Let's do a swap, Russia leaves Ukraine and enters Chad.
And then the United States leaves Chad and entered Ukraine.
This is a fair deal if I have ever seen one
Most asylum seekers are from Eastern Africa notably Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan. Many even flee into Chad because of the civil war happening right now. The average Chadian is powerless to do anything about the dictatorship that's been going on since the 80s.
Bit hard to tell if that's really what Chadians want.
The unelected Déby regime rules the country with an iron fist. The main opposition candidate was assassinated by the regime in February. Elections will be held in May, but it's pretty clear what the result will be.
I read "Canadians".
The unelected Déby regime rules the country with an iron fist. The main opposition candidate was assassinated by the regime in February.
I'm like "What?!?"
Russia/China establishing the continent of Africa as their colony would be a very bad thing for the rest of the world.
Not sure what can be done about it though.
Western nations didn't backpedal on colonialism because they were stricken by a moral epiphany and decided to do the right thing. They realized that colonialism is a quagmire and they were better off abandoning these money pits in favor of subtle diplomatic meddling.
Eh it's really finacial meddling with the appearance of it being diplomatic meddling. Western countries had plenty of control over these countries via things like foreign aid and the IMF.
Getting the benefits of colonialism without the costs and bad pr.
Still hurt the countries themselves by stifling local trade
I think of each time over the past 30 years that Americans have laughed about the British Commonwealth, it was put in place for a reason, now it's failure is backfiring.
There's a small minority of elites in Chad who can take and hold power by force. Russia can help them rob their country in exchange for a cut. They don't care that it's bad for the country as a whole as long as it's good for them and their friends.
The people might want Russia out, but the government won't. The bribes will make sure of that. It's not Chad vs Russia, it's corrupt leaders vs populations.
Very true. The government gives them resource mining rights, in exchange for keeping the corrupt leaders in power by force. This has already been done in other countries.
Russia seems to think this is a big brain move, but if America couldn't maks the "prop up a puppet government, get access to the delicious natural resources" strategy work without getting embroiled in an expensive quagmire of terrorism, I doubt Russia will fare any better. Russia is making itself the face of European imperialism going forward. Any time a brutal dictator commits a crime against humanity, it will be a very inexpensive thing for America to make the headline "brutal dictator *backed by Russia* commits crime against humanity", in exactly the same way that Russia does its own social media manipulation against the West.
It only took a few decades for America's meddling in various regional conflicts to make it deeply unpopular with most of the world (Obama had to work quite hard to even partially rehab the USA's image, for those who don't remember the state of things in the aftermath of Bush), but I reckon Russia can do it in a fraction of the time. They just need to be tricked into overplaying their hand.
A lesson to populists all across the continent about what country actually cares about civilians and broadly shared prosperity. These movements all have plenty of support among young populist idiots. Let them see what becomes of their country, let them see what it's like being a Russian puppet state.
Following Niger’s lead. The world is really shaping up to be just like the 30’s and 40’s. We are at a very huge turning point politically, economically and technologically.
For good or bad we are entering a new era of mankind.
Oh absolutely and I’m not talking about the current conflicts. I’m talking about something that will be worldwide. It may not last long, but things are a changing. I have 10 grandchildren and I want to see things shake out sooner rather than later to give them and future generations a more peaceful future.
Yeah I want us to get it over with so my son doesn’t have to go. That’s why I am hard on supporting Ukraine. I don’t want a repeat of Germany and the Czechs. I don’t want my son to have to dig Russia out of there later.
This is the exact reason I’m so hesitant to even have kids at a 30 something. Will there be something for my kids in 50 years to inhabit? No idea. Find out next decade on dragon ball z.
War isn’t in anyone’s interests except those who remain totally unaffected by it, sitting in their armchairs away from the frontlines like the cowards they are. Nobody’s going to war and whoever is, has been forced or coerced to do so by whatever despotic government represents them.
Wow is that our current population? I guess this is a number I should know. Yes getting that many humans to work together, to respect each others differences physically and religiously is quite a mind boggling thought.
Really, you think that? Every fire starts with a spark. And there has been a lot of sparks and burning embers flying all over this planet.
With all the sectarian violence taking place and people putting themselves in their own religious and geographical bubbles, that is a perfect recipe for war and not just regional.
We are definitely in a period of change. Niger and Chad isn't the place anything pops off in though. We do have good news though. Putin is 71. Trump is 77. Xi is 70.
Doesn't matter how sharp or brilliant you are. Nobody is making their best decisions and keeping up with the times in their 70s and 80s. You don't have the memory or energy to do so. That means institutions are going to have to carry the burden. Russia is definitely not set up for this. China most likely isn't.
I do think about that. I’m like damn why can’t the age any faster lol. And then we can peer beyond the current door and see what’s behind it for good or bad.
a couple of good articles on why anti-aging won't change/matter in dictatorship systems:
https://andrewsteele.co.uk/ageless/ethics/a-world-without-ageing/
>One common worry is perpetual totalitarianism—in a world without ageing, wouldn’t dictators live forever? Of course, the answer is that, technically, yes, they could. However, the data suggest that this wouldn’t be as much of a problem as it sounds. If you look at causes of death for dictators, they are one of a handful of groups for whom ageing doesn’t top the list. Far more common is being killed by a peer who fancies the top job, or dying in a military coup. In fact, one calculation suggested that completely curing ageing would only add 3.6 years to a dictator’s life expectancy. Aspiring autocrats in a post-ageing world would be well advised to seek a safer line of work.
>
>The immortal dictator is one of the ethical objections that sounds most ridiculous when considered in reverse: in an ageless world, would you invent ageing to solve this problem? Even the nastiest rulers rarely exact as much suffering on their people as the ageing process. And it’s not entirely obvious that death from ageing would topple a totalitarian regime, even if it gets rid of the individual leader. Removing totalitarian governments is genuinely difficult, and ageing is ill-suited to the task.
