The Congress Report into the Niger Ambush says very little!

The Capitol Hill report or the Congress Report Service (CRS) who are making studies into wished subjects of the Congress, has recently dropped and made a report into the United States Armed Mission in Niger. Not that it says much and it is shown to be careful with dropping intelligence, as this is a continued mission against Islamist insurgents and militants together with allies of the American government. Therefore, dropping to much intelligence and to much information would spoil the mission themselves. That is why the CRS isn’t saying much new, but shows the state of affairs and the reasoning of United States to interfere on foreign soil. They are even proving the capacity of forces and planned army base in Niger. As they are clearly now cooperating with other armies and camps, where they are based. Since they are building one in the northern town of Agadez. Take a look!

“Following the October 4 attack, DOD officials have publicly cited a larger figure of 800 U.S. military personnel in Niger. 17 These figures presumably comprise personnel stationed in the capital, Niamey, as well as those deployed in more remote areas. Notably, a U.S. Air Force facility is under construction in the northern city of Agadez (Figure 1), which the Air Force has described as supporting U.S. logistical and intelligence capacities in the sub-region, and which U.S. diplomats have described as supporting the Niger government’s capacity to secure its borders” (…) “U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) describes the U.S. military presence in Niger, as in most places in Africa, as a “light footprint,” suggesting that a more extensive and/or conventional military mission could require more extensive airlift, close air support capacity, and contingency planning” (CRS, P: 4-5, 2017).

“Advisory activities in which U.S. personnel are embedded with local security forces, as was apparently the case in the mission that came under attack on October 4, according to DOD officials” (CRS, P: 7, 2017).

“The “golden hour” is described as the first 60 minutes following trauma or the onset of acute illness, where chances of a patient’s survival are considered greatest if advanced trauma life support can be provided. DOD notes that, “historically, wound data and casualty rates indicate that more than 90 percent of all casualties die within the first hour of severe wounding without advanced trauma life support.”58 U.S. military medical support is generally structured to meet this standard of one hour or less” (…) “In the case of the October 4 Niger ambush, at least one Special Forces medic (see below) was present, but he was killed during the ambush. DOD stated the two U.S. soldiers wounded during the ambush were medically evacuated by French air assets to Niamey during the firefight, and that this medical evacuation was “consistent with the casualty evacuation plan that was in place for this particular operation” (CRS, P: 12-13, 2017).

“Niger’s Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum stated in a media interview on October 19 that those who carried out the attack were “youths under the influence of Abu Walid al Sahrawi” who were based in the Niger/Mali border region. Possibly reflecting the extremely complex nature of militant allegiances in the sub-region, Bazoum also suggested that the assailants were loyal to Iyad ag Ghali, a Malian national who heads the Al Qaeda-aligned JNIM, although some analysts portray JNIM and IS-GS as rivals rather than allies. The Interior Minister indicated in his remarks that Niger’s government had yet to identify the precise assailants” (CRS, P: 16, 2017).

We clearly will not know everything now, but there is openings and questions to be asked. There have already been questions over how long it took to get the bodies of the fallen American soldiers from the place of fire. Also, the aftermath of the ambush opening a lot of questions.

That we will know more with time and hope this get investigated, as there are many leads and many more questions arising, as the Department of Defense should have own intelligence on the ambush and the days before. Since, they are there together with the Niger’s own military and French soldiers, these are all in the Sahel region to clear militant Islamist’s there. Clearly, there are some intelligence that is left our or clearly not studied. Since the CRS report are a stripped report. There has already been reported about the ambushes and local chiefs interfering on behalf Islamist’s in the area. This has been overshadowed in this report.

That this report also not look into the failure of human intelligence, because of this Niger ambushed could have been warned against and the troubles in Tongo Tongo close to the border of Mali. Together with the ambush of motorcycles and other reports, that has been neglected. Proves that the CRS are trying to stifle information or not investigate it at all. Just going by the information of different sources in the days after, you could get more intelligence of it, than by the CRS. Therefore, the report didn’t tell much, just showing what official sources within the DoD. Peace.

Reference:

Congressional Research Service – ‘Niger: Frequently Asked Questions About the October 2017 Attack on U.S. Soldiers’ (27.10.2017)

A look into the Niger Ambush!

Well, there is often now, when it comes to the assistance and the help from United States Army, it is less planned, but more erratic just like their President. The Commander-in-Chief, President Donald J. Trump is behind the mess created and the death, he is the last to order and sanction the violence. If the US Army is behind a mess in Yemen, it is on his hour, if its done bad in Niger, it is still on his watch.

