U. S. causes were expelled from both Niger and Chad this year, dealing a significant punch to the Biden administration’s politics and counter- violence policies in Africa.
More than a thousand American military officers were to be withdrawn from Niger next Friday, according to the management of leftist President Joe Biden. In a coup in July 2023, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani assumed control of the civil authorities of Niger.
Soon, the junta was outlawed by the Western powers and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS ). Restrictions against the Tchiani government were put in place by ECOWAS in February 2024, but they were lifted because of humanitarian problems.
Niger and two other military-controlled governments, Burkinabe and Mali, formed a partnership that had much clout to defeat ECOWAS and rebuff the Biden administration’s demands for a timely return to civilian rule. As ties with America and Europe soured, Niger significantly turned to the shaft of tyranny – Russia, China, and Iran – for security and economic support.
Last year, the Nigerien junta signed a$ 400 million deal with China’s express- owned CNPC fuel company to secure its cash flow after losing the U. S. and France as fuel customers. Russian forces started arriving in Niger with anti-aircraft weapons around the same time, which the country’s military leaders believe are crucial to preventing ECOWAS or American forces from regaining control of the country.
The Nigerien junta declared that America’s security agreement with the ousted civilian authorities was “illegal” and “violated all democratic rules” in March, and mass demonstrations were held to demand that American troops leave the nation. Thus, the appearance of Russian forces plainly meant time was up.
The Biden administration’s last- ditch diplomatic mission in March was a disaster, as junta officials sneered the American delegation was” condescending” and refused to arrange a meeting with Tchiani. Administration officials mumbled off the record about the junta’s potential insistence on allowing a small number of American operators to conduct counter-terrorism missions from its soil after the main force’s withdrawal is finished in a few months.
A rumored agreement that gave Iran access to Niger’s vast uranium reserves was one of the main points of disagreement between the junta and American officials. When junta-appointed Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine visited Tehran in January, rumors of progress had been made in this regard.
According to some sources, Niger already signed a secret deal with Iran. During the diplomatic mission in March, U.S. representatives mentioned the uranium deal, and the situation reportedly became very “tense.”
” I believe they requested our withdrawal because they were unable to address our concerns.” A U.S. official on Wednesday obliquely referred to all of the above-mentioned turbulence as having concerns about the lack of movement in announcing a transition to democratic rule.
A senior U.S. Air Force officer stationed in Niger complained to Congress last week about the Biden administration’s handling of the situation, accusing them of being “hostages” and fabricating evidence that Niger’s relationship with the United States was rapidly deteriorating.
” They failed to be transparent with U. S. service members deployed to this country”, the whistleblower said.
When the Pentagon announced on Thursday that about 75 U.S. Special Forces operators have been evicted from Chad, Biden’s diplomacy in Africa turned into a full-blown disaster.
A much bigger surprise than a surprise came from the Chadian withdrawal. Gen. Amine Idriss, the Chadian air force’s chief of staff, eluded the customary diplomatic channels and wrote a memo in French on his official letterhead to the U.S. defense attache that threatened to revoke Chad’s Status of Forces Agreement ( SOFA ) with the United States.
The strategically important Special Operations Task Force ( SOTF ) stationed at a former French base was highlighted in the letter from Idriss, which did not specify all American forces would be required to leave Chad.
The leftist , New York Times ( NYT ) quoted” current and former U. S. officials” who speculated the letter could be” a negotiating tactic by some members of the military and government to pressure Washington into a more favorable” Status of Forces Agreement. Some observers still believe that U.S. troops ‘ withdrawal will be temporary, but it is undoubtedly not a bluff, as the Pentagon announced on Thursday that it would begin to “reposition some U.S. military forces from Chad.”
The NYT noted that Chad’s decision was all the more surprising because up until now its relationship with the U.S. military had been pretty strong:
One of the best-trained and most advanced presidential guards in the Sahel, a semiarid belt of Africa, is in charge of the country. The nation has hosted military exercises that the United States conducts. According to officials from the Pentagon’s Africa Command, Chad has been a significant partner in a fight against Boko Haram that involves several nations in the Lake Chad basin.
The head of the command, Gen. Michael E. Langley, said during a visit to Chad in January that” U.S. Africa Command continues to build enduring partnerships with Chad and other African nations in the Sahel to address mutual security concerns and to promote a peaceful and prosperous future in the region.”
During the trip, the statement said, General Langley met with Gen. Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud, Chad’s military chief of staff, and other leaders. Discussions included issues with regional security and the efforts of the Chad to combat violent extremism in the Sahel.
On the other hand, Chad is not quite a blooming garden of democracy, even though it is not ruled by a junta like the Niger-Mali-Burkinabe bloc. May 6 will be the election day, but” transitional” President Mahamat Deby, who has been in power since his father, Idriss Deby Itno, 30 years of autocratic rule, passed away in 2021, will likely win.
Chad may want to use leverage against the United States to oust Deby from power, or at least teaches Washington that the axis of tyranny is eager to welcome dodgy regimes that fall short of American standards of democratic purity. After the May 6 presidential election, the Pentagon made a clear statement on Thursday that it believes” security cooperation” with Chad will resume.
Ishaan Tharoor, a Washington Post foreign affairs columnist, saw “grim tidings” for American security interests in the news from Chad and Niger as the Biden administration was pressured to “retreat” from the terrorist-infested Sahel region.
Tharoor anticipated that the conflict in Chad would result from” a little bit of nationalist preening by the vulnerable interim leadership,” but the conflict with Niger is undoubtedly much more severe, and together they offer Russia, China, and Iran an opportunity to expand their malign influence into the Sahel.
Russia’s eagerness to rent itself out as a Praetorian guard for junta strongmen has made it a popular alternative to former European colonial powers and American moralizing. China has set record-high approval ratings in African public opinion polls and has invested billions in development projects and resource deals.
Ironically, the United States initially prospered in Africa as a means of overcoming American bullying, but now the Russians are successfully presenting themselves as an alternative to the European ghosts of colonial history.
The Biden administration warned its government that Russia might be planning to assassinate President Deby or overthrow his government at the beginning of the year, while Russia was making a formal visit to Moscow and boasting that “expanded cooperation” with Chad and other African nations was coming soon. Russian diplomats lamented that Russia had a chance to enter as a result of America’s “extreme pressure” on the Chadian government.
The Biden administration’s ongoing surprise at the fact that Russia and China have outsmarted it across the continent by providing protection and prosperity to juntas and strongmen rather than lecturing them about democracy is the story out of Africa right now. Even if one thinks that Africa’s military dictators and presidents for life could stand to learn a few lessons about political freedom, it should n’t come as a surprise that they might prefer to compete with amoral and ruthless adversaries who promise to keep them in power indefinitely.
