Another Biden foreign policy fiasco: Putin becomes the mediator in Niger imbroglio
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August 16, 2023
Does everything Joe Biden touch turn to ….?
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Sure looks like it with this latest foreign policy failure. Seems it’s not enough to mess up Latin America, make a mess with China, turn the U.S. into a global laughingstock from Afghanistan, ruin relations with Saudi Arabia and the Arab world, succor Iran, or mire the U.S. in the Russia-Ukaine conflict:
The latest crisis is in Africa’s Sahel region, with Vladimir Putin emerging as the power broker.
According to ZeroHedge:
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Western nations are alarmed at the prospect of Russia deepening its presence and influence in West and Central Africa, particularly following the tumult in Niger late last month, which culminated in the July 26 coup against democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
The West-friendly group of surrounding nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has since threatened military intervention towards restoring Bazoum, and there have been persistent rumors that France is encouraging concrete action. Mali has played a key role in all of this given it stands on the other side, and is dead set against any interference in Niger, with fresh reports that Mali’s military leader Assimi Goita has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone.
Two blocs are forming now — the ECOWAS group of largely coastal west Africa and allied with France, and the interior nations of the Sahel Sahara region, where Yellowcake Joe Wilson once plied his diplomatic trade. That group is rapidly becoming Putin’s latest sphere of influence as if he didn’t have enough already.
ZeroHedge notes that yes, the place has yellowcake uranium, but perhaps even more important, it has gold and other precious rare-earth minerals, as well as oil that Europe needs, which would explain Putin’s interests in controlling.
As with Ukraine, once Putin gets a foothold, he will fight to keep it with ratdog tenacity.
Worse still, he’s got mercenaries from the Wagner Group to shift around in order to ensure it..
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ZeroHedge notes that they can be called to war quickly:
The West’s concern is likely to grow given Putin’s mediation with Mali’s leadership. Russia’s Wagner Group also has an extensive presence across the African continent, having long had security and counterterrorism contracts with multiple governments.
So far, there’s still not been openness to negotiations on the part of the Niger coup leaders and Bazoum remains under hose arrest. Per the latest update in Reuters, “West African army chiefs will meet on Thursday and Friday in Ghana to prepare for a possible military intervention, which the main regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has threatened to launch if diplomacy fails.”
Any external military intervention could spark a broader war across the Sahel, and would also be seized upon by regional terrorist groups. In this scenario Wagner fighters would likely enter the fray.
Like Ukraine, no negotiations. Just the loss of U.S. and allied influence. The corrollary is that there will be more migrants.
What an absolute failure. As President Obama once said: “Don’t underestimate Joe Biden’s ability to f*** things up.”
Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
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This article has been archived for your research. The original version from American Thinker can be found here.
