Tag: Niger

Deaths In Niger Update

Recently there were reports on the deaths of four special ops troopers in Niger….the info coming out is confusing at best….the American media reported on these deaths and the circumstances but then all the slap and tickle stories sucked all the energy out of one of American deaths in Africa.

But I have a blog and I will continue to report on their deaths until someone gets the story straight….

This is more on the deaths from witnesses on the ground……

New details of the attack in which four US special forces and four Nigerien soldiers were killed by militants suggest that they fought alone against a far superior force for hours – despite repeated calls for help by local villagers.

Testimony collected by the Guardian suggests that soldiers ambushed in Niger last month faced an overwhelming and coordinated attack – but one that might have been cut short if Nigerien authorities had reacted as soon as they were called.

Over the course of a week, the Guardian interviewed local politicians, military sources and residents of Tongo Tongo – the village where the attack took place last month, and found:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/15/niger-us-troops-military-ambush-attack

At least the UK press is doing their job and reporting the deaths….shame the American press is too wrapped up with the antics of perverts to care about Americans dying.

I shall continue to report on American deaths in these senseless wars that some feel we most fight.

IST feels that every American death is important and needs to be reported….I shall continue until my last breath.

Niger Update

Note:  This is a lot to read but please and you will get an idea of what is going on in Niger with our troops.

It has been weeks since the deaths of 4 special ops troopers in Niger……I have been calling for more info and now it looks like the Congress has jumped on that bandwagon…..

Key U.S. senators called Sunday for the White House to be more forthcoming about the country’s military involvement in Niger after four U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush there earlier this month.

In separate interviews on NBC’s “Meet the Press” news show, Republican Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senate leader Charles Schumer said they support an effort last week by Republican Senator John McCain to find out the details of the attack as well as the scope of the U.S. campaign against Islamic State in the west African country. Both Graham and Schumer said they had been unaware of the substantial number of the U.S. troops in Niger.

“I didn’t know there was 1,000 troops in Niger,” Graham said. “This is an endless war without boundaries and no limitation on time and geography. You’ve got to tell us more.

“We don’t know exactly where we’re at in the world militarily and what we’re doing,” Graham said. “So John McCain is going to try to create a new system to make sure that we can answer the question, why were we there, we’ll know how many soldiers are there, and if somebody gets killed there, that we won’t find out about it in the paper.

“I can say this to the families,” Graham said. “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.”

Schumer said, “We need to look at this carefully. This is a brave new world. There are no set battle plans.”

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Graham and McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, last week that the military is shifting its counter-terrorism strategy to focus more on Africa. The defense chief said military leaders want to expand their ability to use force against suspected terrorists.

U.S. officials believe the Niger attack was launched by a local Islamic State affiliate, but the Pentagon is still investigating the circumstances of how it occurred.

(voa.com)

Another report has come about he death of La David Johnson…his death is an ever changing story…the newest rendition……

Sgt. La David Johnson, one of four American soldiers killed after an ambush in Niger last month, was found with his hands tied after having apparently been executed by militants, villagers say. Tongo Tongo resident Adamou Boubacar tells the Washington Post that children found Johnson’s body two days after the ambush. He says the soldier’s hands were bound with rope and there was a gaping wound in the back of his head that could have been caused by a bullet. Boubacar, a farmer, says the body was found in a bushy area about a mile from the ambush site, which could explain why it took so long for it to be discovered, the New York Daily News reports.

Village chief Mounkaila Alassane says he contacted the Nigerien military after seeing the body, “The back of his head was a mess, as if they had hit him with something hard, like a hammer,” Alassane tells the Post. “They took his shoes. He was wearing only socks.” Military sources say they believe Johnson was kidnapped during a firefight with ISIS-linked militants. The bodies of the other three Americans killed were found in or near their team’s pickup truck, stripped of their uniforms, villagers say. The FBI has joined military investigators trying to determine how the US mission went so badly wrong. Officials in Niger say Alassane was arrested on suspicion of aiding the militants, but released due to a lack of evidence. (US officials say a morphed mission put the men in danger.)

