While the US claims to oppose the coup, the Barmou’s presence in the coup leadership indicates otherwise. Is this another example of the US supporting the overthrow of an elected government?
Why have US-trained generals been responsible for so many coups in Africa?
The US government is concerned about China’s economic development programs in Africa.
The US response seems to be to double down on military efforts. In the case of Niger, the US appears to be working with France, the “former” colonial power.
Consider what happened to Niger’s next-door neighbor, Libya. NATO took out Mummar Gaddafi in a “humanitarian” bombing campaign in 2011 after Gaddafi threatened the status of the West African Franc supported by France. That was revealed in leaked Clinton emails:
The most recent batch of Clinton emails reveals perhaps the most bizarre morsel of Blumenthal-baked intelligence to date. An April 2, 2011 memo titled “France’s client/Q’s gold” quotes “knowledgeable individuals” with insider information about French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s motivation for bombing Libya. The military campaign, the anonymous sources say, was designed to quash plans by Gaddafi to use $7 billion in secret gold and silver to prop up a new African currency. The French worried the move would undercut the currency guaranteed by the French treasury, known as CFA franc, that’s widely used in West Africa and acts as a strong link between France and many of its former African colonies. After French intelligence officials got wind of this secret plan, the Blumenthal memo reports, Sarkozy freaked out: “This was one of the factors that influenced [his] decision to commit France to the attack on Libya.” Libyan Oil, Gold, and Qaddafi: The Strange Email Sidney Blumenthal Sent Hillary Clinton In 2011
It is no accident that NATO members include all the European colonial powers who dominated Africa. While the most of Africa became nominally independent by the 1960s, the US and NATO are still supporting domination by colonial masters.
The US is removing a large part of its force as well.
Earlier this month, two US officials also said the United States could begin withdrawing troops from Niger in the coming weeks, CNN has previously reported. As many as half of the roughly 1,100 US troops stationed in Niger could be pulled from the country, the two officials said.
It is not clear what will happen with the proposed Trans-Sahara pipeline supposed to bring Nigerian natural gas to Europe. The US clearly has a vested interest in preventing competition with expensive American LNG. My guess is that the pipeline will not move forward.
