Tag: West Africa

More On The Death In Mali

A year ago I wrote a post on the mysterious death of a green Beret at the hands of SEALs…..I was appalled at the killing of Americans by Americans….we have enough enemies in the world we do not need to kill each other……then a report came out in a coupe of South American newspaper about the investigation into this death……I wrote…..https://lobotero.com/2018/11/07/suspicious-death-in-mali/

Four days after I read the report an American publication picked up the story…the Army Times……

A Navy admiral will now determine whether two SEALs will face charges in the strangling death of an Army Special Forces staff sergeant last year in Mali.

More than a year after the incident, the Navy’s criminal investigation into the death of Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar, 34, has concluded and been turned over to Rear Adm. Charles Rock, commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia, as reported by the U.S. Naval Institute.

Rock was appointed by Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer to oversee the case, according to USNI.

Capt. Greg Hicks, the Navy’s chief spokesman, told the New York Times that Rock would “review all relevant information pertaining to Staff Sergeant Melgar’s death and make determinations regarding administrative or disciplinary actions as appropriate.”

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/11/07/navy-completes-investigation-into-death-of-green-beret-in-mali-heres-what-happens-next/

Basically the same story as the one I read four days earlier……I wish I had more to write about but I wanted to make sure that my readers were aware that an American publication had picked up the story…..

Hopefully this family will get the answers and the satisfaction they deserve…..

Suspicious Death In Mali

I have a loyal reader from Brazil and I was searching the new for some story on the new government that is taking control….and I was diverted by an American story that did not make our news.

Over a year ago I wrote a couple of posts about the death of US Army Green Beret at the hands of a couple SEALs in deployment in the West African country of Mali……https://lobotero.com/2017/11/20/death-of-a-green-beret/  (please read the previous posts for more detail)

There has been very little about this investigation into the death of the Green Beret…..and thanx to the midterms it would go unnoticed but fortunately I found the story while reading a Brazilian newspaper……

Seventeen months after a Green Beret died in unusual circumstances in Mali, the U.S. Department of Defense is no closer to disclosing the circumstances of his death or whether charges should be laid against any individual or individuals.

Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar was killed at a house he shared with two U.S. Navy SEALS and two Marine Raiders, who were part of the same small joint special operations unit attached to the U.S. Embassy in Bamako, the Mali capital.

oth the SEALs, Petty Officer Antony DeDolph and Chief Petty Officer Adam Cranston Matthews gave investigators conflicting stories as to what had happened leading up to the time of Melgar’s death, the circumstances and the cause. Their stories also kept changing. Initially they took Melgar to a medical clinic and told staff there they had found him in the condition he was in, and that DeDolph, a martial arts expert, had tried to revive him by doing an emergency tracheotomy.

Subsequently the pair said DeDolph had been sparring with Melgar in a late night, drunken incident, he accidently choked the soldier. The problem with story is that Melgar didn’t drink. The Medical Examiner found no traces of alcohol or drugs in his body.

https://www.brazilsun.com/news/258265488/admiral-to-rule-whether-seals-to-be-charged-over-mali-death

It is a shame that all the midterm speculation was far more important than the death of an American soldier….a needless death…..

It was also reported in an Argentine newspaper as well…..but not so much here where the man lived.

IST hopes that the family gets the answers they deserve and not some PR BS to save face……

Do You Know The Way To Cameroon?

I am proud to say that I am getting new followers from Africa my newest are from Rwanda and Cameroon……so I thought that I would make a more concerted effort to give news and views from Africa.

In the past my posts have been mostly for North Africa because I knew that region better from having worked in the Middle East and North Africa.

A group that I have done work with in the past, International Crisis Group, have issued a conflict risk alert for October 2018 in Cameroon.

Image result for cameroon images

Today I want to post on the events in Cameroon……

Cameroon, where elections are due to take place this week amid widespread discontent at President Paul Biya’s rule, continued fighting against Boko Haram in the north and a worsening conflict in the Anglophone region. Cameroon’s international partners should use the days ahead of the polls to push the government and Anglophone separatists toward a ceasefire; after the vote, they should throw their weight behind an Anglophone conference organised by religious leaders which could be a first step toward a national dialogue.

