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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    US carried out 3 drone strikes in Somalia

    Report: US carried out drone strikes in Somalia

    3 strikes against Islamic extremists in 24 hours

    Posted: 12:47 PM, November 12, 2017 Updated: 2:38 PM, November 12, 2017

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    The U.S. military said Sunday that it carried out three drone strikes against Islamic extremists in Somalia within 24 hours, The Associated Press reported.

    The attacks by unmanned drones ramp up the military's campaign against al-Shabab and the Islamic State group, the AP reported.




    A spokeswoman for the U.S. Africa command said the strikes killed several extremist fighters and are among the now 26 strikes carried out in the country this year, the AP reported.

    The AP reported that two of the strikes were against al-Shabab, an al-Qaida ally that has been waging a war for 10 years to establish rule by Shariah law in Somalia.


    The third U.S. strike was in northern Somali against the Islamic State group, which has been working to establish itself in Somalia over the past two years, the AP reported.

    https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...kes-in-somalia

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  3. #3
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    OCT 26 2017, 9:35 AM ET

    U.S. Now Moving Toward Armed Drones, Lethal Force in Niger

    by KEN DILANIAN, COURTNEY KUBE, WILLIAM M. ARKIN, HANS NICHOLS and CYNTHIA MCFADDEN

    The Trump administration is paving the way for lethal strikes against terrorists in Niger as the U.S. military pushes forward with a plan to arm the Reaper drones that fly over that country, multiple U.S. officials told NBC News.

    France has already decided to arm its drones in the region, U.S. documents show, and the move to arm U.S. Reapers has been under consideration for some time — long before this month's ambush of a Green Beret unit that resulted in the deaths of four American soldiers. But that incident, details of which are still coming to light, is fueling an urgency within the Trump administration to take more aggressive steps against the terrorist groups that are operating in North and West Africa, according to intelligence and military officials.


    In the wake of the attack, the U.S. has been pressing the government of Niger to allow armed drones at the U.S. bases in that country, three U.S. officials said.



    Play


    Sources: Trump Administration May Deepen Military Involvement in Africa 1:50

    Beset by poverty, weak governance and insurgent movements, the African region that includes Niger and neighboring Mali is considered by U.S. officials to be a fertile recruiting ground for Al Qaeda and ISIS. U.S. officials believe the militants who ambushed the Green Berets belong to a group that has pledged allegiance to ISIS. President Barack Obama declined to allow armed drones to fly over the region, but the military has been pressing for some time to reverse that decision, officials said.

    A move to expand U.S. drone strikes to Niger would amount to a significant escalation in American counterterrorism operations. There have been occasional U.S. drone strikes reported in Libya and Somalia, but most of Africa has not been part of the U.S. drone war, which has focused on Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.


    "It demonstrates that the U.S. is expanding its use of lethal force … in the war on terror," said Juan Zarate, a former Bush administration counterterrorism adviser and NBC News analyst. “It also demonstrates that the war on terror is migrating."


    Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not address the issue of armed drones when he discussed the Niger attack with reporters Thursday.


    He said he had learned new information about the ambush, but he declined to share it until it is verified.


    "I’ll be honest with you, I am very frustrated by the drip, drip, drip of information on this," Dunford said.


    "I want the families to hear the whole story and the facts as we know it from the investigating officer and the team that will be sent out to their home."


    The investigating officer is Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier, chief of staff at AFRICOM, which oversees military operations in Africa, Dunford said.


    The Green Berets who were ambushed were on a counterterrorism mission, multiple U.S. officials told NBC News — a mission more complex than previously understood. The Green Berets had been tracking a militant in support of a second, more secretive American special operations team operating in the area, intelligence and military officials said.

    The hearse carrying the body of the US Army Sergeant La David Johnson passes in a procession after his funeral at Christ the Rock Church in Cooper City, Florida, on October 21, 2017. Cristobnal Herrera / EPA

    The second team was described by the officials as a joint U.S.-French intelligence collection unit, working with Nigerien forces, that had been gathering information on terrorist organizations in Niger. That team had been using an unarmed Reaper drone, which was rushed to the site of the Oct. 4 ambush within minutes of the first team's call for help, according to multiple officials.


