Out of Africa, a New World War?
By supporting the coup in Niger, Russia proves again that it sees its struggle against the West as a global war, just not a declared one yet.
They’re waving Russian flags in Niger.
Photographer: AFP/Getty Images
You can think of the unfolding disaster in Niger in four ways, from embarrassing to ominous, catastrophic and apocalyptic.
Embarrassing, because the country’s coup on July 26 is blowback for a clueless West: Neither the hapless former colonial power, France, nor the waning superpower, the US, saw this coming. Ominous, because it’s a windfall for Russia and China, as they vie with the West for influence in the region and world. Potentially catastrophic, because it’s a setback in the struggle against jihadist terrorism and uncontrolled migration. Possibly apocalyptic, if it marks a slide into world war.