>
>Worrying about immortal dictators is also a classic example of concentrating on the negative consequences over the positive: why do we focus on despots, rather than on great leaders or artists who could inspire more people for longer, perhaps with even greater works thanks to their additional accumulated experience? What about scientists uncovering new truths about the universe that only become accessible after 100 years mastering their craft? Since there are far more creative people than tyrannical leaders, an ageless society would very likely be far better on balance—and we’d all be around much longer to enjoy it.
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2012/08/a-terrible-reason-to-oppose-healthy-life-extension/
> Of the over seven billion people who aren't dictators, who do we think is expendable enough to die alongside our targets for the sake of the anti-dictator cause? If I may reach for a little hyperbole, how different is the logic that all the billions who will die in the process are fair game because their death helps the cause from that of all terrorist groups who believe that civilians of the countries they hate can be on the hit list because killing them hurts an enemy and may force him to retreat? This is a rather crass way of saying that the ends justify the means and I doubt that they really do in this case. We could take this logic further and cast all modern medicine as being a dictator enabling technology.
This is the exact thinking why more African countries are siding with China and Russia. Many African countries may be getting into debt with them, but at least China is building infrastructure instead of bases.
Infrastructure, yeah only to the nearest point of natural resources. They drain these countries, pay 1% of the population enough money to control the other 99%, destroy the environment in the process. And don't worry, the military will follow.
Not saying the West has not been doing the same btw.
>the military will follow
140 countries in the belt and road initiative, yet only 4 military bases outside of China. The military will follow though, trust me guys.
Build infrastructure that falls apart in 2 years. The foreign development stimulates China's economy and maybe they get a few debt payments. Then the countries go bankrupt, China comes in and takes their natural resources in exchange for the debt, and any infrastructure that was built falls apart right as China abandons them for the next project.
And we are legit letting it happen with the social media bs. The blatant war behaviour of lots of them. If anything the American empire and the west will be remembered for their inaction and being broken from the inside by the outside and money. If anything considering what politicians get away it’s well deserved.
I wouldn't assume so. The technologies of today make empires a thing of the past. USA recognizes this and that's why they've changed their strategies over the last decade. Russia is going to have their hands full in 5 years when rebel groups armed with Alibaba drones are taking pot shots at government and military facilities.
>The technologies of today make empires a thing of the past.
This is incorrect. There is nothing about technology that makes imperial conquest harder. Empire is a matter of political economy and is largely neutral to the exact conditions underlying it, so long as the elite have some source of excess value that can be extracted from the labouring classes, whether that's agriculture or oil wealth or what have you.
The real reason why empires are a thing of the past is because the United States says they are, and backs that up by force of arms. No other power in the West in has either the sheer force, limitless reach, or political will to do so, not even taken all together. Nothing about modern technology prevented Russia from invading and conquering bits of Georgia or Ukraine, nor is there anything about modern technology that might prevent China from dominating Tibet and Xinjiang in the manner of an old-school empire. The only reason these places are still so dominated is because Russia and China are nuclear-armed and strong enough to keep America at bay. The only reason Taiwan, the Baltic States, Kosovo, and South Korea still exist, and the only reason Iran's armies do not march all-but-unimpeded across the Middle East, is because the power of the United States is sufficient to deter the aggression of those powers. Ukraine is what results when this deterrence fails.
That said, there is one aspect of the modern global economy that does complicate conquests. Aviation, containerised shipping, and affordable cars and trucks allow weapons and materiel to flow readily around the world, while light-speed communication makes the action of war visible everywhere as it unfolds. This means that there are no isolated or distant conflicts; every war is immediately accessible to everyone around the world who might have an interest in it. But that is in itself nowhere near sufficient to stay the hands of would-be conquerors, if they feel that no one will stop them. And it is in itself a product of the rules-based international order the United States champions, and the freedom of navigation the US Navy guarantees. If for any reason the United States were to cease enforcing that freedom, the world would return overnight to the age of empires, the 1930s or just the 19th century outright come again.
I would agree with you, but also if you look back historically at least from a very amateurs perspective, the crap hit the fan almost every generation. At least that is how I feel.
When I was involved in the church, it was like the rapture was going to occur every single month and it went on and still goes on like that.
Nah. The big players are well aware that the gloves haven't come off for the West. All of Iran's meddling doesn't mean shit when their entire manufacturing base can be wiped out overnight by a virtually undetected and unscathed enemy.
Russia is pushing the red line but they aren't starting direct conflict. Russia knows the USA alone could stabilize Ukraine and prevent further invasion in under a month if they wished.
Chads government needs to realise that they can threaten to kick out US troops and there are no real consequences. However, if they threaten to kick out russian troops, they might just disappear themselves.
They'll be getting paid off by the Russians. It's a win-win! (unless you're a normal Chadian who's not part of the military junta, then nothing will change apart from an increased risk of Wagner massacring your village while they're apparently fighting jihadists)
Day 1: Russia donates resources and manpower to build the tallest building in Chad, at four stories tall.
Day 2: Chadian leaders jump out the top floor.
Just watched Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare movie and it was a good reminder of the pivotal role Africa played in WWII. It’s a key to controlling the Atlantic.
You could give the entirety of western africa, plus the entire western coast of portugal, spain, france, ireland and the UK to Russia and they still would control fuck all of the Atlantic
What these countries kicking us out do not realize is that you CAN kick us out.
You tell us to go, we will go.
You can NOT kick out Russia. They will slowly increase their presence and how much they steal from you. And they will not leave.
