U.S. Military Expands Operations In Africa With The Opening Of A Second Drone Base In Niger

The Washington Post. Craig Whitlock and Gene Thorp/The Washington Post. Published on September 1, 2014

Pentagon Set To Open Second Drone Base In Niger As It Expands Operations In Africa -- Washington Post

The Pentagon is preparing to open a drone base in one of the remotest places on Earth: an ancient caravan crossroads in the middle of the Sahara.

After months of negotiations, the government of Niger, a landlocked West African nation, has authorized the U.S. military to fly unarmed drones from the mud-walled desert city of Agadez, according to Nigerien and U.S. officials.

The previously undisclosed decision gives the Pentagon another surveillance hub — its second in Niger and third in the region — to track Islamist fighters who have destabilized parts of North and West Africa. It also advances a little-publicized U.S. strategy to tackle counterterrorism threats alongside France, the former colonial power in that part of the continent.

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My Comment: This is a continuing  response to the growth of radical extremist groups in Africa .... but what is disconcerting is that this strategy is nothing new .... and it has yet to limit the growth of these groups.