COUP DUNNIT? AMERICA’S SECRET ARMY

There was widespread anger among Africans after the attempted character assassination of Burkina Faso’s president by the head of US Africa Command (AFRICOM) during a recent Senate hearing. It’s not the first time General Michael E. Langley’s Senate performance has caught our eye. Back in March 2023, he admitted that the US had trained Africans who’d gone on to carry out coups on the continent.

Recall that on 3 April 2025, Langley accused Ibrahim Traoré of using Burkina Faso’s resources to fortify his own position, rather than for the greater good of his people. Slander is a tactic that’s been widely employed to manufacture consent for US interference in countries. Before Iraq was invaded in 2003, for instance, Washington falsely claimed the nation housed weapons of mass destruction. No WMDs were ever found.

The US also likes to use 'skinfolk' to push its agenda on the continent. Libya, for example, was invaded under the leadership of the first Black president, Barack Obama. As a result of the 2011 operation, Muammar Gaddafi was klled and the country, once thriving, was plunged into ruin. It’s now widely accepted that Gaddafi was klled because he refused to bend to the will of Western powers and sought the unification of Africa.

Traoré, who rose to power through a widely supported coup in 2022, has, like Gaddafi, also refused to be a puppet. Following in the footsteps of Thomas Sankara, he is working to build a Burkina Faso that works for the betterment of the people instead of the enrichment of the West. Hailed as a true revolutionary on the continent and beyond, Traoré is clearly a threat to Western interests - so Washington is trying to stain his reputation.

Langley doing the master's dirty work is a reminder that not all skinfolk are kinfolk. Despite his skin colour, he serves the interests of the US, not those of the oppressed and marginalised peoples of the world.

Sources

https://burkina-faso.news-pravda.com/en/burkina-faso/2025/04/16/1724.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYjb6R489tM

https://youtu.be/xrZ-FGfowqs?si=zHuvEkI-pw64YZ8C&t=6108

https://www.cato.org/commentary/obama-administration-wrecked-libya-generation

https://www.blackagendareport.com/killing-gaddafi-10-years-ago-has-resulted-death-nation-libya-and-destruction-its-people

https://www.a-mla.org/en/country/Burkina%20Faso

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/03/14/a-look-back-at-how-fear-and-false-beliefs-bolstered-u-s-public-support-for-war-in-iraq/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/07/usa.iraq1