Michael Langley insisted only a “very small number” of Africans trained by Washington overthrew their governments
US general admits to sharing ‘core values’ with coup leaders
General Michael Langley, head of US AFRICOM, appeared to admit that the Pentagon’s “core values,” instilled into tens of thousands of African military officers, were compatible with staging coups as he was grilled during a House Armed Services Committee hearing by Republican Matt Gaetz (Florida) on Thursday.
Initially unable to provide a “ballpark” figure for how many US-trained African officers have gone on to stage coups, Langley then claimed it was “less than one percent,” crediting the Pentagon’s International Military Education and Training program, which stresses civilian governance and representative democracy.
Gaetz, citing an Intercept article revealing US-trained officers had staged at least eight successful coups in West Africa alone since 2008, asked whether the “core values” instilled in that curriculum were compatible with program graduate Col. Mamady Doumboya, who overthrew the Guinean government while his unit was literally in training with US Green Berets in September 2021.
Langley answered in the affirmative, insisting the “core values” of “respect for civilian governance, apolitical” were “what sticks across a very high percentage” of trainees.
“How many governments have to be overthrown by people we train before you sort of get the message that our core values might not be sticking with everyone?” Gaetz asked, questioning why US tax dollars should be spent training African military officers to overthrow their governments. “I think we should at least know how many countries we train the coup plotters in,” he suggested.......More Below
https://www.rt.com/africa/573599-africom-coup-plotters-trained-gaetz/
Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