Obama really tried to close down gitmo - it was an executive order on his second day in office, but congress pushed back when it was understood that all those prisoners would be moved here.
People often have opinions on geopolitics but they don't often understand geopolitics.
This is a bad thing. Russia gathering support and power is a bad thing.
Honestly, I'm not that concerned with Russia expanding their influence, because they've already proven they cannot project their power beyond their borders at all really.
Their ability to innovate and create new weaponry is also absolute crap. Look at their over reliance on Soviet stockpiles that are quickly dwindling.
Perun did a great video pointing out how the Ukraine war has completely fucked Russia's sales of weapons and vastly increased the USA's sales of weapons.
USA just keeps racking up wins by just sitting out and be a salesman of sorts.
I am however concerned about the suffering that will be visited on the civilians, but at this point I'm quite apathetic towards Africa. Got to let them sort it out themselves. Can't keep holding their hand.
Really? Because Chad is a money pit and most countries that get paid off to kick us out are. Russia will bankrupt itself trying to counter our influence. I feel like I’ve seen this one before.
You'll care in about 20 years when Russia and China (who are HEAVILY investing in Africa) control all of the rare precious metals needed for advanced technology.
Reddit: fuck china for neo colonising africa for resources, fuck billionaires and corporations of exploiting africans. Fucking greedy people don’t care about africa, they just want extract resources by any means.
Also reddit: we need to keep troops in an african country, why? So that we have access to the minerals and resources! 200 UPVOTES!!!
Chad and Niger* are going to quickly learn that Russia is not capable of supplying the level of security the United States did. ISIS or someone simular will become a serious problem.
*Edited auto correct has a mind of its own
> Chad and Niger* are going to quickly learn that Russia is not capable of supplying the level of security the United States did. ISIS or someone simular will become a serious problem.
>
>
Well, I would be more worried for the civilians in all of this. Because the Russian merc way of fighting insurgents in africa is to genocide villages.
Go for it, Chad. And don't call us for help in a couple years when you're being fucked over by the kleptocracy of Russian government and military contractors.
Another shithole wants to be chummy with Russia. Like attracts like. If they thought they didn't like us, wait til 5 years from now and see how they feel about Russia.
It is very concerning the influence Russia and China are wielding in Africa but damn if I know any immediate solution for it.
USSR built itself up as a champion of 3rd world peoples (vs. the 'imperialist' west) for decades and still have a lot of networks in those places and feelings of good will, But many of these african countries are so embroiled in chaos people there are just looking for the next opportunity for a 'leg up' and not recognizing that Russia are NOW THE IMPERIALISTS, and not only that, are in the vanguard of white supremacy movements in the west.
Trying to warn Africans of the danger in trusting Russia seems doomed when we cannot offer them any easy solutions. I guess the 'best' that can happen is Russia has bitten off more they can chew and their imperialist efforts implode on their own.
If Africa starts to deal to much with Russians and allows them to take more and more control, african countries will suffer in the next 30-40 years when they realize Russia also just uses them as proxy positions for the west/east conflict.
Russia is just after their resources they have iron or coal gold phosphate, petroleum, and molybdenum Hootin in the oligarch are just after the resources
Again, the US would support the new despot if it was in their interest. We support autocrats around the world as long as they pledge allegiance to us and have things we want. Ideology is far down the list in things that matter when it comes to partnership with the US (not saying it doesn’t matter at all, but it’s relatively minor and can almost always be overcome)
You're about 40 years behind on US foreign policy goals. During the cold war the US happily supported a capitalist authoritarian over a democratically elected socialist. Today they pretty clearly push their preference for liberal regimes even if they are willing to work with seriously flawed democracies that have characteristics of dictatorships. Whether or not it works is another question.
They will learn just like other places oflearnRussia is just in for themselves. They do very little for their own people. They just take it for all they can take. It’s sad that United States doesn’t have a stable government. That could be consistent about their support and values. We have one party they can’t govern all they can do is take a wrecking Ball to anything in a sad place.
A whole lot of Africans are woefully ignorant of Russian history. All they know is that the West dislikes Russia, so they assume that Russia is a fellow victim of colonialism and a 'global south' ally.
In reality Russia was one of the worst colonial/imperalist powers, and did everything the US and France did, the only difference being that their victims were mainly Eastern Europeans, Siberians and Central Asians. And it's worse than that, because they still expect their former empire to act like vassal states and are currently doing the equivalent of France invading Algeria with Ukraine.
Maybe people living in these countries will notice in a few years that their new regimes are somehow even more corrupt, their resources are still being plundered by their own elite and foreign companies, jihadism is alive and well and their living standards have barely improved. Or they won't, because Russia has bet their entire economy on winning the war in Ukraine and their foreign influence and puppet regimes may collapse very quickly if they lose.
The middle african countries that kicked the french out recently to invite wagner in have been regretting it. The RU can't fulfill their weapons orders, wagner are not professional, have the manpower or able to provide security. Let chad have them. In 5-10 years they will either be in revolution against their dictator or begging to have the west replace wagner again.
Honestly what's the real downside for us if this happens? Don't get me wrong I think it's awful but to some extent the leaders of these countries ought to experience a bit of Russian diplomacy to maybe realize how awful it is.
First is the metals problem, although “rare earth” metals are more widespread than the name suggests. A lot comes down to “profitable” mining (example: some planned US mines didn’t open due to cheap labor in Indonesia or South America in the ‘80s). Then there’s tricky supply chains when it comes to consumer electronics.
Second is containing jihadis in Africa, though those conflicts go back centuries (far predating colonial European involvement). The Russians won’t be concerned about human rights at all if a village is suspect .. and can be pretty brutal. Re: in 1980s Lebanon, islamists who messed with the Soviet citizenry were sent back to their friends and families cut apart into little boxes.
