Niger evicted American forces from key African base

America First isolationists are threatening the global leadership once embraced by the United States but retreating Republicans are leaving military troops exposed to growing danger.

Niger has evicted U.S. counterterrorism troops and aerial drones from the west African country, driving a nail in the coffin of the faltering American strategy to defeat a violent Islamist insurgency overrunning the continent.

The decision to expel American forces will likely force the U.S. to pivot from trying to defeat al Qaeda and Islamic State where they are strongest to a new strategy aimed at keeping militants from infiltrating neighboring countries along the West African coast.

Niger ordered the U.S. to withdraw its troops and drone forces from the country in May after a military junta overthrew the West African nation’s democratically elected government last year.

The decision to expel American forces will represented Nigerien officials were not interested in preserving a relationship with what had been Washington’s chief security partner in a region beset by violence from groups linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

The United States military intervention in Niger was a deployment of special operations forces and unmanned aerial vehicles in support of the local government and French military in counter-terrorism operations against militant groups in the greater West Africa region as part of Operation Juniper Shield.

The military operation conducted by the United States and partner nations in the Saharan and Sahel regions of Africa, consisted of counterterrorism efforts, policing of arms, and counteracting drug traffickers across central Africa as part of the ridiculously named Global War on Terrorism.

Niger is a landlocked country in West Africa bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest.

Once colonized by France, since obtaining independence in 1960, Niger has experienced five coups d’état and four periods of military rule.

According to the UN’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report of 2023, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world.

The country’s 26 million people — among the world’s youngest and poorest — have struggled since the junta severed ties with key international partners, who have imposed sanctions, suspended security arrangements and cut off development funding close to half of Niger’s budget.

The last French military aircraft and troops departed Niger by December 22, 2023, a deadline set by the junta which severed ties with Paris after the July 25, 2023 coup,  ending years of on-the-ground military support.

Countries in West and Central Africa have suffered eight coups since 2020.

In August 2020, a group of Mali’s colonels led a coup against President Ibrahim Boubacar Kaita. In 2021, the military led a second coup against the interim president Colonel Bah Ndaw. Guinea experienced a coup in 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022, and most recently,

Niger met the same fate when General Abdourahmane Tchiani seized power in July. Outside of West Africa, Chad and Sudan also experienced military coups in 2021.

Africa will represent 26% of the world’s population by 2050 and 38% by 2100.

America’s Africa Command see growing danger posed by rising unrest on the continent as the demands of an exploding population are not adequately met by their governments.

There are currently conflicts in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Somalia, and Sudan along with acute challenges such as the evacuation of US troops from Niger following a coup whose leaders aligned with Russia.

The degree to which China exceeds American economic engagement in Africa complicates the military’s engagement.

The US military maintaining a rotational presence in Africa is seen as necessary to monitor violent extremist organizations that could pose a security threat to Americans.

Informed sources say that the geopolitical competition requires greater support for partners on the continent with their economic and military capacity-building efforts but the meek approach advocated by America First isolationists is threatening the global leadership once embraced by the United States.