"The opportunity for a more robust public debate has now been lost,"
And you were expecting what ?
This pres. is about as capable of engineering "robust public debate" as my goldfish. All he is good at is running Jerry Springer-like rallies with old white people, and breaking the world record for most incendiary tweets.
We will continue to be shocked at his incompetence and his sheer lack of understanding of geo-politics, until we accept the fact that he is bonkers.
4
Best thing to do with ISIS. Political talks with these people are impossible. This goes for the Taliban and Al-Quaeda as well. The only way to settle this is to use the methods of Alexander the Great. Afghans understand that, as do the Pakistani's.
1
So where are the Congressional hearings? Did someone say Benghazi?
2
I returned last night from Niger, working on a solar project. About six months ago, before the brouhaha, I noticed a group of American soldiers at a restaurant. I asked my local colleagues what was up and they told me they were fighting Boko Haram. So the locals knew more than Congress. Two nights ago I was at dinner and again I ended up sitting next to a mixed group of Americans and Nigeriens. The Americans were talking loudly, in English, of some success with the Ambassador and ‘the General.’ At one point the senior American casually mentioned that he was leaving his kids multimillionaires. This, in the world’s poorest country. I am presuming the American was a military contractor of some sort. I note that our government is spending $100 million on a base near Agadez to send drones to kill young men that someone, somewhere has decided are ‘terrorists’ – that meaningless designation. Meanwhile we can’t find $10 million to address even the most basic issues driving these economic wars since our foreign aid is collapsing and our diplomacy dead. It is the Hunger Games. We are the Capital. They are the Districts. Our population is clueless.
11
We have armed fighting forces in 70% of the world's countries, and apparently are trying for 100%.
This may be the reason our infrastructure is falling apart, our educational system is moving from 5 to 4 days a week in some states, and unlike other countries that are our peers, we pay through the nose for college educations and our health care.
When we started fighting Islamic terrorists, they were in one country. Now they are in many more. Seems our actions create our foes. (Just as we would view invading military forces from a foreign country.)
Where is the judgement and the accountability? Congress did not know we were in Niger; we have 5 different forces there. With generals in the WH, is the military controlling our actions or do we simply have no responsible leadership?
4
Trump included Chad on its list of banned countries in the recent third iteration of his Muslim ban. There is a war going on in the Sahel of Africa between the US and its allies and ISIS/Boko Haram. The Sahel is the dry grasslands just South of the Sahara. Chad used to be a staunch American ally until Trump included them in the third iteration of his Muslim ban. Chad responded predictably to its inclusion in the Muslim ban by withdrawing its armed forces from neighboring Niger, leaving US forces badly outnumbered there, making a massacre of American Armed Forces likely. Why did Trump do it? Is he just really, really stupid or did he want a massacre of American Armed Forces by Muslims because he thought it would benefit him politically? I am tempted to say that no one could be that stupid, but maybe I am wrong and he really is THAT stupid.
4
If they are lying dead there, they are VC, NVA, Taliban, Al Qaeda, ISIS, or whatever comes next. Please don't misconstrue. This is sarcasm.
Stages of a project: 4.) Search for the guilty (field grade and general officers). 5.) Punishment of the innocent (company grade and NCO's). 6.) Rewards and accolades for the nonparticipants (Trump's Veteran's Day Parade--will be canceled at the last minute after Election Day).
Mr. Mueller, please hurry with the first round of indictments of Trump and his entourage.
Also, gun-control kids, devote all your energies toward defeating NRA, Koch, and Russian-backed candidates in November. Don't dissipate the effort in the meantime.
5
We burned our best bridges over issues that we could have worked around. Look at Chad, and how badly we treated them.
1
The US Military hiding information? Couldn't be!
From one who learned about such things while fighting in every way possible against the Vietnam War, who continues to resist the military/corporate complex, and who is curious as to why US media has been banned from the incomparably-successful Afghanistan campaign for the the past 4-5 years.
