West African Crisis

[Meclazine for Israel]

just because a President with a D next to their name on the ballot is president

Don't you play that card with me, you presumptuous f**kwit.

I always thought the P in PSOL stood for 'Porno'

[PSOL]

just because a President with a D next to their name on the ballot is president

Don't you play that card with me, you presumptuous f**kwit. My position on international issues has been clear and unwavering for over a decade now. I know you can't conceive of someone having a principled stance on democracy because your only criterion for assessing a regime is which geopolitical block it belongs to, but you could try to be a bit less lazy with your mischaracterizations.

Oh honey get your eyes checked, you clearly need it if you think I look like you or spelled out your self-projection.

[Hindsight was 2020]

just because a President with a D next to their name on the ballot is president

Don't you play that card with me, you presumptuous f**kwit. My position on international issues has been clear and unwavering for over a decade now. I know you can't conceive of someone having a principled stance on democracy because your only criterion for assessing a regime is which geopolitical block it belongs to, but you could try to be a bit less lazy with your mischaracterizations.

Oh honey get your eyes checked, you clearly need it if you think I look like you or spelled out your self-projection.

You’re one to talk the only reason you’ve being showing soft sympathy for the junta is due to its anti-West platitudes

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

The options here all suck.

1. Back down due to threat to Bezoum's life
This makes the people involved look weak. Maybe the best option because it doesn't open the Pandoras box. Most likely, despite the US training and probable permission the coup leaders got from the US, they have at least somewhat lost out in how the Biden admin decided to look at things after the fact. But the region falling into a state of wide-scale war would not help.

2. Try to topple them militarily
This would strain the governments of the region. This would help France the most, probably. But do we want a long-running West African War? This is a fork in the road we can decide to avoid. This is not really some grand crusade for "democracy", it is something more mundane than that. It's a question as to who is in charge in governments in a region of importance in the changing world, and how they position themselves on the world stage. Elites in said governments, along with France, seem to have made up their mind. I tend towards the view that a protacted conflict ought to be avoided.

3. Try to save the President somehow
Risky. Uncomfortable. Uncertain. Did I say risky already?

[Antonio the Sixth]

just because a President with a D next to their name on the ballot is president

Don't you play that card with me, you presumptuous f**kwit. My position on international issues has been clear and unwavering for over a decade now. I know you can't conceive of someone having a principled stance on democracy because your only criterion for assessing a regime is which geopolitical block it belongs to, but you could try to be a bit less lazy with your mischaracterizations.

Oh honey get your eyes checked, you clearly need it if you think I look like you or spelled out your self-projection.

That's a lot of words for what amounts to a "no you". But I guess you've always excelled at finding the most verbose way to phrase childish thoughts.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

just because a President with a D next to their name on the ballot is president

Don't you play that card with me, you presumptuous f**kwit. My position on international issues has been clear and unwavering for over a decade now. I know you can't conceive of someone having a principled stance on democracy because your only criterion for assessing a regime is which geopolitical block it belongs to, but you could try to be a bit less lazy with your mischaracterizations.

*Which geopolitical bloc it has the vibes of belonging to. The junta is frothingly anti-French, which is frankly one of the least unreasonable things about it (no offense), but it has not taken any steps to remove US forces and indeed some Moustache of Understanding or other at the Atlantic Council was saying just earlier today that the junta is here to stay and the US should lean into it as a partner. But no, it has black guys with medals involved so it must be anti-American and thus Good.

[CumbrianLefty]

And its not even historically based, given quite a few African military coups were pro-Western.

[PSOL]

just because a President with a D next to their name on the ballot is president

Don't you play that card with me, you presumptuous f**kwit. My position on international issues has been clear and unwavering for over a decade now. I know you can't conceive of someone having a principled stance on democracy because your only criterion for assessing a regime is which geopolitical block it belongs to, but you could try to be a bit less lazy with your mischaracterizations.

Oh honey get your eyes checked, you clearly need it if you think I look like you or spelled out your self-projection.

That's a lot of words for what amounts to a "no you". But I guess you've always excelled at finding the most verbose way to phrase childish thoughts.

After a while of being around pretentious idiots you have to at least have fun in making your point.

just because a President with a D next to their name on the ballot is president

Don't you play that card with me, you presumptuous f**kwit. My position on international issues has been clear and unwavering for over a decade now. I know you can't conceive of someone having a principled stance on democracy because your only criterion for assessing a regime is which geopolitical block it belongs to, but you could try to be a bit less lazy with your mischaracterizations.

*Which geopolitical bloc it has the vibes of belonging to. The junta is frothingly anti-French, which is frankly one of the least unreasonable things about it (no offense), but it has not taken any steps to remove US forces and indeed some Moustache of Understanding or other at the Atlantic Council was saying just earlier today that the junta is here to stay and the US should lean into it as a partner. But no, it has black guys with medals involved so it must be anti-American and thus Good.

Well yes, which is why the sanctions and condemnation is called for because military men acting outside civilian government are never good, but starting a massive war to destroy the country just so France could have uranium below their value price and maintain their masculinity as a relevant international power is not a good idea.

If our government falls for the bait again and causes another massive war where the only winners are criminals smuggling out minerals for guns, I expect Biden to apologize and get angry that France caused another Libyan disaster.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

https://twitter.com/markc_anderson/status/1689866309616451585

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

just because a President with a D next to their name on the ballot is president

Don't you play that card with me, you presumptuous f**kwit. My position on international issues has been clear and unwavering for over a decade now. I know you can't conceive of someone having a principled stance on democracy because your only criterion for assessing a regime is which geopolitical block it belongs to, but you could try to be a bit less lazy with your mischaracterizations.

