Niger’s military recently said the presence of American troops in the West African country is illegal. US officials are meeting behind closed doors with Niger’s military rulers to try to work out a deal to keep some US troops there. Niger had been a key US ally in the region before the July coup. Sahel expert Michael Shurkin tells VOA's Carol Van Dam it’s easier for the junta to blame the US for economic woes and attacks by insurrectionists than to deal with those issues head-on.