Report: Deadly U.S. Niger Operation Was Not Approved by Senior Officials

[DonViejo]

Source: The Daily Beast




A botched U.S. military operation in Niger last fall that left four soldiers dead was reportedly not approved by senior military officials, according to preliminary findings cited by The New York Times on Monday. A report from a Defense Department investigation into the Oct. 4 operation is said to reveal the raid was not approved by top officers, but instead ordered by a junior officer on the ground—the latest finding to raise red flags about the ill-fated mission. Four U.S. soldiers—Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39; Sgt. La David Johnson, 25; and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29—were killed after being ambushed by militants. Senior military officials were reportedly only aware of the men embarking on a daylong reconnaissance mission, but at some point a junior officer gave the unit an order to target an ISIS-linked militant. The leader of the unit had initially objected, citing insufficient intelligence and equipment, but he ultimately obeyed the orders, according to the report.

READ IT AT THE NEW YORK TIMES


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Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/report-deadly-us-niger-operation-was-not-approved-by-senior-officials?ref=home

[Wwcd]

1. K & R Thank you for posting.

There was always a sense of something suspicious about this mission.

[Corgigal]

2. Well of course.

Cause a whole bunch of Sgt's , on their own accord just decide, man we can do this! Hollywood style.

Junior officer/top officers saying it wasn't me. FBI agents with 21 years in have been fired for less.

We will never know for sure, but this female veteran enlisted is going to bet lying on the roulette wheel.

By the way, what part of La David Johnson came back separately after he was buried? Did his wife have their baby daughter and is that one family ok? What about the rest ?

The old dead pilot theory, works but doesn't help with recruitment.

Sorry, this story hit me personally and of all this crazy Trump shit, it still bothers me.

[roscoeroscoe]

4. Bothers this Staff Sergeant also

Take credit for the success, nothing to do with the screw-ups.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

5. Here's some info...

Couldn't find anything about Sgt. Johnson's widow's status at this time. If you use Facebook, you might try checking for a Myeshia Johnson in Miami.

There is a GoFundMe page set up to fund scholarships for his kids. Here's an article in the Miami Herald that explains:

See: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-gardens/article193179239.html

The fund has collected about $730,000 so far.

Also, these are two Twitter pages people have set up on their behalf where you may find some useful info:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/SgtLaDavidJohnson?src=hash
https://twitter.com/hashtag/MyeishaJohnson?src=hash

[Corgigal]

7. I already donated

Happy if others can. I wanted her to buy a million dollar home near the ocean for herself and the kids. However, college funding is wonderful till.

Just wanted her to think she could be happy again. Whatever way works.

[DashOneBravo]

8. Their college is taken care of

Thru the Special Operations Warrior Foudation. It pays for children of special operations personnel killed in combat or training

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. Apparently, the DoD report claimed the operation was decided/approved by "junior" officers ...

... in the field. I'm not sure what a "junior officer" is, but probably approved at a higher level than 2LT.

The sergeants might have made some decisions in the field, like splitting into two groups for some tactical reason, but would never dream of inventing their own operation.

It was Trump's goal to push operational authority out of Washington, and into the regional commands. Somebody apparently forgot to arrange for air support, or evacuation options. Big screw up.

[Stargazer99]

3. The monied and the Powerful (usually Republican) use the common man like

tissue paper -to be used and discarded like tissue paper. The stench coming out of this country is over powering

[Blue_Tires]

9. Better Hed: Deadly U.S. Niger Operation Was Ordered By Junior Officer With Command Kept in Dark