Barely a week after revelations that four members of the U.S. armed forces were killed in Niger lawmakers were calling for an investigation.
At “Conversations with Conservatives,” the monthly meeting of members of the House Freedom Caucus, House members began the call for a full-blown investigation — not just about what happened in Niger but about what precisely the role of the U.S. military is in Africa.
“We’re not focused on the enemy we’re supposed to be focused on — Islamic extremism,” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., “We’ve been there [in Africa] a long time and now we are there and our mission is morphing.”
U.S. troops in Africa, Perry stressed, “are advising and assisting, as they did in the early days of the Vietnam War. They operate under restrictions, but what does it mean when the bullets fly.”
In calling for a House probe of the U.S. military role in Africa, the Pennsylvanian added that “there is room for more information” and a new “AMF [authorization for military force] will update that.”
Also at the “Conversations” was freshman Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who told Newsmax that he was informed by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas that there will be full committee briefing on AFRICOM (the U.S. Africa Command).
“With the threat of radical Islam fading in Libya, it is now being pushed south into countries such as Niger, Mali, and South Sudan,” said Gaetz, “so it is entirely appropriate that the administration clear the metrics on Africa.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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