Follow us on social

US to pull its 1,100 troops from Niger

US to pull its 1,100 troops from Niger

Turns out the junta wasn't bluffing, and after a diplomatic struggle, Washington is taking its drone base and going home

Reporting | QiOSK

After a diplomatic struggle during which service members on the ground were complaining they were being "held hostage," the Biden administration has announced that it is pulling up stakes in Niger at the ruling junta's request.

The junta, which seized power in a coup last August, said it wanted the U.S. out. This occurred last month after a reportedly disagreeable meeting between Niger and U.S. diplomatic officials. Washington has a drone base in Niger and 1,100 Army and Air Force members, who have been conducting counterterrorism operations and training there since the days of the Global War on Terror.

This week, it was reported in the Washington Post that one of those Air Force officers had written to Congress, telling them that service members there were being "held hostage" to the diplomatic back-and-forth and that intelligence on the ground had been withheld by U.S. embassy officials in order to buy time to successfully maintain permission for the American government to stay. This has been denied both the State Department and Pentagon.

The whistleblower also said that deployments had been extended beyond six months because the junta was no longer approving new visas for any Americans.

A woman who said her husband was currently stationed there, contacted RS on Thursday to concur with the whistleblower. She said planes had not been able to fly in or out of Niger for at least two weeks and that the only supplies were getting in via truck. Service members were concerned and told they were not leaving to come home as planned.

"So they're not being told anything other than it could be a few weeks or it could be a few months," she told me. "And that's terrible. Because we already have a problem with getting people to join the military. You might want to take care of the ones we got in."

The DoD press has not returned a request for comment as of this time.

It turns out her husband will be coming home after all, but it is not clear when the demobilization will occur. According to reports on Saturday, U.S. officials have offered no timeline for withdrawal besides talks set to start in the coming days about next steps.

The move will be a blow to the U.S military, which has prized its relationships with the countries of the Sahel and the footprint that comes with it. Washington has poured billions of dollars in aid and equipment into these militaries, but in recent times it has gone sour with coups by commanders who had likely been beneficiaries of American largess and training. Niger has also kicked the French military out, as has Mali. Meanwhile, some of these juntas, including Niger, have been turning to Russia and the Wagner Group for their security needs.

Alex Thurston, a regular RS contributor and non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute, weighed in on potential impacts in March. "The critical question to ask will not be whether things get worse — security has steadily degraded since approximately 2015 in many parts of the central Sahel — but whether there is any proof that the presence or absence of vast American military expenditures makes any discernible difference."


Col. Ben Ibrahim, Niger Armed Forces (FAN) director of training, receives a briefing from Senior Master Sgt. Kyle Platt, 724th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron, Civil Engineer Flight, of the CE Flight operations at AB 201, Niger, March 11, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Michael Matkin)

Reporting | QiOSK
Lockheed Martin NASA
Top photo credit: Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colo. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

The Pentagon spent $4 trillion over 5 years. Contractors got 54% of it.

Military Industrial Complex

Advocates of ever-higher Pentagon spending frequently argue that we must throw more money at the department to “support the troops.” But recent budget proposals and a new research paper issued by the Quincy Institute and the Costs of War Project at Brown University suggest otherwise.

The paper, which I co-authored with Stephen Semler, found that 54% of the Pentagon’s $4.4 trillion in discretionary spending from 2020 to 2024 went to military contractors. The top five alone — Lockheed Martin ($313 billion), RTX (formerly Raytheon, $145 billion), Boeing ($115 billion), General Dynamics ($116 billion), and Northrop Grumman ($81 billion) – received $771 billion in Pentagon contracts over that five year period.

keep readingShow less
China Malaysia
Top photo credit: Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia compete in the Women's Doubles Round Robin match against Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan on day five of the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2025 at Fenghuang Gymnasium on May 1, 2025 in Xiamen, Fujian Province of China. (Photo by Zheng Hongliang/VCG )

How China is 'eating our lunch' with soft power

Asia-Pacific

In June 2025, while U.S. and Philippine forces conducted joint military drills in the Sulu Sea and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed America’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific at Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue, another story deserving of attention played out less visibly.

A Chinese-financed rail project broke ground in Malaysia with diplomatic fanfare and local celebration. As Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim noted, the ceremony “marks an important milestone” in bilateral cooperation. The contrast was sharp: Washington sent ships and speeches; Beijing sent people and money.

keep readingShow less
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Russia Vladimir Putin
Top photo credit: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Russia Vladimir Putin appear on screen. (shutterstock/miss.cabul)

Westerners foolishly rush to defend Azerbaijan against Russia

Europe

The escalating tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan — marked by tit-for-tat arrests, accusations of ethnic violence, and economic sparring — have tempted some Western observers to view the conflict as an opportunity to further isolate Moscow.

However, this is not a simple narrative of Azerbaijan resisting Russian dominance. It is a complex struggle over energy routes, regional influence, and the future of the South Caucasus, where Western alignment with Baku risks undermining critical priorities, including potential U.S.-Russia engagement on Ukraine and arms control.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.