U.S. troops formally withdrew from an air base in Niger on Monday, the first of two bases to be evacuated by American forces after Nigerian officials ordered them to leave.
American forces left Air Base 101, near the capital of Niamey, after a ceremony formalizing the departure of the troops, according to U.S. Africa Command (Africom).
The last aircraft to leave, an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transportation plane, departed Monday.
The U.S. will leave Air Base 201 in the city of Agadez in September.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth Ekman, Africom’s director of strategy, engagement and programs, said he was grateful for the orderly and safe withdrawal of American troops.
“Today we reflect positively on the past 15 years of security cooperation and shared sacrifice by U.S. forces and Nigerien forces,” Ekman said in a statement.
A military junta took control of Niger in July 2023, part of a series of Sahel countries falling to coups in recent years. Niamey has since grown closer to Russia.
The transition process to leave Air Base 101 began on May 19 when the U.S. and Niger signed a document stipulating the terms of withdrawal.
The U.S. withdrawal from Niger has sparked fears of a resurgence in extremist terrorist activity, including from groups affiliated with ISIS. American forces are in Africa and the Middle East to combat the Islamic State group and conduct counterterrorism operations.
Ekman said the U.S. will have to adjust its “presence and activities in West Africa to pursue mutual security objectives.”
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s office on Monday certified the Sentinel nuclear missile program can continue after determining the effort is a major national security priority with no alternatives, despite its ballooning costs attracting increased scrutiny from Democrats on Capitol Hill. The Office of the Secretary of Defense said it conducted a comprehensive and unbiased review of Sentinel after the program exceeded …
Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, has called on President Biden to end his reelection bid, becoming the most senior Democratic lawmaker to publicly do so.
Two Army veterans will go head-to-head for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, setting up what is expected to be a costly and contentious race for an open seat in a battleground district. Republicans picked Derrick Anderson, 39, a lawyer and former Army Green Beret who was supported by House GOP leaders in the testy intraparty fight between six candidates. Democrats chose retired Army Col. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, 49, one …
Russia targeted Ukraine with a flurry of missile strikes Monday, killing at least 28 people in a barrage that hit an apartment complex and a children’s hospital. More than 100 people were also injured in the attacks, according to a Telegram post from Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine’s head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Klymenko said Russia targeted 50 civilian objects. The attacks killed 11 in the Dnipropetrovsk region …
The North Atlantic Treaty Organizationwill hold its Washington Summit from July 9-11. The summit, marking the 75th anniversary of the now-32-member alliance, begins Tuesday at 8 a.m.
The Atlantic Council will have an online conversation on “The Nordic-Baltic Region: Cooperation in NATO’s Northeast,” with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom, Latvian Foreign Affairs Minister Baiba Braze, Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Espen BarthEide, Icelandic Minister of Foreign Affairs Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis, Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, and Finnish Political State Secretary Pasi Rajala, tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.
The U.S. Chamber of Commercewill hold a NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum with Deputy Defense SecretaryKathleen Hicks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, among others, at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow.
On Tap Tomorrow
Events in and around the defense world:
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will host a discussion on “Is NATO a Good Deal? Making the Case for the Alliance to the Public,” with Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.); former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Tobias Billstrom, at 8 a.m.
The Hudson Institute will hold a talk on “The Iran Threat to U.S.-NATO Security,” with former Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) at 9 a.m.
The German Marshall Fund will host a virtual discussion on “China-Russia Alignment: A Threat to Europe’s Security,” at 9 a.m.
The Council on Foreign Relations will host a talk on “Transatlantic cooperation, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and priorities for the NATO Summit in Washington,” with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, at 10:30 a.m.
The Heritage Foundation will have a discussion on “Not Your Grandfather’s NATO: Restoring the Alliance,” with Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for strategy and force development Elbridge Colby, at 11 a.m.
The Center for Strategic and International Studieswill discuss “Ukraine and Transatlantic Security on the Eve, NATO Summit,” with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) at 11 a.m.
The Atlantic Council will have a virtual discussion on “Turkey’s Emerging Defense Technologies and the Future of NATO,” with former national security adviser Ret. Marine Gen. James Jones at 12:30 p.m.
The Hudson Institute will also host a conversation on “Prospects for Ukraine and the outlook for Lithuanian security,” with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, at 2 p.m.
What We’re Reading
News we’ve flagged from other outlets:
Pentagon postpones Army exercise amid diplomatic tensions with Georgia (Military Times)
NATO chief sidesteps questions on Biden’s fitness to lead alliance against Putin (Military.com)
The White House on Monday tangled with reporters during heated exchanges over whether the administration had been forthcoming about President Biden’s … Read more
Just one month after a New York jury made him the first former U.S. president convicted of a crime, the guilty verdict in former President Trump’s … Read more
Opinions in The Hill
Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill:
