MONDAY PDB – The African dominos keep falling under Joe Biden. The US military will begin plans to withdraw troops from Niger. This is a blow to Washington and its allies in the region in terms of staging security operations in the Sahel. Niger plays a central role in the U.S. military's operations in Africa's Sahel region, an area on the edge of the Sahara Desert.
Washington is concerned about the spread of jihadi violence, where local groups have pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State groups. Niger is home to a major U.S. air base, in the city of Agadez, about 920 kilometers (550 miles) from the capital, Niamey, using it for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations. The U.S. has also invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger's military since it began operations there in 2013.
AND NOW – Chad asks US to cease operations at strategic Army base, ACCORDING TO NEWS REPORTS. This central African country is one of the West's few remaining outposts to fight a roiling jihadist insurgency in the region. The move comes a month after Niger — another key Western ally in the region — suspended its security agreement with the U.S., amid a series of coups that have seen military-ruled governments in the Sahel forge closer ties with Russia while cutting those with the West.
HOWEVER – A U.S. state department spokesman said: “Chad hasn't asked U.S. forces to leave. The U.S. and Chad have agreed that the period following the upcoming Chadian presidential election is an appropriate time to review our security cooperation.”
STILL, UNDER BIDEN, the military rulers of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, who all seized power over the past three years, have also cut security ties with former allies in the West.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
NATIONAL SECURITY
Maj. Gen. Huser talks modernization of nuclear technology. The U.S. military is undergoing a “momentous undertaking” of nuclear weapon modernization, said Maj. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser.
Biden signs bill extending a key (but modified) US surveillance program after divisions nearly forced it to lapse. This, after divisions over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to search for Americans' data nearly forced the statute to lapse.
Do tanks have a place in 21st-century warfare? The drone combat in Ukraine that is transforming modern warfare has begun taking a deadly toll on one of the most powerful symbols of American military might — the tank — and threatening to rewrite how it will be used in future conflicts.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Sailor worried about career convinces judge to avoid jail, probation for Jan. 6 riot participation. A Navy sailor who was convicted on a charge stemming from his participation in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, has managed to avoid jail time or probation after a judge sentenced him to 30 days of home detention and a $2,500 fine.
POLITICS
Inside the fight for top Trump national security roles. A furious sweepstakes for senior national security posts in a new Donald Trump administration is well underway, with everyone from MAGA acolytes to mainstream Republicans vying to serve the former president in a second term.
House passes contentious Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan aid package. This, more than six months after Joe Biden initially submitted his massive foreign aid request to arm all three security partners. It now heads to the Senate.
After Congress finally does pass new funding, this is how the US can rush weapons to Ukraine. The Pentagon could get weapons moving to Ukraine within days once Congress passes a long-delayed aid bill.
On an important vote for Israel, some Democrats took a stand. Americans have increasingly turned against Israel's war in Gaza. For the first time since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack, a majority of Americans said in March that they disapproved of Israel's military actions. Opposition to the war is most pronounced among Democrats, with 75 percent disapproving.
US expected to sanction IDF unit for human rights violations in West Bank. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to within days announce sanctions against the Israel Defense Forces “Netzah Yehuda” battalion.
US POWER OVERSEAS
Rockets fired at US base in Syria from Iraq. It is the first attack on American troops in the region since early February.
US weighs sending additional military advisers to Ukraine as Russia gains momentum. The advisers would not be in a combat role but would advise and support the Ukrainian government and military.
ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS
Israel military intelligence chief quits over 7 October. This, saying he took responsibility for the failures before Hamas's attack on Israel.
Biden administration secures key agreement with UN for aid distribution from US military pier being built off Gaza coast. This is a key development as the US and its allies have rushed to finalize plans for how humanitarian aid will be distributed inside the war-torn strip.
IRAN THREAT
From customer to sanctioned ‘proliferator,' drones extend Iran's reach. Days after Iran's unprecedented and largely unsuccessful bombardment of Israel, the U.S. and U.K. levied additional sanctions on the regime's manufacturers and sources of materiel.
A cheat sheet to the Middle East's web of friends and enemies. At the U.N. in September, Benjamin Netanyahu, brandished a map titled “The New Middle East” and asserted that Israel's ties with Arab states were helping to create a corridor of peace from India through the Persian Gulf, via Israel, to Europe. A week later, the U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, declared, “The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades.”
CHINA THREAT
US and Philippine forces launch combat drills in the disputed South China Sea. This, their largest combat exercises in years is a show of allied firepower near the disputed South China Sea, that has alarmed Beijing.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine, allies scour the world for coveted air defense systems. While Ukraine and Western allies have spent the last year scouring the world for ammunition, the attention has now shifted to the urgent need to find spare Patriot systems to close gaps in Kyiv's air defenses.
Russia to hire contract soldiers in bid to avoid unpopular draft. This, aiming to avoid at least for now another mass call-up that could undermine popular support for the war.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy says “we are preparing” for a major Russian spring offensive. This, likely before the summer begins.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
North Korea fires suspected short-range ballistic missiles into the sea in its latest weapons test. This, as speculation swirled that it could soon launch a banned satellite into orbit.
SPACE THREAT
PODCAST – Space electronic warfare: Key to modern combat operations. It's no secret that space is an increasingly contested domain. The U.S. didn't want it to be this way, but our adversaries chose that vector and now we must respond.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Russia funneling weapons through Libyan port, eying gateway to Africa. Russian vessels have been unloading thousands of tons of military equipment in the eastern Libyan port of Tobruk this month after repeated visits by Russia's deputy defense minister to the strongman running eastern Libya.
What's happening in Myanmar's civil war? Its military staged a coup in 2021, jailing much of the country's civilian leadership. Three years on, the Southeast Asian nation is teetering on the brink of failed statehood. Insurgent groups, including pro-democracy forces and ethnic militias, are battling the junta's soldiers.
US MILITARY
US Air Force stages dogfights with AI-flown fighter jet. An experimental fighter jet has squared off against an F-16 in the first-ever artificial intelligence-fueled dogfights.
Army adds cognitive test to track new soldier brain health. It will begin conducting the assessment for a baseline measurement of brain health to measure the effects of any future trauma for all new soldiers at basic training and cadets before they are commissioned.
Army commanders will now have less power in some separation decisions. It will no longer allow military commanders to decide on their own whether soldiers accused of certain serious crimes can leave the service rather than go on trial.
Coast Guard commissions newest national security cutter Calhoun, named for service's first master chief petty officer. The USCGC Calhoun (WMSL 759) commissioned on Saturday at Coast Guard Base Charleston, S.C.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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