Coups are a thing in Africa. With close to 500 attempts to overthrow governments since 1950, Africa has had the most at 214 with 106 of them successful.
The latest one occurred last week in Niger where their US trained military, with the help of a half billion dollars of our tax money, took over the country.
The birthrate in Africa has skyrocketed, leaving the country full of hundreds of thousands of young, restless men with no jobs, no skills, and no hope for the future.
So when someone comes along and suggests they can run the country better, these kids scramble to join the fray.
The Niger coup is particularly worrisome because the country appeared to be on the path toward a stable Democracy, which of course the US pushes any chance it gets - and that’s good.
But since our founding, we’ve also been engaged in an insatiable quest for other country’s natural resources, perpetuated by multi-national corporations seeking profits, which in turn helps to fund political campaigns.
So wouldn’t it be smarter to spread goodwill in destitute countries by funding food and self-help social programs rather than throwing money at their militaries so they can fight each other for power?
Had we done this in Niger, I’m guessing our $500,000,000 would have prevented the unrest and subsequent destabilization of the entire region.
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