The 'Dark Side' To U.S. Military Missions In Africa That Train And Advise Local Armies

U.S. and Cameroonian special forces at the Silent Warrior exercise in 2013. Credit: Master Sgt. Larry W. Carpenter Jr./ US Air Force

James Fahy, Task & Purpose: The Dark Side Of America’s ‘Train, Advise, And Assist’ Missions

Cameroon, the central African country once known as an oasis of stability amongst volatile neighbors, is falling apart. Recent disturbing images emerging depict a country descending into violent civil war as the Cameroonian government fights to quash an Anglophone separatist movement. Thousands of innocent civilians have fled to neighboring Nigeria and Chad to avoid the violent atrocities orchestrated by both sides.

The most notable among some of these recent images, however, is the participation of members of Cameroon’s elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), a unit previously investigated for humanitarian abuses that have also been trained and equipped by the American military.

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WNU Editor: This is not the first time that people are raising questions on the effectiveness of U.S. military training for these African countries. This blog has been raising these issues for years .... Mali's Coup Leader Received U.S. Military Training (March 23, 2012).

Update: Here is one reason on why Cameroon is important to the U.S. military .... The American Drone Base in Cameroon (Center For The Study Of The Drone).