In the past I never had much in common with Graham…..but in the last year I have found that he and I agree on a few things….especially when it comes to our troops that are fighting these wars….too many to keep track of…..

Time to come clean about the mission and the deaths of these 4 men……period.

The US is on a death march across Africa as it is……..

Tongo Tongo is in the middle of a belt that is ground zero for the illicit trade that defines the Sahara. West of Tongo Tongo is Gao (Mali) and to its east is Agadez (Niger). These are the main ports for South American cocaine, flown in on various kinds of aircraft (Air Cocaine, as they are called) and then driven across the Sahara Desert in trucks to be taken by small boats across the Mediterranean Sea into Europe. Evidence of the cocaine trade is everywhere – whether in Gao’s neighborhood known as Cocaine Bougou or in the nickname of one of the leading chiefs in Agadez – Cherif Ould Abidine – known as Cherif or Mr. Cocaine.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-american-war-machine-is-already-on-the-death-march-across-the-african-continent/5617195

Drugs……go figure…….

There is more….there is always more ioof one digs deep enough…..

A recent report published in the Washington Post claims that the only African American soldier in the group of dead troops, Sgt. La David Johnson, had been kidnapped and killed execution style. Purportedly, people living in the area where Johnson’s body was discovered indicated that his hands were bound behind his back with a gaping wound in the rear of his head. (Nov. 10)

Other reports say that the Nigerien troops, who were ostensibly on a patrol mission with the AFRICOM forces, fled while the Green Berets stood and fought the alleged assailants. Who these “hostile elements” were has still not been clearly defined. What has been mentioned is that they are somehow affiliated with ISIS. (Guardian, Nov. 4)

https://www.globalresearch.ca/pentagon-explanations-for-niger-operations-cannot-conceal-strategic-interests/5618159

Niger is becoming as clouded as our Syrian mission or our Yemen mission….

USAFRICOM: A Month Of Confusion

The USAFRICOM has a problem with transparency…..it does not report as it should…..

The October 4 ambush in Niger, which led to the deaths of four US special forces, has led to a flurry of inquiries, both on the specifics of the incident and reports of leaving behind troops, but also that the African Command appears not to have told anybody about the scope of US operations within Niger before that.

With a lot of questions still unanswered, the focus has grown increasingly on the shocking lack of transparency for US military operations in Africa. Yet Niger has also led to some interest in revisiting the details of another incident, the May 11 death of a US Navy SEAL in Somalia, the first such death in that country in decades.

In that case, the SEALs were skulking around on the outskirts of a remote Somali village, killing suspected al-Shabaab militants until one of them was spotted and killed. This resulted in several hours of fighting and ending in a hasty retreat by US forces, leaving behind a lot of evidence of the incident.

Indeed, AFRICOM wasn’t particularly forthcoming about what happened in Somalia, either, but villagers were able to retrace the steps of the US troops, using the footprints in the mud and rubbish left behind to offer the closest thing to a timeline for that incident that the public has ever, or likely will ever, see.

(antiwar.com)

There are serious problems within USAFRICOM….maybe the Commander-In-Chief could stay off Twitter awhile and get a grip on this situation.

After a month of conflicting stories there is still NO definitive answer as to what happened that caused the deaths of 4 special ops troopers.

The October 4 ambush along the Niger-Mali border left four US special forces killed, and revealed to the US public and Congress for the first time that some 1,000 US troops were on the ground in Niger. After a month has passed, what else have we learned?

Very little, as it turns out. Niger and the Pentagon continue to offer radically different versions of what happened on that day, as well as the circumstances in which the US troops were left behind in the evacuation, something US officials initially insisted couldn’t have happened.

Nigerien officials say this was an “operational mission,” but one in what was not considered enemy territory, intended to detain a suspected ISIS recruiter. Pentagon officials say none of that happened, and that there was absolutely no intention to kill or capture anybody.