Just like Hillary Clinton was in a mess in Libya, this is a story of how the United States might have inflicted much harm in Niger, without intelligence and backgrounds checks. Clearly, it must have been something gone wrong, when they are ambushed happen and there are conflicting reports of it. We cannot know everything now. Since the investigations of the different security organization will start. As well, as the Trump Administration are in high gear of deflections and trying to silence the story. Because, this is damaging reports. Not only his lack of compassion to the families of the lost soldiers in battle, but also the lack of collecting intelligence before striking at the enemies during conflict.

Here is some of the key aspects we can for now take from the Niger ambush. This is not the whole story, but some pieces of the puzzle, to make sense of the manner, the Special Forces operated and the AFRICOM Battalion that is stationed in Niger. Hope this gives you some sense of it all.

Context:

“News reports indicate that the attack occurred near the town of Tongo Tongo (see Figure 1), in a border region where a number of armed groups are active. These include locally-led factions affiliated Al Qaeda and the Islamic State organization, ethnic militias, separatist rebels, drug traffickers, smugglers, and bandits, with the lines between these categories often blurred. (See CRS In Focus IF10172, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Related Groups.) Islamist armed groups regularly conduct attacks against local targets—notably focusing on government officials, prisons, schools, and individuals accused of collaborating with the state or with French-led counterterrorism operations —and against U.N. peacekeepers in Mali. Some analysts assert that the often heavy-handed counterterrorism approach of local security forces has contributed to worsening instability” (Arieff, 2017)

First Official statement:

“On Oct. 4, three (3) U.S. service members and one partner nation member were killed while the U.S. was providing advice and assistance to Nigerien security force counter-terror operations, approximately 200 km north of Niamey, in southwest Niger. Additionally, two U.S. service members were injured and evacuated in stable condition to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany” (U.S. Embassy in Niger, 2017).

Niger Ministry of Defense Statement:

“On Tuesday, October 03, 2017, a patrol of the defense and security forces and US partners operating in the Mali-Niger border zone was ambushed by terrorist elements on board a dozen vehicles and twenty motorcycles. height of Tongo Tongo village located about 80 km northwest of Ouallam. After intense fighting during which the elements of the joint patrol showed courage and an exemplary combativeness, the balance is established as follows: FDS four (4) dead, eight (8) wounded, partners American three (3) dead, two (2) wounded. In this painful circumstance, the President of the Republic, Head of State, Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces and the Government offer their deepest condolences to the families of the disappeared and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. They welcome the commitment of the American partners alongside our defense and security forces, they reiterate their strong support and encouragement to the entire defense and security forces in their mission of defending the integrity of the national territory and strategic partners for their continued support for peace and stability in the region” (FAN, 2017).

Report in LA Times the day after:

“Officials hoped the missing U.S. Army Special Forces operative might still be hiding in the dense brush, rather than taken captive, and launched a massive search-and-rescue mission with aerial drones and other aircraft, as well as Nigerien ground forces. The death of four Green Berets in remote West Africa marks the worst single loss of U.S. forces under fire since President Trump took office. The president was briefed on the search and the discovery of the body, officials said. The casualties came as a heavy blow to the insular special operations community that increasingly shoulders the burden of America’s counter-terrorism operations overseas. The four fatalities, as well as two wounded Green Berets, were in the 3rd Special Forces Group based in Ft. Bragg, N.C” (Hennigan, 2017).

Chad Pulls out troops:

“The development comes after the US slammed a travel ban on its citizens. Chad defence officials have not given a reason for this action, but it is believed that it could weaken the fight against the insurgents. Residents say the withdrawal of the troops had already impacted on Niger’s Diffa region, which has seen a series of attacks by Boko Haram crossing over from their base in Nigeria” (NAN, 2017).

Conflicting reports:

“Eventually, after talking to the village chief, the troops got into their vehicles to return to their base, a two-hour drive. But less than five minutes after they drove out of the village, the convoy was ambushed by a group that outnumbered them two to one. About 100 armed insurgents, many of whom were on motorbikes — two or three people a bike — as well as others in about 10 sport utility vehicles, surrounded the convoy. They were armed with heavy weapons, including anti aircraft weaponry as well as rocket-propelled grenades, according to a Nigerien official. Soldiers in the joint patrol were riding in military vehicles as well as civilian Land Cruisers from the American Embassy. The firefight lasted two to three hours, the Nigerien official said, until a response unit from the military base arrived for reinforcements. French helicopters arrived to evacuate the dead and wounded as well as other soldiers” (Searcey, Cooper & Schmitt, 2017).

