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The US in Africa
Oct. 23rd, 2017 02:59 pmUnless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you've heard that 4 American servicemen were killed a few weeks ago in an attack in Niger. Most of the uproar has focused on President Trump's handling of the notifications. Other than to ask what would you expect of a bullshit artist, I don't have anything to say about Trump's actions. I also don't have a lot to say about the attack specifically. I will note that as a general matter, if there's a war going on, occasionally people in or near that war zone will get shot at.
What I would like to discuss, and this article starts to address it, is what the hell were we doing in Niger? Specifically, the troops were there to help train the locals. But why, exactly, is it our business to train the Nigerien Army? What national interests are at stake?
In fairness to Trump, our involvement there predates the Trump administration. Having said that, we seem to be in the country for what's really pseudo-Imperial mission creep. Specifically, the local bad guys have decided to run up the Islamic flag, and so we must go chasing after them. I'm not sure that's such a good idea.
What I would like to discuss, and this article starts to address it, is what the hell were we doing in Niger? Specifically, the troops were there to help train the locals. But why, exactly, is it our business to train the Nigerien Army? What national interests are at stake?
In fairness to Trump, our involvement there predates the Trump administration. Having said that, we seem to be in the country for what's really pseudo-Imperial mission creep. Specifically, the local bad guys have decided to run up the Islamic flag, and so we must go chasing after them. I'm not sure that's such a good idea.