2
I wouldn't be upset about this in the least if the basic information were disclosed to the public. All I really want to know with regards to our military operations is:
1. Who are these troops trying to fight?
2. Why are we fighting them?
In this case, I see a clear answer to the second question: We're backing our ally Niger. I don't see a clear answer to the first question, namely which organization are they fighting.
2
Joshua Geltzer brings up a good point. I would like to see all the details that he and Obama and Clinton used to justify droning US citizens. Perhaps that is the most pressing legal issue but it is clearly being swept under the rug. And just out of curiosity, for years most of us knew that our trainers in war zones actually participated in combat, did it take the election of Trump for the rest of us to realize the truth? I still recall Kennedy apologists claiming he did not start the Vietnam war because his boots on the ground were merely teachers. Perhaps we could read an article and view a map of nations where we have soldiers in place at this time vs say, three years ago. Further, perhaps we could get some real truth regarding boots on the ground prior and during our successful effort to free Libya because I have news for you, we had people on the ground in Libya, we just were lied to regarding the truth.
3
We the people need to challenge the Department of Defense to come up with a new paradigm for defending the United States, because the current approach of garrisoning the planet and fighting wars on multiple fronts is broken and unsustainable. We are spending over $1.6 trillion every year (the actual number is classified) and seem to make no progress.
Nothing good is coming out of our military interventions in the greater Middle East. We are feeding the flames as we try to stamp them out. For all the lives and money expended, there is precious little to show for it. What a waste.
Libya, Egypt (political intervention), Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan: All failures or failures in progress.
Meanwhile, China, Russia and North Korea attack us cybernetically with impunity.
To keep doing the same thing over and over with bad results is just insane.
Is it possible to just DEFEND the US and collaborate in the defense our good, long time allies without spreading war to new battlefields? Certainly with $1.6 trillion a way can be found. It may not involve buying the same old ships and planes -- is that the problem?
5
Make a choice.
We can either have the current global order, which is maintained by American military power, or we must accept a different world order in which the U.S. loses influence.
Put simply, don’t advocate for a global system and then criticize the U.S. military for doing what is needed to maintain the system. The system must be maintained with U.S. blood and treasure, and with hundreds of dangerous engagements such as this one, every day across the globe. Global order has a price.
Unfortunately, in the long term, the choice will be made for us. We will not be able to afford the needed military outlays and our good friends in Europe and elsewhere, who can easily afford to meet their promised military expenditures, will never actually do so.
The end result will be a breakdown in global order, whether we like it or not. Let's hope it ends with a whimper and not a bang.
3
Enough about Stormy and Trump tweets, we need to demand accountability. No more secret wars. Where do we have troops and why. What's the plan?
1
if they told you their plans
you might consider them foolhardy [mildly put]
and might then be forced to demonstrate ...
like people did against the viet nam war.
[today, by the way, is the 50th 'anniversary' of the my lai massacre :-((]
when you look at US intervention around the globe
over several centuries, the plan was always to have
a strategic foot or two in all doors possible for the dollar
to move freely.
a look at my country of origin is just as disheartening:
we've been 'engaged' in afghanistan since 2001 ...
with nothing good to show for after almost 2 decades.
now we're sending in even more troops
to protect our hapless troops already there.
i can only join U.S. youth these days in their outrage:
ENOUGH is ENOUGH!
[let's see who'll want to hear us eventually
and bring about REAL change for the better.]
The USM has "secret" operations all over Sub-Saharan Africa, many focused on combatting terrorism - Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, etc. - but also many operations focused on non-terrorist related groups. All you have to do is step foot on the continent and ask a local when/where the Americans are and they will happily tell you. It's a "secret" in the US but common knowledge on the ground. As a researcher in East Africa, I have seen/heard/confirmed USM operations/presence in DRC, CAR, Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, and Somalia. And that's just where I have worked. They are everywhere, and have been ever since the start of the Cold War.
