Last week, during a House Armed Services Committee hearing held a day before the deadline, Gaetz asked Gen. Michael Langley, the head of U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, about the briefing. “You’ll get your answer, Congressman,” replied Langley.
“Given the DoD has failed to meet the congressionally mandated deadline,” wrote Gaetz, “I am formally requesting the briefing or report on security cooperation with African military units who received DoD training and equipping, and subsequently overthrew their governments within the AFRICOM AOR” — or area of responsibility. The letter was copied to Langley.
“It’s particularly egregious how the Department of Defense dodges a clear legal order to brief Congress about the coups led by African militaries after receiving U.S. military assistance within AFRICOM,” Gaetz told The Intercept by email. “This blatant sidestepping of reporting requirements not only undermines legislative oversight but raises significant concerns about transparency and accountability within the DoD’s foreign military assistance program.”
The numbers are pretty meaningless without total numbers.
E.g. if it’s 70 out 1,000,000 it’s a different scenario than 70 out of 100.
And also some context would be nice: historical context - were coup attempts a continuous theme before us or this new? Any other nations getting involved in training in their facilities, and their outcomes?
Of course Pentagon’s silence is deafening but it’s probably to be expected if no good (for them) would come out of it.
The people are possibly more relevant than the amount that got trained. After his training in America Sisi did a coup in 2013 and is now the president of Egypt running a brutal dictatorship.
He receives 1 billion dollars a year from America in weapons to surpress his people. The guy really loves israel too. All very convenient.
This is just one of the more obvious links, but America overthrowing governments in Africa and the Middle East is extremely common if their current president does something that goes against American interests.