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FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is urging nan House Armed Services Committee to summon Secretary of State Antony Blinken for legislature grounds to measure really nan State Department's "failed overseas argumentation decisions" person "endangered" U.S. forces in Africa.
"The intended intent of this investigative proceeding is to guarantee nan 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 nan proceeding is "in nan liking of my constituents," arsenic U.S. troops were notified complete nan play they would beryllium removed from Niger, conscionable a time aft Gaetz published a study connected what he called nan 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 nan property extracurricular nan 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 nan US-AID administrator for conflict prevention and stabilization Robert Jenkins, and Defense's head of counternarcotics and stabilization argumentation Joseph McMenamin, regarding policies and strategies that Gaetz believes compromised nan information of U.S. work members successful Africa.
Gaetz's report, which included interviews pinch U.S. work members, claimed nan Biden management is "actively suppressing intelligence 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 – nan business seems to beryllium mounting nan groundwork for catastrophic negotiated illness for illustration we saw during nan 2012 Benghazi attack," nan study said. "Additionally, these troops are already moving short connected necessary, life-saving supplies, specified arsenic humor and medications."
Though Gaetz claimed triumph amid the administration's announcement past play that they scheme to propulsion troops from nan African nation, a Biden management charismatic told Fox News Digital nan "decision did not person immoderate benignant of relationship to Representative Gaetz."
US MILITARY BEGINS PROCESS TO REMOVE TROOPS FROM TROUBLED AFRICAN NATION
Protesters stitchery arsenic a man holds up a motion demanding that U.S. soldiers time off Niger, successful Niamey, connected April 13, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
A State Department spokesperson besides said they "categorically reject" nan assertion "that U.S. forces deployed to Niger are being 'held hostage.'"
"We support a master narration pinch nan Nigerien military, and prudent unit protection measures proceed unabated," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital this week. "Senior leaders astatine nan Department of State, nan Department of Defense, and nan U.S. Embassy successful Niamey proceed to activity together intimately to guarantee U.S. forces deployed to Niger person nan support and services they need."
Gaetz fired backmost astatine nan 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 nan country’s democratically elected president successful July. Niger’s junta has since told French forces to time off and turned alternatively to Russia for security. Earlier this month, Russian subject trainers arrived to reenforce nan country’s aerial defenses and pinch Russian instrumentality to train Nigerians to use.
PENTAGON LOOKS TO KEEP TROOPS IN NIGER AS JUNTA ORDERS DEPARTURE
F-16s alert complete Nationals Park successful Washington, D.C., connected March 30, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
The planned departure, which immoderate experts position arsenic a rustle to Washington and its friends successful nan region successful position of staging information operations successful nan Sahel, comes arsenic U.S. officials said they were trying to find a caller subject agreement.
Niger plays a cardinal domiciled successful nan U.S. military’s operations successful Africa’s Sahel region, an area connected nan separator of nan Sahara Desert. Washington is concerned astir nan dispersed of jihadi violence, arsenic section groups person pledged allegiance to al Qaeda and Islamic State groups.
Niger is location to a awesome U.S. aerial guidelines successful nan metropolis of Agadez, astir 550 miles from nan country's superior of Niamey. The aerial guidelines has been utilized for parented and unmanned surveillance flights and different operations. The U.S. has besides invested hundreds of millions of dollars successful training Niger’s subject since it began operations location successful 2013.
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A U.S. defense charismatic confirmed nan opening stages of nan removal process successful a connection to Fox News Digital connected Saturday, saying discussions betwixt nan U.S. and Niger for nan "orderly removal" of troops had started.
"We tin corroborate nan opening of discussions betwixt nan U.S. and Niger for the orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces from nan country," nan charismatic 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 nan Senate.