    The officials said the second team, which included both military and civilian personnel, did not send soldiers to help repel the attack on the first team. It's unclear why.


    The presence of a second team underscores the multilayered nature of the Niger mission, and may explain the difficulty the Pentagon still has in answering basic questions about what went wrong three weeks after the incident.


    The team of Green Berets and other Army soldiers were operating openly, as part of a mission to advise and assist Nigerien forces who are battling Islamic extremists who have murky affiliations — some to Al Qaeda, some to ISIS.


    The second team was a clandestine unit of the Joint Special Operations Command, and was operating in both Niger and Mali, where the French have a major presence, officials said.

    A U.S. special forces soldier demonstrates how to detain a suspect during Flintlock 2014, a U.S.-led international training mission for African militaries, in Diffa, Niger March 4, 2014. Joe Penney / Reuters

    Military and intelligence officials confirmed to NBC News that one role of the joint intelligence-gathering mission is to prepare for lethal operations, which could begin with President Donald Trump's authorization once the U.S. and French Reapers in Niger are armed.

    At the moment, none of the drones in Niger are.


    Pentagon officials say U.S. forces in Niger do not currently have a combat role.


    Dunford
    told reporters earlier this week that the Green Berets who were ambushed had been on a reconnaissance mission. But a U.S. military official with first-hand knowledge of the investigation told NBC News the team's mission changed at some point, and that it was asked to track a specific militant, described as a recruiter with ties to Al Qaeda and ISIS.

    Another source said the Americans were tracking his cellphone.


    After patrolling overnight, the Green Beret team stopped in the village of Tongo Tongo, and — as NBC News reported Monday — military investigators say they suspect village residents tipped off extremists about the location of the Americans. The 12-person team was ambushed shortly after leaving the village on its way back to the Nigerien capital of Niamey, Dunford said.



    Play


    U.S. Special Forces in Niger Were Pursuing Key ISIS Recruiter When Ambushed 1:37


    During the ambush — which unfolded at two separate locations as the Americans fought back and maneuvered — Sgt. La David Johnson became separated from the unit, and was not evacuated with rest of the team.

    The Pentagon sent in elite units to try to rescue him, officials said.


    "They moved heaven and earth," one U.S. intelligence official said. "They brought assets in from everywhere, including stateside (Special Forces) elements."


    Speaking Thursday, Dunford said he has reviewed the original documents that launched the patrol and said it was a reconnaissance mission "to find information about the local area."


    "It was not targeted or focused on any specific Islamic State leader or location. Because that would have made the mission and enemy contact more likely," he said. "The estimate was at the time the enemy contact not likely."


    "This was the source document I read," he added.

    "What I don’t know and what the investigation will find out is: Did they have a change in mission that...didn’t get reported; if so, how did they get that change of mission?


    There are some 800 U.S. troops in Niger, and while Congress has been notified in writing about their various missions, many lawmakers have complained that they have not been given a full, plain-language understanding of what the U.S. objectives are in the country, and in that part of Africa in general.

    A French soldier with France's Barkhane counterterrorism mission patrols on March 12, 2016 in Mali. The mission included at least 3,500 soldiers deployed across five countries — Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso — with a mandate to combat jihadist insurgencies in the region. Pascal Guyot / AFP - Getty Images file

    Among the targets of intelligence collection around Tongo Tongo, NBC News reported Tuesday, was the immediate circle of leadership surrounding a militant named Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahraoui, a veteran insurgent originally from Laayoune in Western Sahara, according to two U.S. military officials.


    "We can't discuss specific targeting details for operational security reasons," an official from Special Operations Command Africa told NBC News.


    Al-Sahraoui is affiliated with the insurgent group Al-Mourabitoun, which was led for many years by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, aka the "Marlboro Man."

    Belmokhtar has been reported killed numerous times, most recently in Libya in June 2015 from a U.S. airstrike.


    "These groups in West Africa have been brutal in their campaigns, not just in their attacks against security forces, but also against hotels, against civilian sites," Zarate said. "I think the concern in the U.S. is that this is another jihadi playground where if they are not contained early, if they are not fought off, this this is a problem that can metastasize and grow more regionally and more globally in terms of the threat."

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/africa/...-niger-n814341

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  4. #4
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    Why are we fighting all over the world?

