[tomder55]

This happened on July 26 ;a junta overthrew the elected leaders . You know this because you heard it in between transformer reports and Trump's attempts to overthrow the US .

Just to update . A deadline came and went that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed to restore the republic .

Economic Community of West African States - Wikipedia

The military junta closed Niger Air Space and refused to reinstate the President . ECOWAS has troops at their disposal .

The Russian Wagner Group (really a state sanctioned pirate organization ) has interests in Central Africa . They may have even participated in the coup . There is no proof of this one way or the other .

True or not ,they are poised to exploit the chaos. And coup backers in the country are waving the Russian flag

In a pot calling the kettle black moment ; Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said

The former colonizers are trying to keep the people of African countries in check," "In order to keep them in check, the former colonizers are filling these countries with terrorists and various bandit formations, thus creating a colossal security crisis."

Prigozhin blames former colonizers for situation in Niger without proof and hints Wagner is ready to help | CNN


The US has evacuated non-essential embassy personnel . The situation is fluid and in war ;the 1st 3 reports are wrong.

I'll update as time allows.

and of course anyone else on this zombie site can contribute to the discussion

[jlisenbe]

How concerned about Niger should we be, just from the perspective of the security of the U.S.?

anyone else on this zombie site can contribute to the discussion

It has dwindled down to a pathetic few. Athos died. The Aussie disappeared suddenly. He had serious heart issues so I wonder what his status is. Tal ran off. Walter is off and on, but mainly off. I'm a little concerned about WG. Tried to contact her but no luck. Can only hope she is OK. CB posts rarely. It seems that the liberal side who advocates for the other side of issues perhaps feel they cannot find sufficient support for their views?

[tomder55]

We had deep ties and a strategic partnership with the government deposed. Much more than the government in Kiev .They are/were a key partner in our fight against jihadistan .They have their eyes on creating a califate in sub-Sahara Africa

Rare earth deposits in the country could potentially break China's stranglehold . Uranium is already a key export . The resources of Africa are up for grabs . China has already made great progress . But their model is weak and does not promote true partnership. What they do is replace a colonial relationship with a pseudo- colonial relationship.

As a bonus the Niger delta is a significant source of sweet crude.

[jlisenbe]

Not really encouraging.

According to Multidimensional poverty index (MPI) report of 2023, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. Some non-desert portions of the country undergo periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence agriculture, with some export agriculture in the less arid south, and export of raw materials, including uranium ore. It faces challenges to development due to its landlocked position, desert terrain, low literacy rate, jihadist insurgencies and the world's highest fertility rates due to birth control not being used and the resulting rapid population growth.


Its society reflects a diversity drawn from the independent histories of some ethnic groups and regions and their period living in a single state. Historically, Niger has been on the fringes of some states. Since independence, Nigeriens have lived under five constitutions and three periods of military rule. After the military coup in 2010, Niger became a multi-party state. A majority of the population lives in rural areas.

[tomder55]

It is just those type of economic issues that are the root cause of instability in the Sub-Saharan Sahil region .Countries are increasingly falling to anti-western forces. Both Mali and Burkina Faso fell to coups recently . They expelled US French troops who were on the frontline against jihadistan, There were also coups in Guinea, Chad and Sudan,


Wagner Group(aka Russia) influences are a growing present in Sudan and Libya, Russia's influence is not deep . But is growing .

And China has been growing trade with the region with their 'Belt and Road Initiative 'while we have been largely myopic .

Africa is the untapped source of resources to be exploited . We need to be in the game and not allow China to get an even tighter stranglehold on the minerals needed for our own security .

[tomder55]

It has dwindled down to a pathetic few. Athos died. The Aussie disappeared suddenly. He had serious heart issues so I wonder what his status is. Tal ran off. Walter is off and on, but mainly off. I'm a little concerned about WG. Tried to contact her but no luck. Can only hope she is OK. CB posts rarely. It seems that the liberal side who advocates for the other side of issues perhaps feel they cannot find sufficient support for their views?

Not just talking about the Current Events board. AMHD has become a zombie site and I'm not even sure there are zombies left. It claims to have over 1.2 million users . Well where are they ?

I have concerns about Tal . He was an active participant in 2 fantasy sports leagues I and in .His teams have had no transactions in over a year

[tomder55]

Speaking of our dependency in minerals...... Quid Pro Joe with a stroke of a pen seized 1,562 square miles in Arizona under the out of date Antiquities Act of 1906. The pretext for this land seizure was to create a national monument ..... the ' Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni' . This is supposedly sacred Native American lands .
But the real reason for this is to prevent uranium mining .

