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FIRST ON FOX: U.S. troops trying to combat al Qaeda and ISIS jihadist fighters in Niger and some other West African countries in the terror-ridden Sahel region are reportedly ‘completely blind’, following what a former senior State Department official has told Fox News Digital was a policy proposal developed by the Biden administration.
A U.S. military source who spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital, claimed that now the Pentagon, when trying to react to serious incidents such as the Oct. 21 kidnapping of a U.S. citizen, is faced with ‘a black hole’.
The U.S. had two airbases in Niger until September of last year. American surveillance drones operated from the bases, using high-tech cameras to peer through thick forest to locate terror groups, and were thought to be involved in locating another American Niger resident who was kidnapped in 2020, during the first Trump administration. Washington sent in Seal Team Six to successfully rescue that citizen.
According to the military source, Niger wanted Washington to keep its Niger bases. But in March last year, Niger complained about the ‘condescending attitude’ of a U.S. delegation sent to Niger by the Biden administration, and ordered all American base personnel to leave.
AMERICAN MISSIONARY KIDNAPPED IN NIGER BY SUSPECTED ISLAMIST MILITANTS, SOURCES SAY
General Abdourahamane Tiani (2nd L), the head of the military regime in Niger, greets the thousands of people who gathered at the largest stadium in Niamey for the launch of festivities marking the first anniversary of his coming to power after the July 26, 2023 coup that overthrew civilian president Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, 204. (Boureima Hama/AFP via Getty Images)
Niger’s government spokesperson, Amadou Adramane, went on national television following the meeting, on March 16, complaining that the former administration’s officials did not follow diplomatic protocol, adding "Niger regrets the intention of the American delegation to deny the sovereign Nigerien people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships."
Adramane continued: "Also, the government of Niger forcefully denounces the condescending attitude accompanied by the threat of retaliation from the head of the American delegation towards the Nigerien government and people."
Mary "Molly" Phee, then Assistant Secretary of State for the Biden administration, was tasked with leading the U.S. team in their meeting with Niger’s military leadership. Several sources reported as the delegation head she demanded that the country stop dealing with Russia and Iran, or face sanctions.
One source told Fox News Digital that she ‘flame sprayed’ Niger’s leaders in the meeting, adding the "rant led us to being kicked out." The Washington Post also reported the Nigerien leaders took particular umbrage at her remarks.
On Saturday, Phee, now retired, told Fox News Digital, "It’s a classic case of blame the messenger if you don’t like the message."
EXPERT WARNS CRITICAL HOURS SLIPPING AWAY AS KIDNAPPERS LIKELY TO MOVE US MISSIONARY IN NIGER
FILE- In this file photo taken Monday, April 16, 2018, the U.S. and Niger flags are raised side by side at the base camp for air forces and other personnel supporting the construction of Niger Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger. The US handed over its last military base in Niger to the country's authorities, the US Department of Defense and Niger’s Ministry of Defense announced in a joint statement on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Carley Petesch, File)
Phee said she was following Biden administration policy, saying, "I’m a professional diplomat with more than 30 years of experience, and I was leading an interagency delegation dispatched to share a proposal developed and approved by the White House. The Nigerien junta rejected our offer and employed a misogynistic trope to deflect legitimate concerns about their conduct."
Within months of the Phee delegation’s meeting with Niger’s leaders, all U.S. personnel, and their drones, had gone from Niger, leaving Washington, the military source claimed, with "no eyes in the sky."
This led the then Commander of the U.S. Africa Command, (AFRICOM) Marine Corps General Michael Langley, to tell military chiefs at an African Chiefs of Defense Conference in May, "since we’ve left Niger in September of last year, we’re observing a rise in attacks by violent extremist organizations, not only in Niger but across the Sahel to include Nigeria as well and emanating in – going into Burkina Faso and Mali."
The General added that terror groups have both increased their capability and ‘proliferation of weapons’, concluding "unfortunately with our withdrawal from the region, we have lost our ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely."
RUSSIAN MERCENARIES REPLACE WESTERN FORCES AS ISIS SURGES ACROSS AFRICA'S SAHEL REGION
The U.S. military source told Fox News Digital that, "AFRICOM is severely resource constrained with only one base in Djibouti, and some smaller forces in Somalia and Kenya. The Biden administration kept cutting our budget … we are one of the largest land masses with all the problems — Russia, China, drugs and terrorism — but make up less than 1% of the Department of War’s budget."
"Since the previous administration lost us access to Niger, the Americans and Western powers are completely blind and unable to quickly react to anything."
President Joe Biden speaks during the Leaders Session – Partnering on Agenda 2063 at the U.S. - Africa Leaders Summit on Dec. 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Summit brings together heads of state, government officials, business leaders, and civil society to strengthen ties between the U.S. and Africa. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The source agrees that Seal Team Six could conceivably be sent in again to rescue this new American kidnap victim. But he said first, the rescue team needs to know where the victim is "If we had stayed (in Niger), right now… Niger would be much safer, and we would have eyes in the sky to help find the American missionary … now we have nothing in the way of resources."
Rescue, the source told us, is "difficult to impossible … first we have to find the guy."
Analysts agreed that, particularly in Sahel’s hot conditions, it’s difficult for Washington’s other ‘eyes’, satellites, to be effective in tracking the victim.
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The State Department has issued its highest possible travel advisory alert, stating "Do not travel to Niger for any reason due to crime, unrest, terrorism, health, and kidnapping."
Fox News Digital reached out to AFRICOM, the Department of War and the State Department on several occasions, but at the time of publication there had been no response.
Paul Tilsley is a veteran correspondent who has reported from four continents for more than three decades. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he can be followed on X @paultilsley.
