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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsU.S. agrees to withdraw American troops from Niger
A top State Department official accepted the West African nations 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 Washingtons 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 countrys democratically elected government and installed a junta that declared Americas 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 Nigers prime minister, Ali Lamine Zeine. Weve agreed to begin conversations within days about how to develop a plan to withdraw troops, said the senior State Department official. Theyve 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 its 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. Nigers 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.
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speak easy
(9,345 posts)riversedge
(70,464 posts)malaise
(269,328 posts)Asking for non-Americans
Voltaire2
(13,270 posts)with imperial garrisons stationed all over the globe. But that cant be right.
malaise
(269,328 posts)WarGamer
(12,512 posts)Celerity
(43,771 posts)Rare earth elementsa group of 17 metalsare 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 marketwith 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
Africas 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 worldroughly half that of Latin America, Australia, and Canadadespite having triple the surface area of Canada and Australia. In 2021, on a yearly basis, Canadas 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).
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malaise
(269,328 posts)For way too long- including millions of our ancestors.
They have all enriched themselves at our expense
BannonsLiver
(16,548 posts)Last edited Mon Apr 22, 2024, 12:11 AM - Edit history (1)
malaise
(269,328 posts)Heal thyself
EX500rider
(10,891 posts)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 Africas 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 thats killed thousands, displaced millions and plunged countries into crises
https://apnews.com/article/jihadi-extremist-flintlock-ghana-us-military-training-africa-sahel-b4cdb4379f85afff290b2bff60a1b3f4
WarGamer
(12,512 posts)EX500rider
(10,891 posts)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
(12,512 posts)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
(10,891 posts)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
(23,636 posts)They werent asked to leave they were instructed.
Now the US says some time soon theyll start talking about planning. Surely, they can quickly organize a departure.
jalan48
(13,916 posts)You know, budget deficits and all that.
WarGamer
(12,512 posts)Cuz the post WW2 neocons said so.