Pirate's Cove

Speaking of the leaker

So he's been leaking classified material since Feb 2022? And didn't get caught till now? Perhaps the military should have been less worried about Woke and more doing their job #LetsGoBrandon https://t.co/3TFlR8ZmAy

— William Teach2 ??????? #refuseresist (@WTeach2) April 23, 2023

Now, imagine if Trump was still president: his name would be all over that article, Blaming him directly, like the Credentialed Media used to do with Bush 43. Yet, the current president is not named once in that NY Times piece, reprinted at Yahoo news. Just like with this Washington Post piece

Wagner Group surges in Africa as U.S. influence fades, leak reveals

The Wagner Group is moving aggressively to establish a “confederation” of anti-Western states in Africa as the Russian mercenaries foment instability while using their paramilitary and disinformation capabilities to bolster Moscow’s allies, according to leaked secret U.S. intelligence documents.

The rapid expansion of Russia’s influence in Africa has been a source of growing alarm to U.S. intelligence and military officials, prompting a push over the past year to find ways to hit Wagner’s network of bases and business fronts with strikes, sanctions and cyber operations, according to the documents.

One document in the trove lists nearly a dozen “kinetic” and other options that could be pursued as part of “coordinated U.S. and allied disruption efforts.” The files propose providing targeting information to help Ukraine forces kill Wagner commanders, and cite other allies’ willingness to take similar lethal measures against Wagner nodes in Africa.

At a time when Wagner leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin has been preoccupied with Kremlin infighting over the paramilitary group’s deepening involvement in the war in Ukraine, U.S. officials depict Wagner’s expanding global footprint as a potential vulnerability.

One document in the trove lists nearly a dozen “kinetic” and other options that could be pursued as part of “coordinated U.S. and allied disruption efforts.” The files propose providing targeting information to help Ukraine forces kill Wagner commanders, and cite other allies’ willingness to take similar lethal measures against Wagner nodes in Africa.

And yet, there is little in the trove to suggest that the CIA, Pentagon or other agencies have caused more than minor setbacks for Wagner over a six-year stretch during which the mercenary group, controlled by Putin ally Prigozhin, gained strategic footholds in at least eight African countries, among 13 nations where Prigozhin has operated in some capacity, according to one document.

In fairness, this actually started late in Obama’s presidency (who was VP, picked for his foreign policy experience?), not just 6 years ago. And continued during Trump’s presidency, with the most significant strikes occurring in 2018. But, with Biden and other Euro leaders focusing everything on the (losing) effort in Ukraine, the loss of influence in Africa is escalating

As a result, “Prigozhin likely will further entrench his network in multiple countries,” one of the intelligence documents concludes, “undermining each country’s ability to sever ties with his services and exposing neighboring states to his destabilizing activities.”

But, you know, Trump

Russia has taken advantage of former Soviet ties with African leaders, according to analysts, but it has also exploited the United States’ dwindling engagement in Africa, notably during the Trump presidency, as well as an anti-French backlash over its counterterrorism operation in the Sahel region, focused on Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger named Operation Barkhane.

France blew out of Mali in 2021. During the Trump presidency, right?

He said Russian anti-French and anti-Western propaganda resonated with African leaders, angered by French missteps in the Sahel, and weary of Western leaders pressing them on democratic values and human rights.

To elites in Africa, the United States is perceived as “still focused on the old playbook of lectures about democratization and sending humanitarian aid” while Washington’s democratic institutions have lost some of their sheen, Mutiga said.

Yeah, this is happening the most now, since someone took office as POTUS. Not sure who that is, since the current president is not named once. This is yet another article noting how bad Mr. Unnamed’s foreign policy and engagement is.