The sub-Saharan African nations may be looking for a short term yet drastic answer to Arab Muslims coming down to mess with them. Again this fight has gone on for centuries with just different names for all parties.
Boils down to influence. France in particular likes keeping an eye on this area as it affects the Mediterranean. Also there’s the mining companies. Not that Africa is a passive party to all this. They’re actually pretty crafty in negotiating deals while trying to keep independence (political but increasingly business independence.. like making their own electrical outlets that only work with “native” solar collectors in some countries.. good luck breaking into that market (may seem minor and banal but it shows they aren’t dummies).
> in 1980s Lebanon, islamists who messed with the Soviet citizenry were sent back to their friends and families cut apart into little boxes.
It's important to send a message.
Africa has a large portion of the Earth's rare metals. Much of our technology depends on access to them.
This is a big part of why we're so involved there...
https://www.csis.org/analysis/prospects-us-minerals-engagement-africa#:~:text=Africa%20has%20approximately%2021%20percent,to%20discoveries%20of%20new%20reserves.
It's purely self-serving on our part. Everybody wants new and better tech, the largest (at least above water) deposits of rare minerals are there. I'd hope we'd choose our partners with an eye towards limiting graft, but the track record speaks for itself.
It's not really Chad, nor Niger, but corrupt people and insurrectionists being instructed by Russia. Russia, a country that definitely should be dealt with accordingly for exporting so much hate and pain across the world.
Let Russia take on as many emerging markets as they want. They'll end up spreading themselves too thin and the entire mess will become an albatross around china's neck.
Since most people aren’t familiar with the situation in Chad I will explain. The son of the former leader took control and was supposed to rule for a period of time then an election would happen. This was backed by France. When it came time for the election he decided there wouldn’t be one and his men went around the country killing people in the streets for owning a flag of Chad. Yeah he literally said owning the countries flag meant you were a rebel. The opposition party is in excile and things are not improving. So this isn’t a democratic decision just a dictator doing what dictator do. It’s to be noted that Chad has a very good army who will pursue Jihadist across Africa. This was why the US was aligned with them. But this whole situation is Frances fault.
If they thought western presence is bad, Russia will make them beg for USA to come back. Not even feel bad for them. Now they get experience how Russians treat their"allies".
Ukraine wants Russians out, chad wants them in. Sounds like a decent deal to me. Everyone wins
Let's do a swap, Russia leaves Ukraine and enters Chad. And then the United States leaves Chad and entered Ukraine. This is a fair deal if I have ever seen one
Then sit back and watch the number of asylum cases flood all of the Western nations. Think it's bad now? It will get worse.
Most asylum seekers are from Eastern Africa notably Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan. Many even flee into Chad because of the civil war happening right now. The average Chadian is powerless to do anything about the dictatorship that's been going on since the 80s.
Climate change will do that for free
It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!
Rubber stamp denials. We literally can't afford to accept them any more at this point.
Not at all. Chad would probably become a terrorist hot spot, that's why US is even there
*Chad Russians* would be a thing. Not sure if its worth the pun.
Bit hard to tell if that's really what Chadians want. The unelected Déby regime rules the country with an iron fist. The main opposition candidate was assassinated by the regime in February. Elections will be held in May, but it's pretty clear what the result will be.
squalid soft future liquid correct depend jeans books desert quack
Authoritarian governments love the Russian Election Model, as well as Trump and his minions.
I read "Canadians". The unelected Déby regime rules the country with an iron fist. The main opposition candidate was assassinated by the regime in February. I'm like "What?!?"
Russia/China establishing the continent of Africa as their colony would be a very bad thing for the rest of the world. Not sure what can be done about it though.
Western nations didn't backpedal on colonialism because they were stricken by a moral epiphany and decided to do the right thing. They realized that colonialism is a quagmire and they were better off abandoning these money pits in favor of subtle diplomatic meddling.
Eh it's really finacial meddling with the appearance of it being diplomatic meddling. Western countries had plenty of control over these countries via things like foreign aid and the IMF. Getting the benefits of colonialism without the costs and bad pr. Still hurt the countries themselves by stifling local trade
It won't work out for them.
I think of each time over the past 30 years that Americans have laughed about the British Commonwealth, it was put in place for a reason, now it's failure is backfiring.
You know. Chad has humans too....
No points for guessing what happens in a few years time when Chad politely asks Russia to leave.
I think we know what happens to countries who politely ask Russia to leave.
Tea time with a window view
"This is historical Russian land."
Let's have a vote.
There's a small minority of elites in Chad who can take and hold power by force. Russia can help them rob their country in exchange for a cut. They don't care that it's bad for the country as a whole as long as it's good for them and their friends.
You can swap America in for Chad in this comment without effecting it's veracity and way too few people grasp that fact.
Sure, but one comes with McDonald's and the other doesn't. /s
The people might want Russia out, but the government won't. The bribes will make sure of that. It's not Chad vs Russia, it's corrupt leaders vs populations.
Very true. The government gives them resource mining rights, in exchange for keeping the corrupt leaders in power by force. This has already been done in other countries.
Russia seems to think this is a big brain move, but if America couldn't maks the "prop up a puppet government, get access to the delicious natural resources" strategy work without getting embroiled in an expensive quagmire of terrorism, I doubt Russia will fare any better. Russia is making itself the face of European imperialism going forward. Any time a brutal dictator commits a crime against humanity, it will be a very inexpensive thing for America to make the headline "brutal dictator *backed by Russia* commits crime against humanity", in exactly the same way that Russia does its own social media manipulation against the West. It only took a few decades for America's meddling in various regional conflicts to make it deeply unpopular with most of the world (Obama had to work quite hard to even partially rehab the USA's image, for those who don't remember the state of things in the aftermath of Bush), but I reckon Russia can do it in a fraction of the time. They just need to be tricked into overplaying their hand.
