“Let me repeat it,” Waldhauser said forcefully at the beginning of his speech in Washington. “Neither the strategy nor the U.S. authorities imagine that U.S. forces are conducting combat operations in Niger.” The Pentagon has begun to intensify advisory and assistance missions as part of the “war on terror” launched in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. With the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2006, two new authorities were created for military assistance from other countries. Section 1206, now renamed 10 USC 333, was created to allow the United States to offer a “faster, more agile, terrorism-oriented version” of traditional foreign military financing, said Lauren P. Blanchard, an analyst with the Congressional Research Service. Section 1208, now known as 10 USC 127th, is a classified program that supports foreign forces deployed in operations with U.S. special forces, Blanchard said. On February 5, 2013, the United States and the Government of Niger signed an agreement on the status of the armed forces, allowing the United States to operate unarmed drones to support French forces in Mali during Operation Serval. [22] [23] Later that month, President Barack Obama sent 150 troops to Niger. Later in 2015, the United States and Niger signed a military agreement to allow the two countries to fight terrorism together. Since then, U.S.
Army special forces have been deployed to Niger and other West African countries to train local forces and conduct operational operations. The U.S. intervention in Niger involves the deployment of special forces and drones, deployed both unarmed and armed by the U.S. military and the CIA to support the french government and forces in counter-terrorism operations against militant groups in Niger, Libya and Mali, as part of Operation Juniper Shield. [11] The deployment of special forces in Niger and the greater West African region includes training the host country`s partner forces, strengthening security support efforts in the host country, and conducting counter-terrorism and surveillance and reconnaissance missions with the host country`s partner forces. [12] The use of drones by the Air Force and the CIA is intended to assist US and Nigerien forces in anti-terrorist operations, monitor the routes used by Niger militants to neighbouring countries, and support ongoing operations in Libya. [13] [14] [15] The document details the benefits to the United States, including tax-free importation of military equipment and access to the Ghanaian radio network, as well as the ability to “control entry to facilities and areas that have been provided exclusively by U.S. forces.” The word of the document quickly spread on social media and many protesters felt that a U.S. military base was under construction. The Pentagon differentiates between combat and anti-terrorist operations, although this line is blurred at best. Officially, the U.S. troops who participated in the mission with the Nigerian soldiers were not intended to fire weapons, unless they were themselves targeted.
But at the press conference, Waldhauser struggled to explain how it would actually work. “If there was a goal we should be going toward, our U.S. forces would not go toward that goal,” he said. “They stay… They stay behind… You… It`s a bit of an art, not necessarily a science.
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