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Africa Subsaharan

US Army 'lied' about deaths of four soldiers at hands of ISIS in Niger

2021-11-12

[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]

New documentary reveals explosive claims about four Army KIAs in Niger

Army Special Ops soldiers were killed in October 4, 2017 ISIS ambush near Tongo Tongo

Killed were four members of Operation Detachment Alpha Squad 3212: Sergeant La David Johnson, Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson, Staff Sergeant Bryan Black, and Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright

Military brass claimed they went 'rogue' in attempt to capture ISIS leader

But documents suggest they were following orders in a foolish mission

Film claims high-ranking officers tried to cover up orders to protect themselves

ABC News documentary, 3212 Un-Redacted, will be released Thursday on Hulu

The ambush occurred one day after US soldiers and Nigerien forces attempted to locate and capture or kill Doundou Chefou, an ISIS subcommander in the region.

Ibrahim Doundou Chefou, a Sahel Fulani herdsman who got his start fighting against Tuareg cattle raiders from the Sahara, then eventually was promoted to #3 in the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The attack was ordered by ISIS-GS #1 Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi (also spelt Adnan Abou Walid al Sahraoui, nom de guerre Lehbib Ould), whom the French rendered toes up in September.

After two failed attempts to locate the insurgent, the convoy was returning to base when partner Nigeriens insisted on stopping in Tongo Tongo to eat and meet with village leaders. The meetings dragged out, leading the US soldiers to suspect that they were being stalled and delayed.

After leaving Tongo Tongo, the unarmored convoy fell into a trap and the Nigerien supporting forces melted away.

The trap: Twelve Green Berets and 30 Nigerian soldiers were reportedly attacked by 50-100 ISIS gunnies —depending who you believe — with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

In a chaotic confrontation, outnumbered three to one and without air support, the US forces lost four soldiers.

In a press conference discussing the findings of an AFRICOM investigation, General Thomas D. Waldhauser, then head of US Africa Command, claimed that Squad 3212 lied about its stated mission and never disclosed it was seeking Chenfou. But, according to the documentary, even a redacted AFRICOM report contained information contradicting that version of events.

The details of secret missions ought to be kept secret in the immediate aftermath and perhaps beyond, especially if higher ups want to try again. But surely there are ways to do that without unfairly blaming the innocent.

According to the report, 3212 was headed back to base when the unit received orders to head northwest toward the border of Mali, where officials had detected a cell-phone signal that suggested Chenfou was in the area. ODA 3212 Captain Mike Perozeni is on record vigorously objecting to the new objective, requiring his team to forge off into the desert at night.

He and the Master Sergeant were among the six disciplined for insufficiently training their team for the mission. Higher ups were not.

Nonetheless, his commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel David Painter demanded ODA 3212 adhere to these new directives.

Perozeni's protest over the order to pursue Chenfou flies in the face of the claim that the team was on a rogue mission to capture the insurgent -- a discrepancy that has never been explained.

The documentary also portrays interviews with family members of the fallen soldiers, who say that the Pentagon's falsehoods and inconsistencies about the incident were present from the beginning. While some of these discrepancies can be chalked up to early confusion in the fog of combat, the documentary makes the case that military leaders intentionally obfuscated facts in order to protect Painter and his boss, Colonel Brad Moses.

CYA is the technical term...

The film proposes that Squad 3212 was sent, ill-equipped and without proper support, on a foolish, dangerous mission, and then was set up to take the blame in order to protect military brass.

The attack raised questions about the US military's role in Niger, where about 800 US military personnel are stationed to train local forces and operate drones.

Across Africa, the US military maintains a network of 29 bases, according to a declassified map from 2019. Some two-thirds of the approximately 6,000 U.S. troops in Africa are stationed at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti City.

Posted by:Skidmark

#4 I remembered Rantburg had this pegged; thanks for the link Besoeker.

Anyone care to guess who likely ordered the mission ?
Afghan Station Chief?

Posted by: swksvolFF 2021-11-12 15:58

#3 Yup. You'll notice this pattern - whenever elites fuck up, it is always someone else's fault. Some low or middle ranking stiff is always to blame. They didn't follow the plan, they ignored their training, etc. Not surprised in the least.

Posted by: Shomp Ebbeans2472 2021-11-12 07:34

#2 Link to Burg comments of 6 March 2018.

Yes, US Gov't blaming dead soldiers for a "rogue mission"....the story always did have a certain fragrance. As in total fabrication cover for action.

Snatch mission gone bad. Anyone care to guess who likely ordered the mission ?

Posted by: Besoeker 2021-11-12 02:51

#1 Loyalty up follows loyalty down. The command here had totally offed up and pitched into the trash any slightest semblance of loyalty down.
So there will be no loyalty up, without which you cannot operate effectively.
At my first duty station after OCS, my company commander said of our brigade commander--Maertens--that he was on your side. Point is, that's what people want to know. With this bunch....they know.

Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2021-11-12 00:34

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