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[–]penelopepnortneyBecome ungovernable 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Known as “Nigerien Air Base 201,” the installation cost $110 million to build and it features a 6,200-foot runway for MQ-9 Reapers as well as manned aircraft. The U.S. military began conducting drone flights from the base in November 2019.

About 1,100 U.S. troops are currently deployed to Niger, according to the Defense Department. The country is an important partner in the U.S. military’s efforts to counter the Islamic State group and other terrorist organizations in Africa. In October 2017, four U.S. soldiers were killed near the Nigerien village of Tongo Tongo after being attacked by more than 100 ISIS fighters.

The base serves as a critical intelligence and surveillance hub for the U.S. military’s efforts to combat violent extremism in North and West Africa, said Jocelyn Trainer, an expert on sub-Saharan Africa with the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, D.C.

The think tank donors include all the usual suspects.

[–]SmockSignalsDeft-Wing Rationalist[S] 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Over on Reddit I'm informing the users on r/PoliticalDiscussion just how damn involved the US is in Niger. Somehow they think it's mostly the French with a military presence, or are shilling that lol, or maybe not thinking about it much beyond how it was the French embassy that was stormed

[–]penelopepnortneyBecome ungovernable 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

This map in the lower quadrant shows all the foreign bases and known foreign presence throughout that region. France leads the pack with the US close behind; both are in Niger along with Germany and Italy.

[–]SmockSignalsDeft-Wing Rationalist[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Ah the core NATO gangs all here