Defense officials: U.S. troops in Niger to set up drone base

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama said Friday that about 100 American troops have been deployed to the African nation of Niger. Two U.S. defense officials said the troops would be setting up a base for unarmed drones to conduct surveillance.

Obama announced the deployment in a letter to Congress, saying that the forces "will provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region."

The move marks a deepening of U.S. efforts to stem the spread of al Qaeda and its affiliates in the volatile region. It also underscores Obama's desire to fight extremism without involving large numbers of U.S. ground forces.

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The drone base will allow the U.S. to give France more intelligence on the militants its forces have been fighting in Mali, which neighbors Niger. Over time, it could extend the reach not only of American intelligence-gathering but also U.S. special operations missions to strengthen Niger's own security forces.

One of the two U.S. defense officials who discussed the development confirmed the American troops would fly drones and other surveillance platforms from Niger military airstrips, tracking militant and refugee movement inside Mali and around the border. The U.S. will share that intelligence with Niger's military, the official said.

Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the project.

The drones at the Niger base will be unarmed and used for surveillance, not airstrikes. Still, the development of a base in Niger raises the possibility that it could eventually be used for launching strikes.

Obama said in his letter to Congress that the U.S. forces have been deployed with the consent of Niger's government. The forces were also deployed with weapons "for their own force protection and security," the president said.

Last month, the U.S. and Niger signed a status-of-forces-agreement spelling out legal protections and obligations of American forces that might operate in Niger in the future.

Africa is increasingly a focus of U.S. counterterrorism efforts, even as al Qaeda remains a threat in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere. Last month's terrorist attack on a natural gas complex in Algeria, in which at least 37 hostages and 29 militants were killed, illustrated the threat posed by extremists who have asserted power propelled by long-simmering ethnic tensions in Mali and the revolution in Libya.

A number of al Qaeda-linked Islamic extremist groups operate in Mali and elsewhere in the Sahara, including a group known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, which originated in Algeria and is active in northern Mali. Last month, French forces intervened to stop the extremists' move toward Mali's capital, and Washington has grown more involved by providing a variety of military support to French troops.

France has said it will eventually pull out of its Mali operation so that African forces can help stabilize the West African country.

[samXXkiley]

coucou,
combat terrorism around the world is the goal of the U.S., of course. Build bases, to implant and control better the world is the other goal of the USA.
"au revoir"

[hypnotoad72]

Combating terrorism is a goal.

Was nobody awake on 9/11, after which point all the Republican coworkers started to blame the Democrats for it?

Granted, those Republicans essentially said Democrats were terrorists, so let's get a nice clear definition of the word and how it can be applied, or else anyone could be blindly labeled as one. Which includes you, so don't get cute. This affects you just as much as it does everyone else.

[Non-Political]

"President Barack Obama said Friday that about 100 American troops have been deployed to the African nation of Niger."

Besides flying french troops around, we now have troops on the ground? Apparently this dumba$$ nation has forgotten who we supported in Vietnam. First monetary aid then logistical support and finally just plain taking over for those losers.

Somebody see the same thing happening here?

[hypnotoad72]

We fought communism in the 1960s.

If you want to discuss the real communist supporters, look at those voting "NO" on this issue before anyone else:

http://www.ontheissues.org/SenateVote/Party_2005-63.htm

Which includes Hagel...

Anyone offshoring to a communist country is effectively supporting communism. Some will say those countries need to change styles, but if anything is done it will be done so either nominally or as a smokescreen. I see no reason to blindly trust, not with the record of environmental and worker abuse, topped with how toxic, counterfeit, or cheap some products are... even the US military found counterfeit parts in ordered military equipment, but ask the "rightwing" people on these forums if they know anything about it and they'll be clueless or find amusing means to spin and justify the fact America is too cheap to build its own defense gear anymore...

[Louis_Chez]

Non-Political

The difference is in Vietnam, we were fighting the North Vietnamese military and gorillas.

The current war is a global war against Islamic jihad. They are in dozens of different countries and are supported by very few governments.

Every country in the world is a potential victim of Radical Islam.

[knsn_for_cmn_sense]

IDK when we will quit being the worlds police and worry about US for once.

Funny thing is.... No one freakin wants to pay for it.

[hypnotoad72]

As many still say, despite decades of empirical evidence showing otherwise, all we need to do is lower costs. That will fix everything! (it really won't, as we already know...)

[oldoc44]

This news story alone is enough to put some wrinkles in these terrorists plans and get them watching the sky! The drone program, far from perfect, has been the best way to deal with this mess with minimal casualties. Hate to be less than pc but, if these folks in these nations/communities that harbor and aid these terror groups are upset about an ocasional mistaken injury or death, they might think about helping us find these targets. Just sayin'

[corbolavirus]

Another US gov't killing field on the make. Move your children and possessions Nigeria. The militant extremist US corp gov't is coming for your resources.

[STEVE2013]

Its actually Niger (not Nigeria). But I get your point

[hypnotoad72]

Or are they opening up a new Microsoft Store there, like in Iraq?

I don't know.

Neither do you.

On both counts.

[jgg000010]

troops have been sent to 35 African nations, and 3,000 troops have been sent back into iraq. How about REPORTING the freaken news CBS.