“For members of the public, the full extent of U.S. war- making is unknown. Investigative journalists and human rights advocates have cobbled together a rough picture of where the military has used force, but they rely on sources whose information is often incomplete, belated, or specu- lative. There is only so much one can learn about the United States’ military footprint from trawling Purple Heart cere- monies, speaking with retired military personnel, and monitoring social media for reports of civilian harm.2
Congress’s understanding of U.S. war-making is often no better than the public record. The Department of Defense provides congressionally mandated disclosures and updates to only a small number of legislative offices. Sometimes, it altogether fails to comply with reporting requirements, leaving members of Congress uninformed about when, where, and against whom the military uses force. After U.S. forces took casualties in Niger in 2017, for example, lawmakers were taken aback by the very presence of U.S. forces in the country.3 Without access to such basic information, Congress is unable to perform necessary oversight.
It is not just the public and Congress who are out of the loop. The Department of Defense’s diplomatic counter- parts in the Department of State also struggle to under- stand and gain insight into the reach of U.S. hostilities. Where congressional oversight falters, so too does over- sight within the executive branch.
This proliferation of secret war is a relatively recent phenomenon, and it is undemocratic and dangerous. The conduct of undisclosed hostilities in unreported countries contravenes our constitutional design. It invites military escalation that is unforeseeable to the public, to Congress, and even to the diplomats charged with managing U.S. foreign relations. And it risks poorly conceived, counter- productive operations with runaway costs, in terms of both dollars and civilian lives. So how did we get here?”
“In 2019, US Special Operations forces were deployed in 22 African countries: Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte D’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania and Tunisia.
This accounts for a significant proportion of US Special Operations forces’ global activity: more than 14% of US commandos deployed overseas in 2019 were sent to Africa, the largest percentage of any region in the world except for the greater Middle East.
These figures come from information provided to the M&G by the US military’s Special Operations Command and Africa Command (AFRICOM).
An interview with Donald Bolduc, a retired brigadier general and head of Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA) until 2017, shed further light on these operations. He said that as of 2017, US Special Operations forces had seen combat in 13 African nations. America’s most elite troops continued to be active in 10 of those countries — Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia and Tunisia — last year.”
United States Special Operations forces (SOF) — including Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets and Marine Corps Raiders — are the US military’s most highly trained soldiers, specialising in counterterrorism...
pulitzercenter.org
The BBC goes on manoeuvres with the unit leading a growing offensive against al-Shabab militants.
www.bbc.com
Air strike on Sunday in Somalia’s Hiran region is sixth so far this year, US Africa Command says on its website.
www.aljazeera.com
www.cbsnews.com
