@anelieseb
Director of Strategic Stabilization Advisors. At one point worked at State Dept., now a pen for hire. Thoughts on politics are my own, posts on West African terrorism, policy, and security are sometimes informed.
We've launched a blog! Read about how West Africa’s borderlands are dynamic spaces where trade, stability, and risk converge. Our inaugural blogpost explains why investors in frontier markets must pay attention to borderland trade, security and politics: www.stabilizationadvisors.com/blog/life-on...
4/ SSA is proud to lead this effort with support from @spiritofamerica.org and SOCAF. Civil-military cooperation isn’t just smart — it’s essential. More on Benin’s strategy via AFP/Barron’s:
🔗 www.barrons.com/news/benin-b...
#Benin #Stabilization #Sahel #CivilMilitary #SSA
3/ This model counters JNIM’s own strategy: win hearts and minds through services and grievances. Benin is showing what population-centric stabilization really means.
2/ We’re helping develop and train Civil-Military Committees — where soldiers and civilians collaborate to build trust, manage risks, and respond early to threats like JNIM.
The work we're doing in Benin at Strategic Stabilization Advisors is in the press!
Benin is trying a bold approach to stop jihadist threats from moving south: empower communities to co-lead security.
Strategic Stabilization Advisors is proud to support this work. 🧵
Our report recommends a phased approach to FET deployment, starting within civil affairs units, gender-sensitive training, infrastructure upgrades & leadership development. These recommendations focus on building a force that’s more agile, responsive & trusted. #SecuritySectorReform
Female engagement teams (FETs) offer a tactical advantage in areas where male soldiers may have limited access due to cultural norms in
✅ Intelligence gathering
✅ Counter-radicalization
✅ Gender-sensitive engagement
✅ Humanitarian operations
#FemaleEngagementTeams 3/
Our research, conducted across Parakou, Natitingou, Kandi & Cotonou, highlights how women in Benin's civil affairs, known as the ACM (Action Civilo-Militaire) are already building trust & improving military-community relations. #CivilMilitaryOperations 2/
Our new report under the SOCAFRICA Coastal West Africa WPS Initiative assesses how Female Engagement Teams (FETs) could strengthen Benin’s Armed Forces (FAB) and enhance civil-military operations. #WPS #Benin #SOCAFRICA 1/
How do female soldiers shape trust, legitimacy, and security coordination in northern Benin?
SSA x SOCAF’s new study explores gender dynamics in the armed forces — where it matters most.
DM us to discuss. #WPS #SSA #SOCAF #Benin #SecuritySectorReform
With the Sahel becoming one of the most terrorism-prone regions globally, the decision to divert attention raises concerns about addressing the ongoing challenges posed by jihadist groups in the region.
As the priorities of each new administration dictate policy directions, the escalation of jihadist threats in West Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, raises questions about the shift in focus away from this volatile area....
This shift in policy has led to a directive to downplay the threat of jihadism even in private sector, even impacting social media tools like Meta, fact checkers and moderators.
While the current U.S. government seems focused on counterterrorism efforts against drug cartels in Latin America, there is a growing concern about the threat posed by jihadist groups affiliated with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda in Africa and the Middle East....
I spoke with @washingtonpost.com about the undeterred expansion of jihadism from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger into Benin and Togo. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
These actions - gutting U.S. foreign policy instruments - benefits only America's adversaries. It is mind boggling how anyone can support these policy choices and consider themselves a patriot.
Niger withdraws from La Francophonie as it continues to reject any institutional form of what it perceives to be France's political, linguistic, military and economic influence.
Benin's Alibori department (neighboring Niger and the Park W-Arly-Pendjari complex) continues to experience violent jihadist activity. The military continues to push onward, dismantling small cells, but JNIM remains active, an extension of of the eastern Burkina cell. www.voanews.com/a/gunmen-1-s...
"The #Sahel remained the most lethal theater on the continent for the fourth year in a row. There were an estimated 10,400 deaths linked to militant Islamist violence in the Sahel in 2024. This comprises 55 percent of all related fatalities for the continent."
africacenter.org/spotlight/mi...
Violence from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qeada continues to worsen in W. Africa & Benin. Meanwhile U.S. security assistance to Benin was abruptly stopped and possibly cancelled under Trump’s stop work order. Read more about it in this piece I was quoted in: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
JNIM has broad control over much of the Est region, and is using that control to launch increasingly sophisticated and large attacks in Benin as well as Niger.
"By the end of the year #France will close all its permanent bases on the continent, besides #Djibouti..A rotating average of..100 soldiers will be stationed ..in Abidjan & a..base in Libreville..for training purposes"
#Gabon #Ivorycoast #Sahel
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
Rubio: I will NOT attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg. South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote “solidarity, equality, & sustainability.” In other words: DEI and climate change. My job is to advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism.
I missed this particular travesty during my travels. Beyond the fact that it’s nonsense, has anyone bothered to tell Rubio that best way to diminish U.S. national interests in the world is, you know, not showing up?
Overseas friends and colleagues messaging me asking if there was a coup… I think it’s more of the “Elon has “weekend at Bernie’s” trump” variety, but irregardless none of this is legal.
This is a hostile takeover of the federal government by a private citizen of unlimited means with no restrictions and no transparency. Welcome to the Deep State www.reuters.com/world/us/mus...
And there was no penalty imposed on the AES states, thus setting a precedent for other states to make the same move…
The particular focus on eliminating science grants… is terrifying to say the least.
For a decade now folks have been asking journalists to engage in the smallest bit of reflection on how they’re responsible for normalizing Trump and his policy positions and have been met with sneering condescension, so this is a refreshing admission of culpability when viewed correctly.
Press corps showing who they really are… goddamn
🇧🇫🇳🇪| Four #Moroccan truck drivers were reported missing this morning between #Burkina’s Dori and #Niger’s Tera. This area is known to be an #IS stronghold, suggesting this may be the third kidnapping of foreign nationals linked to the group in the space of days.