Missing soldier found nearly a mile from Niger ambush, officials say

[erpowers]

Source: CNN

Sgt. La David Johnson was found nearly a mile away from the central scene of the ambush in Niger that killed four US soldiers -- including Johnson -- and wounded two others, four administration officials familiar with the early assessment of what happened told CNN on Friday.

snip

Johnson's body was recovered in a remote area of the northwestern African country by Nigerien troops nearly 48 hours after he was discovered to be missing in the wake of the attack, according to US officials.

snip

CNN previously reported that the French Mirage jets that arrived overhead within 30 minutes of the firefight to fly low passes in an attempt to disperse the attackers did not have permission to drop bombs.

snip

There have been reports that some type of tracking beacon was emitting a signal possibly from Johnson. On Friday, officials said this is a detail they are still trying to verify -- it could have been one of the vehicles tracking devices that was emitting the signal.




 



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/20/politics/us-niger-ambush-sgt-la-david-johnson/index.html

[ffr]

1. But still now word as to what their mission there was

This wreaks of coverup!

[Kathy M]

15. What has been their mission since US has been in Africa for few years

"On Feb. 20, 2013, President Barack Obama penned a brief letter to then-Speaker John Boehner notifying Congress that the Pentagon would deploy 40 troops to Niger, to conduct reconnaissance flights, set up a drone base, and facilitate intelligence-gathering for French forces locked in a grueling battle with al Qaeda-affiliated militants in neighboring Mali.

The deployment brought the total number of U.S. military personnel in the West African republic to 535, and while Obama didn’t specify which specific forces were setting up shop there, the commander-in-chief stated that the troops were deploying combat-ready

"DoD documents published in May indicate that nearly one-fifth of U.S. Special Operations Command personnel are deployed across Africa, more than anywhere else except the Middle East; running hundreds of missions daily in 20 countries, those forces represent an increase in special operations forces there by a factor of 17 over the last decade, as Adam Weinstein noted for Task & Purpose.

Current SOCAFRICA chief Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc put the DoD approach to the region best in the October 2016 guidance: “The United States is not at war in Africa, but our African partners are.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/niger-us-troops-in-africa-2017-10

[yardwork]

2. How did he die? Why was he left behind? What happened?

Why were the soldiers there?

Lots of questions need answers.

[JI7]

8. Contractors probably don't feel the same duty as other soldiers

[Corgigal]

3. Signal possibly from Johnson ?

Who else did it come from, some Isis guy?

Press pin this. This matters, his family needs to know.

[Sneederbunk]

4. Hold Niger hearings now.

[Cattledog]

5. The General in charge of Africa has to rely on contractors for search and rescue

not US troops.

[rockfordfile]

7. Using Contractors is sick and corruption. The people connected with contractors are only thinking $

[Tanuki]

11. Who has the contract? Erik Prince?

[canetoad]

12. It's an outfit from Texas

Called Berry Aviation.

http://www.berryaviation.com/

[defacto7]

6. I hope reputable research continues.

Otherwise we may never know what happened. Certainly whatever our government puts out isn't going to be trustable while this administration and it's GOP cohorts are in power.

Maddow and her team have done some fantastic R&A on this subject.

[Kathy M]

14. Try a little searching .... you do realize US has been in Africa for a few years

[defacto7]

16. Not sure what you're getting at. No contradictions

that I see.

[jeffreyi]

9. This was on twitter not long ago

Link to tweet

[FailureToCommunicate]

10. "I don't know -or care- anything about this"

[canetoad]

13. Fresh out of his cocoon

And his exoskeleton is not dry yet.

[moosewhisperer]

17. Trump will blame Obama