Congressman Gaetz Releases Bombshell Report on State Department’s American Troop Crisis Cover-up in Niger

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Washington, D.C.- This week on the House Floor, U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) announced the release of his bombshell investigative report titled "Unwelcome in Niger: An Interim Report by Congressman Matt Gaetz on the American Troop Crisis in Niger,"detailing how U.S. Forces in Niger are facing imminent risk due to the State Department's coverup of intelligence in the region.

The investigative report, written by the Office of Congressman Matt Gaetz, includes interviews of active-duty U.S. service members stationed in Niger who have revealed a suppression of intelligence reports by the Department of State on the conditions American troops on the ground in Niger face, which has led to a crisis for our service members in that country. The investigative report was initiated, following a letter transmitted to Rep. Gaetz's office by a senior enlisted leader stationed at Air Base 101 in Niger.

Since the U.S.-trained Nigerien coup leaders took control of the country in mid-2023, there has been a cessation of diplomatic overflights. This has left the Department of Defense unable to execute planned troop rotations, in addition to being unable to deliver critical medical supplies, equipment, and other routine materials. Furthermore, American contractors, and allies-Germany and Italy-have been prohibited from entering the country, and contracted support staff are quickly vacating when their visas (ineligible for renewal) lapse, leaving the maintenance of the U.S. bases being called into question.

The "Unwelcome in Niger: An Interim Report by Congressman Matt Gaetz on the American Troop Crisis in Niger" can be found HERE.

Video of Rep. Gaetz on the House Floor announcing his report can be found HERE. Additionally, exclusive coverage of the Rep. Gaetz's Report on the American Troop Crisis in Niger by Breitbart News can be found HERE.

FULL REPORT

OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN MATT GAETZ (FL-01)

United States House of Representatives

Unwelcome in Niger

Interim Report by Congressman Matt Gaetz on American Troop Crisis in Niger

April 17, 2024

In Summary: Gaetz office interviews of active-duty U.S. service members stationed in Niger have revealed a diplomatic cover-up on the part of the United States Department of State, leading to a crisis for our service members in that country.

Since the hostility within the government of Niger that took over in mid-2023, the Department of Defense is unable to execute planned troop rotations or deliver mail, medical supplies, equipment, and other materials. The Biden Administration is actively suppressing intelligence reports about the atmospherics of the Nigerien position to avoid embarrassment for investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a nation where U.S. forces are no longer welcome.

Background: In April 2024, concerned service members and their families reached out the office of Representative Matt Gaetz (FL-01) for help regarding an ongoing situation in Niger that has left them functionally stranded, and without sufficient assistance from the Department of Defense or the Department of State. Multiple interviews since conducted (including with senior enlisted personnel in-country) have revealed an impossible situation for U.S. troops. They find themselves prohibited from doing their purported mission, or from returning home post-deployment. These service members are currently deployed to Airbase 101 in Niamey, Niger, as part of the 768^th Expeditionary Airbase Squadron (768 EABS) and Advanced Operations Base (AOB) Sahel. 768 EABS is comprised of active duty, Reserve, and Air National Guard Airmen from across the country and Army Special Forces and contract support, totaling about 450 personnel. Air Base 101 (AB101) is collocated at Niger's primary airport, Diori Hamani International Airport, in the capital, Niamey, Niger. Established in 2016 in the hopes of combatting terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in West Africa, Boko Haram, and Ansaru, AB101 has been a major hub for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Advise, Assist, Train and Equip mission-sets as part of U.S. support to host nation internal security. That is, until 2023.

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Problem:OnMarch 16, 2023, Secretary of State Blinken remarked: "Niger is really an extraordinary model at a time of great challenge - a model of resilience, a model of democracy, a model of cooperation." Less than three months later, the military took over the country.

Since that junta, known as the Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie (CNSP) or the National Council for the Safeguard of the Fatherland, took control, U.S.-Nigerien relations have been heavily strained. In December 2023 the CNSP announced a full review of all military agreements in the country. In January of 2024, the CNSP provided a proposed and draft Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). On March 17, 2024, the junta announceda cancellation of the military accords with the United States, following an embarrassing series of meetings with Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee (left) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) Commander, Marine General Michael Langley (right). This deterioration of diplomatic arrangements has led to our service members being caught in the middle of a standoff between an inept Department of State and a U.S.-trained Nigerien coup-force. This breakdown has led to total cessation of diplomatic clearance overflights, preventing the delivery of mail, necessary medical supplies, blood to replenish the blood bank(which requires constant turnover due to expiration windows), equipment and repair supplies; and other routine materiel from the United States. Personnel rotations for service members have been halted, leaving our troops stranded without any indication of relief or return home, as replacements aren't authorized to enter Niger. American contractors have also been prohibited from entering the country, and contracted support staff are quickly vacating when their visas (ineligible for renewal) lapse. This has led to a crisis as the base deteriorates and contracts, such as for the installation maintenance, are called into question. The new government of Niger also apparently prohibits our other allies in the country-Germany and Italy-from providing any relief or logistics support to our troops. There is no end in sight.