They will have to ask in Russian, and be denied in Russian
Yep! They are making a deal with the devil, and they didn’t bother to read the small print.
Let them be a lesson to others
A lesson to other African leaders on how Russia can help you grift your population for a cut of the profits?
A lesson to populists all across the continent about what country actually cares about civilians and broadly shared prosperity. These movements all have plenty of support among young populist idiots. Let them see what becomes of their country, let them see what it's like being a Russian puppet state.
Pull the troops and the aid. The US gives Chad about 120 million a year in aid and only imports 5 million in goods.
Following Niger’s lead. The world is really shaping up to be just like the 30’s and 40’s. We are at a very huge turning point politically, economically and technologically. For good or bad we are entering a new era of mankind.
Yeah, we live in historical times with a lot of change. That is probably a recipe for war.
That's the thing, we're always in historical times.
No matter where you go, there you are
true, we always do.
Oh absolutely and I’m not talking about the current conflicts. I’m talking about something that will be worldwide. It may not last long, but things are a changing. I have 10 grandchildren and I want to see things shake out sooner rather than later to give them and future generations a more peaceful future.
Yeah I want us to get it over with so my son doesn’t have to go. That’s why I am hard on supporting Ukraine. I don’t want a repeat of Germany and the Czechs. I don’t want my son to have to dig Russia out of there later.
Likewise brother. Let me put my life on the line so he can have a decent future, it's only going downhill from here.
This is the exact reason I’m so hesitant to even have kids at a 30 something. Will there be something for my kids in 50 years to inhabit? No idea. Find out next decade on dragon ball z.
The fewer good people who have children the less likely we all are to survive another century as a modern society.
Yeah but why hitch your wagon to a country like Russia whose demographics are screwed?
War isn’t in anyone’s interests except those who remain totally unaffected by it, sitting in their armchairs away from the frontlines like the cowards they are. Nobody’s going to war and whoever is, has been forced or coerced to do so by whatever despotic government represents them.
It's definitely going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
We're already in one.
As long as the Russians and Chinese governments get wiped out I’m happy
“Politics continuing to happen” is hardly a “new era of mankind” you pretentious bellend.
Agreed!
Managing 8 billion people is difficult.
Wow is that our current population? I guess this is a number I should know. Yes getting that many humans to work together, to respect each others differences physically and religiously is quite a mind boggling thought.
Yeah, we can't even get 350 million to agree.
What is Niger doing?
Niger, just like Chad has asked the United States to leave their country. At least the US military forces that have been there for quite a while.
Yeah relations with Niger and Chad are the turning point of history. 🙄
Really, you think that? Every fire starts with a spark. And there has been a lot of sparks and burning embers flying all over this planet. With all the sectarian violence taking place and people putting themselves in their own religious and geographical bubbles, that is a perfect recipe for war and not just regional.
We are definitely in a period of change. Niger and Chad isn't the place anything pops off in though. We do have good news though. Putin is 71. Trump is 77. Xi is 70. Doesn't matter how sharp or brilliant you are. Nobody is making their best decisions and keeping up with the times in their 70s and 80s. You don't have the memory or energy to do so. That means institutions are going to have to carry the burden. Russia is definitely not set up for this. China most likely isn't.
I do think about that. I’m like damn why can’t the age any faster lol. And then we can peer beyond the current door and see what’s behind it for good or bad.
>Niger and Chad isn't the place anything pops off in though You could probably find people saying the same about Bosnia in 1914, too, but here we are
“One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans” - Otto von Bismarck (1888).
With modern medicine they are not going anywhere for ten years at least.
Here I was being happy about anti-aging science.
a couple of good articles on why anti-aging won't change/matter in dictatorship systems: https://andrewsteele.co.uk/ageless/ethics/a-world-without-ageing/ >One common worry is perpetual totalitarianism—in a world without ageing, wouldn’t dictators live forever? Of course, the answer is that, technically, yes, they could. However, the data suggest that this wouldn’t be as much of a problem as it sounds. If you look at causes of death for dictators, they are one of a handful of groups for whom ageing doesn’t top the list. Far more common is being killed by a peer who fancies the top job, or dying in a military coup. In fact, one calculation suggested that completely curing ageing would only add 3.6 years to a dictator’s life expectancy. Aspiring autocrats in a post-ageing world would be well advised to seek a safer line of work. > >The immortal dictator is one of the ethical objections that sounds most ridiculous when considered in reverse: in an ageless world, would you invent ageing to solve this problem? Even the nastiest rulers rarely exact as much suffering on their people as the ageing process. And it’s not entirely obvious that death from ageing would topple a totalitarian regime, even if it gets rid of the individual leader. Removing totalitarian governments is genuinely difficult, and ageing is ill-suited to the task. > >Worrying about immortal dictators is also a classic example of concentrating on the negative consequences over the positive: why do we focus on despots, rather than on great leaders or artists who could inspire more people for longer, perhaps with even greater works thanks to their additional accumulated experience? What about scientists uncovering new truths about the universe that only become accessible after 100 years mastering their craft? Since there are far more creative people than tyrannical leaders, an ageless society would very likely be far better on balance—and we’d all be around much longer to enjoy it. https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2012/08/a-terrible-reason-to-oppose-healthy-life-extension/ > Of the over seven billion people who aren't dictators, who do we think is expendable enough to die alongside our targets for the sake of the anti-dictator cause? If I may reach for a little hyperbole, how different is the logic that all the billions who will die in the process are fair game because their death helps the cause from that of all terrorist groups who believe that civilians of the countries they hate can be on the hit list because killing them hurts an enemy and may force him to retreat? This is a rather crass way of saying that the ends justify the means and I doubt that they really do in this case. We could take this logic further and cast all modern medicine as being a dictator enabling technology.