Lack of Intelligence in West Africa:

“That very same evaluation additionally raised concern that solely 20-30 per cent of the US ISR’s intelligence, surveillance and recognition necessities have been met. UU. of the US (ISR). “This limits situational understanding, assist operations and presents no risk indications and warnings,” the command warned, including that the state of affairs is most severe in West Africa, the place the military of states United has roughly 1,000 individuals concerned in a dozen operations in a area of 9 nations. Nigerian officers have stated that the ambush on four October was on account of a “failure of human intelligence.” This useful resource hole “forces our workers to return to pricey and ineffective advert hoc options,” the command instructed lawmakers” (DrFeed, 2017)

I think these clips from different sources say a lot and shows that the neglect and the importance of collecting intelligence. As well, as knowing the intent of the locals and their loyalty towards the insurgents. Therefore, the joint-command brigade was ambushed. There will come more intelligence and more information, that will show the damaging information that is for now left out. Unless, the United States wants to hide their acts. The dead soldiers will not return, not matter what you do, but to see the causes and the reasons for their demise could be learning curve for the military and their operatives.

We cannot know everything now, but we will with time, as the investigations and the revealing intelligence will come to forward. Clearly, the White House wouldn’t touch this in the beginning, because they knew of the their misbehavior and has since tried to deflect it. Especially, since their own President has assaulted Clinton for her actions in Libya, this could be seen as similar and be alike. Therefore, the smear-campaign and questionable acts was taken to Congress in various committees, the same should appear in this case. But don’t expect it, because the Republican are still loyal to their President. However, if that turns and their show compassion and care for their Republic. They would have dozens of investigations and also look into the ambush. The reasons and the orders that was given, also why the people lost their lives in the village of Tongo Tongo close to the border of Mali, inside Niger. Peace.

Reference:

Arieff, Alexis – ‘Attack on U.S. Soldiers in Niger: Context and Issues for Congress’ (05.10.2017) link:https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/IN10797.pdf

DrFeed – ‘Months Before Niger Attack, The US Military Warned Congress It Needed More Resources’ (20.10.2017) link: https://drfeed.com/months-before-niger-attack-the-us-military-warned-congress-it-needed-more-resources/

NAN – ‘Chad withdraws troops fighting Boko Haram in Niger’ (13.10.2017) link: https://www.google.no/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=16&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi0heD73YHXAhVFEpoKHTj5CMA4ChAWCEswBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecable.ng%2Fchad-withdraws-troops-fighting-boko-haram-niger&usg=AOvVaw3ux55sdZINC2y_S7jgE1zH

Hennigan, W.J. -’Missing U.S. commando found dead in Niger desert two days after deadly ambush’ (06.10.2017) link: http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-missing-soldier-found-20171006-story.html

Searcey, Dionne, Cooper, Helene & Eric Schmitt – ‘Conflicting Accounts in Niger Ambush Are Subject of Pentagon Investigation’ (20.10.2017) link: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/world/africa/niger-ambush-conflicting-accounts.html

FAN – ‘Communiqué du Ministère de la Défense Nationale du Niger suite à l’attaque des FDS à Tongo tongo’ (05.10.2017) link: http://www.iciniger.com/communique-ministere-de-defense-nationale-niger-suite-a-lattaque-fds-a-tongo-tongo/

U.S. Embassy in Niger – ‘U.S. Africa Command Statement on Situation in Niger’ (05.10.2017) link: https://ne.usembassy.gov/u-s-africa-command-statement-situation-niger/

U.S. Department of the Army Corps 24 hour notification letter to continue building the Dakota Access Pipeline (07.02.2017)

MCC suspends United States Aid to the Tanzanian Gov. on the grounds of the recent Zanzibar election and a draconian law; while the US. Gov. and USAID have no troubles continuing to aide the Ugandan Gov. with their draconian laws and fraudulent election; Double Standard or just me?

A strange action happened from an Agency that is a part of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). They have all of sudden suspended projects in Tanzania after both a so-called draconian law and the recent election on the Island of Zanzibar. Take a quick look!

