New Drone Base Gives The U.S. A Strategic Place In West Africa

Source: U.S. Africa Command. The Washington Post.

Drone Base In Niger Gives U.S. A Strategic Foothold In West Africa -- Washington Post

NIAMEY, Niger — The newest outpost in the U.S. government’s empire of drone bases sits behind a razor-wire-topped wall outside this West African capital, blasted by 110-degree heat and the occasional sandstorm blowing from the Sahara.

The U.S. Air Force began flying a handful of unarmed Predator drones from here last month. The gray, mosquito-shaped aircraft emerge sporadically from a borrowed hangar and soar north in search of al-Qaeda fighters and guerrillas from other groups hiding in the region’s untamed deserts and hills.

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My Comment: I suspect that with time this drone base and it's scope of operations will expand to cover most .... if not all .... of western Africa.