I have written about a problem brewing with the troops that are handled by the US Special Ops group……(please be warned that the video is pretty explicit) https://lobotero.com/2018/08/01/cameroon/

Since the problem came to light the US is sticking with the group that has murdered women and children…..

The women were slapped and shoved down a dusty road. They were blindfolded and forced to the ground. Then they, and two young children, were gunned down — 22 shots from assault rifles fired at close range — by men in military uniforms.

In July, The Intercept was the first media outlet to publish the complete, unedited footage of this murder of four civilians by members of the Cameroonian armed forces — a key U.S. military ally in the region — drawing on extensive investigative work by experts at Amnesty International. The government of Cameroon quickly dismissed reports that its soldiers were involved in the atrocity, calling it “fake news.”

https://theintercept.com/2018/09/27/cameroon-video-execution-forensic-analysis/

Sad to say that US has sided many times with the wrong people and it usually comes back to bite us in the ass.

Another problem is the US does not have the best foreign policy people in place at this time…..the leaders of our international relations are not the sharpest pencils in the box…..most are warmongering tools of the M-IC.

Sad to say yet again that nothing will change for the better as long as this administration remains in power.

Cameroon

I recently got a new follower from the West African country of Cameroon….(no it was not a prince that wanted to make me rich) and since I have not done a post on this country I thought I would give some information about the country and some recent news…

French Cameroon became independent in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon. The following year the southern portion of neighboring British Cameroon voted to merge with the new country to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state, the United Republic of Cameroon. The country has generally enjoyed stability, which has enabled the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite slow movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of President Paul BIYA.

Northern part of the country has been fighting Boko Haram for years even with the help of US soldiers special ops…….but some of the news is not reported by the MSM……

Be Warned that enclose video can be disturbing for some…watch at your own risk……

Moments later, a group of soldiers and civilians follows. Another man – dressed in military fatigues and wearing aviator sunglasses — repeatedly strikes a woman who clutches the hand of a young girl, perhaps 7 or 8 years old. “You are going to die,” says the soldier, who refers to the woman as “BH,” an apparent reference to Boko Haram. He steers her off the road, and the young girl, likely her daughter, follows. Another soldier does the same to a second woman who has a toddler strapped to her back, guiding her into a dirt expanse.

Videos of executions have become commonplace in our news culture, with the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and other terror groups filming atrocities and sharing them on social media. But this video from Cameroon is particularly cold-blooded. The soldiers make the women kneel on the ground. One of the soldiers gestures to the young girl and says, “Yes. Little girl, come here,” directing her to stand next to her mother. He then pulls the girl’s shirt over her head, blindfolding her.

https://theintercept.com/2018/07/26/cameroon-executions-us-ally/

Plus Cameroon is having a bit of a North/South thing……

On the way from Douala to Buea, my vehicle slows at the toll gate on the bridge across the Mungo river, the frontier between the former French Cameroon and former British Southern Cameroons, reunified in 1961. The two regions on either side of the bridge, Littoral and Southwest, are culturally related. Their inhabitants, who are commonly called Sawa, generally call themselves brothers, though some speak French as a first official language and others English. In December, the Ngondo traditional festival brings together people from parts of both regions. But today this fraternity is threatened. The Mungo bridge not only divides the Littoral and Southwest regions geographically, but symbolises a widening gulf between them.

https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/central-africa/cameroon/dialogue-essential-unite-cameroons-disparate-voices

Just some stories from Cameroon…I promise to keep an eye on the situation in the West African nation….plus it helps keep my readers abreast of the events around the world….the more you know the better off you will be.

Niger–Update

Back in October 2017 when I was in the hospital a story came to my attention about the deaths of US Special Ops troopers in the West African nation of Niger.

Of course I had to write a post about the deaths for not many Americans even knew we were fighting and dying in Niger.

https://lobotero.com/2017/10/30/niger-wtf/

https://lobotero.com/2017/11/20/deaths-in-niger-update/

There has been further news developing in Niger…..it seems that the locals do not want us to be there fighting…..

In an interview with the Guardian, Nigerien President Mahamidou Issoufou said that he does not want US or other foreign troops fighting on the ground in Niger, and that such troops should limit their actions to training and intelligence-gathering.

