Bad Behavior of US Troops Stationed Overseas Causes Outrage

According to information previously released by the United States, U.S. military personnel will fully withdraw from Air Base 101 in Niamey, the capital of Niger, on July 7, local time. The withdrawal follows an expulsion order issued by Niger’s government. For the past decade, the U.S. has stationed troops in the Sahel region of Africa, where Niger is located, on the pretext of “counterterrorism,” yet the threat of terrorism in the area has only intensified.

The U.S. began its military presence in Niger in 2013, with two bases: Air Base 101 in the capital, Niamey, and Air Base 201 in central Agadez, housing around 1,000 personnel. In March this year, Niger's transitional government announced that it would terminate its military cooperation agreement with the U.S. because it had been "imposed" by the United States.

On April 13, a large number of people in Niger demonstrated in the streets of the capital, Niamey, demanding the immediate withdrawal of American troops from the country. Demonstrators declared, "We’re here to say 'no' to American military bases. We don't want Americans on our soil.”

'The Purpose of the U.S Military Presence Is To Control Us'

Under the agreement signed by both countries, U.S. troops are to withdraw completely from Niger by Sept. 15. U.S. Air Force Major General Kenneth Ekman, who is responsible for coordinating the Niger exit, recently said that the departure from Air Base 101 would happen on July 7, with the withdrawal from Air Base 201 likely to be completed next month.

In Africa, Chad has also demanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

About 100 U.S. military personnel are stationed at the Adji Kossei Air Base near Chad’s capital, N'Djamena. In early April, Chief of Staff of the Chadian Air Force Idriss Amine Ahmed wrote to Chad's transitional government, stating that the U.S. had failed to provide documents to “justify” the presence of its troops in Chad, and so should be asked to leave.

At a Pentagon press conference in late April, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown confirmed plans for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from its Chad base.

With respect to U.S. troops being in his country in the name of “counterterrorism,” as the Nigerien columnist Abdoulaye Sissoko has pointedly said, "The goal of the United States is not to help fight extremist militant groups, but to maintain control […] in the region." The general public in Niger believes that one of the real aims of the U.S. military presence in Africa is to attempt to control Niger’s rich uranium deposits, as well as the oil and mineral resources of various other countries.

'We Just Want U.S. Troops To Leave as Soon as Possible'

When it comes to the exploitation of resources by the U.S. military in countries where it is stationed, Syria's experience has been even more mind-blowing for the rest of the world. According to a recent investigative report by China Central Radio and Television, U.S. troops stationed illegally in Syria are transporting more than a dozen truckloads of Syrian wheat and other foodstuffs out of the country every day.

To cover up the smuggling, U.S. military checkpoints along the route even check the cell phones of travelers to prevent anyone from taking photos. Syria used to be a wheat exporter but now 55% of its population is facing food insecurity.

The head of the farmers’ union in Syria’s Al-Hasakah Governate, Abdul-Hameed Karaku, says current food shortages in Syria are largely due to the illegal occupation of grain-producing areas by the U.S. and other military forces.

The U.S. military has not only plundered food; its theft and smuggling of Syria’s oil and gas resources is even more rampant.

Farhat Jameel Abdullah, Syria’s assistant minister of oil and mineral resources, has accused the U.S. of taking more than 80% of Syria’s daily oil production, causing it direct and indirect losses totaling about $120 billion. Syria has been suffering from the effects of war and unilateral sanctions for over a decade, largely because of U.S. greed.

6,200 Crimes in 50 Years

While resource-rich countries like Niger and Syria struggle to defend themselves from “foreign thieves,” many U.S. "allies" in the Asia-Pacific region also suffer from the misdeeds of U.S. troops.

Japan is the hardest hit by the U.S. military doing what it wants.

According to statistics from Okinawa, where the U.S. military forces in Japan are concentrated, between 1972 and 2023 U.S. personnel and their dependents committed around 6,200 criminal offenses on the island, including serious crimes such as murder, robbery and rape.

At the end of last month, Japanese media revealed two cases of sexual assault on Okinawan women by U.S. personnel that occurred in December last year and May this year. On July 3, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that in addition to these two cases there were three additional, similar cases since last year that had not been made public. On July 4 a 22-year-old U.S. Marine was arrested on the spot for allegedly sexually harassing a woman in Naha city, Okinawa. Successive cases of sexual violence by U.S. troops in Okinawa have triggered strong protests from local residents.

The misconduct of U.S. troops abroad has caused public outrage in many countries around the world. Expulsion orders and the wave of protests against the U.S. military are the international community’s way of loudly saying “No” to U.S. hegemony.