INTERNACIONAL
Niger fallout under Biden leaves US troops ‘blind’ in battle with terror groups
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FIRST ON FOX: U.S. troops trying to combat al Qaeda and ISIS jihadist fighters in Niger and some other West African countries in the terror-ridden Sahel region are reportedly ‘completely blind’, following what a former senior State Department official has told Fox News Digital was a policy proposal developed by the Biden administration.
A U.S. military source who spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital, claimed that now the Pentagon, when trying to react to serious incidents such as the Oct. 21 kidnapping of a U.S. citizen, is faced with ‘a black hole’.
The U.S. had two airbases in Niger until September of last year. American surveillance drones operated from the bases, using high-tech cameras to peer through thick forest to locate terror groups, and were thought to be involved in locating another American Niger resident who was kidnapped in 2020, during the first Trump administration. Washington sent in Seal Team Six to successfully rescue that citizen.
According to the military source, Niger wanted Washington to keep its Niger bases. But in March last year, Niger complained about the ‘condescending attitude’ of a U.S. delegation sent to Niger by the Biden administration, and ordered all American base personnel to leave.
AMERICAN MISSIONARY KIDNAPPED IN NIGER BY SUSPECTED ISLAMIST MILITANTS, SOURCES SAY
Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the military regime in Niger, raises his fist in greeting to crowds marking the first anniversary of his coming to power, on July 26, 2024. (Boureima Hama/AFP via Getty Images)
Niger’s government spokesperson, Amadou Adramane, went on national television following the meeting, on March 16, complaining that the former administration’s officials did not follow diplomatic protocol, adding «Niger regrets the intention of the American delegation to deny the sovereign Nigerien people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships.»
Adramane continued: «Also, the government of Niger forcefully denounces the condescending attitude accompanied by the threat of retaliation from the head of the American delegation towards the Nigerien government and people.»
Mary «Molly» Phee, then Assistant Secretary of State for the Biden administration, was tasked with leading the U.S. team in their meeting with Niger’s military leadership. Several sources reported as the delegation head she demanded that the country stop dealing with Russia and Iran, or face sanctions.
One source told Fox News Digital that she ‘flame sprayed’ Niger’s leaders in the meeting, adding the «rant led us to being kicked out.» The Washington Post also reported the Nigerien leaders took particular umbrage at her remarks.
On Saturday, Phee, now retired, told Fox News Digital, «It’s a classic case of blame the messenger if you don’t like the message.»
EXPERT WARNS CRITICAL HOURS SLIPPING AWAY AS KIDNAPPERS LIKELY TO MOVE US MISSIONARY IN NIGER
The U.S. and Niger flags fly at a base camp in Agadez, Niger, on April 16, 2018. The U.S. handed over its last military base in Niger to the country’s authorities, officials announced on Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Carley Petesch, File)
Phee said she was following Biden administration policy, saying, «I’m a professional diplomat with more than 30 years of experience, and I was leading an interagency delegation dispatched to share a proposal developed and approved by the White House. The Nigerien junta rejected our offer and employed a misogynistic trope to deflect legitimate concerns about their conduct.»
Within months of the Phee delegation’s meeting with Niger’s leaders, all U.S. personnel, and their drones, had gone from Niger, leaving Washington, the military source claimed, with «no eyes in the sky.»
This led the then Commander of the U.S. Africa Command, (AFRICOM) Marine Corps General Michael Langley, to tell military chiefs at an African Chiefs of Defense Conference in May, «since we’ve left Niger in September of last year, we’re observing a rise in attacks by violent extremist organizations, not only in Niger but across the Sahel to include Nigeria as well and emanating in – going into Burkina Faso and Mali.»
The General added that terror groups have both increased their capability and ‘proliferation of weapons’, concluding «unfortunately with our withdrawal from the region, we have lost our ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely.»
RUSSIAN MERCENARIES REPLACE WESTERN FORCES AS ISIS SURGES ACROSS AFRICA’S SAHEL REGION
The U.S. military source told Fox News Digital that, «AFRICOM is severely resource constrained with only one base in Djibouti, and some smaller forces in Somalia and Kenya. The Biden administration kept cutting our budget … we are one of the largest land masses with all the problems — Russia, China, drugs and terrorism — but make up less than 1% of the Department of War’s budget.»
«Since the previous administration lost us access to Niger, the Americans and Western powers are completely blind and unable to quickly react to anything.»
President Joe Biden speaks during the Africa Leaders Summit on Dec. 15, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The source agreed that Seal Team Six could conceivably be sent in again to rescue this new American kidnap victim. But he said first, the rescue team needs to know where the victim is «If we had stayed (in Niger), right now… Niger would be much safer, and we would have eyes in the sky to help find the American missionary … now we have nothing in the way of resources.»
Rescue, the source told us, is «difficult to impossible … first we have to find the guy.»
Analysts agreed that, particularly in Sahel’s hot conditions, it’s difficult for Washington’s other ‘eyes’, satellites, to be effective in tracking the victim.
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The State Department has issued its highest possible travel advisory alert, stating «Do not travel to Niger for any reason due to crime, unrest, terrorism, health, and kidnapping.»
