美国对非洲国家说教的努力适得其反,他们受够了
2024-04-24 06:50阅读:

随着美国可能重蹈法国被迫撤军尼日尔的覆辙,美国媒体开始“反思”拜登政府的非洲策略。美国“政客”新闻网4月22日援引知情美国官员的话坦承,美国在与非洲打交道时过度强调意识形态目标,试图以“民主改革”等政治要求作为援助条件,但非洲国家确实不想接受西方的“教导”,如今他们终于“受够了”。
US vs. Russia: Why the Biden strategy in Africa may be
failing
The U.S. is expected to lose access to a critical drone base in
Niger that it uses to fight ISIS in the Sahel.
By ERIN BANCO and LARA SELIGMAN
U.S. officials are starting to accept that their strategy of
pressing Niger and other war-battered African countries to break
off ties with Moscow and embrace democratic norms is no longer
working.
The recent breakdown in relations with Niger, where American troops
are set to withdraw as Russian fighters arrive, has forced a
reckoning inside the Biden ad
ministration over its approach to maintaining its allies in
volatile parts of Africa, according to two officials familiar with
the matter. Both officials were granted anonymity to speak about
sensitive diplomatic negotiations.
Countries across the continent, including Chad, Central African
Republic, Mali and Libya, have turned toward Russia for security
assistance. Now, in Niger, Russian paramilitary fighters have
arrived, sidelining the U.S. and forcing the withdrawal of 1,100
U.S. military personnel there in the next several months, one of
the officials said.
While Washington has raised concerns about Niamey’s relationship
with Iran, U.S. officials are particularly worried about operating
in a country whose government has increasingly close military ties
with Russia.
The military junta in March called for the dissolution of the
agreement that governs the American military presence in the
country, but a date hasn’t been set for their departure.
If U.S. troops leave, America will lose access to a critical
military base it relies on to fight groups like ISIS. The U.S.
drone base in Niger is used for intelligence collection that is key
for targeting terrorist strongholds in the region.
“When all of these countries kicked out the French and turned
inward, we then tried to pivot to become the peacemaker in the
hopes that we could keep our presence there,” said Cameron Hudson,
a former intelligence officer for Africa at the CIA, referring to
countries with coup governments in Africa. “All of that is clearly
not working. We are now out. Russia is now in.”
The National Security Council did not respond to a request for
comment.
U.S. law prohibits Washington from providing funds to coup
governments, including Niger. But U.S. officials have tried to
maintain diplomatic relations with those countries — many of which
have vast natural resources — in an effort to one day resume
military and other financial support.
The Biden administration’s strategy has been to try to engage coup
governments and negotiate roadmaps and timetables for democratic
elections.
But African leaders, while telling diplomats and other American
officials that they want to maintain relations with Washington,
have largely rebuffed suggestions that their countries need to more
fully embrace democracy.
“With most of these governments, they really don’t want to be told
what to do,” a third U.S. official said. “There’s a long history of
the West telling African countries how to govern and they’re
finally saying ‘enough.’”
Some African leaders have welcomed the Russian intervention, saying
Moscow can provide fast security assistance when the U.S. cannot.
Others have pushed back against U.S. demands for reforms, claiming
the West has no right to lecture on democracy in Africa when it
ignores similar issues with allies in other parts of the
world.
Those rebuffs, including in Niger, have tested American officials
as they attempt to try to find a way to hold on to Washington’s
long-standing partnerships in countries that hold significant
natural resource wealth.
Behind closed doors, officials increasingly believe that it may be
unwise to completely withdraw from countries experiencing
challenges in democracy, said a DOD official.
Doing so “does leave a huge gap for other less scrupulous
competitors” such as Moscow or Beijing to swoop in.
“The fear is, ‘okay, we’re going to walk away, and Russia is going
to come in,’” the official said. “Are we really being a good
partner if we are leaving when they are most vulnerable?”
So far, the U.S. has tried to make the most of limited
options.
Their most recent strategy has been to expose Russian mercenaries’
destruction on the continent, including their vast human rights
abuses in an effort to discourage countries from allying with
Moscow.
“Russian engagement in Africa is not helpful,” said a second U.S.
official. “It’s parasitic.”
So far, though, that effort has not reversed decisions by African
leaders, especially those in coup governments, to partner with
Russia. Their immediate needs for assistance and security are too
great, the official said. And the U.S. can’t provide that kind of
help.
“Where the Russians have a real advantage over the United States is
they have weapons, and they sell weapons, including helicopters,”
the senior U.S. official said. “And they sell small arms. There are
a lot of security challenges in Africa and Africans need
weapons.”
Russia has seized on the opportunity, using mercenaries and other
fighters aligned with the ministry of defense to help provide
security. In Mali for example, members of Russia’s elite Wagner
paramilitary force have been helping government forces carry out
strikes and raids that have killed scores of civilians in recent
months, according to rights groups.
Now, for the first time in Niger, the Russian ministry of defense
is overseeing a new security mission, dispatching paramilitary
fighters to help train Niger’s military. Russia’s moves raised
alarms among Biden administration officials who have tried to
negotiate a deal with the military junta that would ultimately
allow the U.S. troops to remain in the country.
Many of the Russian fighters in Niger, and those bound for
neighboring Burkina Faso, formerly fought under Yevgeny Prigozhin
when he led the Wagner forces. Wagner was Russia’s most elite
paramilitary force, operating in various corners of the world,
including Ukraine and Africa.
Since his attempted overthrow of the country’s military leaders
last summer and his subsequent death, many of his former employees
have joined new and existing private security forces overseen by
Moscow’s military and intelligence services.
It is still not clear how soon U.S. forces will leave Niger, or if
there might be a way to negotiate for them to remain. One senior
U.S. official said there’s a possibility the U.S. still helps train
the military in Niger.
Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder confirmed Monday “the
beginning of discussions between the U.S. and Niger for the orderly
withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country,” and said DOD is
sending a small delegation to participate in the discussions. He
did not give a timeframe for the delegation to arrive or for U.S.
troops to leave the country.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/22/russia-niger-africa-biden-strategy-00153734