4
Presidents and generals lie to us and have for decades. It started post WWII with President Truman and Eisenhower. President Kennedy lied about Viet Nam. The generals always have 'the light at the end of the tunnel' nonsense.
Since 2001 our national security military industrial complex has spent over $4 trillion (yes trillion) on the Middle Eastern Wars.
Why do we put up with the lies and the waste? Vote out all of the incumbents in the House, Senate, and Presidency. Vote in people who will not lie and who will not spend all our blood, time, and money on wasteful killing.
10
The west introduced the world to cyber weapons but are loathe to use them even as the Russians and Chinese are attacking our systems with our inventions. Now as we are building drone bases around the world I suppose it’s just a matter of time before a drone is used against us. Is there a way of keeping them from striking the WH and it’s current occupant?
This is what the end of the world looks like.
2
R, Koreman:
This is merely old style soviet propaganda rigged out to function on the US created ARPANET. US politicans and scientists, as usual, expecting everyone in the world to be mirror images or rather exact models of American professors and intellectuals, invited the world to come to our house and play. So sure was the US as well as our media of the goodness of folks hearts, that no one considered it possible that any foreign agent might not have our and their "best interests" at heart. I suspect that most Republicans and Democrats all have assumed, innocent as lambs, that everyone they met on the web was their bestest best friend and that, like George Bush, even Putin was a saintly and good Christian man, because US Politicians wanted him that way. Back in the 1920's, H. Hoover saved the Russians from mass starvation.-Rather then get thanks-the Soviets he aided ignored him and the US. He might not have existed, had they their own way.
Americans need to learn that not everyone in the world is automatically our pal just because we think we're too nice to hate. We have to be more like America in the '50's: paranoid, distrustful and ready to shoot to kill our enemies in Roosha , China and Ko-reea. Instead, we forgot everything we learned so expensively, that when we invaded Iraq- found nothing and went about shooting ourselves repeatedly in the foot.
Our old enemies are still enemies-we must remember this, as distasteful as it may be.
1
Senior officers need to get on board with the Constitutional reality that war making authority rests in the Congress, not the Executive. Given that the President is commander in chief and that we are possessed of an unhinged lunatic making decisions for which he is ignorant and uninterested in the facts, incapable of assembling rational strategies, and determined to do as much in secret as he can get away with, it's more important now than ever for the commanders to establish and maintain transparency with Congress before we start acting like Russian mercenaries.
4
Unfortunately that requires a Congress with a spine--clearly not this Congress.
1
Thought the US started 'something' after Boko Harem stole innocent girls from school and raped them continuously. Obama approved this 'shadow' war and it's continued. But is it a 'shadow' war? Just because it's not disclosed to the media means nothing. I've no doubt that everyday something happens in the military somewhere. I"m not going to question the murder of ISIS militants; we are at way with ISIS and radical Islam - this is NOT a 'shadow' war unless the NYTimes believes they should be privy to military intelligence. Nope, the NYTimes should never be privy to military intelligence.
1
You're right as rain Ma! Only patrons of Mar Lago are allowed that honor...oh and Jared, Ivanka and Vladimir Putin are also on the list. Not the silly NYT's!
1
The Rs see the US military and their own private militia. They are doing it in Iraq, Syria, and now central Africa. Expect it to blow up in our face.
2
Just how will Obama and Clinton be blamed for this ??? That's what's important. Thanks, GOP/NRA Party. November.
11
Military recruitment isn't exactly booming under Trump, and active duty troops haven't suddenly experienced greater satisfaction because of musical chairs at the top of the command chain. How long until volunteer cannon fodder no longer provides adequate human resources for the administration's concept of 'America 1st' and it calls for a return of the draft? Deferements and exemptions (bone spurs!) available to the right people, of course.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-military/319651-trumps-growing...
