Bulletins and News Discussion from July 31st to August 6th, 2023 - A West African Federation?

Image is of coup supporters in Niamey, waving the flag of Niger and Russia.

While the coup in Niger is an obvious reason for this megathread's subject, the inspiration to focus here rather than somewhere else in the world this week came from @solaranus@hexbear.net's comment here.

Anyway, as a quick introduction to Niger - the country won independence from the French in 1960 and has since been in an alternating cycle of military governments and more democratic arrangements. In 2010, a junta took over the country from the military junta already ruling it, and then successfully transitioned the country to democracy within a year. President Issoufou was elected and then re-elected in 2016. President Bazoum was democratically elected in 2021, and has just been overthrown last week. General Tchiani looks to be the new head of state.

Like many countries that were previously colonies, outright colonialism by its imperial country has been replaced by neocolonialism by that same country. France issues their currency, thus allowing France to do what the US does with its dollar around the world but in miniature. The country is incredibly poor, surviving on subsidence agriculture, with much of its exports being minerals like gold and uranium, which many children under the age of 14 are employed in extracting. Also like other previously French colonies, the new guys in charge appear to be flipping them the bird, with Burkina Faso and Mali relatively recently asking them to fuck off. It is unlikely to be a coincidence that this is happening as internal dissent inside France itself continues to boil. Given the Russian flags being waved and Putin's promises to supply free grain to some African countries (and though Niger isn't mentioned, Burkina Faso and Mali notably are), one imagines that Russia also might have a hand in things.

Burkina Faso's president, Traore, has been talking with Mali and Guinea, and now Niger - all ruled by military governments - and asking if they're interested in federation, with Mali showing some interest. Traore follows in the tradition of Thomas Sankara, and has appointed a Prime Minister who is similarly aligned. Traore has recently met with a Chinese representative and has firmly aligned himself with Russia, saying that Burkina Faso has "one and the same outlook" on building a new world order, saying:

"Russia made great sacrifices to liberate Europe and the world from Nazism during World War II. We have the same history,"
"We are the forgotten peoples of the world. And we are here now to talk about the future of our countries, about how things will be tomorrow in the world that we are seeking to build, and in which there will be no interference in our internal affairs,"
"However, a slave who does not fight [for his freedom] is not worthy of any indulgence. The heads of African states should not behave like puppets in the hands of the imperialists. We must ensure that our countries are self-sufficient, including as regards food supplies, and can meet all of the needs of our peoples. Glory and respect to our peoples; victory to our peoples! Homeland or death!"

Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.

This week's first update is here in the comments.

No update on Wednesday because I am still busy.

Friday's update is here in the comments.

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986 comments

https://archive.is/07kog
Australian shitlord says the quiet part out loud.
Russia's defensive lines are 'much more complex and deadly than anything experienced by any military in nearly 80 years,' retired general says.
Article says
A retired Australian general described the defensive lines that Russia had built in Ukraine as "much more complex and deadly than anything experienced by any military in nearly 80 years."
And the former officer, Mick Ryan, told The Economist that breaking through those defenses would require the best of combined-arms operational skills, something that the military analyst Michael Kofman told the outlet Ukraine had not shown at scale.
Ukraine started its long-awaited counteroffensive in June, aimed at taking back territory in the east and south of the country. But it has made only marginal gains. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said efforts had been hampered by the strong defenses that Russia was able to build as it waited for Ukraine's big attack to begin. Satellite imagery from when Ukraine was preparing to start its counteroffensive showed Russia strengthening its 600-mile front line with minefields, barricades, "dragon's teeth" obstacles, and anti-tank ditches.
The minefields have, in places, forced Ukrainian soldiers to leave behind some of their advanced Western tanks and progress on foot.
Officials in Ukraine said they wanted their big push to start earlier but had to wait for more Western weapons to arrive, which allowed Russia additional time to prepare. Ukraine has also explained its progress by saying many of its units have not yet joined the fight, and Zelenskyy said last week that Ukraine's actions were about to gain pace after extensive de-mining efforts.
Others have compared the fighting in Ukraine to wars going back over a hundred years. The slow, grinding nature of the clashes and trench warfare means that battlefields in Ukraine look like those from World War I, albeit with more-advanced technology in the mix, experts told Insider.
A former Army Ranger who fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Ukraine said the fighting in the Eastern European country was much worse than that in those other countries. David Bramlette told The Daily Beast that he had air support, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance when he was in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The worst day in Afghanistan and Iraq is a great day in Ukraine," he said.
- Russia unexpectedly very industrious with unexpectedly deep defenses, churning out an unexpectedly large quantity of weapons, with an unexpectedly resilient and self-sufficient economy, unexpectedly stable politics, unexpectedly when we tried to kick open the door the structure didn’t fall down.
  
