{"id":19121,"date":"2024-05-15T12:46:36","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T12:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/15\/gop-senators-blast-biden-admin-moves-in-africa-as-russia-looks-to-fill-vacuum\/"},"modified":"2024-05-15T12:46:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T12:46:36","slug":"gop-senators-blast-biden-admin-moves-in-africa-as-russia-looks-to-fill-vacuum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/15\/gop-senators-blast-biden-admin-moves-in-africa-as-russia-looks-to-fill-vacuum\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP senators blast Biden admin moves in Africa as Russia looks to fill vacuum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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JOHANNESBURG \u2013 With two West African countries in the sprawling Sahel region leaning heavily toward Moscow, telling U.S. forces battling Islamist terror activity to get out and letting Russian mercenary forces in, leading GOP Senators have struck out against the Biden administration\u2019s foreign policy, with one calling it a \u2018disaster.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018President Biden\u2019s foreign policy has been a disaster on every continent, and Africa is no exception,\u2019 Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

The senator continued, \u2018While the Russians and Chinese are working overtime to oust the U.S. from a region that will soon be home to a quarter of the earth\u2019s population, the Biden Administration continues to fumble the ball and weaken our nation\u2019s strategic interests with our African partners.\u2019<\/p>\n

Scott added, \u2018It\u2019s crystal clear that the outcome of the November election will have massive consequences, not only on whether Americans continue putting up with Bidenomics and the rising costs of getting gas and groceries, but on our\u00a0nation\u2019s diminishing\u00a0global standing as well.\u2019<\/p>\n

Niger\u2019s military junta has told 1,000 U.S. military service members and contractors to leave town \u2013 while permitting Russian Wagner mercenaries to move onto the same airbase housing American personnel. Some of the 100 U.S. service members in Chad have also been told to get out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Particularly in West Africa, Russia is gaining influence, often claimed at America\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n

The head of the U.S. Africa Command, Marine Corps Gen. Michael E. Langley, stated recently that terrorism is shattering African lives and plants \u2018the seeds of violent extremism and Russian exploitation across entire regions of the continent.\u2019<\/p>\n

Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho., told Fox News Digital, \u2018The U.S. isn\u2019t fighting for influence in Africa, but despite its efforts, Russia isn\u2019t winning over most Africans.\u2019 Risch, ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, added,\u00a0\u2018Simplifying the current situation in this way gives too much credit to Russia and other bad actors who are exploiting economic, political, and security challenges for their own gain. Despite this administration\u2019s soaring rhetoric about its successes in Africa, the continent is not a top foreign policy focus \u2013 the administration\u2019s actions, budgets, and policies demonstrate that.\u2019<\/p>\n

He continued, \u2018The U.S. has the power to swiftly reverse the current trend of African nations favoring anti-Western views. By taking stronger policy actions in partnership with the African people, we can make a significant and immediate impact, and reverse these trends.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018America has now effectively been pushed out of Chad, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, making more room for Russia and China,\u2019 Senate Minority Leader Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told the Senate on May 2.\u00a0 \u2018The administration behaves more like an ostrich than a superpower for two years.\u2019<\/p>\n

Looking at the 54 countries which make up the African continent, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital \u2018Secretary Blinken has been clear about the United States\u2019 commitment to deepen and expand our partnerships between the United States and African countries, institutions, and people.\u202f\u202fThe United States\u2019 strategy towards Africa is based on the belief that democracy and good governance, development, and stability are inter-linked. Together with our regional partners, we are committed to working with African countries to promote democracy, foster sustainable development, combat terrorism, and enhance security.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018We remain concerned by the increase in violence and worsening humanitarian trends across the Sahel region. The only long-term solution to the scourge of terrorism is delivering good governance based on the rule of law, respect for human rights, and promotion of social cohesion.\u00a0Overreliance on military-only approaches to instability and insufficient efforts to protect civilians from human rights abuses and violations, will only further entrench structural drivers of instability.\u2019<\/p>\n

Washington has declared publicly that it will pull forces out of Niger,\u00a0but the 1,000 personnel are still there, with a State Department spokesperson telling Fox News Digital last week that officials \u2018are engaged in frank discussions with the authorities in Niger.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

During Tuesday\u2019s State Department briefing, spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters that in discussions with Niger\u2019s new government (CNSP), \u2018We have not been able to come to an understanding that would allow the United States to maintain its military presence in Niger, and we\u2019re currently working with the CNSP to withdraw U.S. forces in an orderly and responsible fashion.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

The U.S. troops are being used as \u2018pawns\u2019 by Washington, in order to try and get military and medivac overflight permission in Niger, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., claimed in statements provided by his office to Fox News Digital.\u00a0\u2018Today, more than a thousand personnel have not been sufficiently resupplied since March following the coup.\u2019<\/p>\n

