The Niger incident

Thomas Gibbons-Neff of The New York Times has filed this detailed appraisal of the steps taken (or not taken) against U.S. military personnel in the aftermath of a patrol that ended badly in Niger. Bottom line:

In the end, after more than a year of investigations, the American military punished those involved in the ambush for a series of small-unit training choices before the mission.

Military officials did little to examine the ramifications of the mission these troops were asked to undertake in western Africa, or how they were asked to accomplish it. The more senior officer who ordered the fateful mission, over the objections of the officer leading the team on the ground, went undisciplined and will continue in his career.