Issoufou discussed the ongoing war on terror in western Africa’s Sahel, saying it will take years to finish, comparing it to the Syria and Iraq fight. He said foreign allies should do more to help the local militaries in the region fight for themselves.

The US has a substantial number of troops in Niger, a fact revealed after troops were ambushed last year and four were killed. The US also built a large drone base in Niger, despite substantial opposition within Niger to the US presence.

(antiwar.com)

https://theintercept.com/2018/07/03/us-niger-drone-base/

The US once again does what it wants in other countries….maybe a better plan would be to get local confirmation that we are at least wanted before he insert our troops into these countries.

Death Among The Scrub

At the end of last year, 2017, word came out of the death of an American Green Beret possibly at the hands of some SEALs……I wrote about this situation awhile back….

https://lobotero.com/2018/01/13/death-in-mali-2/

So far not much info has come out of the so-called investigation that is until over this past weekend when a new twist was announced……instead of two SEALs being held there seem to be a couple Marines that are getting some scrutiny….as well.

The military is investigating whether two special forces Marines played a role in the choking death of a Green Beret in Mali last year and the possible cover up of how it occurred, according to five U.S. defense officials.

Two Navy SEALs from the famed SEAL Team 6 are already under investigation for their involvement in the strangling death of Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar during the predawn hours of June 4, 2017. Melgar, 34, died in embassy housing he shared with other service members in Bamako, capital of the West African nation.

A September 2017 Army Criminal Investigative Division report about the incident quotes Navy SEAL Tony DeDolph saying he and Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar were wrestling at 4 a.m. when a fellow SEAL Adam cranston Matthew came in and joined in the horseplay. According to the SEALS, the men fell down together and when they stood up Melgar wasn’t breathing.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/africa/military-investigating-if-two-marines-played-role-green-beret-s-n873141

A new twist….but the part that fascinates me is that the MSM has pretty much ignored this story….a story of Americans killing Americans……I guess the Hollywood image of the SEALs must be upheld at all costs, right?

This gets no coverage and soon we will be bombarded with a royal wedding….which has NO news value whatsoever…..and its entertainment value is dubious at best.

Niger (But It’s Classified)

When I was in the hospital for surgery special ops troopers were killed in the West African nation of Niger…of course there was much confusion and false info circling around the deaths of which I wrote several post on…..https://lobotero.com/2018/03/20/explain-niger-please/

The Pentagon promised to have an answer to everyone’s question by January of 2018…..and four months later an explanation has been issued….

The Defense Department found no single cause, but rather “individual, organizational and institutional” errors, including insufficient training and preparation, caused the death of four US soldiers and at least five Nigerien soldiers in a bloody Special Forces mission in Niger, according to an eight-page summary report. The Oct. 4 ambush took the lives of Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, and Sgt. La David Johnson. In all, the investigative team interviewed 143 witnesses, reports the Washington Post. It “examined documentary, photographic, audio, video and testimonial evidence,” per CNN. One survivor even returned to the battlefield with the team. The patrol was submitted and approved as a low-risk recon assignment, but the team was actually on a high-risk mission searching for Islamic State leader Doundoun Cheffou; their true mission was never approved by the proper chain of command, though the team notes this was a result of “sloppiness” rather than an intent to deceive.

The patrol, which did not rehearse the mission before setting out and was missing key equipment and training, encountered light fire at first but then was engaged by a larger group of militants on motorcycles and in trucks mounted with machine guns. The report found that the arrival of French Mirage planes disrupted the fight and may have saved lives, reports the New York Times. The remains of three of the US soldiers who were killed were retrieved quickly, but the body of La David Johnson was not retrieved until the evening of Oct. 6. The delay in recovering Johnson’s body had led to speculation that he had been taken captive. That speculation was bolstered by locals who said that they saw the body and that Johnson’s hands appeared to be tied behind his back. The report, nevertheless, concluded that his hands were not bound and he was killed in action while “actively engaging the enemy.” The full report remains classified

As usual the American people may NEVER know the truth about these deaths for the report will be classified.

The Pentagon’s newly released 8-page report on the Niger incident had a very clear narrative. From the moment local commanders endorsed the mission to the recovery of the four bodies of slain US soldiers, the report goes out of its way to lionize everyone’s actions, and downplay errors.