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What we've learned:Thanks to a brave cohort of service members, including staff non-commissioned officers and officers currently deployed at AB101, we have uncovered the below information. The following was acquired from individuals with direct knowledge of the events in question and shared by congressionally protected communication via a letter (exhibit 1) and direct contact with my staff, including my Director of Military Affairs and former Marine Corps ground intelligence officer, or is the assessment of this office based on the shared accounts:

• U.S. Being Evicted:
  • CNSP is present on social media openly and officially stating they want U.S. forces out of their country.
  • U.S. hesitancy to recognize legitimacy of the military junta in Niger has the led local populace to increasingly wonder: "Why is the U.S. here?"
  • Niger, via official media and social media platforms, has declared the status of forces agreement (SOFA) void. Tension from the francophile nation has escalated since France's departure in November 2023, as U.S. is now the main western presence to oppose.
  • "In the statementread on television, Amadou Abdramane, the junta's spokesman, said the Nigerien government "denounced with force the condescending attitude" of the head of the recent U.S. delegation, which he said had undermined the long relationship between the two countries. The government, he said, was "denouncing with immediate effect" the accord between Niger and the U.S. military, along with civilians working for the Defense Department."(WaPo)

• False Reports to Congress:
  • The White House has provided false reports to Congress about troop counts in Niger. On December 7, 2023, President Biden reportedto Speaker Johnson that "approximately 648 military personnel" remain in Niger following post-coup drawdowns. (top, right) This number remains closer to 1,100 DoD-affiliated persons between AB101 & AB201.
  • Assistant Secretary of Defense of International Security Affairs, Celeste Wallander (bottom, right) statementto Congress: "There is actually quite a mixed message. We are following up and seeking clarification," Wallander said. "They have declared this SOFA … to be non-operational, [but] they have assured us that American military forces are protected, and they will take no action that would endanger them."
• Disjointed Administration:
  • Department of State and Department of Defense are not on the same page. I have sent requests for information to each agency to reconcile the differences (exhibit 2 & 3).
  • AFRICOM & USAFE-AFAFRICA (US Air Force Europe-Air Force Africa), the operational and administrative higher headquarters, respectively, are blaming other departments, agencies, commands, etc., all placing responsibility for resolution and planning on others. Meanwhile, no cohesive intelligence picture is agreed upon; no planning on that understanding is occurring; and no clear guidance or the next steps for AB101 or AB201 are being issued. This leaves the ground force commander(s) and their staff(s) with complete uncertainty about what to expect.

• Intelligence Dismissed:
  • US Embassy Niger, under Ambassador Kathleen FitzGibbon (topleft) and Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché (SDO/DATT) Colonel Nora Nelson-Richter (topright), are covering up the failure of their U.S. diplomatic efforts in Niger.
  • The US Embassy is dismissing or suppressing Office of Special Investigations (OSI) & Special Operation Command Africa (SOCAF) intelligence and information that supports the aforementioned CNSP demands and is actively working to contain and/or refute U.S. intelligence assessments.
    • Intelligence service members received "emails where [SDO/DATT] would ask us to reword info in reports which would downplay what happened. All of the major stuff was phone calls," seemingly so that there would be no record.
  • According to one service member, "When our AFRICOM leaders look to us to provide atmospherics on the ground, they go to the Embassy first and hear a watered down or false story than what is being reported. I know of at least 3 reports from OSI about Nigerien sentiment that have been discredited by the Embassy and turned out to be 100% true."

