The withdrawal of the US military from Chad has become the second expulsion of the US from countries in the Sahel region, after Niger, in about a month.
Washington is rapidly losing its influence in the troubled sub-Saharan African belt and is desperately trying to pretend that the withdrawal is only a temporary measure that the White House took at the request of Chad.
“This temporary step is part of an ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after May 6th presidential election”, said Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder.
However, a fortnight after the election, this still has not happened. And in general, when was the last time Washington voluntarily made concessions to African states? Maybe this is a sign that Americans are losing control of the situation.
Recently, there has been a growing understanding that the United States is no longer able to exert its influence on world processes that it once had. The two main modern conflicts – in Ukraine and the Middle East – do not follow the script of the White House, despite its active participation.
In addition to problems in foreign policy, Washington also faces a serious threat at home: American elites are fragmented and this has led to internal political struggle. Given this, it is not surprising that now more and more countries are trying to oust the United States in their areas of interest.
The White House is becoming less attractive to African states, which are leaving the Western sphere of influence and prefer to prioritise national interests, developing cooperation with new promising partners.
The White House’s awareness of the problem came too late, and now, apparently, it does not have a clear strategy for maintaining influence in Africa.
Feigned calm of the US and illusion of its control over the situation is just an attempt to put on a brave face. Now the United States is forced to make concessions. And the only thing it can do to maintain its presence in Chad is to accept the country’s terms.
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