Gaetz continued, \u2018Biden has two choices: resupply our troops or bring them home ASAP. The notion that we are allowing third world thugs \u2013 who we trained \u2013 to dictate terms on the well-being of American troops is a furtherance of the Biden foreign policy disgrace.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

Controversy is also next door in Chad, with the military junta there saying they want the U.S. military out of their country. Washington has had around 100 personnel fighting terrorism stationed there. Some were pulled out during last week\u2019s presidential elections, but sources suggest this withdrawal is \u2018temporary.\u2019<\/p>\n

Enter the Kremlin. Niger has, in contrast, welcomed up to 100 military personnel thought to be mercenaries from the Wagner group to set up shop for operations out of a hangar on the same airbase 101 housing U.S. personnel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The potential departure of U.S. forces from Niger and Chad is \u2018a win for Putin,\u2019 said Rebekah Koffler, strategic military intelligence analyst and Foreign Affairs Consultant for Fox News Digital. \u2018Any military hardware that\u2019s left will be picked up by the Russians who are always on the hunt for U.S. weapons dropped on the battlefield or abandoned at military bases. Those combat systems will be acquired, inspected, and either reverse engineered or countermeasures will be built within Russian weapons systems to mitigate the effectiveness of U.S. arms.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The United States clearly faces challenges in maintaining its position in West Africa,\u2019 Gustavo de Carvalho, senior researcher for African Governance and Diplomacy at the South African Institute of International Affairs, told Fox News Digital. \u2018But it is somehow a chicken and an egg dilemma. Are Russia and China actively working to replace the West, or is the West losing influence while China and Russia fill the gap?<\/p>\n

\u2018In the West African case,\u2019 de Carvalho added. \u2018I believe this is more a case of the West losing influence and Russia filling a specific security demand gap. The relationship between Western countries and Sahelian governments became so fractured recently that Russia took advantage of the void left behind.\u2019<\/p>\n

Koffler said Russia\u2019s strategic goals are clear. \u2018To expand its footprint in Africa, in order to outcompete the U.S. there, reduce the US\/Western influence and to compete with China. It\u2019s part of Putin\u2019s vision of a \u2018multipolar world.\u2019\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Kremlin, Koffler added, has a \u2018clever\u2019 diplomatic goal too, with it trying to get more African countries to vote in support of Russia at the U.N. \u2018Africa has a big voting block within the United Nations,\u2019 Koffler said. \u2018So Moscow wants to predispose those governments towards Russia\u2019s policy agenda, so they can vote in Russia\u2019s interests, not Western interests. Many African countries already feel that their voices in international organizations are not heard. And Russia capitalizes on those anti-Western sentiments.\u2019<\/p>\n

De Carvalho agreed that Africa is becoming higher on the agenda of priorities for Russian foreign policy. \u2018They have so far been able to exploit years of reduced interest in Africa by Western Countries, including the U.S., benefiting from the fact that Western narratives and motivations are increasingly seen with distrust.\u2019<\/p>\n

Enter China. Koffler declared this week,\u00a0\u2018From the economic standpoint, the U.S. is not losing the battle for Africa to Russia, but it is losing it to China.\u2019 Koffler claimed China, with its belt and road trade initiative, has $254 billion worth of trade with Africa annually, whereas the U.S. has $64 billion, and Russia only $18 billion.<\/p>\n

De Carvalho stressed that China\u2019s aims are not military,\u00a0but \u2018it is essential to note that China\u2019s presence does not necessarily equate to dominance. China tends to be more interested in securing financial benefits and market access, rather than using its influence as a direct tool for Western containment.\u2019<\/p>\n

De Carvalho pointed out that he believes Washington needs to change its focus \u2013 not what it sees, but how it sees it. He said, \u2018If the U.S. wants to increase its influence, it needs to approach Africa on its own merits, not solely as a means to counter the role of China and Russia. Africa has a long history of being used as a proxy in global disputes, and a narrative that reinforces that is indeed counterproductive. And that\u2019s a challenge the U.S. needs to address.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018To address its own declining position, the US Administration should focus on building more genuine partnerships with African nations, prioritizing investments, economic development, security cooperation, and addressing shared challenges such as climate change and public health. They should engage with African countries as partners, not vehicles or proxies. But for that to happen, it would require a change in the narrative, approaches and action, making the continent a direct focus, not a terrain for geopolitical disputes.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JOHANNESBURG \u2013 With two West African countries in the sprawling Sahel region leaning heavily toward Moscow, telling U.S. forces battling Islamist terror activity to get out and letting Russian mercenary forces in, leading GOP Senators have struck out against the Biden administration\u2019s foreign policy, with one calling it a \u2018disaster.\u2019 \u2018President Biden\u2019s foreign policy has <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":19122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}