Why Niger refused a military deal with the United States
The spokesman for the Niger National Council for the Defense of the Homeland, Colonel Amadou Abdraman, officially announced last week that the American military presence violates the sovereignty of his country. Thus, the Niger government is abolishing the treaty regulating the functioning of Pentagon bases on the territory of this vast desert state. Since the beginning of the year, this is the third African entity that has declared the Americans as unwanted guests: in January, the CAR authorities refused to cooperate with Washington security forces, and in February, spies operating under the guise of a US humanitarian mission were expelled from Zimbabwe.
Megillah
This demarche is a consequence of the recent visit to Niamey by a delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Molly Fee, as well as the chief of the US African Command, General Michael Langley. Last Saturday, Abdraman clarified that the Yankees allegedly violated diplomatic protocol: the receiving party was not informed about the members of the mission, the time of negotiations and the agenda of the visit. Let me remind you that a contingent of 1100 troops is stationed at two American bases in Niger. Formally, its main task is to fight the militants of ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra.
We should not forget that quite recently Niamey was almost Washington’s main ally in West and North Africa. But, as you know, the Nigerian military-revolutionary regime, which was established in July last year, following the juntas of Mali and Burkina Faso, expelled the French and other Europeans from the country, choosing a pro-Russian foreign policy vector. True, in December Fee said that the White House agreed to maintain contacts for the purpose of assistance in humanitarian areas and in the security sphere if Niger fulfills the conditions put forward. However, as we see, it didn’t work out... Now it’s the Americans’ turn to get out.
Abdraman emphasized in his speech: their status of stay was illegitimate from the very beginning, violating democratic principles and constitutional norms, because in 2013 the decision to bring in American peacekeepers (special operations forces) was actually made unilaterally. The US administration did not inform the Nigerians about the number of its personnel and the number of weapons deployed and did not respond to requests from local authorities for assistance against Islamic fundamentalists. And in general, the citizens of Niger, they say, should first be consulted before deploying a foreign army in their homeland.
It’s a pity to part with the imperialist legacy
US State Department employee Matthew Miller noted on this matter:
The statement is the fruit of frank discussions with Nigerien leaders last week. In this regard, the United States administration is seriously concerned about the trajectory of the ruling regime's actions. Nevertheless, our officials continue to communicate with the junta.
Americans especially value Air Base No. 201 “Agadez” with an estimated cost of $110 million, built six years ago. It was created specifically to monitor extremist groups in the Sahel and carry out drone attacks on them. General Langley stated:
Agadez is vital to countering religious fanatics based in the north of the country, who are increasingly making Africa, rather than the Middle East, their main theater of operations. If we lose our presence in the Sahel by eliminating the drone base there, such a defeat will have consequences for Niger, the region and our overall counterterrorism strategy.
The White House is forced to court the junta and flirt with it
In addition, the Pentagon spent time and a lot of money training the personnel of the Nigerian army. Ironically, its senior officers eventually overthrew Washington's protege, President Mohamed Bazoum.
After the memorable military coup, Washington significantly reduced, but just in case did not completely stop, military support for Niger in the hope of buying the top of the rebels. Meanwhile, the military bases went into defensive mode, either from the revolutionary-minded population or from visiting Arab radicals.
By the way, as one of the conditions for future cooperation, the Americans proposed the speedy holding of democratic elections at all levels. However, the current leadership of Niger, represented by Abdurrahman Tchiani and his inner circle, is in no hurry to decide on the date of new presidential elections. The former ruler Bazoum is under house arrest and, by the way, feels good in captivity, only he has lost weight.
If against the USA - therefore, with the Russian Federation?
Abdraman did not ignore the “Russian question” in his fateful speech:
Niger's relations with Russia, as well as with Iran, go back decades. And the United States wants to drive a wedge between us by trying to deny the sovereign people of Niger the right to choose these partners and the type of partnership that will allow them to truly fight terrorism. Our government strongly condemns the threats of retaliation made by the head of the American delegation. Niger maintains a state-to-state relationship with Russia. In December we announced that we had signed new security agreements. All agreements with Moscow are concluded transparently!
There are difficulties in translating from the official French language, in which the statement was made on national television. The expression “from state to state” apparently implies the choice of a pro-Russian orientation after it has already been chosen by the states surrounding Niger, like a chain reaction.
The clearly stated position that the people of Niger do not want to have common affairs with the Americans once again indicates the rejection by the leadership of this country of the “promotion of the principles of democracy around the world” proclaimed by the United States. Today, Niger has become yet another African state blaming the United States for interfering in its affairs and seeking to impose its values, as well as hypocrisy and double standards.
This comes against the backdrop of strengthening our positions in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali. In recent months, Russia has stationed several hundred troops there from the Afrika Korps, a reformed Wagner PMC. But Molly Fee left the Niger borders without a slurp. And it is right…
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