What the Pentagon is saying happened continues to vary day to day, and sometimes hour to hour, but officials continue to insist that he “investigation” into the incident is ongoing, and that a final version will be released in a few weeks. Until then, anything the Pentagon says happened seems to be a wild guess, and subject to revision.

US officials are also saying the size of the deployment in Niger, which went from an unspecified number of US “trainers” to 1,000 combat troops without anyone being informed, is likely to grow further. Whether we’ll hear about that when it happens remains to be seen.

(antiwar.com)

Who’s fooling who?

AS an ex-combat vet I want to know what happened to these men….I get the feeling that there uis something not being told about their mission.  I realize that most of these missions are top secret but this one is done and they lost 4 good men…time for the truth to come out.

And now a new theory is being floated about eh death of Sgt. La David Johnson, remember him?   He is the one that Trump did all the childish Tweeting about.

The new theory he was kidnapped……

One of four American soldiers killed in Niger last month may have been kidnapped by ISIS-linked militants before he was executed, sources say. A village elder in northern Niger tells CBS that a battle raged for more than two hours after a group of Green Berets was ambushed by attackers on motorbikes. He says after the battle was over, he saw three American soldiers dead in a truck, stripped of their uniforms. The body of Sgt. La David Johnson, however, was not found for two days and military sources tell CBS that they believe he was taken prisoner by militant who later shot him and dumped the body around half a mile away from the battle site.

The military is investigating how the four soldiers became separated from their unit during the Oct.4 attack while seven other American troops were reportedly evacuated. Five Nigerien troops were also killed in the attack, though sources tell the Guardian that the Nigerian forces fled soon after the ambush, leaving the Americans to fight alone. The sources say the trapped American troops struggled to call in an attack from nearby French forces, who complained about bad weather and rough terrain.

The attack has been called a “massive intelligence failure.”

My thought is………YA THINK?

It appears that US troops have been fighting in Mali border region before the deadly attack in Niger….

The Pentagon’s attempt to settle on a narrative for what happened on the October 4 ambush in Niger, in which four US special forces troops were killed, is greatly complicated by the fact that Nigerien troops were present at the time, and their defense ministry is being more frank about what happened.

The Niger Defense Ministry reported over the weekend that the joint forces who were caught up in the ambush were actually engaged in tracking and fighting Islamist militants along the Mali border in the hours leading up to the attack.

This is dramatically different from every version of events offered by the Pentagon, which has insisted the US troops were on a purely non-combat mission, which is why they didn’t have armored vehicles or any plans to evacuate if trouble happened.

That doesn’t exactly make sense if the US forces were specifically out to attack Islamist fighters, and makes US claims they thought the operation was “low-risk” with little chance of enemy contact, if they specifically were out there looking for enemies to contact.

The Pentagon’s own version of events isn’t set in stone, which is a good thing since it’s seemingly full of untruths. Officials have downplayed the problems with their version by insisting that they’ll reconcile it when they finish their investigation into the incident

(antiwar.com)

The story about the attack changes almost daily….which leads me to believe that something is hinkey with the stories told.

Mission creep comes mind……especially in sub-Saharan Africa……Unz Reader , Libertarian lean journal takes a look at this occurrence….

The British Empire, which at the end of the 19th century ruled one quarter of the earth’s land surface, is long gone. But its robust successor and heir, the United States, has set about enlarging it.

As I sought to explain in my last book ‘American Raj – How the US Rules the Muslim World,’ the US imperium exerts its power by controlling tame, compliant regimes around the world and their economies. They are called ‘allies’ but, in fact, should be more accurately termed satrapies or vassal states. Many states are happy to be prosperous US vassals, others less so.

http://www.unz.com/emargolis/mission-creep-in-darkest-africa/

Mission creep is an understatement….there is a whole war being fought that we mere mortals know very little about……..

Six years ago, a deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Special Operations Command gave a conservative estimate of 116 missions being carried out at any one time by Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, and other special operations forces across the globe.