  I can't believe Biden told the Pentagon High Command that 'We have only to kick in the front door and the whole rotten edifice will come tumbling down'
  
  if only we would have some list or data we / he could have consulted beforehand ... but with our world beeing only like 1,5 Years old , thats tough luck ! ,
  But there is hope that future generations learn the unexpected facts Listed here .. we could call it "listory" or something .. from "Listing things that happend , so we dont have to try them again" ... you could become one of the fist listograph , Listorian ...
  
  scratching my listicles
  
  You may have been referencing this but there's an incredibly ironic quote by Hitler, where he said of invading Russia "You only have to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down." Then the battle of Moscow happened. Then Stalingrad. Then Kursk. Then Bagration and the Baltic offensive. Then the Vistula–Oder and Vienna offensives. Then Berlin and Prague. Then Manchuria. And we're seeing the same shit now in the Donbas. Bakhmut was Stalingrad. The 2023 Summer offensive is Kursk. We're going to see Bagration next.
  
  makes me think of that surreptitious recording of Hitler (in Finland I believe) where he marvels at Soviet production. stuff like how the Soviets have produced thousands more tanks than Germany expected and how they have built rail lines so quickly that they aren't on any maps
- You mean one of the most advanced militaries in the world spend a year building defences and the defences aren't bad? I am truly shocked.
- A former Army Ranger who fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Ukraine said the fighting in the Eastern European country was much worse than that in those other countries. David Bramlette told The Daily Beast that he had air support, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance when he was in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  I love how these army scuzzballs keep snitching on themselves that they're massive wussy assholes who can barely fucking fight unless they have nearly every advantage.
- Once again western soldiers show their ass when they don't have overwhelming air superiority. How can your doctrine be real when it is negated by some s-300s?
  
  It's real when you don't actually have to fight
- And the former officer, Mick Ryan, told The Economist that breaking through those defenses would require the best of combined-arms operational skills, something that the military analyst Michael Kofman told the outlet Ukraine had not shown at scale.
  Ukraine doesn't even have an air force, how are they going to do combined arms?
  
  Forgive me for the dark humor.
  Ukraine doesn't even have an air force, how are they going to do combined arms?
  It's called a mass grave
  
  they're combining their arms (cw) ::: spoiler spoiler (and legs) with the soil to make great mulch. in the long run, the dastardly muscovites will be fat and lazy from the excellent crops at which point the ghosts of kiev and bakhmut can retake crimea :::
  
  That one's a little bit much, I appreciate the attempt though.
- Ukraine has also explained its progress by saying many of its units have not yet joined the fight, and Zelenskyy said last week that Ukraine's actions were about to gain pace after extensive de-mining efforts.
  They've been saying this for like 2 months at this point lmao
- combined-arms operational skills, something that the military analyst Michael Kofman told the outlet Ukraine had not shown at scale.
  LMAO. RWN was ragging on this guy recently. "Combined arms at scale" is like his fucking catch-phrase.

986 comments

"The worst day in Afghanistan and Iraq is a great day in Ukraine," he said.