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FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is urging the House Armed Services Committee to summon Secretary of State Antony Blinken for legislature grounds to measure however the State Department's "failed overseas argumentation decisions" person "endangered" U.S. forces in Africa.
"The intended intent of this investigative proceeding is to guarantee the Global Fragility Strategy (GFS) isn't negatively impacted by DoS' caller failures successful Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso that person led to a nonaccomplishment of information entree for U.S. forces," Gaetz wrote to Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., connected Thursday.
Gaetz said the proceeding is "in the involvement of my constituents," arsenic U.S. troops were notified implicit the play they would beryllium removed from Niger, conscionable a time aft Gaetz published a study connected what helium called the State and Defense Departments' "coverup of information concerns and mistreatment of service members."
US RENEWS EFFORT TO RETAIN FOOTHOLD IN NIGER AS JUNTA LOOKS TO PUSH TROOPS OUT
Matt Gaetz speaks to the property extracurricular the U.S. Capitol connected Sept. 30, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
The Florida Republican is besides requesting grounds from Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee, adjunct to the US-AID head for struggle prevention and stabilization Robert Jenkins, and Defense's manager of counternarcotics and stabilization argumentation Joseph McMenamin, regarding policies and strategies that Gaetz believes compromised the information of U.S. work members successful Africa.
Gaetz's report, which included interviews with U.S. work members, claimed the Biden medication is "actively suppressing quality reports" astir U.S. subject relations successful Niger, and that troops are being "held hostage" without entree to mail, aesculapian supplies, instrumentality and different materials.
"With a subject junta successful complaint – who detests our beingness and considers america unserious and predatory – the concern seems to beryllium mounting the groundwork for catastrophic diplomatic illness similar we saw during the 2012 Benghazi attack," the study said. "Additionally, these troops are already moving abbreviated connected necessary, life-saving supplies, specified arsenic humor and medications."
Though Gaetz claimed triumph amid the administration's announcement past play that they program to propulsion troops from the African nation, a Biden medication authoritative told Fox News Digital the "decision did not person immoderate benignant of transportation to Representative Gaetz."
US MILITARY BEGINS PROCESS TO REMOVE TROOPS FROM TROUBLED AFRICAN NATION
Protesters stitchery arsenic a antheral holds up a motion demanding that U.S. soldiers permission Niger, successful Niamey, connected April 13, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
A State Department spokesperson besides said they "categorically reject" the assertion "that U.S. forces deployed to Niger are being 'held hostage.'"
"We support a nonrecreational narration with the Nigerien military, and prudent unit extortion measures proceed unabated," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital this week. "Senior leaders astatine the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Embassy successful Niamey proceed to enactment unneurotic intimately to guarantee U.S. forces deployed to Niger person the enactment and services they need."
Gaetz fired backmost astatine the department's response, arguing "the State Department besides said Niger was a ‘model of resilience, democracy, and cooperation,’ truthful maybe, conscionable maybe, they don’t person a afloat grasp connected what is going connected successful Niger."
Relations person frayed betwixt Niger and Western countries since mutinous soldiers ousted the country’s democratically elected president successful July. Niger’s junta has since told French forces to permission and turned alternatively to Russia for security. Earlier this month, Russian subject trainers arrived to reenforce the country’s aerial defenses and with Russian instrumentality to bid Nigerians to use.
PENTAGON LOOKS TO KEEP TROOPS IN NIGER AS JUNTA ORDERS DEPARTURE
F-16s alert implicit Nationals Park successful Washington, D.C., connected March 30, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
The planned departure, which immoderate experts presumption arsenic a stroke to Washington and its allies successful the portion successful presumption of staging information operations successful the Sahel, comes arsenic U.S. officials said they were trying to find a caller subject agreement.
Niger plays a cardinal relation successful the U.S. military’s operations successful Africa’s Sahel region, an country connected the borderline of the Sahara Desert. Washington is acrophobic astir the dispersed of jihadi violence, arsenic section groups person pledged allegiance to al Qaeda and Islamic State groups.
Niger is location to a large U.S. aerial basal successful the metropolis of Agadez, astir 550 miles from the country's superior of Niamey. The aerial basal has been utilized for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and different operations. The U.S. has besides invested hundreds of millions of dollars successful grooming Niger’s subject since it began operations determination successful 2013.
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A U.S. defence authoritative confirmed the opening stages of the removal process successful a connection to Fox News Digital connected Saturday, saying discussions betwixt the U.S. and Niger for the "orderly removal" of troops had started.
"We tin corroborate the opening of discussions betwixt the U.S. and Niger for the orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country," the authoritative said.
The Associated Press and Fox News' Kyle Morris contributed to this report.
Jamie Joseph is simply a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital sum of the Senate.
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