Fox News Digital reached out to AFRICOM, the Department of War and the State Department on several occasions, but at the time of publication there had been no response.
africa,terrorism,joe biden,donald trump,conflicts,military
INTERNACIONAL
Zelensky reiteró a sus aliados que el armamento del ejército ruso contiene “miles de componentes” de fabricación extranjera
El presidente de Ucrania, Volodimir Zelensky, advirtió que los misiles y drones utilizados por el ejército ruso contienen “miles de componentes” de fabricación no rusa, especialmente procedentes de Europa, Estados Unidos y Japón, y pidió a estos países bloquear de manera efectiva estas cadenas de suministro.
“Todos esos misiles y drones rusos que se utilizan hoy en día contienen miles de componentes que Rusia no puede producir por sí sola. Cinco misiles Iskander-M llevan al menos 75 componentes críticos de fabricación no rusa. Tres misiles ‘Kh-101’ incluyen casi 160 componentes que Rusia no puede reemplazar por sí misma», detalló el mandatario.
A su vez, en un mensaje hacia sus aliados, remarcó: “Cada shahed (dron de fabricación iraní) tiene cientos de estos componentes exportados a Rusia desde otros países, y no solo de empresas chinas, por cierto. También de Europa, Estados Unidos y Japón”.
El mandatario instó a los aliados de Ucrania a bloquear realmente las cadenas de suministro que llevan componentes críticos a Rusia para la producción de armas, calificando esta medida de “crucial” tanto para Kiev como para la seguridad internacional.
“Las propias empresas deberían supervisar mejor el destino de sus componentes. Sin estas conexiones con el mundo, Rusia no puede hacer nada; no es capaz de ser fuerte estando completamente aislada”, aseguró.
Zelensky reiteró que “el bloqueo y la presión pueden realmente obligar al agresor a reconsiderar su política” en medio de la invasión al territorio ucraniano.
Respecto a las negociaciones en Suiza, indicó que la delegación ucraniana presentará un informe tras ronda de conversaciones en Ginebra sobre los ataques recientes en Odesa y sus consecuencias.
“El equipo debe plantear sin duda la cuestión de estos ataques, en primer lugar a la parte estadounidense, que propuso que tanto nosotros como Rusia nos abstuviéramos de atacar”, puntualizó respecto de los últimos bombardeos de Moscú a infraestructura crítica ucraniana.
El presidente subrayó que Ucrania está preparada y no necesita la guerra, y manifestó su disposición para avanzar hacia un acuerdo justo que ponga fin al conflicto bélico iniciado por Rusia en 2022. Además, adelantó que en las próximas semanas habrá nuevas negociaciones con socios internacionales y se discutirá la necesidad de que Europa produzca sus propios misiles de defensa aérea.
“La única pregunta para los rusos es: ¿qué quieren? Y también, si habrá consecuencias para Rusia por el hecho de que los shaheds, los misiles y las fantasiosas charlas sobre la historia les importan más que la diplomacia real, la diplomacia y la paz duradera»,
La jornada del martes incluyó una reunión de Ucrania con representantes de Estados Unidos, Francia, Reino Unido, Alemania, Italia y Suiza. El secretario del Consejo Nacional de Defensa ucraniano, Rustem Umerov, señaló que se coordinaron enfoques para los próximos pasos y destacó la importancia de mantener una visión común y la coordinación de acciones entre Ucrania, Estados Unidos y Europa.
Los negociadores de Ucrania y Rusia reanudarán una segunda ronda de conversaciones de paz en Ginebra este miércoles, mientras el principal enviado de Estados Unidos mostró optimismo sobre la posibilidad de poner fin al conflicto más letal en Europa desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Estas conversaciones representan el esfuerzo diplomático más reciente para frenar los combates, que causaron cientos de miles de muertes, desplazado a millones de personas y devastado amplias zonas del este y sur de Ucrania.
Los delegados de Estados Unidos mantiene su presión para lograr un acuerdo que ponga fin a casi cuatro años de guerra, aunque hasta ahora no se ha alcanzado un compromiso entre Moscú y Kiev respecto al territorio en disputa.
El enviado estadounidense Steve Witkoff, representante de la administración del presidente Donald Trump, afirmó que los esfuerzos diplomáticos del mandatario impulsaron el proceso.
“El éxito del presidente Trump al unir a ambos lados de esta guerra ha generado un progreso significativo”, escribió en X. “Ambas partes acordaron actualizar a sus respectivos líderes y continuar trabajando para llegar a un acuerdo”.
(Con información de Europa Press)
Defence,Defense,Europe
INTERNACIONAL
Inside world’s top science society’s convention bashing Trump, pushing DEI, pronouns: ‘Felt like a funeral’
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FIRST ON FOX: One of the world’s largest and most influential scientific societies held its annual conference last weekend, which a Fox News Digital review found was littered with examples of progressive messaging, criticisms of the Trump administration, and «woke» workshops.
Attendees who showed up at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) event, held at the Phoenix Convention Center from Feb. 12-14, were immediately greeted at registration with identifier stickers that used gender pronouns such as «they/them,» «xi/xer,» «xe/xem,» and other descriptors that critics have alleged have little to do with science and biology.