6
Republicans just love their secret wars, huh? Whatever happened to the Constitution and Congress having to declare war before we send our armed forces into another nation?
This President is out of control, and so is our military. They can’t just do whatever the President wants. We’re a nation of laws, not a nation of whatever-the-President-wants.
42
Please...Spare us.
How many covert firefights did the military have under Obama"s watch? How many drone strikes killed innocent people while violating other nations' sovereignty? Answer: You'll never know because the liberal press kept it wrapped up... if Obama even wanted them to know. This president is as out of control as any other.
6
This war is much older than the Trump presidency. I don't know if Obama started it or just escalated it from a training mission to a hunt against genocidal terrorists.
4
This 'secret war' started in 2015. Who was president in 2015? This isn't about Dems or Reps, it's about fighting ISIS. Period.
6
If our goal is to train the armies of foreign countries, we have sufficient transport capabilities to bring units here to our training facilities, train them, and send them back to train the rest of the army. While this idea might cost more in US dollars, it would cost less in US lives.
8
America is at war across the globe. Were in Syria, Turkey, Somalia, the Philippines, Korea, England, Japan, the Sinai, Japan, Finland, Poland, Germany, the Mediterranean, the South China Sea, Vietnam, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan and a host of other countries and bases.
Now let's consider where the Russians, Iranians, North Koreans, ISIS, Al Qaeda, Al Nusra, Boko Haram, Hezbollah, Iran and China are confronting and testing American relationships and American resolve.
There is a world war in progress. It is smoldering everywhere and now then erupts in flames. There is no respite.
China and Russia are challenging American interests and American forces everywhere. China is building fortified sand islands and claims all of the South China Sea. Russia has invaded Crimea and Ukraine and threatens Poland and the Baltic nations. Syria is burning white hot.
The United States cannot withdraw from the fights without leaving its opponents in control on the battlefields. We are at war. Let's deal with the facts. We're defending our selves and our allies.
20
I spent some time in Niger in 2005 and was impressed with the spirit of these people. In spite of being poor to an extreme they are hard-working and interested mainly in providing the basics for their families things such as water, food,schools, health care. The various peoples/tribes may differ in other ways and being nomadic there lives revolve around the animals they raise.. These things are more important to them than religion. Alrhough nominally followers of Islam, they had a strong animistic base of beliefs. In talkin to some it seemed they felt some of their beliefs had been imposed on them by others ,” the Arabs” I remember thinking that relativle few dollars spent helping these peoples at a very basic level, for instance supporting immunisation of the people and the animals, mobile clinics would pay dividends. The Touaregs are a proud and indapendent people with a martial tradition and it seemed to me at the time unlikely followers of outsiders such as AQ. I also saw quite a few Chinese in the Hotel, looking for business opportunities. It appears the US missed the boat though, preferring the stick to the carrot. So much easier to apply force than fuzzy powers of pursuasion. Costs more, sure, but the money’s there to spend in our bloated defence budget with the addition of a few lives as collateral.
4
Due to the Americans increasingly acting offensively towards the civilian population in the name of “fighting terror”, other countries like Canada are flat-out refusing to send troops to areas where American soldiers are fighting, such as Mali and Afghanistan.
The Americans are creating the terrorists themselves at this point, using mercenaries, going on first-strike lethal missions in a former peacekeeping zone, and tying foreign aid to “anti-terrorism acts” by the host government.
It benefits Donald Trump, though, doesn’t it? People don’t like to change presidents when there are too many terrorists around.
14
I totally agree with you! Losing honorable people and throwing away resources for an unknown purpose (except enriching certain folk).
1
This is the way the Vietnam war started. A small advisory group that was just there to advise.
20
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Vietnam_(1954%E2%80%9359)#1955:_Est...
"On February 12, 1955, the U.S. assumed responsibility for training Vietnamese forces, and the French disassociation began."
The term "training" seems to cover a rather broad range of activities.
