(Ken Silva, Headline USA) After shocking U.S. Army whistleblower allegations of water and medicine shortages in Niger, the Pentagon has ordered the roughly 1,000 U.S. troops in that country to leave over the next several months, according to Politico.
Citing an anonymous U.S. official, Politico reported Friday that Troops will move to other locations within the region. However, Chad has also recently moved to expel U.S. troops as much of Africa grows closer to Russia and China.
“The timeline could still shift, the official cautioned, and congressional negotiations are ongoing,” Politico cautioned. “The drawdown — which could still be reversed until it is complete — does not include embassy security personnel.”
The withdrawal means U.S. will have to close its six-year-old, $110 million U.S. air base that was used for drone warfare. Rep. Matt Gaetz, whose office investigated the whistleblower complaints, expressed concern about how the Biden administration will handle with withdrawal.
“I fear the administration will handle this withdrawal similarly to the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Gaetz said on Twitter. “The safety and security of all service members must be our top priority in this time of transition.”
Gaetz released more information about the deteriorating situation in Niger last week.
More than 1,000 U.S. service members are functionally being held as HOSTAGES in Niger. They are being used as pawns in negotiations that have left America at the bended knee of third-world criminals and thugs! Today I’m filing Part II of my Interim Report “Unwelcome in Niger.”… https://t.co/QBeASiqJii pic.twitter.com/nwBDtZrZUO
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 6, 2024
The situation in Niger stems from the country’s government declaring in March that the U.S. military presence there is “illegal.” In a letter published last month by the Washington Post, an Army whistleblower accused Biden of endangering the troops’ lives by leaving them there against the wishes of the country’s new government.
“Americans deployed here have not been able to perform their primary mission and have been told to ‘sit and hold.’ It is clear that the country of Niger does not want a permanent military presence in the country and they have informed us that we need to leave,” the whistleblower said.
“At the same time, there are approximately 1,100 US Military Service Members in the country who are essentially being held hostage from returning home to their families while the State Department continues with failed diplomacy by not communicating with the country of Niger on what their withdrawal plans will look like.”
According to the whistleblower, the troops in Niger can’t leave because the government isn’t approving visas for the new troops that would replace them.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
