.

NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

800 U.S. soldiers are in Niger


An honor guard carries the coffin of U.S. Army Sergeant La David Johnson, who was among four Special Forces soldiers killed in Niger, at a graveside service in Hollywood, Florida, on Oct. 21, 2017.

"We Americans have no commission from
God to police the world."
President Benjamin Harrison


Senator Rand Paul tweets out about America troops in Niger.

The general reaction in Washington falls into two categories:  Don't know and don't care.




The U.S. deployed troops to Niger in the early 2000s as part of an initiative to train and equip African militaries. This was done to prevent terrorism, based on the idea that weak or failing states could become hotspots for recruiting terrorists.

Former President Barack Obama ramped up the U.S. presence when, in 2013, he ordered 100 troops to the area to conduct unmanned reconnaissance missions over Mali. By December 2016, there were 575 troops in the country and 645 troops by June 2017.

Karem explained that only a “small fraction” of the 800 troops there today are special ops forces engaged in training and assisting Nigerien forces and that none are intended for direct combat.

“The majority of DOD personnel in Niger are supporting air operations at the airfield in Niamey, or construction of an airfield in Agadez,” Karem said. Paul tweeted about Niger in response to an article by The Intercept that criticized the $280 million price tag of the Agadez air base.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who generally supports U.S. intervention abroad, said after the 2017 ambush that he “didn’t know” there were so many American troops in Niger, but defended the military’s presence in the region. “They were there to defend America. They were there to help allies. They were there to prevent another platform to attack America and our allies,” he said.

Read More . . . .

US Senators clueless about troops in Niger







"The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure."

George Washington
(1793)

No comments: