5 Aug, 2023 14:32

France refuses to withdraw troops from Niger

France has pledged to uphold military deals made with Niger’s ‘legitimate authorities’

France has said it is standing by five military cooperation agreements with Niger, because the accords were signed with the West African state’s ‘legitimate authorities,’ despite the former colony’s newly installed junta calling for the deals to be revoked.

“France recalls that the legal framework for its cooperation with Niger in the area of defense is based on agreements that have been concluded with the legitimate Niger authorities,” read a Friday statement from the French foreign ministry. “These are the only ones that France, and the entire international community, recognizes.”

The statement follows a Thursday declaration from Amadou Abdramane, spokesperson for the military coup leaders who ousted Niger’s democratically elected president Mohammad Bazoum last week,that the junta was unilaterally severing the military agreements with its former colonial rulers.

Abdourahamane Tchiani, formerly the chief of Niger’s presidential guard, declared himself head of the transitional government two days after his forces overthrew Bazoum’s administration.

The cessation of the military accords would requireFrance to remove the 1,000 to 1,500 troopsit has stationed in the African country. A small number of United States soldiers are also deployed in Niger, a territory viewed as geopolitically significant due to its borders with seven countries, including Libya, Chad and Nigeria.

Niger, one of the world’s poorest nations, has been the recipient of around $500 million of US military aid since 2012 – the highest such figure of any country in the region. Following the coup last week, several of Niger’s western benefactors have suspended aid. Foreign assistance accounts for around half of Niger’s annual budget.

On Friday, the Netherlands became the latest western nation to back out of agreements made with Niger’s previous administration, saying in a statement that it did not wish to provide support to perpetrators of a coup. Amsterdam said that it would instead divert aid to Niger through humanitarian operations orchestrated by the United Nations, or other international organizations.

Paris, meanwhile, said on Thursday that itcondemns “in the strongest possible terms”Niger’s suspension of French news organizations France 24 and RFI. In a statement posted on its foreign ministry’s website, it added that the junta’s move to restrict French media in the country represented “authoritarian repression.”

France’s foreign ministry added on Saturday that it will provide support to the West African bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to ensure the military coup will fail. Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna said the coup leaders had until Sunday to hand back power, otherwise the threat of an ECOWAS military intervention in Niger must be taken “very seriously.”

(This is going to end badly for France, once of the corruption on Niger is released for deposed leaders, it will be exposed as a fake coup to overtake a legitimate coup. France bribed the leaders for cheap and exclusive purchasing of Uranium!)

https://www.rt.com/africa/580875-france-niger-military-agreements/

5 Aug, 2023 07:53

Ukrainian F-16 training impeded by language barrier – Politico

Only eight out of 32 pilots had sufficient English to take part in the instruction program, the outlet reported

Western efforts to train Ukrainian pilots to fly advanced F-16 jets are being hampered by the service members’ poor English language skills, Politico reported on Friday, citing sources.

According to a US official and a person familiar with the matter interviewed by the outlet, an initial group of eight Ukrainian pilots who are proficient in English are ready to start training once a formal instruction plan is drawn up by several European countries and approved by the US.

However, “English proficiency remains a sticking point” with the rest of the 32 Ukrainian pilots earmarked for instruction on the F-16 fighter jets, Politico said. As a result, 20 personnel with basic English will reportedly start language courses in Britain this month.

Kiev has been asking its Western backers for F-16s for months, arguing that the fighters will help “win the war” with Russia. This sentiment, however, is not shared by Washington. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has suggested that the aircraft would have a limited impact due to the extensive use of air defense systems in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, in mid-May, the UK and the Netherlands announced an “international coalition” to help Ukraine procure the US-made jets, with a total of 11 NATO countries, including the US, getting on board. According to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, the instruction campaign is set to begin this month, while Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said last month that he expected the first fighter jets to arrive in the embattled country in early 2024.

However, efforts to lay the groundwork for the deliveries apparently hit several stumbling blocks, with a recent Politico report suggesting that the US and its allies had not agreed on who exactly would train Ukrainian pilots, or where the instruction would take place.

Another report from the same outlet claimed that European countries had not received formal approval from Washington on the matter, with requests for the transfer of instruction manuals, flight simulators, and other materials still in limbo.

Russian officials have repeatedly warned the West that the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine would lead to an escalation of the conflict, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggesting that the US-made jets could potentially carry nuclear weapons.

(Politico is the main mouthpiece of the Administration, there have been 4-5 articles from them in the last week. Apparently Zelensky won’t take, “No, you are not getting F16s”. The West if getting tired of the demands when they are not capable of using the equipment! This will be over soon.)

https://www.rt.com/news/580864-f16-training-ukraine-language-barrier/

5 Aug, 2023 00:51

US military hit by unprecedented leadership void

The Pentagon has warned that a political impasse over top commander appointments may jeopardize troop readiness

US military hit by unprecedented leadership void

The US Army and Marine Corps are both without a top leader for the first time in history because of a political row in Washington, potentially undermining efforts to recruit troops and ensure that they’re ready to defend the nation, the Pentagon has warned.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claimed on Friday that the US Senate’s failure to confirm military nominations for over 300 pending officer posts, including chiefs for the country’s two ground combat forces, is disruptive and could hinder relations with allies.

Senator Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, has blocked approvals for the appointments in a dispute over the Pentagon’s new abortion benefits for servicemembers and their dependents.

