A U.S. Army Special Forces weapons sergeant observes as a Nigerien soldier bounds forward while practicing buddy team movement drills during Exercise Flintlock 2017 in Diffa, Niger, March 11, 2017. (Spc. Zayid Ballesteros/Army)
Defense News: Did military hide the real mission of the Niger ambush from Congress?
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine is accusing the military of hiding from Congress its true mission in a Niger ambush last October that ended in the deaths of four American Green Berets.
Following a classified briefing from senior Defense Department officials to the Senate Armed Services Committee, senators confirmed the fatal mission had been to “capture-or-kill” a target and not simply a training activity with local forces.
“That was a very explosive briefing,” said Kaine, D-Va. “I have deep questions on whether the military is following instructions and limitations that Congress has laid down about the mission of these troops in Africa, and I’ve had those questions, and I think this hearing raised a lot more in a pretty explosive way.”
Kaine questioned whether the legal authorization to conduct a train-and-equip missions in Niger is “a fig leaf,” and said the briefing, “raises questions about why people are hiding from us what they’re doing.”
Asked whether he thinks the military is hiding what it is doing in Niger, he said only, “Yeah.”
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WNU Editor: I have trouble believing that these Senators were in the dark on what the U.S. has been doing in Niger. This blog has been covering the U.S. military presence in Niger for the past few years, and it was/is always been obvious to me that the reason why the U.S. were there (with such large numbers) was to monitor and track down Islamic militants.