Back in the old cold war days every social justice movment was Communist. Today every every fight is against Islamist extremests. Let's rebuild our military from over extended deployments and follow the doctrine of overwhelming force so that given a mission we can get in and get out in a given period of time.
Seventeen years in Afghanistan only weakens our budget. The military mission is not nation building. The Taliban are a religious based movement. I doubt we will ever convert them to consumerism. Let's rebuild the USA with 800 bases.
5
For a news article, this piece uses curious wording to describe the Pentagon's non-disclosure of the events the article describes. For example, in what sense was there a "failure" to disclose the December firefight, or that Africa Command "failed" to disclose airstrikes a few months ago? Failure is defined as lack of success, and the word doesn't fit with the facts the article purports to state. Instead, the writers choose to use the term to subtly cast disapproval on the Pentagon's non-disclosure without having to identify the article as an analysis or opinion piece. Even if the US Government is wrongly (illegally?) conducting an under-the-radar military assistance operation in Niger, the wording of this purported news article seeks to manipulate the reader's view without stating upfront that it's an analysis or opinion piece.
10
If I'm stopped by some cop and I fail to disclose a pound of marijuana under the back seat, that's not a lack of success. That's intentionally concealing my actions to avoid further scrutiny by him.
If a cop is overly aggressive in an arrest but fails to disclose it to the prosecutor that's not a lack of success. That's intentionally concealing her actions to avoid further scrutiny by the prosector of what might then be a controversial, and consequential, incident.
Little difference here.
As for the media and the framing of an article, if you only want "facts" read the Shipping News departure and arrivals section. Otherwise recognize ALL articles are in some way, shape or form manipulating the reader's view - not just analysis or opinion pieces. Just by choosing what to write about is part of that process let alone how a story is written and what words are used.
2
The military has drastically lowered standards for enlistment, and the President is in domestic trouble. Here comes a war! Welcome to our next "war on terrorism". We will kill brown people, as we have demonstrated time and again, and Trump will simply be unable to resist showing what a really big man he is. Draft dodgers often make the most combative leaders.
10
US Voluntary military looking for young men and women to fight and die in yet another undeclared US war. Benefits include Purple Hearts, Gold Star Family stature and burial in Arlington National Cemetry, space permitting.
7
We're in danger of wrapping up the wars in the Middle-East soon. Better make sure we start a few more, just in case.
3
Having been involved in training and advising in South Sudan( Sudan People's Liberation Army) and Uganda (Uganda People's Defense Force) post retirement from US Army, the following is noted:
1. Are the reports issues to news media correct or have the facts been changed for political or public access concerns. We all remember the Pat Tillman case.
2. Our training and advising using active duty troopers in West Africa or anyplace in Africa is a model from Afghanistan. If so, the resultant will be the same..endless small unit combat actions with US troopers wounded or killed.
3. African (west and eastern) are tribal..in Uganda, we had nearly 6 tribes represented..all un-coodinated (although our mission was simply.."move, shoot and communicate..") in an attempt to train to take back Mog, Somalia April of 2011. They did, but with very heavy casualties.
4. The Africans see our commo, air assets and weapons systems..and say.."if we had these..we could win..". But, maintaining those weapons systems is problematic for most.
5. Lastly, the Ugandans headed to Mog were reminded daily of RAMP...R-Return fire with aimed fire; A-Anticipate attack; M-Maintain you tools of war (commo, weapons, log, etc); and perhaps the most important...P-Protect your buddy.
2
What are our troops doing in Africa? And just when did Congress authorize them to be there?
9
Our troops have been in Africa since at least 2014, likely earlier. They are fighting in Niger because it is a stronghold for ISIS, a training center, if you will. This was approved by Obama. And, in my opinion, rightly so.
3
That wonderful piece of legislation your government signed after 9/11, some war measures act? It gave your government the ability to start unilateral actions around the world in the name of the “war on terror”.