• Mission Halt:
  • U.S. Forces on the ground are treading water in the current operating environment, prohibited from leaving "the wire" to do their jobs. Assigned to AB101 with an Advise, Assist, Train & Equip mission, our troops are completely incapable of mission accomplishment despite their best efforts, while taxpayers foot the nearly $1 million per month price to keep them sitting idle in the Sahel.
  • Our European partners, Italy and Germany, maintain forces both inside and outside the wire of the U.S. portion of the installation and have experienced no such clearance issues but are FORBIDDEN from cooperation with the U.S. when it comes to resupply efforts. I have sent requests for information to both partner nations to confirm the restrictions regarding resupply efforts for Niger (exhibit 4 &5)
  • A lack of reliable potable water presents risk to mission as well as sustainment for extended operations is threatened due to requirements for locally-sourced drinking water from host-nation sources that have failed inspection and do not meet U.S. DoD potability standards and U.S. forces are prohibited from identifying or accessing third-country sources of safe water, such as from Ghana.
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• Great Power Competition and Risk to Mission:
  • According to a senior staff non-commissioned officer, a "great power competitor" (unidentified by source) is present and increasing influence in Niger. They are within the wire of AB101 and have an increasingly close relationship with CNSP.
    • Note: As of April 12, 2024, after the above report from AB101, U.S. media is reporting growing influence of Russian forces in Niger.
  • Our near-peer adversaries are gaining unfettered access to Niger while our Department of State misrepresents the truth and intentionally buries assessments of our intelligence experts in the region to maintain the façade.
  • Counterintelligence concerns are great and near-pear adversaries' physical positioning increases tax on U.S. manpower, further curtailing mission needs.

• Exorbitant Costs:
  • Not including salaries for nearly 1,100 DoD service members and civilians, it costs nearly $100k a month for WIFI and host-nation vehicle leases for them to sit in their berthing and parking lots respectively; and $150-200k per month on food and water, acquired via host-nation contracts, that often provide necessities that do not pass U.S. standards for edibility or potability and are therefore unusable.

• Diplomatic Overflight Clearances:
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  • Diplomatic Overflight clearances-a nation's permission for U.S. aircraft to enter their airspace-are being completely dismissed by Niger/CNSP. No flights are authorized by Niger to enter or exit the country in support of DoD efforts or requirements. Note: civilian airlines have not been affected.
    • Mail, food, equipment, parts, medical supplies, etc. are being prevented from reaching AB101.
    • Replacement personnel en route for relief in place/transfer of authority (RIP/TOA) are being prevented from arriving. They are stuck in EUCOM awaiting clearance to travel to AB101 to execute RIP/TOA, or have not yet departed the continental United States due to impacts.
  • Air Force Major General Kenneth Ekman, AFRICOM J5, Director of Strategy, Engagement and Programs' (right), entry to negotiate a resumption of diplomatic overflight clearances has been denied multiple times in recent weeks.
  • Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché Colonel Nelson-Richter has been one of the main actors knowingly lying about the diplomatic reality. She allegedly lied on a conference call with 56 outstations about the aforementioned 2-star general being prevented access to Niger.

• Visas:
  • CNSP has instituted new visa requirements, which impact both U.S. uniformed DoD but also contractors, as their visas to work in support of DoD are expiring. They are not issuing any new or renewal visas, so contractors must depart when they expire. CTRs support operations but also logistics and base management.
• Medical Shortages: Base personnel have expressed how medical supplies are strained:
  • The blood bank at AB101, which needs constant replenishment due to routine expiration, is not being rotated for use in the event of a mass casualty or medical emergency.
  • In May, critical medications will run out for individual service members, they have repeatedly reached out for assistance but their strategic higher headquarters such as AFRICOM routinely overlook their concerns and those of AB101s higher chain of command, or simply do not provide relief or guidance for resolution.
  • Service members who require medication for care of acute or chronic issues are facing the running-out of their prescriptions, as no resupply is available.
  • According to a service member at AB101, malaria medication, as well as other medications, are running low:
    • "On average, throughout the EABS, each person has an average of 23 days of medication left. The fewest amount is 7 and the highest is 80 pills. Role 1 (Medical) has 1800 pills in stock which equates to a 9-day supply if each EABS member were given an equal number of pills. One consideration, it is illegal to share prescription medication even if it is the same type of medicine."
    • AB101 has solicited the help of the U.S. Embassy but has been informed that embassy resupplies are unable to be redirected to AB101 and that they would be sufficient.
  • Hygiene is also another concern as the camp runs exceedingly low on personal hygiene supplies, with only a few days' or weeks' worth remaining for a camp of over 400 personnel.

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Conclusion:

Our troops are currently sitting on a powder keg caused by political indecision at the top of the Department of State and Department of Defense. With a military junta in charge-who detests our presence and considers us unserious and predatory-the situation seems to be setting the groundwork for catastrophic diplomatic collapse like we saw during the 2012 Benghazi attack. Additionally, these troops are already running short on necessary, life-saving supplies, such as blood and medications. I have sent letters to the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the Intelligence Community demanding answers on their cover-up and any exculpatory documents in their possession. I have also written letters to the Embassies of Germany and Italy to inquire about any directives or decrees they have received from the Nigeriens regarding cooperation with U.S. forces in-country.

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Matt Gaetz
United States Congressman, Florida's First Congressional District
United States House of Representatives
April 17, 2024

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 3

Exhibit 4

Exhibit 5

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