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President Obama announced Friday that about 100 U.S. troops have been deployed to the West African country of Niger, where defense officials said they are setting up a drone base to spy on al-Qaeda fighters in the Sahara.
Obama did not explicitly reveal the drone base in his letter to Congress, but he said the U.S. troops in Niger would “provide support for intelligence collection” and share intelligence with French forces in Mali.
A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide further details about military operations, said the 40 troops who arrived in Niger Wednesday were almost all Air Force personnel and that their mission is to support drone flights.
The official said drone operations were “imminent,” but declined to say whether unmanned
Predator aircraft had already arrived in Niger...
Originally posted by cavtrooper7
This is what is known as a tripwire op.
These people take a hit and that justifies more troops to show up to protect them.
There is NO WAY they need to set up a drone point that far forward.
Originally posted by Dustytoad
[What's the huge interest in Africa all the sudden?
Originally posted by MystikMushroom
The phrase "Don't drone me, bro" is going to become popular in the next 20 years.
French ground troops expected to swell to 3,700 total. UN 31 Jan said considering deploying up to 5,000 peacekeepers when Operation Serval is over.
Originally posted by jibeho
Obama's moves are mapped out by the "responsibility to protect" doctrine and by the International Crisis Group. You want to know what will happen next? Just study their websites..
Originally posted by jibeho
Good Stuff
www.heritage.org...