“Today for the first time in the history of the Department of Defense, two of our services will be operating without Senate-confirmed leadership,” Austin said in a speech at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia. He added, “In our dangerous world, the security of the United States demands orderly and prompt transitions of our confirmed military leaders.”

The Marine Corps has been without a top leader since General David Berger completed his four-year term as commandant on July 10. The void marked the first such leadership gap for the branch in 164 years. The Army was left with the same leadership void on Friday, when General James McConville relinquished his command as chief of staff.

“Great teams need great leaders, and that’s central to maintaining the full might of the most lethal fighting force on earth,” Austin said. “It’s vital for our global leadership and for the trust and confidence of our outstanding network of allies and partners.”

The failure to confirm our superbly qualified senior uniformed leaders undermines our military readiness.

The impasse stems from the US Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn Roe v Wade, a landmark 1973 legal ruling that had protected abortion as a constitutional right. The reversal opened the door for dozens of Republican-led states to impose new restrictions on abortion.

The Pentagon responded in February by ordering that all US military branches offer special benefits, including three weeks of paid leave and full reimbursement for expenses, to troops and family members who travel to abortion-friendly states to terminate pregnancies.

Tuberville has claimed the policy violates a federal law that prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortions. He has demanded that the Democrat-controlled Senate hold a vote on the abortion travel policy. Democrats could get around Tuberville’s procedural blockade by holding individual votes on each nomination, but they have said that approach would take months and prevent them from addressing other issues. Lawmakers are currently on summer vacation.

Acting commanders are filling the vacant posts, but they reportedly can’t move into their new offices or homes and are blocked from exercising some powers, such as budgeting authorities and issuing formal policies, until their appointments are confirmed.

“I’m confident that we’ll get this fixed,” Austin said, adding that he expects the Senate to “meet its responsibility and swiftly confirm our 41st chief of staff of the army.”

https://www.rt.com/news/580857-pentagon-top-commander-appointments/

I like this fairytale

The Untried and the Dead: David Axelrod

By Michael Baxter - July 29, 2023

As reported in April 2022, U.S. Marines under Gen. Berger’s command apprehended former Obama strategist David Axelrod near his Chicago condominium. At the time, we had no details on the charges against him or what punishment he might face. A source at Guantanamo Bay recently pulled Axelrod’s file and shared information on what led to his arrest and his final fate.

The military had opened an investigation on Axelrod in February 2022, after receiving tips suggesting that his role as Obama’s political strategist was a pretextual and convenient cover for the depraved duty he performed: selecting underage boys for Obama to sexually molest.

According to our source, the military’s evidence included a video of Axelrod offering underage boys the opportunity to personally meet and dine with Barack Hussein Obama at the White House. Obama’s prey, he said, were among the forgotten–teenage runaways, street addicts, children pulled from orphanages and foster homes.

“Obama fancies boys ages 13-16, and Axelrod made sure he got them,” our source said.

No boy, though, ever saw the inside of the White House.

Obama felt so untouchable that he had the audacity to brazenly have a group of boys form a line that stretched from the doorstep of his D.C. townhouse to the sidewalk, with Secret Service and D.C. Metropolitan police officers ensuring that the children remained orderly and quiet. Axelrod then pointed out which boys he felt might best satisfy Obama’s dark urges.

“Ever play dodgeball in gym class, the picking of the teams, the dorkiest kids never getting picked for either team? Obama typically picked thin, Caucasian males. He’d bring five, six, or seven in his house at one time, and the cops and the fu* feds knew all about it and covered for him, just like the media,” our source said.

Sometimes Michelle Obama, also known as Michael Robinson, stood in the shadow of the doorway and whispered in Obama’s ear as he made his selection.

The boys that made the cut went behind closed doors with the Obamas; the others left with Axelrod. In either case, they were never seen or heard from again.

“We know this picking process took place three times. JAG had enough evidence to charge, indict, and try Axelrod,” our source said.

From the moment of his arrest, though, Axelrod was quiet as dust, and during interrogations at a holding facility in Florida, he answered all questions with a sinister, condescending smirk.

He uttered his first words on board his ride to Guantanamo Bay, a Cessna 441 Conquest whose occupants included a shackled-to-a-seat Axelrod, the pilot, and four U.S. Army Military Police officers. As the turboprop soared at 4,500’ toward Cuba, Axelrod asked one of the MPs whether he had a teenage boy who fantasized about other men, older men, and the ways those men might use him. The MP said he had no children and told Axelrod to shut his mouth, or he’d shut it for him. A second MP, however, apparently had a teenage son, telling Axelrod his offspring was beyond the reach of perverted pedophiles and sadistic, satanic savages.

“We could have your son if we wanted. He’d like your son, I’m sure. You think we can’t find out who you are, who he is, even now? I promise we can,” Axelrod said, sneering at the MP.

The four MPs opened the cabin door before unchaining Axelrod and freefalling him into the water.

“Unless Axelrod sprouted wings, he’s gone. Even at that altitude, the velocity would be like hitting concrete. On the outside chance he survived the fall, it was 150 miles or more to swim to the Bahamas, Miami, or Havannah. Hopefully, sharks got a satisfying meal,” our source said.

He would not discuss what consequences, if any, the MPs faced for hurling Axelrod from the plane.

RRN

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>>19303932

Alex Azar and Neera Tandem released all of these payment under Trump. They were killing people while Trump was trying to save lives. They came up with paying hospitals $40,000 if someone died from Covid in hospitals, and they made sure they died!

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131

>>19304087

DeSantis is lying to everyone in FL, not showing he is working with China

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