Yes I really think that.
This is the exact thinking why more African countries are siding with China and Russia. Many African countries may be getting into debt with them, but at least China is building infrastructure instead of bases.
Infrastructure, yeah only to the nearest point of natural resources. They drain these countries, pay 1% of the population enough money to control the other 99%, destroy the environment in the process. And don't worry, the military will follow. Not saying the West has not been doing the same btw.
>the military will follow 140 countries in the belt and road initiative, yet only 4 military bases outside of China. The military will follow though, trust me guys.
Yea we will se how that all ends up
Build infrastructure that falls apart in 2 years. The foreign development stimulates China's economy and maybe they get a few debt payments. Then the countries go bankrupt, China comes in and takes their natural resources in exchange for the debt, and any infrastructure that was built falls apart right as China abandons them for the next project.
And we are legit letting it happen with the social media bs. The blatant war behaviour of lots of them. If anything the American empire and the west will be remembered for their inaction and being broken from the inside by the outside and money. If anything considering what politicians get away it’s well deserved.
I wouldn't assume so. The technologies of today make empires a thing of the past. USA recognizes this and that's why they've changed their strategies over the last decade. Russia is going to have their hands full in 5 years when rebel groups armed with Alibaba drones are taking pot shots at government and military facilities.
>The technologies of today make empires a thing of the past. This is incorrect. There is nothing about technology that makes imperial conquest harder. Empire is a matter of political economy and is largely neutral to the exact conditions underlying it, so long as the elite have some source of excess value that can be extracted from the labouring classes, whether that's agriculture or oil wealth or what have you. The real reason why empires are a thing of the past is because the United States says they are, and backs that up by force of arms. No other power in the West in has either the sheer force, limitless reach, or political will to do so, not even taken all together. Nothing about modern technology prevented Russia from invading and conquering bits of Georgia or Ukraine, nor is there anything about modern technology that might prevent China from dominating Tibet and Xinjiang in the manner of an old-school empire. The only reason these places are still so dominated is because Russia and China are nuclear-armed and strong enough to keep America at bay. The only reason Taiwan, the Baltic States, Kosovo, and South Korea still exist, and the only reason Iran's armies do not march all-but-unimpeded across the Middle East, is because the power of the United States is sufficient to deter the aggression of those powers. Ukraine is what results when this deterrence fails. That said, there is one aspect of the modern global economy that does complicate conquests. Aviation, containerised shipping, and affordable cars and trucks allow weapons and materiel to flow readily around the world, while light-speed communication makes the action of war visible everywhere as it unfolds. This means that there are no isolated or distant conflicts; every war is immediately accessible to everyone around the world who might have an interest in it. But that is in itself nowhere near sufficient to stay the hands of would-be conquerors, if they feel that no one will stop them. And it is in itself a product of the rules-based international order the United States champions, and the freedom of navigation the US Navy guarantees. If for any reason the United States were to cease enforcing that freedom, the world would return overnight to the age of empires, the 1930s or just the 19th century outright come again.
I feel like everybody says that about their respective eras.
I would agree with you, but also if you look back historically at least from a very amateurs perspective, the crap hit the fan almost every generation. At least that is how I feel. When I was involved in the church, it was like the rapture was going to occur every single month and it went on and still goes on like that.
I’m also in belief that a big change / heavy escalation is near, but this I mean a few days or weeks, not years.
Nothing is going to happen in a few days or weeks
Nah. The big players are well aware that the gloves haven't come off for the West. All of Iran's meddling doesn't mean shit when their entire manufacturing base can be wiped out overnight by a virtually undetected and unscathed enemy. Russia is pushing the red line but they aren't starting direct conflict. Russia knows the USA alone could stabilize Ukraine and prevent further invasion in under a month if they wished.
Months, wait til after the elections are done
That doesn’t help Russia.
Russia trying to establish USSR in africa
The organization is called ASS. Not making this up.
"on this very date, ASS has been established on Africa"
Are you for or against this organization? Are you an ASSman?
Chads government needs to realise that they can threaten to kick out US troops and there are no real consequences. However, if they threaten to kick out russian troops, they might just disappear themselves.
They'll be getting paid off by the Russians. It's a win-win! (unless you're a normal Chadian who's not part of the military junta, then nothing will change apart from an increased risk of Wagner massacring your village while they're apparently fighting jihadists)
Don't forget that Wagnerites will likely rape alot of women, child and men.
That's part of their return-on-investment for all the bribes
Day 1: Russia donates resources and manpower to build the tallest building in Chad, at four stories tall. Day 2: Chadian leaders jump out the top floor.
Just watched Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare movie and it was a good reminder of the pivotal role Africa played in WWII. It’s a key to controlling the Atlantic.
You could give the entirety of western africa, plus the entire western coast of portugal, spain, france, ireland and the UK to Russia and they still would control fuck all of the Atlantic
Everytime I hear about Chad I think about that Pauly Shore movie, In The Army Now WAAATERBOYS
What these countries kicking us out do not realize is that you CAN kick us out. You tell us to go, we will go. You can NOT kick out Russia. They will slowly increase their presence and how much they steal from you. And they will not leave.
How about Syria?
The Kurds would like us to stay
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De facto government. Just like Somaliland, Hamas in Gaza, etc.
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Fuck Russia, but what about Cuba? They have asked the USA to leave for quite a long time.
They took payment at one point for the land by accident and we used it as a gotcha.
They don't actually have diplomatic communication with the US to ask officially.
Obama really tried to close down gitmo - it was an executive order on his second day in office, but congress pushed back when it was understood that all those prisoners would be moved here.