Today, according to U.S. military documents obtained by VICE News, special operators are carrying out nearly 100 missions at any given time — in Africa alone. It’s the latest sign of the military’s quiet but ever-expanding presence on the continent, one that represents the most dramatic growth in the deployment of America’s elite troops to any region of the globe.

https://news.vice.com/story/the-u-s-is-waging-a-massive-shadow-war-in-africa-exclusive-documents-reveal

I have said before and continue to believe it….there is something rotten within USAFRICOM…..

Thoughts?

More News From Niger

There have been many questions about he death a US Special Ops trooper in Niger that was not with the bodies of the others killed and now…… the rest of the story……(sort of)

Speaking to ABC News, the unnamed official added their belief that the men’s ‘light convoy’ had been being surveilled by their killers for at least a day before they were hit.

Questions remain over why top command sent the unit – which consisted of just six to eight vehicles and only 42 troops – into the dangerous area to gather intelligence on a target.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said had the men been called back after the original reconnaissance mission then they would still all be alive.

‘ They should have been up and back in a day. They were hit because they were up there so f****** long on a mission that morphed, they were spotted, surveilled and ultimately hit.’

He the story is accurate then this Trooper died a hero….thinking of nothing but his comrades and their need.
IST salutes an American hero!

NIGER! WTF?

+So much has been going on in the West African country of Niger lately that it is almost mind numbing.  4 US soldiers died fighting an insurgent force and as of yet there is No definitive reason why.

AS a combat veteran I want to know why they died and if they were at all prepared for the task ahead.

The story changes almost daily leading me to believe that someone up the change of command f*cked the pouch and 4 good soldiers died.  Why?

The newest tidbit on this continuing saga……

New details have emerged regarding the attack that left four US soldiers dead in Niger, labeled by some as a “massive intelligence failure.” Per the New York Times, which interviewed military officers, Pentagon officials, and lawmakers, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, and Sgt. La David Johnson somehow became separated from their unit during the Oct. 4 militant attack, which also left five Nigeriens dead and whose “shifting narrative” is now being scrutinized. Specifically, answers are being sought on why these four US troops were left behind initially when French helicopters flew onto the scene two hours after the ambush began and rescued seven other Americans, and why it took two extra days to find and retrieve Johnson’s body from a wooded area near the attack location.

The Times says the four soldiers were at first deemed MIA by the Pentagon, indicating they were believed alive when the French choppers left; US officials contend American, French, and Nigerien forces were still on the ground. The Pentagon also said Thursday this unit had been backup for a second one on the hunt for an Islamic operative, though that second unit’s raid had been called off, per CBS News; the ambushed unit was told to stay behind and gather evidence. Meanwhile, a Nigerien soldier who arrived on the scene as the attack wound down tells CNN he saw troops “ready to fight until the end” and that he’d run into the unit the day before—nowhere near ready for combat, dressed in “T-shirts and baseball caps” with just one heavy machine gun among them and no body armor. US officials say it wasn’t anticipated the troops would come into contact with hostile entities during their mission. A more in-depth look at the Times and CNN.

There are too many people turning this into a game of political football……and each one of them should be shot for doing so.  And so far all we know is that they are dead.

These men deserve better than this bullshit theater that Trump, his ilk and the media are turning into.

Every man, woman and child should be demand the truth behind these deaths…..screw protocol.

Did these men die unnecessarily?

The time for platitudes and campaign speeches is over.

Do not let this be another Yemen!

NIGER! More News–More Questions

This is a story that was filed by VOA…..I know I have been a bit out of it in the Hospital but I do not recall much this been reported…….

“They must have spent the night in the northwest of Tongo-Tongo,” Mayor Hassane said in a phone interview with the VOA French-to-Africa service.

“These Nigerien soldiers are part of a security and intelligence battalion that has been trained by the U.S. forces during several U.S.-led training exercises known as Flintlock,” said Moussa Aksar, director of the newspaper l’Évènement in Niamey, and a terrorism specialist in the Sahel.

