FBI/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined the investigation into how a group of militants thought to be Islamists killed four American soldiers in Niger two weeks ago, a move that comes as U.S. officials face criticism over their struggle to answer questions about the incident.
U.S. military officials said Thursday [10-19-17] that they are trying to piece together a timeline of what happened, while lawmakers impatient for information criticized the Pentagon and White House for a lack of transparency…
Bringing the bureau into the probe of a military operation gone awry isn’t unprecedented, FBI officials said. The FBI has the authority to take over the investigation but hasn’t yet done so, the officials said.
FBI investigators are helping gather and evaluate evidence about the militants considered responsible for the ambush and how members of the group learned of the joint U.S.-Nigerien patrol.
Questions about the operation, and the mission of the Green Berets in Niger, have been mounting. The questions center on whether the U.S. force had adequate resources and whether its mission was well-defined.”
-Ben Kesling and Julian E. Barnes, “Death of U.S. Soldiers in Niger Sparks FBI Probe, Criticism,” The Wall Street Journal online, Oct. 19, 2017 07:57pm