This makes sense, because underlying these conclusions is the fact that the Pentagon has no intention of holding anyone to account for the mistakes made. Yet the summary report’s decision to tread very lightly on a lot of potentially embarrassing specifics means that it ultimately raises a lot more questions than it answered.

http://theantimedia.com/pentagon-report-niger-raises-questions/

I will be dead and gone if the truth is ever known.

Welcome To Agadez

Where the Hell or Who the Hell is Agadez?

It is a small town in the West African nation of Niger.  Remember Niger?  That is where some of our Special Ops troops were ambushed and killed and a major story circulated about the disrespect some felt the president gave family members.

Well we appreciated the attacks on our troops so much we are opening a new drone base…..

Agadez is 4,000 miles from Aghanistan, where the Global War on Terrorism began. It’s 2,500 miles from Iraq, our next destination in the war. It’s 2,000 miles from Syria and 1,500 miles from Benghazi. This is where we’re building a $110 million drone base that will host nearly a thousand American troops, double the number of a few years ago. Here is Eric Schmitt:

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/04/welcome-to-agadez-americas-latest-front-in-the-war-on-terror/

Just another target for the global terror network and more troops are exposed to the possibility of violence.

This Is How To Stop The US Spread

The US spreads its military might a little thin sometimes…..we have so many troops deployed around the world and we need to stop looking for a fight and return to diplomacy.

Recently when news of the arrival of US troops.in the West African nation of Ghana the people took to the streets in protest…..

On March 28, 2018 thousands of Ghanaians took to the streets of the capital Accra to protest a deal their government recently inked with US diplomats. Demonstrators came to show their objections to a multi-million-dollar agreement to strengthen military ties between the United States and Ghana. While the agreement is multi-faceted, a dominant theme is opening the door for a strong US military presence in the country. The deal allows American forces to use Ghana as a geographical asset in operations in the region, such as utilizing runways, and also permits the use of Ghanaian radio channels.

Also highlighted in the agreement is more joint exercises with American units. Officials in the country tried to play down the significance of the recent deal, presenting it as merely an extension of a two-decades-long relationship between the United States and Ghana, a West African country that has frequently been a host for bilateral military drills for a variety of nations.

https://www.opslens.com/2018/04/02/ghana-thousands-protest-us-military-co-operation-deal/

More countries should try this and say NO to more US troops on their soil.

Explain Niger, Please

When I was in the hospital in October of 2017 and had my toes removed for good measures I wrote about the deaths of Americans in the West African nation of Niger…..and wrote several other posts about the event and the American deaths…..https://lobotero.com/2018/03/08/niger-wtf-cond/

In October, the ambush that led to the death of four US special forces revealed that US forces were operating in Niger in large numbers. The Pentagon hasn’t gotten any better with transparency, however, as in December, the US got into another battle in Niger, and it was never disclosed publicly.

The December 6 Niger battle, according to reports, saw US Green Berets and Nigerien military engaged in a protracted gunbattle that left 11 suspected ISIS fighters killed. There were no US casualties, so the Pentagon never reported it.

https://news.antiwar.com/2018/03/14/us-never-disclosed-december-firefight-in-niger/

Well it seems that all is not as together as the Pentagon would have us to believe…….

 The Pentagon, already struggling to manage growing concern about the US military operations ongoing in Africa, is now facing a second problem. Last week, it was revealed that the Pentagon had kept a number of recent clashes in Niger a secret.

Pentagon officials are now trying to defend not just the war effort, but the idea of keeping most of the details of the war effort in Niger from the public. Unsurprisingly, they’re trying to present this chiefly as keeping the details secret from the enemy.

“They learn a great deal from information he put out. They don’t deserve a report card,” insisted Pentagon spokesperson Dana White. Other officials insisted all the fighting and all the secrecy about the fighting were totally appropriate.

http://theantimedia.org/pentagon-defend-secret-war-niger/

Niger is a mess and let’s not forget the problems we are having in Mali, another West African country….https://lobotero.com/2018/01/13/death-in-mali-2/

Apparently AFRICOM is a screwed up mess that few want to correct…..West Africa is a hot bed that needs proper command…..but something it does not appear to be getting….American deaths are mounting even Americans killing Americans….