During the meeting’s opening night, shortly after a 10-minute hoop dance routine from traditional Native American dancers, AAAS CEO Dr. Sudip Parikh told the audience that it’s been a «hard» and «tough year for science and scientists in this country.»
Parikh went on to blame DOGE for the «devastation» of «some of our science agencies» and the «president’s budget request» that «cut science by half» and, in his opinion, amounted to «forfeiting the future.»
DOCTORS ON KEY US HEALTH TASK FORCE ACCUSED OF PRIORITIZING DEI OVER EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE
The 2025 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
«What happened over the course of the last year is a rupture. We’re not going back, it’s not possible, too much damage has been done, too much has changed. There’s an entire generation of scientists that have a scar, a scar that is not going to go away,» Parikh explained, adding that scars can «make us tougher» and «become almost shields» that «build resilience.»
Parikh told the crowd that he warned last year that Robert F. Kennedy Jr was the «wrong person» for Health and Human Services secretary and said, «I still feel that way,» which prompted laughter and applause from the crowd.
«It’s going to take protests, it’s going to take politics, it’s going to take the ability to not speak gibberish, all of that has got to come together if we’re going to fight for the inheritance of the enlightenment to continue to make this world a better place,» Parikh said.
Workshops at the event, which provided gender-neutral washrooms, included a session titled «Mao-Mei Liu: Nurturing Diversity in Science is Resistance,» and another called «Investigating the Role of Race in Clinical Decision-Making.»
«Who Gets to Belong? Disability, Power, and Participation in Higher Education,» another workshop was called.
TOP MEDICAL SCHOOL MOVED DEI OFFICE TO SECRET LOCATION AS IT TRIES TO ‘EVADE ACCOUNTABILITY’: LEGAL GROUP
The 2026 annual AAAS conference provided guests with an all-gender washroom and gender pronoun stickers. (Fox News Digital)
Dr. Theresa A. Maldonado, a world-renowned expert in electrical engineering, delivered the president’s address at the conference and also lamented what a difficult year 2025 was for science and suggested climate change was responsible for the devastating southern California wildfires last year.
AAAS, the publisher of the highly respected Science magazine, posted several more videos over the course of the next few days, many including speakers who criticized the Trump administration and injected politics into discussions.
«Colonial Legacies, Climate Crises, and the Erosion of Mobility Choice» was another workshop that scientists at the conference were offered and in an interview with «climate justice scholar» Jola Ajibade, she explained how climate change has benefited a «few wealthy people» while «low-income communities are displaced.»
«At the center of my work is giving a voice but also bringing to the attention of everyone the impact of a slew of climate solutions, the impact of those solutions on low-income communities, on Black communities, on indigenous, on Latino communities as well,» Ajibade explained, adding that she is focused on finding a «decolonial» approach.
Listed sponsors of the event included the Science Philanthropy Alliance, a group tied to the progressive consulting behemoth Arabella Advisors through the New Venture Fund, a nonprofit that pushes a variety of progressive causes.
«The whole thing that is sad for me is that when I attended these conferences in the first Trump administration there was plenty of liberal nonsense, but it still was a celebration of science and the achievements of the year, and you left excited,» an event attendee told Fox News Digital.
«This year felt like a funeral, with nothing but griping and moaning. Why would people want to keep coming back year after year with something like that? I suspect that is why their attendance greatly suffered this year compared to the pre-COVID years. Their constant pleas to keep politics out of science are completely undercut by their perpetual whining and endorsing utter craziness. They’re happy for science to be political, as long as it’s leftist.»
Additionally, as lawmakers in the United States continue to warn about the growing threat posed by China and what they believe is the CCP’s infiltration of top institutions in the United States — particularly in the medical and science fields — the AAAS conference opted to allow the Beijing-based research institute Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to operate a booth at the event.
The state-run Chinese academy, which has faced controversy over its ties to China’s government and military, has collaborated with a Chinese medical technology firm linked to a 2013 U.S. bribery case involving NIH-funded research. The company has also installed equipment in leading American research labs.
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Protesters are seen outside a rally held by President Donald Trump at Macomb County Community College in Warren, Michigan. (Getty Images/Dominic Gwinn)
«The AAAS says that their organization wants to ‘inspire’ future scientists and engineers, but session topics and material from their meeting actually discourage participants from relying on their effort and merit and turns the focus to race and ethnicity,» Johnathan Butcher, acting director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital.
«These are the very same kind of racist ideas inspired by DEI that have been prohibited in universities, state governments, and the federal government, because the ideas violate state and federal civil rights laws,» Butcher added. «Policymakers should be aware of what this organization is doing and make sure the association is not promoting racial preferences in hiring, promotion or research awards in academia or anywhere else.»
In a statement to Fox News Digital, an AAAS spokesperson said, «A broad spectrum of the scientific enterprise attends the meeting. The topics covered were wide-ranging across scientific disciplines and are proposed by scientists. AAAS respects their First Amendment right to free speech.»
politics,science,dei
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