Ultimatum in Niamey: The U.S. military’s 1,000 troops in Niger will be gone by Sept. 15, defense officials confirmed this weekend in a joint statement with Niger’s military, whose leaders launched a coup deposing the country’s elected president last summer.
After five days of talks in the capital city of Niamey, talks which the Pentagon says “conducted in complete transparency and with perfect mutual respect between the two parties,” the two sides formalized a “disengagement agreement to effect the withdrawal of U.S. forces” that’s expected to conclude “no later than” September 15.
“Both delegations confirmed the guarantees of protection and security to the American forces during their withdrawal,” the joint statement says. And that’s a key consideration given the reported proximity (Financial Times) that U.S. and Russian forces are to each other at a key airbase in Niamey.
What’s next for U.S. policy in the region? “Those conversations are ongoing,” a senior defense official told reporters Sunday. “This is a region where there's quite a lot of terrorist activity. We can list off a lot of different groups, but fundamentally they cross over in Niger,” the official said.
“So, whether we are operating from Niger in the future or from some other place near here, we'll have a continued mission to monitor for external operations, and as much as possible, support partners that are willing to work with us to have the capability to disrupt that,” they explained.
Expert reax: Washington should foster coalitions that can offer a better value proposition than competing revisionist powers, argues J. Peter Pham, former U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes and Sahel Regions of Africa, in Defense One. Pham’s piece is one of several published in conjunction with this week’s Global Security Forum in Qatar, of which more below.
Reminder: Back in March, Marine Gen. Michael Langley, the head of Africa Command, told lawmakers that Russian influence operations, which came at the expense of the United States, played a role in the coup.
From the region: The Democratic Republic of Congo says it just thwarted an attempted coup from its army. According to a government spokesman, “50 suspects, including three Americans and a naturalised British citizen have been detained,” the BBC reports. Washington’s ambassador to the country promised on social media Sunday to “cooperate with the DR Congo authorities to the fullest extent possible as they investigate these criminal acts and hold accountable any US citizen involved.”
Taiwan’s new President Lai Ching-te begins his tenure today. He replaces Tsai Ing-wen, who held the office since 2016. The BBC sat down with her for an interview this weekend, and you can read that over here.
Lai, 64, is a former doctor who served as Tsai’s vice president. In his inaugural address, he called on Chinese leaders in Beijing “cease their political and military intimidation against Taiwan, share with Taiwan the global responsibility of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as well as the greater region, and ensure the world is free from the fear of war.”
Almost immediately, Chinese officials accused Lai of “inciting antagonism and confrontation across the strait,” according to the New York Times.
One stateside perspective: “Taiwan shares our vision for the Indo-Pacific and the world that includes respect for democracy, transparency, and the rule of law,” said U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “As we mark this important chapter in Taiwan’s rich history, I look forward to working with the Lai Administration to continue strengthening the U.S.-Taiwan relationship through expanding our economic, security, and people-to-people ties,” he said in a statement Sunday.
U.S. destroyer returns from Mideast missile battles. Last Oct. 19, the crew of the guided missile destroyer Carney was called upon to take the U.S. military’s first action to defend Israel: warding off a barrage of cruise missiles and drones launched by Houthi forces from Yemen. The crew downed four missiles and 15 drones over nine hours, CNN reported. In the months that followed, the destroyer’s crew shot down dozens more Houthi and Iranian missiles aimed at Israel, at U.S. and allied warships, and at merchant shipping.
On Sunday, the 28-year-old Carney returned to its homeport of Mayport, Fla., where its welcoming party included Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti. "Called to action on the very first day that you entered the U.S. 5th Fleet, you conducted 51 engagements in 6 months. The last time our Navy directly engaged the enemy to the degree that you have was way back in World War II, and it was the USS Hugh Hadley (DD-774), with her engagement record of 23," Franchetti said, according to a Navy press release.
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