The Underrated Geopolitical Significance of West Africa

Ross Pedersen

Topic: The Underrated Geopolitical Significance of West Africa
Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Place: Irondequoit Country Club: 4045 East Ave. [14618]
Time: 6:00 Cocktails; 7:00 Dinner; 8:00 Speaker Presentation followed by Q and A
Cost: $55 per person ($58 if paying online), buffet style. Cash Bar
Dinner: Buffet style – 2 protein options, 1 vegetarian option

***Registration Policy: For reservations, please email MemberServices@WACROC.org. Mail your
check for the dinner[s] to: WACR, PO Box 25462, Rochester, NY 14625 no later than February 4.

The global world has been complicated for a long time, and the news is never without new challenges. But some critical areas of conflict seldom make the front pages, unnoticed amid the Middle East chaos and other prominent conflicts.

In 2017, when four U.S. Soldiers died in Niger, most Americans did not know we had troops in the region, let alone understand why. The same was true earlier this year when Niger announced it was requiring all U.S. forces to leave and to hand over their $100 million U.S. military base in the process.

Where is Niger and why do we care? Why did we have a $100 million military base there?

Niger is one of 10 countries that make up an area known as the Sahel – a broad swath of Africa immediately south of the Sahara Desert. Extending from the Atlantic coast in the west, to the Red Sea in the east, this region is the African epicenter of armed groups affiliated with al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Many of the civilian governments of these former French colonies have struggled to contain insurgencies and, in some areas, the military has seized power and fosters closer ties with Russia.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025, we are fortunate to welcome Ross Pedersen, who has recently served as a U.S. Special Forces Commander in a remote outpost in western Africa, on the border between Mali and Niger. He will explore the history of the region, its significance in world affairs, and why Russia, China and the United States are fiercely competing for influence in the region…and why the US is losing that fight.

Ross is a Rochesterian who graduated from the U of R and has an MBA from Stanford. In 2016 he enlisted in the Army and was commissioned as an infantry officer in the New York Army National Guard, allowing his civilian career at Bain to continue as a management consultant. In 2020 he completed Army Ranger and Airborne School and became a Special Forces Officer. Now back in the civilian world, Ross is the Head of Growth for a military drone company and resides in Skaneateles.

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