This is CBSI in the world. I'm John Batchler, Niger, West African country in turmoil,

following events that are very difficult to confirm. The word coup is used. As I understand

it, we need to concentrate on the moving parts of the U.S. State Department and other voices

out of Europe, because New Jair, up to the moment of the coup events of these last days,

was considered a bulwark in West Africa for other troubled nations in the area. This is the Sahil,

the shore of the Sahara. Niger for the facts is 25, 26 million people,

and the army is the capital. And that's about a million plus. And recently, the attention is focused

on the presidential palace, the compound, and the presidential guard. The news of Niger's

junta now comes together over demands, requests, embrace, implications from the U.S. and other

voices. This is a francophone country, so France as well, to get involved in some fashion and

solving this. I read from the State Department, Reuters. U.S. State Department's acting number two,

travel to Niger and held talks with senior officials from the country's junta, which seized

power last month. But it made no progress. U.S. acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland

was in the army. She told reporters in a call and met with a man by the name of Barmo, the

self-proclaimed defense chief of Niger's junta, and three other colonels supporting him.

It becomes much fogier after that. Right now, there is a meeting of the

ECOWAS, which is the organization, very uncritical, economic community of West African states,

meeting in the next 48 hours to discuss the possible need for a military intervention.

I welcome Mary Kissel, Executive Vice President Stevenson-Corporated,

former senior adviser to the Secretary of State, because right now this isn't about gunfire.

This is about state-to-state relations, conversations, personalities, personal relationships over

many years. Mary, a very good evening to you. Thank you for this. It's something of a

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