Washington’s best play in the Sahel is cooperating with the juntas 

Following months of negotiation between the U.S. and Niger’s junta, the U.S. recently agreed to withdraw more than 1,000 troops from the West African country. The junta’s ascent to power, starting in July 2023, is just the most recent example of a string of coups that have affected Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea in West Africa’s Sahel region.  

In response to these coups, some argue that the U.S. should take a principled stance in defense of constitutional democracy by refusing security...