The US imports 95% of the uranium it uses from Australia ,Canada ..... and 2 nations that have been lucrative to the Biden Crime Family Russia and Kazakhstan ;with Russia being the largest source. Yelena Nikolayevna Baturina's ;(Moscow mayor's wife) contribution to the Biden Crime Family is the gift that keeps on giving. Quid conveniently neglected to put sanctions on Russian uranium when he was slapping them with oil embargos .

Arizona Democrat Rep. Raul Grijalva tried to get this done through legislation . When he failed Quid made his move .

This is now the 5th time in his 3 years at the helm that he has seized land under the Antiquities Act.
It is argued by some that the act is so broad that future Presidents do not have the authority to roll back once a National Monument is created .

For that reason alone the act needs to be either reversed or it's constitutionality challenged in court.

[jlisenbe]

AMHD has become a zombie site and I'm not even sure there are zombies left. It claims to have over 1.2 million users . Well where are they ?

I got on this board years ago for the plumbing section. Last post there was December of last year.

[tomder55]

Here is part of an op-ed by Niger's Ambassador to the US

Niger’s fate matters because it is the last democratic country in the Sahel region that is unequivocally committed to fighting terrorism, a commitment made possible by support from France and the U.S. Over the past decade the U.S. has deployed 1,100 soldiers in our desert, invested $500 million in our military, and given $2.3 billion in development assistance. These resources help American military and intelligence organizations gather vital information on al Qaeda, Boko Haram and ISIS. They all operate in Niger, whose area is nearly twice that of Afghanistan.
Thanks to these partnerships, Niger has enjoyed its safest period in decades. Our improved security enabled social and economic progress in a country where women have seven children on average and the average age is 15. Under the last two democratic governments, economic growth increased due to investments in women’s rights, education, sustainable energy and agriculture.
A philosophy teacher turned union leader, President Bazoum was elected in 2021 with 55.6% of the vote, carrying out the first peaceful transition of power in Niger’s history. His vision of a pro-Western and anticorruption path to development captured the nation’s hopes; when the coup plotters imprisoned him, they attacked Niger’s future.
President Bazoum’s inhumane detention is unacceptable, yet he possesses an unbreakable spirit. He is prepared to sacrifice his life for his democratic ideals.
As diplomats and emissaries from the U.S., Nigeria and Chad discovered in the past week, the coup plotters are bullies. Their only motivation is personal enrichment. They believe that assassinating Mr. Bazoum will keep them alive, that Wagner Group mercenaries will defend their power, and that Russian propaganda is a substitute for sustainable development.

Niger will become a failed state if the coup succeeds. The U.S. will soon be forced to withdraw its forces, giving Islamist terrorists free rein to plan violent acts.

Niger Needs America’s Help - WSJ

[tomder55]

Niger Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger, is a US base of operations .It is owned by Niger military but was built and paid for by US $$$ ($110 million ;and over $500 million propping up Niger's defense. . American troops are there operating drones. The country's air space has been closed which effectively downed American drones.

The coup was conducted by US trained officers . One in particular , Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou had been courted by the US for 30 years . He attended the National Defense University in DC . He commanded Niger’s special forces that worked shoulder to shoulder with American Green Berets in the country .

When the State Dept was caught with their pants down surprised by the coup ;they sent Victoria Nuland to speak with him one on one.

When asked to comment on the prospect of losing US support he said
“If that is the price to pay for our sovereignty, then let it be,”

System Update on X: "Perhaps even more remarkable: Despite all of the United States' threats to withhold support, new Nigerian leadership is telling them to shove it: "If that is the price to pay for our sovereignty, then let it be." US authority across the world is in tatters. https://t.co/s90wsVoUmn" / X (twitter.com)

5 of the 8 regions of Niger has been given to US trained officers to control.
The nation had been friendly to US and France .But the coup leaders apparently have thrown their lot in with Russia.

Niger had been a sea of stability in the Sahel region where coups in Mail and Burkina Faso have opened the region to Russia China ; and have undermined to war against global jihadistan. Burkina Faso and Mali have both used the Wagner Group

Photos and a video of Wagner commander Yevgeny Prigozhin in the region were published in the hours before he was wacked . I am sure that Putin will incorporate the Wagners into an organization that the Kremlin can control .

What all this means going forward is unclear. The region is an important source of minerals like uranium. (remember the role Niger 'yellowcake' played in the run up to the Iraq war) .

Instability in the region is not in our interest .