Last week, during a House Armed Services Committee hearing held a day before the deadline, Gaetz asked Gen. Michael Langley, the head of U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, about the briefing. “You’ll get your answer, Congressman,” replied Langley.
“Given the DoD has failed to meet the congressionally mandated deadline,” wrote Gaetz, “I am formally requesting the briefing or report on security cooperation with African military units who received DoD training and equipping, and subsequently overthrew their governments within the AFRICOM AOR” — or area of responsibility. The letter was copied to Langley.
“It’s particularly egregious how the Department of Defense dodges a clear legal order to brief Congress about the coups led by African militaries after receiving U.S. military assistance within AFRICOM,” Gaetz told The Intercept by email. “This blatant sidestepping of reporting requirements not only undermines legislative oversight but raises significant concerns about transparency and accountability within the DoD’s foreign military assistance program.”
Some examples from the article:
At least 15 officers who benefited from U.S. security assistance have been involved in 12 coups in West Africa and the greater Sahel during the war on terror, according to a series of reports by The Intercept.
The list includes military personnel from Burkina Faso (2014, 2015, and twice in 2022); Chad (2021); Gambia (2014); Guinea (2021); Mali (2012, 2020, 2021); Mauritania (2008); and Niger (2023).
Not all U.S.-trained African coup leaders hail from the Sahel. Before Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi deposed Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013, he underwent basic training at Fort Benning, now Fort Moore, in Georgia and advanced instruction at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania.
Honestly, the consistency of the US Trained Officer --> Successful Coup pipeline is impressive, if nothing else.
The numbers are pretty meaningless without total numbers.
E.g. if it’s 70 out 1,000,000 it’s a different scenario than 70 out of 100.
And also some context would be nice: historical context - were coup attempts a continuous theme before us or this new? Any other nations getting involved in training in their facilities, and their outcomes?
Of course Pentagon’s silence is deafening but it’s probably to be expected if no good (for them) would come out of it.
The people are possibly more relevant than the amount that got trained. After his training in America Sisi did a coup in 2013 and is now the president of Egypt running a brutal dictatorship.
He receives 1 billion dollars a year from America in weapons to surpress his people. The guy really loves israel too. All very convenient.
This is just one of the more obvious links, but America overthrowing governments in Africa and the Middle East is extremely common if their current president does something that goes against American interests.
I mean fuck Gaetz but damn he has a point.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is demanding answers from the Pentagon about coups by U.S.-trained African military officers, according to a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shared exclusively with The Intercept.
The briefing is supposed to cover the number of coups, the vetting process employed by the United States for partners, and steps taken to strengthen trainees’ respect for civilian control of the military.
Last week, during a House Armed Services Committee hearing held a day before the deadline, Gaetz asked Gen. Michael Langley, the head of U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, about the briefing.
“This blatant sidestepping of reporting requirements not only undermines legislative oversight but raises significant concerns about transparency and accountability within the DoD’s foreign military assistance program.”
Last week, Langley still had no answers for Gaetz on the number of U.S.-trained mutineers in Africa but pushed back on any implication that U.S. support to African military personnel was linked to their rebellions.
AFRICOM spokesperson Kelly Cahalan previously told The Intercept that the command maintains no database of U.S.-trained African mutineers nor even a count of how many times they have conducted coups.
The original article contains 720 words, the summary contains 187 words. Saved 74%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
c/nottheonion