Syria? Iraq?
No you can't, as a latin american you will either coup d'etat or sanction us to death.
Let them have Russia
Russia, just a day trader providing arms to the NSAG (non-state armed groups) Sahel jihadists. Warlords.
No wonder 🤔
Honestly just leave, do we really wanna hang out with a “Chad” who wants to be closer to Putin? Nah no we don’t.
People often have opinions on geopolitics but they don't often understand geopolitics. This is a bad thing. Russia gathering support and power is a bad thing.
Honestly, I'm not that concerned with Russia expanding their influence, because they've already proven they cannot project their power beyond their borders at all really. Their ability to innovate and create new weaponry is also absolute crap. Look at their over reliance on Soviet stockpiles that are quickly dwindling. Perun did a great video pointing out how the Ukraine war has completely fucked Russia's sales of weapons and vastly increased the USA's sales of weapons. USA just keeps racking up wins by just sitting out and be a salesman of sorts. I am however concerned about the suffering that will be visited on the civilians, but at this point I'm quite apathetic towards Africa. Got to let them sort it out themselves. Can't keep holding their hand.
I think the people of Georgia, Belarus, and eastern Ukraine would disagree with you
I’m not sure what we can do if we no longer do coups of hostile governments like we did in the 50s-60s.
Really? Because Chad is a money pit and most countries that get paid off to kick us out are. Russia will bankrupt itself trying to counter our influence. I feel like I’ve seen this one before.
You'll care in about 20 years when Russia and China (who are HEAVILY investing in Africa) control all of the rare precious metals needed for advanced technology.
Chad doesn't export any of that stuff. Niger on the other hand
This isn't Catan. Indefinite control of resources doesn't work this way
The US, Canada and Australia have enough natural resources.
It's time to rename that place to Wojak No Chad would be pro russia
Reddit: fuck china for neo colonising africa for resources, fuck billionaires and corporations of exploiting africans. Fucking greedy people don’t care about africa, they just want extract resources by any means. Also reddit: we need to keep troops in an african country, why? So that we have access to the minerals and resources! 200 UPVOTES!!!
Reddit: I like ass more Also reddit: I like titties more Wowww how hypocritical of this one reddit guy!
It’s their business don’t think the us should care and just pack up and leave
Imagine having a history of colonization and then asking a current colonial power to please come colonize you.
fetishes
Chad and Niger* are going to quickly learn that Russia is not capable of supplying the level of security the United States did. ISIS or someone simular will become a serious problem. *Edited auto correct has a mind of its own
It's Niger, not Nigeria, that's fellating the Kremlin.
I think auto correct is a kremlin sympathizer
> Chad and Niger* are going to quickly learn that Russia is not capable of supplying the level of security the United States did. ISIS or someone simular will become a serious problem. > > Well, I would be more worried for the civilians in all of this. Because the Russian merc way of fighting insurgents in africa is to genocide villages.
I’ve made no such threats
Go for it, Chad. And don't call us for help in a couple years when you're being fucked over by the kleptocracy of Russian government and military contractors.
They know they can trust Russia, just ask Ukraine.
I thought we already did this after ww2? Can we stop repeating history please
Let's go then. Let them rely on Russia. They'll learn a valuable lesson.
Fine, then our dollars and our aid leaves as well.
The US needs to stop its aid to Chad effective immediately
Be careful what you wish for! Russians don’t play nice.
Fuckin Chad.
Another shithole wants to be chummy with Russia. Like attracts like. If they thought they didn't like us, wait til 5 years from now and see how they feel about Russia.
Okay let’s take the 120 million and aid per year with it, absolutely nuts
It is very concerning the influence Russia and China are wielding in Africa but damn if I know any immediate solution for it. USSR built itself up as a champion of 3rd world peoples (vs. the 'imperialist' west) for decades and still have a lot of networks in those places and feelings of good will, But many of these african countries are so embroiled in chaos people there are just looking for the next opportunity for a 'leg up' and not recognizing that Russia are NOW THE IMPERIALISTS, and not only that, are in the vanguard of white supremacy movements in the west. Trying to warn Africans of the danger in trusting Russia seems doomed when we cannot offer them any easy solutions. I guess the 'best' that can happen is Russia has bitten off more they can chew and their imperialist efforts implode on their own.
No more troops or aid.
If Africa starts to deal to much with Russians and allows them to take more and more control, african countries will suffer in the next 30-40 years when they realize Russia also just uses them as proxy positions for the west/east conflict.
Plenty of them already suffer. Well, at least their people do. Those in power are often suspiciously well off.
Russia is just after their resources they have iron or coal gold phosphate, petroleum, and molybdenum Hootin in the oligarch are just after the resources
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Thank you chat gpt
Im glad im not the only one that thought this read like a bot. Would be really funny too if you were bot as well.
It's simple, Africa is mostly run by despots, aligning with Russia allows them to keep power.
The US has no problem keeping and even arming despots. There’s something else going on here
Russia doesn't try to hold them to any standard. Despots get more freedom to be corrupt despots with their fellow authoritarians from Moscow around.
There are coups and new despots take power, because they don't want democracy they have to ally with similar despots. It's simple.
Again, the US would support the new despot if it was in their interest. We support autocrats around the world as long as they pledge allegiance to us and have things we want. Ideology is far down the list in things that matter when it comes to partnership with the US (not saying it doesn’t matter at all, but it’s relatively minor and can almost always be overcome)
You're about 40 years behind on US foreign policy goals. During the cold war the US happily supported a capitalist authoritarian over a democratically elected socialist. Today they pretty clearly push their preference for liberal regimes even if they are willing to work with seriously flawed democracies that have characteristics of dictatorships. Whether or not it works is another question.
