Top US General: Families, Americans Deserve Answers On Niger Ambush

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford testifies before the Senate Committee on Armed Services on Capitol Hill in Washington,Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, to consider the reappointment of Dunford. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford testifies before the Senate Committee on Armed Services on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, to consider his reappointment. Dunford said he’... Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford testifies before the Senate Committee on Armed Services on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, to consider his reappointment. Dunford said he’s not seen any shifts in North Korea’s military posture despite the reclusive nation’s threats to shoot down U.S. warplanes amid the “charged political environment” between Washington and Pyongyang. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) MORE LESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. general says the American people, including the families of the fallen soldiers in Niger, deserve answers about this month’s deadly ambush.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, says the four U.S. special operations forces died Oct. 4 amid a “complex situation” and a “difficult firefight.”

Dunford says American forces have been in Niger intermittently for more than two decades.

Some 800 U.S. service members are supporting a French-led mission to defeat the Islamic State, al-Qaida and Boko Haram in West Africa.

Dunford acknowledges many questions remain about what happened near Niger’s Mali border.

They include whether the U.S. had adequate intelligence and equipment for its operation, whether there a planning failure and why it took so long to recover one the bodies.

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  1. Avatar for whiteb whiteb says:

    So I guess the media can ask questions of a general. This is contrary to what Sarah says. At least this is not total political theater like the press room at the WH.

  2. Trump’s Benghazi or maybe Black Hawk Down?

  3. Avatar for unit44 unit44 says:

    Were military forces from the nation of Chad previously participating in operations like the one where 4 American servicemen were killed?

    What was the nature of Chad’s military contribution in Niger?

  4. Dunford acknowledges many questions remain about what happened near Niger’s Mali border.

    If only there were a source he could consult with, a source that could claim “There’s nobody bigger or better at the military than I am,” a source that “know[s] more about ISIS than the generals do. Believe me,” a source that “know[s] more about offense and defense than [the generals] will ever understand, believe me. Believe me. Than they will ever understand. Than they will ever understand.” If Dunford had access to that source he could answer all questions about Niger that were in the beginning, are now, and ever shall be.

  5. how alarmed should we be that the nation’s top general doesn’t already know the answers to these questions?

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