A U.S. special forces soldier trains Nigerian soldiers during Flintlock 2016, a U.S.-led international training exercise with African militaries in Thies, Senegal, REUTERS/Sylvain Cherkaoui
VICE News: The U.S. military is conducting secret missions all over Africa
U.S. troops are now conducting 3,500 exercises, programs, and engagements per year, an average of nearly 10 missions per day, on the African continent, according to the U.S. military’s top commander for Africa, General Thomas Waldhauser. The latest numbers, which the Pentagon confirmed to VICE News, represent a dramatic increase in U.S. military activity throughout Africa in the past decade, and the latest signal of America’s deepening and complicated ties on the continent.
With the White House and the Pentagon facing questions about an Oct. 4 ambush in Niger in which four U.S. Special Forces soldiers were killed, Secretary of Defense James Mattis reportedly indicated to two senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee Friday that these numbers are only likely to increase as the U.S. military shifts even greater attention to counterterrorism in Africa.
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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- October 24, 2017
US team in Niger was collecting intel on terror leader -- CNN
Dunford: No forces changes planned for Niger, but ISIS encroaching -- Defense News
US General Says New Frontier Against ISIS Will Be Africa, As Pentagon Weighs More Troops -- Newsweek
McCain calls for war powers debate after Niger attack -- CNN
Xi Jinping 'plots shake-up' of men running China's massive military machine -- South China Morning Post
China's Leader Calls on His Military to Become the World's Best by 2050 -- Popular Mechanics
South Korea takes control of THAAD missile defense system -- UPI
South Korea's New Ballistic Missile for North Korea -- Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat
Japan Needs Long-Range Strike Capabilities -- Jeffrey Hornung, Defense One
Report: Japan eyeing SM-6 missiles for defense program -- UPI
U.S. Air Force deploying a dozen F-35s to Japan -- UPI
Could Japan's snap election results open the door for a stronger security stance? -- Mike Yeo, Defense News
UK sales of arms and military kit to Saudi Arabia hit £1.1bn in 2017 -- The Guardian
UK 'cannot deal with' surprise attack by Russia or China, former military chief says -- The Independent
Bulgarian air force pilots refuse to fly outdated MiG-29 jets -- DW
German army restarts training Iraqi Kurds, but future of mission in doubt -- DW
Defense chief Mattis in Asia, will discuss North Korea crisis with allies -- Reuters
U.S. touts military ties in Philippines as Duterte courts Russia, China -- Reuters
Mattis, allies eye faster military movement across Europe -- Stars and Stripes
US withdraws assistance from Myanmar military amid Rohingya crisis -- The Guardian
SIGAR: Alarming rate of Afghan trainees in the US are going AWOL -- Long War Journal
Pentagon kicks off intensive F-35 cost review -- Defense News
US Army’s next-gen tank will be see-through with advanced sensors -- C4ISRNet
SpaceX Keeps Lining Up Covert Military Launches -- Wired
Neither Congress nor the Pentagon have a path to a 355-ship Navy -- David B. Larter, Defense News
White nationalism is infecting the military: poll -- Salon
Bergdahl sentencing delayed until Wednesday -- AP
Military judge in Bergdahl case worries about Trump impact -- AP
Widow's claim raises questions of whether military can prevent viewing of loved one's remains -- ABC News
Street Sense: The Urban Battlefields of the Future -- Levi Maxey, Cipher Brief
These 2 Factors Distinguish Military Members Who Love Trump From The Ones Who Don’t -- Adam Weinstein, Task & Purpose
Top General Defends Trump’s Response to Puerto Rico -- Paul D. Shinkman, US News and World Report
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