US courts West African nations for military bases

After withdrawing from Chad and Niger, as the Sahel region pivoted towards Russia, the US is negotiating with Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Benin to set up military bases. A News24 report notes that Washington is seeking partnerships with ‘like-minded countries with democratic values and shared objectives and shared challenges across coastal West Africa’. Marine Corps General Michael Langley, who commands the US Africa Command known as Africom, has toured that region trying to establish what the US describes as African-led and US-enabled relationships aimed at fighting extremists that threaten everyone. ‘I went on a campaign of learning and a listening tour to see how we can partner with them to address these shared challenges, because all these constructs, all these violent extremist organisations do have aspirations of attacking the US homeland as well. ‘So going there and listening as the way forward to address these challenges and to defeat terrorism across their borders was essential,’ he said. In 2018, the US built Air Base 201 in the desert city of Agadez in Niger for about R1.9bn, from which it could launch both manned and unmanned surveillance flights. It gave that base up this month. It also withdrew Special Operations Task Force personnel stationed at a French army base in Chad's capital, N'Djamena. The withdrawals dealt a heavy blow to the US' fight against the likes of Al-Qaeda and Isis in the Sahel region. Where the US has lost ground within Africa, China and Russia have stepped forward, but the US does not force countries to choose between the geopolitical rivals, Langley said. ‘When we have engaged with our African partners, we don't give them an ultimatum of who to choose for a security partner.