US military adventurism in Africa

Previously in 2001, President George W. Bush told a gathering in Sweden, “Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease.”  Indeed this is shocking.

After four elite US soldiers were killed in an ambush in Niger several weeks ago, and after President Trump made a gut-grinding botch of offering condolences to the families of the fallen, Africa policy has become a hot topic in US politics. Beyond the febrile fodder of yet another presidential humiliation lies the deeper question: What were those four soldiers doing in Niger?