Rep. Matt Gaetz claimed victory after the Pentagon declared on Saturday that it was pulling nearly 1,100 troops out of Niger.
Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, has in recent days spotlighted how those troops were increasingly abandoned by the Biden administration — even as Niger’s regime was becoming more anti-American.
“Today, the Biden Administration has announced they will be pulling 1,100 troops out of Niger following my report earlier this week. For too long, the Biden administration has allowed our troops in Niger to languish while it has tried to cover up reality and avoid embarrassment. This is yet another extraordinary Biden foreign policy failure,” Gaetz wrote, journalist Simon Ateba posted on X on late Friday.
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“I fear the administration will handle this withdrawal similarly to the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Gaetz continued.
“The safety and security of all service members must be our top priority in this time of transition. I look forward to the administration’s thorough brief on the basis for this decision and their plan for the path forward, our troops deserve as much.”
Niger’s ruling military cadre announced in March that it had revoked a deal with the U.S. to allow military and civilian Defense Department personnel to deploy in the nation. The agreement has existed since at least 2012.
The U.S. built a $100 million airbase in central Niger to conduct drone strikes against militants associated with the Islamic State and al-Qaida terrorist groups.
As Fox News reported on Saturday, Niger’s relations with Western nations have deteriorated since “mutinous” soldiers ousted the country’s democratically elected president last July.
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The ruling military commanders recently booted out the French before turning on the Americans. As the Tampa Free Press reported last week, they also have barred German and Italian personnel from entering the country.
Gaetz, in recent weeks, has denounced the Biden administration for helping train troops in African nations who subsequently turned on and overthrew their own nation’s leadership. Niger was one of those countries.
In a report he released last week, Gaetz noted that the July coup ended U.S. diplomatic overflights that delivered fresh replacement troops as well as medical supplies, equipment, mail, and other materials.
“Our troops are currently sitting on a powder keg caused by political indecision at the top of the Department of State and Department of Defense. With a military junta in charge—who detests our presence and considers us unserious and predatory—the situation seems to be setting the groundwork for catastrophic diplomatic collapse like we saw during the 2012 Benghazi attack,” Gaetz wrote.
“Additionally, these troops are already running short on necessary, life-saving supplies, such as blood and medications.”
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