Niger base loss leaves US blind to Sahel terror groups, sources claim
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FIRST ON FOX: US troops trying to fight Al Qaeda and ISIS jihadist fighters in Niger and several other West African countries in the terror-ridden Sahel region are reportedly ‘totally blindsided’ after a former senior State Department official told Fox News Digital it was a policy proposal being developed by the Biden administration.
Speaking exclusively to Fox News Digital, a US military source claimed the Pentagon now faces ‘a black hole’ as it tries to respond to serious events such as the kidnapping of a US citizen on 21 October.
The USA had two air bases in Niger until September last year. American surveillance drones were operated from bases using high-tech cameras to peer into thick forests to locate terrorist groups and were thought to be involved in locating another American resident of Niger who was kidnapped in 2020 during the first Trump administration. Washington sent Seal Team Six to successfully rescue that citizen.
According to the military source, Niger wanted Washington to keep its Niger bases. However, in March last year, Niger complained about the “condescending attitude” of the US delegation sent by the Biden administration to Niger and ordered all American base personnel to leave the region.
SOURCES SAY THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY WAS KIDNAPPED BY ISLAMIC MILITANTS IN NIGER
General Abdourahamane Tiani (2nd Left), head of the military regime in Niger, greets thousands of people gathered at the largest stadium in Niamey to launch celebrations commemorating the first anniversary of his coming to power following the July 26, 2023 coup that overthrew civilian president Mohamed Bazoum. (Boureima Hama/AFP via Getty Images)
Niger government spokesman Amadou Adramane appeared on national television after the March 16 meeting to complain that officials from the former administration had failed to comply with diplomatic protocol, adding: “Niger regrets the intention of the American delegation to deny the sovereign Nigerian people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships.”
Adramane continued: “In addition, the government of Niger strongly condemns the condescending attitude of the head of the American delegation, accompanied by the threat of retaliation against the government and people of Nigeria.”
Then-Deputy Secretary of State Mary “Molly” Phee, who was in charge of the Biden administration, was assigned to lead the US team in their meeting with Niger’s military leaders. Various sources reported that as head of the delegation, he demanded that the country stop doing business with Russia and Iran or face sanctions.
A source told Fox News Digital that Niger’s leaders were “breathing fire” at the meeting, adding that “rants got us thrown out.” Washington Post He also reported that Nigerian leaders were particularly angered by his remarks.
“If you don’t like the message, it’s a classic case of blaming the messenger,” Phee, who retired Saturday, told Fox News Digital.
EXPERT WARNES THAT CRITICAL HOURS WILL BE LOST IF THE KIDNAPPERS POSSIBLY SEND THE US TO NIGER AS A MISSIONARY
FILE – In this file photo taken on Monday, April 16, 2018, U.S. and Niger flags are raised side by side at the base camp for air force and other personnel supporting the construction of the 201 Niger Air Base in Agadez, Niger. In a joint statement on Monday, August 5, 2024, the US Department of Defense and the Niger Ministry of Defense announced that the US transferred its last military base in Niger to the country’s authorities. (AP Photo/Carley Petesch, File)
Phee stated that she was following the Biden administration’s policy, saying, “I am a professional diplomat with more than 30 years of experience and was leading an interagency delegation sent to share a proposal developed and approved by the White House. The Nigerian junta rejected our proposal and used misogynistic tropes to deflect legitimate concerns about its behavior.”
A few months after Phee’s delegation met with Niger leaders, all US personnel and drones left Niger and left Washington, the military source claimed, with “no eyes left in the sky”.
This led then-U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley to tell military chiefs at the African Chiefs of Defense Conference in May: “Since we left Niger in September of last year, we have been observing an increase in attacks by violent extremist organizations, not only in Niger but also across the Sahel, including Nigeria, and into Burkina Faso and Mali.”
The general stated that terrorist groups have increased both their capabilities and ‘weapon proliferation’ and said, “Unfortunately, with our withdrawal from the region, we lost our ability to closely monitor these terrorist groups.”
WHILE ISIS TAKES OFF IN THE SAHEL REGION OF AFRICA, WESTERN POWERS ARE REPLACED BY RUSSIAN MERCENARIES
A US military source told Fox News Digital: “AFRICOM is severely under-resourced, with a single base in Djibouti and some smaller forces in Somalia and Kenya. The Biden administration has continued to cut our budget… We are one of the largest landmasses with all the problems of Russia, China, drugs and terrorism, but we make up less than 1% of the War Department budget.”
“Since the previous administration lost our access to Niger, Americans and Western powers have been completely blind and unable to react quickly to anything.”
President Joe Biden speaks during the Partnership Building Leaders Session on Agenda 2063 at the US – Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC on December 15, 2022. The summit brings together heads of state, government officials, business leaders and civil society to strengthen ties between the United States and Africa. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The source admits that Seal Team Six may be sent again to rescue this new American kidnapping victim. But first, he said, the rescue team needed to know where the victim was: “If we had stayed (in Niger) right now… Niger would be much safer and we would have eyes in the sky to help find the American missionary… we have no resources right now.”
The rescue, the source tells us, is “from difficult to impossible…we have to find the guy first.”
Analysts agree that it is difficult for Washington’s other ‘eyes’, or satellites, to be effective in tracking the victim, especially in the hot conditions of the Sahel.
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The State Department issued the highest possible travel advisory warning, saying: “Do not travel to Niger for any reason due to crime, unrest, terrorism, health and kidnapping.”
Fox News Digital reached out to AFRICOM, the War Department and the State Department on various occasions but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
