Quote:What are the goals and history of US military intervention in Niger? The first time most Americans heard of US operations in the west african country was when a group of US Army Special Forces were ambushed during a patrol on October 5th, 2017. The ambush near the village of Tongo Tongo was the deadliest incident for US forces in Africa since the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu. As a result the American public was both confused and outraged at the lack of information about US military missions on the African continent. Written by: Chris Cappy & Diego Aceituno Video Edited by: Michael Michaelides This prompted a series of congressional inquiries and a Department of Defense investigation. These have had lasting consequences that reach all the way to the events unfolding in Niger today. The reports ended up blaming the individual soldiers and lower levels of command instead of higher ups taking responsibility. So what really happened in Niger? Why was the Pentagon accused of lying about the incident? Was there a CIA cover up? And why were over 800 US troops even in Niger in the first place? What were American interests were they really protecting? I’m your average infantryman Chris Cappy you're watching Task & Purpose let's analyze that. Niger is a large landlocked country in West Africa that is home to over 25 million people. 80% of the country is covered by the Sahara desert which means most of the population live in the Sahel. The Sahel This is a narrow band of transitional desert-savanna climate along the south that crosses through Niger and its neighboring countries. The dry landscape and frequent droughts make for a harsh environment. This has led to the country having the unfortunate distinction of ranking highest in the world on the UN Poverty Index. Niger is a former French colony that gained independence in 1960, but government instability, corruption, and ethnic divisions made for a rocky 50 year period. This all culminated in a military coup in 2010 that returned the country to some semblance of parliamentary democracy for a period.

(08-12-2023, 07:28 AM)Ninurta Wrote: First off, there is no such place as "Nee-ZHAIR". It's "NYE-jer". Talking heads mispronouncing national names gets under my skin, since it prompts everyone else to butcher the national name, too, because they don't know any better because they hear talking heads butchering it. Other notable examples are "KEEV" for actual "Kee-EV", and one of my favorites "Neeka-RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRA-kwa" for "Nica-RA-gwa".

Isn't "AFRICON" a convention, kinda like "COMICON"?

If they had eyes in the skies, those eyes should have had teeth, too, in case the natives got restless, as they did.

There should have been a QRF on standby, but nothing beats flaming death raining down from above from a drone that is already on station tailing the convoy. Recon is hairy. You're supposed to get in, observe, and get out all without ever being seen, much less having to make loud bangy noises that call attention to you, but sometimes that just ain't in the cards. At those times, there needs to be hate and hell on standby - not hate and hell that has to be put together before it can get on station sometime later. There is no reason they can't detail a couple or armed drones in this day and age to provide cover for a mission like this. It's not like they were hidden beneath a triple canopy jungle.

But the big question in my mind is still - what in the hell are US troops doing there, anyhow? Doing stuff you're not supposed to be doing is why the US hires mercenaries in the first place... and it's why CIA has a Direct Action division. So, in the final analysis, it's on the higher-ups that put them there in the first place in my mind. They had other options for throwing fine young men into harm's way with some plausible deniability.

The village headman's head should be on a stake at the entrance to the village. I have no doubt that he delayed on purpose in order to give the terrs time to rally, assemble, and set up. Matter of fact, I might go so far as to say the entire village ought to be a smoking crater. Shit like this is why "free fire zones" were invented. When the Bad Guys are that close to a village and they aren't attacking it, there is some hinky shit going on in that village that needs to be erased addressed.

Assaulting straight into an ambush is usually SOP, but there are times, like when mounted, that it's more appropriate to hit the gas hard and get the hell out of Dodge. "Flying columns" can be the way to go - just put a couple of guys on a cupola mounted squad automatic or LMG, and just light up anything that makes it through your dust cloud as you un-ass the AO.

At one point in the video, my stomach did a flip-flop. One of the KIA has the same exact name as my son, and had things taken a left turn a few years ago, it really could have been him.

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(08-12-2023, 08:38 AM)727Sky Wrote: Yep having an unarmed drone cause you do not want to hurt someone's feelings kinda says it all IMO. Perfect chance to wipe out 100 combatants but instead get our guys killed ! Stuff like this really makes me lose faith