Saturday, October 28, 2017

Should The U.S. Support And Finance An African Military Force In The Sahel?

A C-130 U.S. Air Force plane lands as Nigerien soldiers stand in formation during the Flintlock military exercise in Diffa, Niger March 8, 2014. REUTERS/Joe Penney/File Photo

Reuters: U.S. wants Sahel force strategy before giving money: officials

KINSHASA (Reuters) - The United States strongly supports an African military force to combat extremist militants in the Sahel region, but needs to see a strategy for the operation before it considers funding, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations and the U.S. Africa commander said.

Washington is wary, however, of the 193-member United Nations funding the force - to be made up of troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Mauritania - according to Ambassador Nikki Haley and General Thomas Waldhauser.

The United States currently funds more than a quarter of the $7.3 billion U.N. peacekeeping budget.

Haley said Washington wanted to know “what the strategy would be, how they see this playing out, what’s involved in it before we ever commit to U.N.-assessed funding.”

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This demand for a strategy, how it will play out, and what's involved ..... I call this common sense. Let us see if the UN can deliver.

2 comments:

Fuckisis said...

If it’s not a direct threat to either us or our allies, who gives a damn

Unknown said...

"If it’s not a direct threat to either us or our allies, who gives a damn"

It took Germany 6 years to go from a 100,000 man army to contending for world domination.
If Germany had taken Gibraltar and Malta, which way would the war have gone?

Things can snowball fast.

Nigeria should be strong, but it isn't. They have a North South divide. They are more interested in keeping the oil rich south under their thumb than fighting Boko Haram. If Catalonia can secede, then why not Biafra?

China nor Russia will not roll up ISIS in North Africa. China will protect the oil field in Sudan. They will protect their investments in Mozambique or Angola. The rest?

France will help the U.S. in Africa. They could do more, but consider they have a lavender president.

Katanga is worrisome. I wonder if all the greenies want to buy their rare earth metals from China instead of Congo?