President Joe Biden suffered humiliation on the global stage again this week as the U.S. is reportedly set to give up its bases in Niger and evacuate the thousand American troops deployed there.
The move upends U.S. counterterrorism efforts and security policy in the politically unstable Sahel region of Africa, which stretches across the northern central part of the continent and includes Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Sudan, and Eritrea.
The region is one of the most dangerous in the world and is a hotbed for multiple major Islamic terrorist groups, including ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and many more.
The New York Times reported that the Biden administration is pulling the troops out in the coming weeks after the country’s democratically elected government was overthrown by its own weak military.
BREAKING – U.S. tells Niger it will withdraw 1,000 American military personnel from the West African country in the coming months. upending United States counterterrorism and security policy in the tumultuous Sahel region of Africa
— Eric Schmitt (@EricSchmittNYT) April 19, 2024
The situation in Niger is part of a pattern in the region where countries are breaking ties with Western nations and are forming alliances with Russia, whose criminal paramilitary forces have been increasing their footprint in recent years, the report said.
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Russia is now providing the country with military resources and personnel, and the highly impoverished country is considering giving “Iran a possible deal on its uranium reserves.” The country has also strengthened economic ties with China in recent years, and with Biden being forced out of the country, China could again increase its footprint.
The country served as key strategic interest for the U.S. because its location allowed U.S. forces to conduct critical counterterrorism operations in the region.