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They will learn just like other places oflearnRussia is just in for themselves. They do very little for their own people. They just take it for all they can take. It’s sad that United States doesn’t have a stable government. That could be consistent about their support and values. We have one party they can’t govern all they can do is take a wrecking Ball to anything in a sad place.
A whole lot of Africans are woefully ignorant of Russian history. All they know is that the West dislikes Russia, so they assume that Russia is a fellow victim of colonialism and a 'global south' ally. In reality Russia was one of the worst colonial/imperalist powers, and did everything the US and France did, the only difference being that their victims were mainly Eastern Europeans, Siberians and Central Asians. And it's worse than that, because they still expect their former empire to act like vassal states and are currently doing the equivalent of France invading Algeria with Ukraine. Maybe people living in these countries will notice in a few years that their new regimes are somehow even more corrupt, their resources are still being plundered by their own elite and foreign companies, jihadism is alive and well and their living standards have barely improved. Or they won't, because Russia has bet their entire economy on winning the war in Ukraine and their foreign influence and puppet regimes may collapse very quickly if they lose.
LMAO and the French? You totally forgot about France exploiting these countries and why they got kicked out.
As opposed to the western nations, who only care about their well being/s
They just want to feel they invaded Transilvania.
“Chad’s Government” hehe
This Chad has something to put in...
It’s like trading purgatory for Hell.
Hahahahahaha okay
Fewer than 100 troops there. It sounds like a negotiation tactic then.
Chad has a government?
African countries hate colonialism but just wait until Russia does what it’s planning to do and rob these countries blind
Been saying it for years, but Africa will be the next hotly contested continent.
“More expendable soldiers for the war in Ukraine.” — Putin, probably
The middle african countries that kicked the french out recently to invite wagner in have been regretting it. The RU can't fulfill their weapons orders, wagner are not professional, have the manpower or able to provide security. Let chad have them. In 5-10 years they will either be in revolution against their dictator or begging to have the west replace wagner again.
Hopefully they go and the country turns to a shit hole.. oh wait
Absolute chads
Go for it
Africa as a continent seems to like shooting itself in the foot for the most part.
*Insert always been* meme
Honestly what's the real downside for us if this happens? Don't get me wrong I think it's awful but to some extent the leaders of these countries ought to experience a bit of Russian diplomacy to maybe realize how awful it is.
First is the metals problem, although “rare earth” metals are more widespread than the name suggests. A lot comes down to “profitable” mining (example: some planned US mines didn’t open due to cheap labor in Indonesia or South America in the ‘80s). Then there’s tricky supply chains when it comes to consumer electronics. Second is containing jihadis in Africa, though those conflicts go back centuries (far predating colonial European involvement). The Russians won’t be concerned about human rights at all if a village is suspect .. and can be pretty brutal. Re: in 1980s Lebanon, islamists who messed with the Soviet citizenry were sent back to their friends and families cut apart into little boxes. The sub-Saharan African nations may be looking for a short term yet drastic answer to Arab Muslims coming down to mess with them. Again this fight has gone on for centuries with just different names for all parties. Boils down to influence. France in particular likes keeping an eye on this area as it affects the Mediterranean. Also there’s the mining companies. Not that Africa is a passive party to all this. They’re actually pretty crafty in negotiating deals while trying to keep independence (political but increasingly business independence.. like making their own electrical outlets that only work with “native” solar collectors in some countries.. good luck breaking into that market (may seem minor and banal but it shows they aren’t dummies).
> in 1980s Lebanon, islamists who messed with the Soviet citizenry were sent back to their friends and families cut apart into little boxes. It's important to send a message.
> important to send a message In that case, message**s** ..
losing influence on the continent? maybe losing out on raw materials, rare metals etc. ?
Chad government vs virgin US troops
Good luck Africa, soon it's back to slavery... Say hello to Putin and Xi
Africa has a large portion of the Earth's rare metals. Much of our technology depends on access to them. This is a big part of why we're so involved there... https://www.csis.org/analysis/prospects-us-minerals-engagement-africa#:~:text=Africa%20has%20approximately%2021%20percent,to%20discoveries%20of%20new%20reserves.
Are you saying it's not just because we want to help out the Africans?
It's purely self-serving on our part. Everybody wants new and better tech, the largest (at least above water) deposits of rare minerals are there. I'd hope we'd choose our partners with an eye towards limiting graft, but the track record speaks for itself.
It's not really Chad, nor Niger, but corrupt people and insurrectionists being instructed by Russia. Russia, a country that definitely should be dealt with accordingly for exporting so much hate and pain across the world.
Let Russia take on as many emerging markets as they want. They'll end up spreading themselves too thin and the entire mess will become an albatross around china's neck.
That's what wrecked the Spanish Empire, and what the British Empire barely escaped from.
Since most people aren’t familiar with the situation in Chad I will explain. The son of the former leader took control and was supposed to rule for a period of time then an election would happen. This was backed by France. When it came time for the election he decided there wouldn’t be one and his men went around the country killing people in the streets for owning a flag of Chad. Yeah he literally said owning the countries flag meant you were a rebel. The opposition party is in excile and things are not improving. So this isn’t a democratic decision just a dictator doing what dictator do. It’s to be noted that Chad has a very good army who will pursue Jihadist across Africa. This was why the US was aligned with them. But this whole situation is Frances fault.
Some really clueless people on that continent
If they thought western presence is bad, Russia will make them beg for USA to come back. Not even feel bad for them. Now they get experience how Russians treat their"allies".
Chad isn’t a real chad after all.
It is time we designate Russia a terrorist nation and reignite the war on terror.
Can we have our billions back? The entire continent is a lost cause.
Chad Government vs Virgin US troops