    Of course I know why - money.

    What I really want to know is when will the American people say enough is enough.

    This was one of Pres. Trump's promises as well.

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    Why the United States will never leave Yemen

    by Farah Najjar 13 hours ago


    Armed with US weaponry and logistical support, the Saudi-led coalition has killed more than 10,000 Yemenis [File: The Associated Press]

    MORE ON WAR & CONFLICT




    US politicians are set to debate a resolution that would limit "unauthorised" American involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, but the bill is unlikely to move past the House of Representatives, analysts say.

    H.CON.RES.81 is expected to be debated on the House floor on Monday. It calls for the invocation of the War Powers Act to end US participation in the war in Yemen.


    The act, introduced in 1973, requires Congressional approval for the country's involvement in any war.


    Ro Khanna

    @RoKhanna


    By aiding the Saudis in airstrikes that kill civilians, we are creating a security vacuum that allows groups like ISIS to gain a foothold.
    7:12 PM - Nov 12, 2017



    According to Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, the resolution's main sponsor, the bill "acknowledges that our government is assisting the Saudi refuelling, and acknowledges that such activity is unauthorised".

    Currently, the US provides midair refuelling for Saudi and UAE warplanes that are conducting air attacks in Yemen, as well as assistance with bomb targeting, Khanna said.


    In another sign of his beliefs, the representative tweeted late on Monday in California: "By aiding the Saudis in airstrikes that kill civilians, we are creating a security vacuum that allows groups like [ISIL] to gain a foothold."


    The US has been supporting Saudi Arabia and its allies - mostly Sunni, Arab states - since March 2015, when the Kingdom intervened in neighbouring Yemen to push back Houthi rebels and reinstate the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.


    Armed with US weaponry and logistical support, the Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran.

    At least 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict, and seven million are in dire need of food assistance.


    The US began supporting the Saudi-led coalition through a decision by then-US President Barack Obama, who cited the Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to justify US involvement.


    Since taking office, President Donald Trump has done the same.


    Passed in 2001, the AUMF gives the president the power to "use force" against all "nations, organisations, or persons he determines planned, authorised, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001".


    It has since been used as legal justification to involve the US in various conflicts around the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.


    For more than a decade, the US has carried out air attacks against al-Qaeda bases across Yemen, using the AUMF as a pretext.

    This seems to be the result of mounting pressure on the US government to distance itself from a war that is causing so much human suffering.

    ROBERT BLECHER, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP'S MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA DEPUTY PROGRAMME DIRECTOR
    The Obama administration used the same legal basis to support the Saudi-led coalition, which is targeting the Houthis, not al-Qaeda elements in Yemen.

    "The war in Yemen is an entirely separate war from the fight against al-Qaeda, yet Congress has never authorised it," the authors of H.CON.RES.81 highlighted in a statement.


    Debate on the bill was postponed earlier this month, when differences regarding the resolution's objectives emerged between its sponsors and the House leadership.


    A compromise was reached following weeks of internal debate, but the bill was stripped of its privileged status, meaning it is no longer fast-tracked for an on-the-record vote.


    Despite the setback, Khanna's office confirmed to Al Jazeera that the bill's sponsors are still hoping to push for an official vote following the congressional debate.


    'International pressure'


    Robert Blecher, International Crisis Group's Middle East and North Africa deputy programme director, told Al Jazeera that the bill may have been introduced due to international pressure over Yemen's humanitarian crisis.

    "This seems to be the result of mounting pressure on the US government to distance itself from a war that is causing so much human suffering and in which all sides, including US ally Saudi Arabia, have been repeatedly accused of international humanitarian law violations," Blecher said.

    View image on Twitter

    Al Jazeera English

    @AJEnglish


    "It will be the largest famine the world has seen in many decades, with millions of victims."

    Yemen facing massive famine, says @UN chief

    9:32 PM - Nov 8, 2017



    More than 2,000 Yemenis have died in a cholera outbreak, now affecting nearly one million people who are unable to receive adequate medical assistance.

    According to the UN, the country is also on the verge of famine.


    Although the attempt to strike up debate over the war comes more than two years after the Saudi-led coalition waged war on Yemen, analysts say US political and economic interests in the region are also factors behind its initial and continuing support for the war.


