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US troops launch exercises in African region challenged by Boko Haram
Stars and Stripes ^ | 27 February 2017 | JOHN VANDIVER

Posted on 03/02/2017 7:28:58 AM PST by Lorianne

In one of U.S. Africa Command’s largest exercises, a contingent of U.S. special operations forces is working alongside hundreds of troops in western Africa, a region threatened by the militant group Boko Haram.

Flintlock 2017, run by Special Operations Command Africa, kicked off Monday. Two thousand elite U.S., European and African troops are taking part in three weeks of rugged field training.

This year, Chad is serving as the main host for the exercises, which also involve training events in Cameroon, Niger, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.

(Excerpt) Read more at stripes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: africa; boko; bokoharam; haram
Why are we 'training' these people? Why do we need to be there?
1 posted on 03/02/2017 7:28:58 AM PST by Lorianne
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To: Lorianne
Why are we 'training' these people? Why do we need to be there?

It's a standard, rock simple foreign internal defense (FID) mission. It's dirt cheap, it builds international good will, and it can even help (to an extent) keep something resembling a stable government in place against psychotic rebel groups like, say, Boko Haram.

2 posted on 03/02/2017 7:31:39 AM PST by Future Snake Eater (CrossFit.com)
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To: Lorianne

My thoughts exactly


3 posted on 03/02/2017 7:33:23 AM PST by Bishop_Malachi (Liberal Socialism - A philosophy which advocates spreading a low standard of living equally.)
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To: Lorianne

That is what Special Forces do. Train the local military to do the job so we don’t have to send in conventional forces later.


4 posted on 03/02/2017 7:53:58 AM PST by Gamecock (Twitter: What a real democracy looks like.)
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To: Future Snake Eater; All

It’s a standard, rock simple foreign internal defense (FID) mission. It’s dirt cheap, it builds international good will, and it can even help (to an extent) keep something resembling a stable government in place against psychotic rebel groups like, say, Boko Haram.


Yes. Trump said we need to eradicate radical Islamic terrorist from the planet. You cannot get more radical, Islamic, or Terroristic than Boko Haram.


5 posted on 03/02/2017 8:19:59 AM PST by marktwain (We wanted to tell our side of the story. We hope by us telling our story...)
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To: Gamecock

That has worked so well in other countries. /s


6 posted on 03/02/2017 11:04:03 AM PST by Lorianne
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To: marktwain

How do you know the people you are training won’t join Boko Haram or a similar group ... and now they have your training and probably military equipment?

That is what has happened numerous other places.


7 posted on 03/02/2017 11:08:31 AM PST by Lorianne
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To: Lorianne

You just don’t know about when it does work.
Those countries don’t make headlines.


8 posted on 03/02/2017 11:27:05 AM PST by Gamecock (Twitter: What a real democracy looks like.)
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To: Lorianne
How do you know the people you are training won’t join Boko Haram or a similar group

Like that hasn't happened here.

9 posted on 03/02/2017 11:28:09 AM PST by Gamecock (Twitter: What a real democracy looks like.)
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To: Lorianne
This year, Chad is serving as the main host for the exercises, which also involve training events in Cameroon, Niger, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.

I'd hate to be this poor guy Chad.

10 posted on 03/02/2017 11:28:25 AM PST by dfwgator
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