of opportunity for African countries. With their rich endowment of key commodities, African countries can leverage this search for new sources of rare earth elements to bring in much-needed revenue to finance core socioeconomic objectives and reduce poverty, utilize the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to improve value addition, and strengthen global trade partnerships.

The tip of the iceberg of African rare earth commodities

Africa’s full potential in rare earths is largely untapped given low levels of exploration. As Figure 1 shows, in 2021, the mining exploration budget in sub-Saharan Africa was the second lowest in the world—roughly half that of Latin America, Australia, and Canada—despite having triple the surface area of Canada and Australia. In 2021, on a yearly basis, Canada’s exploration budget rose by 62%, followed by 39% in Australia, 37% in the U.S., and 29% in Latin America. The budget for Africa grew only 12%, and the vast majority of exploration continues to be concentrated in gold, rather than rare earths or green metals critical to the clean energy transition (Figure 2).

snip

[malaise]

7. They've been looting the African continent

For way too long- including millions of our ancestors.
They have all enriched themselves at our expense

[BannonsLiver]

9. So no concerns, questions or complaints about Russian troops in Niger

Last edited Mon Apr 22, 2024, 12:11 AM - Edit history (1)

[malaise]

19. Looks like the Russians are relative newcomers to the loot Africa party

Heal thyself

[EX500rider]

10. "What are US troops doing's anywhere in Africa?"

Fighting terrorists and helping maintain regional stability?

There at the request of the local government?

Training local forces?

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — As extremist violence in West Africa’s Sahel region spreads south toward coastal states, the United States military has launched its annual military training exercise aimed at helping armies contain the jihadi threat.

Soldiers from several African countries are being trained in counter-insurgency tactics as part of the annual U.S.-led exercise known as Flintlock, that began this week.

Some 1,300 military personnel from 29 countries are training in Ghana and Ivory Coast, amid surging jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that’s killed thousands, displaced millions and plunged countries into crises

https://apnews.com/article/jihadi-extremist-flintlock-ghana-us-military-training-africa-sahel-b4cdb4379f85afff290b2bff60a1b3f4

[WarGamer]

12. Sounds like a Reagan Administration press release...

[EX500rider]

14. You mean a Biden Admin press release as it is going on now?

Is there some other reasons you'd like to propose?

Or is it just US Evil Empire stuff?

Damn us helping those countries fight al-Qaida and the Islamic State and al-Shabaab!!

[WarGamer]

15. Other countries have the ability to keep their own neighborhoods safe...

They DON'T because they know the US WILL.

Same reason NATO has been traditionally underfunded and weak... because they knew the US was behind them.

We don't have Western Europe style social services partially because we spend too much money around the world being World Cop.

Don't want to eat cat food in retirement, skip prescription pills to save money, forego medical care when necessary and allow the mentally ill to live on the streets?

Start with reigning in DoD budgets.

[EX500rider]

17. Yes, places like Somalia & Haiti have a stellar record in safety....lol

Not sure the DoD is the biggest issue.
The United States spent $766 billion on national defense during fiscal year (FY) 2022 according to the Office of Management and Budget, which amounted to 12 percent of federal spending.

And yes NATO countries should pull their weight as Europe's GDP is roughly the same size as the US.

[David__77]

8. I'll believe it when they leave. They were ordered out a month ago.

They weren’t asked to leave they were instructed.

Now the US says some time soon they’ll start talking about planning. Surely, they can quickly organize a departure.

[jalan48]

13. It would be nice to know as a taxpayer what it's costing Americans to keep troops in Niger.

You know, budget deficits and all that.

[WarGamer]

16. But... but... National Defense costs are unassailable.

Cuz the post WW2 neocons said so.

[jalan48]

18. Yes. NeoCons can't justify their big military budgets without occupations and wars.