The soldiers were trying to track down an accomplice of Abu Adnan al-Sahraoui, a former member of the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), who joined the Islamic State terror group in the Sahara Desert.

The soldiers questioned the villagers, who dragged on the discussions longer than anticipated.

“It turns out that this village was a little contaminated by hostile forces,” said Aksar. “The unit stayed a little longer than expected because apparently people were aware that something was going on.”

For his part, Mayor Hassane said, “The attackers, the bandits, the terrorists have never lacked accomplices among local populations.”

A fake terror attack attracted the soldiers to a trap outside the village, where about 50 assailants in vehicles and motorcycles armed with Kalashnikovs and heavy weapons opened fire on them. Four Nigerien soldiers and three Americans were killed on the spot. The body of the fourth American soldier was found 48 hours later, about a mile away from the initial site, CNN reported.

“We are not talking about civilians wounded or killed because these soldiers were ambushed outside the village,” Aksar said.

The attack has raised questions, especially since the U.S. Army operates drone bases in Niger and has significant intelligence resources there.

“That’s what really shocked us: how, at their level, with all the resources they have, they could not have strong intelligence to avoid what happened there,” said Hassane.

Since the attack, Tongo-Tongo village chief Mounkaila Alassane has been arrested, and there is no information on his whereabouts.

No group has officially taken responsibility for the attack. According to sources in the region, however, it is the work of Abu Adnan al-Saharaoui, who calls himself the Islamic Emir of the Great Sahara, affiliated with the Islamic State group.

According to a Tuareg from the region, al-Saharaoui is reported to be involved in arms and fuel trafficking. He is a former member of the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), which occupied and imposed sharia law in northern Mali in 2012 before being dislodged by French forces.

Al-Saharaoui, a former acquaintance of Algerian extremist and trafficker Mokhtar Bel Mokhtar, had led the kidnapping of the nine-person staff of the Algerian consulate in Gao in 2012. Originally from Western Sahara, he wants to control the band on the common border of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

“He wants to take control of all these communities facing poverty and governance issues so that they can join his cause,” said Aksar.

The group is the latest of several jihadist organizations in the Sahel region, including the Defenders of Islam group linked to militant Iyad Ag Ghali in northern Mali. The movement for the Liberation of Macina, led by Hamadoun Koufa, remained very active in central Mali.

Ansarul Islam, on the other side of the border, is increasing its attacks in northern Burkina Faso, while Boko Haram continues to launch attacks in the countries in Africa’s Lake Chad Basin.

The al-Mourabitoun group, which is led by Moktar Belmokhtar — declared dead several times — has perpetrated several terror actions in the vast Sahel region, including the 2013 attack on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria that left 67 people dead.

Like I said I was otherwise distracted…..but was this side of the story told and I missed it?

There is so much more to this story and we are getting crap out of the MSM…..

AS a combat vet I am concerned that these guys story will NOT told……I am watching and writing.

NIGER!  WTF?

Lays Out Timeline Of Niger Attack

I have not the life of me been able to put my head around the eventual that lead to this attack on US us in NIger.

There have been so many different version that none will make any sense……below is the timeline that has been laid out bu some general and we know they would not feed us crap, right?

Source: Timeline: Top U.S. general lays out timeline of deadly Niger attack

I am still not satisfied at the answers we are getting for our military……how about you?

What Are U.S. Forces Doing in Niger Anyway?

 

I gots to know!  WTF?

While I was in the hospital the bad news came out that we lost 4 good soldiers to an ambush in Niger in West Africa….NIGER?

I knew we had troops all over the world fighting and advising but sub-Saharan Niger….why?

Is the a good reason for this ?  I know AQ ans ISIS love these types of areas because of remoteness and weal government….but Niger?

On October 4, four U.S. troops and five Nigerians were killed in ambush by heavily armed ISIS-affiliated fighters near the restive Mali border in Niger. While the press has been obsessed with how Pres

Source: What Are U.S. Forces Doing in Niger Anyway? | The American Conservative