“A US international development agency has suspended its partnership with Tanzania, citing flawed Zanzibar elections and the draconian Cybercrime Act. The move by the board of directors of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) means that Tanzania will not be receiving an envisioned $472 million in funding for electricity projects” (…)”The US suspension-of-aid notification cites “arrests made during the elections” in Zanzibar as an indication of the Tanzania government having “engaged in a pattern of actions inconsistent with MCC’s eligibility criteria.” (…) “MCC’s model has a partner country’s commitment to democracy and free and fair elections at its core,” the directors’ statement said” (Kelley, 2016).

Why I will discuss this move and the motivation for it. Is because the USAID and MCC have not done anything after the recent election and all of the laws that have enhanced the powers of the Executive and possibility to move around the Parliament for the Government and certain ministries, therefore easily get funding and short-term loans from the Bank of Uganda without permission of the Parliament, Police laws that monitors the Opposition and controls them even more, also the well-known rigging of the General Election, Parliamentary Election and the Presidential Election in February and early March in 2016.

While the United Republic of Tanzania might have stepped on some toes and had issues during the Zanzibar elections, they have not been close to the systematical oppression the Police and Army have had in Uganda. And the USAID and their agencies have not acted upon it or reissue any of the aid initiatives or anything in the Republic of Uganda, but the United Republic of Tanzania get punished straight away for the similar actions. I wonder if the the Public Order Management Act of 2013 is sweeter and nicer; then the Cybercrime Act and that the Cybercrime act is the official Bad-Act of the Tanzanian Government in the opinion of the United States.

I also wonder if the Tanzanian Government had armies in the wars that the United States does not want to touch, not even with the filthy lying lips of Donald Trump. Because the Tanzanian could have oppressed their opposition, made draconian laws and laws who applies in ways that the ministries and the Executive does not need to take the decision through Parliament before acting. That is Uganda and they have no issues with the USAID and the MCC. Only UNRA have had issues with World Bank and the progression of the World Bank funded Infrastructure and road-building have been suspended because of embezzlement and bad management in the Uganda National Roads Authority; who due the diligence on the development projects. Still the Ugandan Government have had no trouble with the government funds and army exercises from the United States, even the American Fire-Helicopter training together with U.S. Army happened in a month time after the Election Day.

The Double-Standard is too obvious, what is okay for the Ugandan Government is not apparently okay for the Tanzanian Government. That is openly displayed by the United States this time as well.

So I feel there is a theory behind the actions against the Tanzanian government and their actions during the Zanzibar elections, while the Ugandan could walk skootch free with some disregard of the actions in country, but nothing that affects the relationship between Uganda and the Americans. While today the Tanzanian has lost their extra funding for the Projects through the MCC and the USAID operational company. So there is a political factor behind this and the main factor in why the USAID and MCC suspends, but not do the same in Uganda.

The Tanzanian Government does not have army operations or have the close military relationship that Ugandan Government has at the moment. The American are even training in Uganda and the Ugandan army fights wars for them and are likely in the Peacekeepers missions together with buying and getting military equipment from the U.S. even if the Ugandan once in a while buys Anti-Riot Equipment from China and Military equipment from the Russian Federation. Still, the Ugandan has a clearer mission for the American Foreign Affairs and because of that a close ally of Uganda. Something the Tanzanian is not.

Therefore it is easy for the American Government to suspend and punish the Tanzanian. That is why the Ugandan Government have not gotten punished for their lax activity with the former M23 rebels and the allegations of them to be on the payroll of the State House of Uganda, even then the American Government does not questions or punish that behavior. But a few arrests on Zanzibar and the Tanzanian Government get slapped. This while many of the opposition officials have lingered in jail without charges, gone missing and even been in house-arrest for over 40 days in Uganda, without any consequences. That is the double-standard and makes President Museveni Teflon, because he is a necessity for their role in the area. I am not sure why the Americans does this and support him with only remarks in the United Nations and letting go of the European Union comments after the Presidential Elections in the country.

But we have all rights to question the reasons from the Americans as they are supposed to be a moral stature and moral authority; something they cannot be seen in this instance. The Double Moral is staggering. Uganda gets a pass, while Tanzania get suspended its aid. That is the case and cannot be hidden under a rug or be not blasted; especially when we know it happens in such a short time span and under the same administrations in all countries and board-rooms. There are no reasons why Tanzania gets the harsh treatment while the Ugandan walks away with no scratches on their arms. Peace.  

Reference:

Kelley, Keven J. – ‘US donor agency suspends $472m aid to Tanzania over Zanzibar elections’ (29.03.2016) link: http://www.nation.co.ke/news/africa/US-donor-agency-suspends-aid-to-Tanzania/-/1066/3138264/-/1144o38/-/index.html