A senior Pentagon official sought on Thursday to mitigate the impact of Niger’s recent decision to withdraw from its military cooperation agreement with the United States, which has upended the Biden administration’s security strategy in a volatile part of Africa.
Saturday’s announcement by the Nigerian military junta, if it comes to fruition, could force the withdrawal of 1,000 U.S. military personnel and contractors from a country that has for years been a linchpin of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel, an arid region south of the Sahara.
But in her testimony before the House Defense Committee on Thursday, Celeste A. Wallander, an assistant defense secretary, told lawmakers that the junta’s statement may not be as bad as first thought and that U.S. officials were trying to find a way forward for Americans to find troops remaining in the country.
“The self-proclaimed government of Niger has neither requested nor demanded the withdrawal of the US military,” Ms. Wallander said. “There’s actually a pretty mixed message. We are looking into this and seeking clarification.”
Ms. Wallander said that the junta had declared an end to formal military ties for now, but that it had “assured us that American forces are protected and that they will not take any action that would endanger them.”
Last week, a high-level delegation of American officials met, including Ms. Wallander; Molly Phee, the State Department’s top Africa official; and Gen. Michael E. Langley, the head of the Pentagon’s Africa Command, traveled to Niger to meet with members of the military junta.
In meetings that Pentagon and State Department officials described as tense, Americans raised serious concerns about the junta’s growing security ties with Russia, its negotiations to give Iran access to Niger’s vast uranium reserves and the lack of a clear roadmap for the junta Restoration of democratic rule after the coup that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum last July.
“We have made clear in Niger, including recently, that we have a number of very real concerns in several areas and are concerned about the path that Niger has taken,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said this week.
American and Nigerian officials said the junta was unhappy with the tone and content of the discussions and announced its decision days after the U.S. officials withdrew.
Niger’s rejection of military ties with the United States follows the withdrawal of French troops from the country. France, the former colonial power, has led foreign counterterrorism efforts against jihadist groups in West Africa over the past decade but has recently been perceived as a pariah in the region.
U.S. officials and Western analysts said it was unclear how determined the junta was to push out the American military presence rather than use its comments in negotiations to reap more benefits from cooperation with the Americans.
Ms. Wallander made the government’s position clear, telling lawmakers that “countries ruled by military juntas are not reliable security partners.” She added that “part of the value proposition for our access in Niger would be a return to democratic civilian rule in Niger.”
Many of the Americans sent to Niger are stationed at US Air Base 201, a six-year-old, $110 million facility in the country’s desert north. But troops there have been largely inactive since the coup, with most of their drones grounded except for surveillance missions to protect Americans.
As a result of the coup, the United States suspended security operations and development assistance to Niger.
American officials say they have been trying for months to salvage ties with the junta and reverse its course. However, the Pentagon has prepared for the worst-case scenario if the talks fail. The Defense Ministry is discussing with several West African coastal states the establishment of new drone bases to replace the base in landlocked Niger. The talks are still at an early stage, officials said.
U.S. security analysts said a final decision by the junta to withdraw from the agreement would be particularly damaging after a spate of other coups in the region, including in Mali and Burkina Faso, and because of the increasing influence of Russia and China on the continent.
“It’s total chaos for the United States,” said Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at the Soufan Group, a security consulting firm based in New York. “I worry that the end of all U.S. assistance to Niger not only opens the door to Russia and the renamed Wagner Forces operating under the Africa Corps banner, but also deepens the challenge of counterterrorism at a time when “Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are affiliates.” have become a formidable regional threat.”
Mr. Clarke added that JNIM, the Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel, “has grown significantly, not only in terms of manpower but also in terms of the overall area in which the group now operates.”
He said that while some U.S. Army Green Berets train local troops in West African coastal countries such as Benin, “the lack of a U.S. presence, coupled with weak governance and porous borders, has given jihadists free rein to expand further.” “
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2024-03-21 22:40:44
www.nytimes.com