Oh honey get your eyes checked, you clearly need it if you think I look like you or spelled out your self-projection.

That's a lot of words for what amounts to a "no you". But I guess you've always excelled at finding the most verbose way to phrase childish thoughts.

After a while of being around pretentious idiots you have to at least have fun in making your point.

just because a President with a D next to their name on the ballot is president

Don't you play that card with me, you presumptuous f**kwit. My position on international issues has been clear and unwavering for over a decade now. I know you can't conceive of someone having a principled stance on democracy because your only criterion for assessing a regime is which geopolitical block it belongs to, but you could try to be a bit less lazy with your mischaracterizations.

*Which geopolitical bloc it has the vibes of belonging to. The junta is frothingly anti-French, which is frankly one of the least unreasonable things about it (no offense), but it has not taken any steps to remove US forces and indeed some Moustache of Understanding or other at the Atlantic Council was saying just earlier today that the junta is here to stay and the US should lean into it as a partner. But no, it has black guys with medals involved so it must be anti-American and thus Good.

Well yes, which is why the sanctions and condemnation is called for because military men acting outside civilian government are never good, but starting a massive war to destroy the country just so France could have uranium below their value price and maintain their masculinity as a relevant international power is not a good idea.

If our government falls for the bait again and causes another massive war where the only winners are criminals smuggling out minerals for guns, I expect Biden to apologize and get angry that France caused another Libyan disaster.

Speaking of taking purely vibes-based and aesthetic sides in conflicts, it might be worth considering that "the coup was a bad thing but poorly-considered intervention seems like it will be even worse" is, while not Antonio's position, perhaps not quite as worth castigating him for disagreeing with as you seem to think it is. I don't think yours is a position that he went into this argument regarding with the same lack of respect, since he understands perfectly well the prudential arguments against any given Western intervention even though he's fine with such interventions in principle.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

And its not even historically based, given quite a few African military coups were pro-Western.

Also worth noting that some coups are hard to categorize as either pro-Western or anti-Western. The vibes for this one are particularly mixed. And the coup leaders have likely entrenched themselves by now and now aim to get support (silent or otherwise) internationally from wherever it comes from. Such kinds of people can be quite useful for a superpower as it means that they owe you things if you aid them...

[Antonio the Sixth]

https://twitter.com/markc_anderson/status/1689866309616451585

How based and anti-imperialist!

[All Along The Watchtower]

- coup happens

- Online campists: “oh look, US-trained officers do something horrible again. how typical!”

- coup leaders and supporters shout a bunch of anti-imperialist/anti-Western slogans

- Online campists: “a clear rejection of Western imperialism and hegemony, well done to the freedom fighters of Niger!”

- coup leaders revealed to have launched it shortly after civilian government reopened investigations into military corruption

- Online campists: “well that’s what happens when the US/West gives so much money to these militaries!”

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Have the coup leaders talked much if anything about what they actually have in the way of a vision?

[All Along The Watchtower]

Have the coup leaders talked much if anything about what they actually have in the way of a vision?

Whatever they think will keep them in power/alive.

[Oleg 🇰🇿🤝🇺🇦]

https://twitter.com/markc_anderson/status/1689866309616451585

It seems that in Niger the state functions more properly than in Russia, because in Russia the prosecutors just can not do anything against important people.

[Hindsight was 2020]

https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1695329307441201237?s=20
https://twitter.com/casusbellii/status/1695086735758090690?s=20
Looks like it’s about to go down 😕

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Can't see this not devolving into an utter sh[inks]show. Nigeria blowing up--there's a huge amount of political opposition to Tinbu in general and this intervention in particular--would be an unprecedented crisis which the world will sit back and ignore at best and turn into another proxy conflict for US/French and Russian imperial interests at worst.

[It’s so Joever]

Dang it, this will suck. As much as I hated the coup, the eco was intervention is probably going to be even worse.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

So the cricket chirps here were the calm before the storm, eh?

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Dang it, this will suck. As much as I hated the coup, the eco was intervention is probably going to be even worse.

There are a lot of red flags, but at least they have a better track record than most other countries which have tried interventions in recent decades (which might, in the end, be connected to a decision to not intervene here).

[Hindsight was 2020]

Dang it, this will suck. As much as I hated the coup, the eco was intervention is probably going to be even worse.

Forum did you let Badger borrow your account? 😜

[Florida Man for Crime]

I'm a bit afraid there is a risk it could turn into an ethnic conflict, because the coup leaders are Hausa whereas the overthrown President of Niger, Bazoum, is not (he is a member of a small minority). Areas which are majority Hausa (which includes the Nigerien capital of Niamey) also backed Bazoum's opponent in the last election.

There are also lots of Hausa in Nigeria, but President Tinubu of Nigeria is Yoruba (from coastal and Christian southern Nigeria).

So hopefully it does not devolve into Hausa vs others, because if the junta can successfully cast themselves as "defenders of the Hausa" rather than just officers who didn't want to be fired by the democratically elected President, that could give them a wider base of support. At least that is what I am afraid of and is how I could see potential for this to go badly.

[Red Velvet]

https://twitter.com/Sprinter99800/status/1698056432715710552
French tears are the best Western tears because they feel so entitled that they don’t even try pretending to be above it all like other western countries because they don’t even understand why they should be ashamed to say that stuff out loud lmaaao

[CumbrianLefty]

No time for Macron, but your ignoring the correction on that tweet is a classic.