Why do you think terrorism is suddenly so common these days? It’s the only legal reason the administration has to fight.
1
Suddenly so common these days?
Ever hear of the Barbary Pirates?
Gee, this whole thing sorta reminds me of ... Benghazi! But I daresay you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who knows about it outside of news nerds, like all of us commentors. Why is that, I wonder, Trey Gowdy?
2
I would rather see US forces killing Islamic militants on site than US forces training local ragtag armies and giving them weapons which they will use on us in due course. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia etc... everyone we train ends up turning against us and joining the militant terrorists. Time to stop supporting local armies.
8
Anyone who has looked at American military incursions, occupations, involvements – pick your term – since WWII realizes that they are “icebergs” with most of what goes on below the surface, unseen and unknown. Whatever the tactical and strategic reasons for the Pentagon’s persistent lack of transparency regarding what our soldiers are doing and where they are doing it, there is always the danger of unanticipated consequences in which people die. There may be good and sufficient reasons why members of our miliary have been put in harm’s way throughout Africa, but the public has never been told. At this point, given the Pentagon’s own history, it would appear to an outsider that we are once again “waste deep in the Big Muddy” while some fool says to “push on.”
32
Islamic terrorists have declared war on civilized secular countries, foremost among them the United States. The front in that war certainly includes Niger. Briefing a republican congress is like briefing the enemy given comrade Nunes committee's demonstrated behavior. Briefing the press about such operations is just flat out nonsense.
Congress should unequivocally declare war on Islamic terrorism and the states that fund or otherwise support such terrorism.
3
One should not be shocked at the allegation that the Mali investigation appeared to concentrate upon blaming those below instead of those above. It is endemic of the military. I defended a soldier who was blamed when his unit failed to properly equip a new military vehicle yet the AR 15-6 investigating officer never once blamed the leadership of the unit for the failure to place vital safety equipment upon the vehicle before it was dispatched for the first time. The unit failures in this instance were manifest and many, yet the SGT caught the blame.
18
Indeed, let's take the NYT's advice and leave Africa.
After all, as reported on another page of the NYT, Africans are doing such a fantastic job of managing their affairs and taking care of their own peoples.
3
So you want American taxpayers to fund Africa now? Didn’t the GOP just slash taxes for the rich to the point that we’re now under-funding our own country? So sick of the GOP love of secret wars and thinking that killing people will solve a problem.
1
https://www.defense.gov/casualty.pdf gives us an idea of the over 25 foreign countries and locations in which the US has sustained casualties (KIA of WIA) in our Endless War. Noteworthy that casualties in NIGER are not included. My Congressman was unaware of this report when I discussed repeal of AUMF with him.
10
Appalling! What have we become?
3
There are a number of reasons for them to keep quiet about their activities. One of them might be that although they are called "heroes" they are clearly well trained and well paid professional killers. They are a necessity and great expense but given the levels of support required (and justified) and the death rates of those ex-military people that can not find a place fore themselves when the killing stops, we need to find a better way. Keeping our military at home and not sending to the other side of the world to kill poor locals in their own homes would be a good start. We need them, we should support them and protect them. But American should be known for more than killing other people.
23
Soldiers of war are not heroes!
A hero or heroine is a person who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, displays courage or self-sacrifice.
An assassin kills for religious, political, or military motives. An assassination is an act that may be done for financial gain, to avenge a grievance, from a desire to acquire fame or notoriety, or because of a military or security services command to carry out the homicide.
1
Useful comment, Thank you.
Audie Murphy was a hero. Most people that enlist will never be heroes and are just doing their jobs. Civilians need to stop over-using the word “hero” to include anyone in a uniform, it makes you look ridiculous.
1
Time to launch a movement to end these endless wars. They are draining our treasury, our military readiness, and our democracy. Hm-m-m, who benefits?
53
...Hm-m-m, who benefits?...
---------------- the military-industrial complex . ike predicted it . . .
2