    "The Obama administration had reservations about the Yemen war from the beginning, but supported the fight largely to show support for Saudi Arabia at a time when the relationship was strained by the Iran nuclear deal," Blecher explained.


    During the negotiations for the 2015 nuclear deal, Saudi Arabia had been largely sidelined.


    Luciano Zaccara, a Gulf politics researcher at Qatar University, said that the US' involvement in Yemen complied with the "long-term strategic alliance" it has with Saudi Arabia.

    "The US was forced to support the war during Obama times due to the increasing sentiment of abandonment expressed in the GCC, on the benefit to Iran after the signing of the JCPOA," Zaccara said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal.


    This, Zaccara added, was exacerbated when Trump shifted his administration's attention towards shedding Iran's role and significance in the Middle East, which includes "weakening the Iranian positions regionally - including Yemen".


    "Even if the bill is passed, American support for Saudi in Yemen would still be possible if the Trump administration considers that as a fundamental step in weakening Iran," said Zaccara.


    Will recent Middle East developments factor?


    Analysts often describe the conflict in Yemen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

    Recent developments in Saudi Arabia - including the sacking and detention of senior ministers and princes - came in the context of a regional power play by Saudi Arabia against Iran, analysts say.


    Many noted that the moves aimed to consolidate the authority of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is the mastermind of the Saudi-led war in Yemen.


    Most recently, Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for a Houthi ballistic missile attack that targeted Riyadh.


    While the US bill was introduced prior to these developments, analysts say they may play a factor in the debate.

    Yemen: Aid agencies warn of mass starvation

    "[Mohammed bin Salman's] latest moves are in part designed to shift attention from this disastrous war," said Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as the chief of staff of former US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

    "In their attempt to help him do so, some members of the US Congress want to continue US support for the Saudis in Yemen," Wilkerson told Al Jazeera. "But this is very bad policy ... Efforts are emerging now because some congressmen have been awakened to the fact that the president has abused the US constitution with respect to the war power."


    If the bill does pass, it is unlikely to lead to any tangible change, said Lawrence.


    "The US Congress is very fearful that if it does not support the coalition, Riyadh might agree to denominate oil sales in a currency other than the US dollar," he explained.


    But according to Yemen expert Adam Baron, these efforts are not new and are largely based on existing US-Saudi relations.


    "I think they're largely picking up steam just because the war is dragging on," Baron told Al Jazeera.


    "At the end of the day, Saudi Arabia is a key US ally and their security was threatened by the Houthis' takeover of Yemen," he added. "I'd say that was the primary reason that the US backed the coalition … I'd be surprised if the bill passes Congress."

    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/1...191346249.html
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  6. #6
    Moderator Beezer's Avatar
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    Never ending wars
    Never ending tribal breeding leads to mental problems
    Never ending starvation for screwing in the mud
    Never ending rape, violence and blowing each other up

    GET THE HELL OUT OF THESE COUNTRIES! NOT OUR PROBLEM! AND STOP FORCING WORKING US TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR IT.

    AND KEEP THEM THE HELL OFF OUR SOIL.
    ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE "BROKEN" OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM

    DO NOT REWARD THEM - DEPORT THEM ALL

  7. #7
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    Yes, get out. It isn't our problem - except that it is.

    We caused much of this. We have interfered, via the CIA, for decades - since the 50's, anyway, in the governments of those countries. We have fomented revolution, armed revolutions in order to put our favorite madmen on the throne - The Bloody Shah, for one. We have outright lied in order to invade and destroy other countries.

    All this has created much death, disease and hatred in the world.

    We do need to get out of those countries. The only thing we need to do is try to facilitate some peace and help the people rebuild what we have destroyed.

    Yes, these people have been fighting each other for centuries. That's a good enough reason to stay out - but our own country has not had such a calm past either. We are a much younger nation, but we have fought England- twice, the Indians/indigenous people of this country, Mexico, Spain, and each other. That's just on our own soil. Did I leave any out?

    We then got involved in the politics of South America - now we decided to destroy people in the ME, and Africa.

    I left out the 'cold war' that brought about the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, etc.

    I fear we will reap the whirlwind.

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