During the General Speeches on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) held nothing back in a fiery condemnation of the Biden Administration's handling of American servicemembers stuck in the West African country of Niger, saying the United States is "at the bended knee of Third World criminals and thugs as our troops seek medicine and fresh water and troop rotations." The Biden Administration is "so embarrassed that their strategy in Africa failed that they are willing to let Americans' conditions deteriorate."
Rep. Gaetz began by reiterating initial findings from his "Unwelcome in Niger" report released in mid-April, describing how the Nigerien government that the United States partnered with, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken had called "a of resilience, a model of democracy, a model of cooperation," was overthrown by U.S.-trained insurgents.
The insurgents, known in French as Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie (CNSP) or "National Council for the Safeguard of the Fatherland" in English, have demanded the U.S.'s withdrawal from Niger since taking over.
While the Biden Administration has signaled its withdrawal from the country, Rep. Gaetz blasted the lack of resupply flights to the approximately 1,100 American servicemembers and contractors stationed at Air Base 101, leaving them without medicine and reliable drinking water.
"And while the negotiation regarding retrograde and withdrawal are ongoing, the government in Niger is using the wellbeing and health of our servicemembers as leverage to get what they want out of our government," Gaetz scorned, adding, "You know what a real U.S. President would do? Say that [A]C-130s are on their way to Niger today with the water and the medicine and the food our troops need, that they will have a full fighter pilot escort there."
Moreover, he further stipulated that if "the Nigerien government or any other Third World thug tries to even turn on their air defense systems, we should show those leaders and those thugs what the target package looks like on their houses and their family members because it should not be Americans that are suffering because President Biden and Blinken are so embarrassed that their strategy in Africa failed that they are willing to let Americans' conditions deteriorate."
Gaetz concluded by vowing to continue fighting for the 1,100 servicemembers and bringing them home.
