U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Niger and Ethiopia as part of the Biden administration’s growing competition with China and Russia for influence across Africa.
Niger also remains one of the poorest nations in the world. In the United Nations Development Program’s most recent Human Development Index, Niger ranks 189th of 191 countries, with only neighboring Chad and nearby newly formed, war-ravaged South Sudan below it. Eighty percent of Niger lies within the Sahara Desert. Life expectancy is only 60 years old, and the mean education level for its 25 million citizens is only two years.
Governments in the region, aided by U.S. training assistance, funding, equipment, have been really waging their own wars on terror. And this, the government-sponsored violence, has been one of the factors that’s contributed to these intensifying spirals of violence. So, people — it’s, you know, blowback, right? So, a lot of recruitment to these militant groups is coming in retaliation against government forces, that in some cases are indiscriminately targeting certain ethnic groups.
So, right now I think that this visit is more about, really, placing the U.S. in front of other powers, whether it’s China, Russia, Turkey, Japan. Everyone has now a meeting or set up something to bring African leaders to be with them.
Even back before this region had much of a terrorist threat at all, this was what this cohort in the Bush administration — they were acting according to the doctrine of preemptive war, wherein, you know, the slightest possibility of a terror attack warranted any kind of preventative action. We saw that happening all over the world. So this is just one region. And you can — I have a map that I’ve put together of all the places — there’s about 85 countries in the world where the U.S.
And if you treat that as a war problem and you send soldiers in and you start indiscriminately attacking certain groups of people — because, again, just like in other parts of the world, we’re seeing certain groups of people who already bear the brunt of prejudice. So, particularly like the Fulani ethnic group, that are traditionally herders across West Africa, and Muslim for centuries, they are bearing the brunt of a lot of government policies across the region.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
Hallie Biden identified as mystery Biden family member who received China-linked paymentsHallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden with whom Hunter Biden had a romantic relationship, received $35,000 from accounts tied to Rob Walker, an associate of Hunter's. $25,000 of that payment appears to have originated from a Chinese company.
Les mer »
House panel exposes China-linked payments to Hunter Biden, Hallie BidenPresident Biden’s daughter-in-law Hallie Biden was among several family members who pocketed payouts after a Hunter Biden associate received a $3 million wire payment from a Chinese energy company, a House committee revealed Thursday.
Les mer »
Is Blinken repeating Biden’s Iraq mistake in Africa?Violence continues in and around Las Anod [Laascaanood], the capital of Somaliland’s Sool region. While clan tensions in the region are nothing new, the current outbreak of violence was not spontaneous. Evidence suggests that both Somali irredentists and China, upset with Somaliland’s turn toward…
Les mer »
US vows support for Niger as China invests and Russia expands nearbyTop US diplomat Antony Blinken announces $150 million in new aid for Africa's Sahel region during a visit to Niger as Washington seeks to boost ties with a continent where China holds sway and many countries cooperate with Russia
Les mer »
TikTok lobbyist scored meeting with top Biden adviser whose been slammed for China tiesIn Nov 2022, TikTok lobbyist John Breaux met with John Podesta, Biden's senior clean energy adviser who has been slammed for his links to the CCP, White House visitor logs show. Biden approved a TikTok ban for millions of government devices in Dec 2022,
Les mer »