Secretary of Defense James Mattis provided a Capitol Hill briefing about the deadly ambush in Niger that took the lives of four U.S. troops – and the emerging details describe a chaotic encounter with inadequate support.
Mattis briefed Armed Services Chairman Sen. John McCain, who was so upset by the lack of information that he threatened to issue a subpoena.
A congressional source briefed on the mission called it a ‘massive intelligence failure,’ NBC reported.
A 12-man force of Green Berets fell under fire by up to 50 ISIS-linked forces, according to early accounts described by the Pentagon.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis walks up stairs as he arrives on Capitol Hill for a meeting with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to discuss the ambush that killed four soldiers on an operation in the African nation of Niger, Friday, Oct. 20, 2017 in Washington
It has now emerged that after the ambush happened, it wasn’t until 48 hours after the attack that the body of Sgt. La David Johnson was recovered.
The patrol took place without U.S. air surveillance.
The force had light ‘technical’ vehicles, but the vehicles were not heavily armored.
The force got lured into an ambush by fighters on motorcycles.
There was no U.S. quick-reaction force on standby available to rescue the troops if they came into harm’s way.
Mattis and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona spoke privately at the lawmaker’s Capitol Hill office on Friday. Emerging from the meeting, the defense secretary pledged better lines of communication with Congress.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, walk outside McCain’s office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Oct. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Defense Secretary James Mattis, center, listens as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, speaks to members of the media after their meeting Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
McCain has threatened a subpoena, frustrated with what he says is a slow response for information from the Trump administration.
McCain said, “I felt we were not getting a sufficient amount of information and we are clearing a lot of that up now.”
Earlier this week, McCain said he would hold up Trump’s nominees for key Defense Department posts until the administration delivers details about its new strategy for the war in Afghanistan.
It is unclear if the U.S. force was intentionally delayed in a village they were visiting.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis answers a question about the ambush of U.S. troops in Niger before a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman at the Pentagon, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Defense Secretary¬?James Mattis (R) delivers remarks to reporters about recent U.S. troops killed in Niger as he welcomes Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his delegation for meetings at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S. October 19, 2017
After a rescue involving French aircraft it emerged that one soldier was missing, the aide told the network. ‘Movements and actions to try and find him and bring him back were considered. They just were not postured properly [to get him].’ according to the account.
Mattis was emphatic in comments Thursday about the raid, and defended the conduct of both the U.S. military and its allies.
‘The U.S. military does not leave its troops behind and I would just ask that you not question the actions of the troops that were caught in the firefight and question whether or not they did everything they could in order to bring everyone out at once,’ Mattis said in comments to reporters Thursday.
The mission has come under fire more than two weeks after U.S. forces came under an ambush from ISIS-linked fighters, with powerful lawmakers calling for more information on what went wrong.
‘We, in the Department of Defense, like to know what we are talking about before we talk and so we do not have all the accurate information yet,’ Mattis said.
After the meeting with McCain, Mattis pledge better communication.
“I felt we were not getting a sufficient amount of information and we are clearing a lot of that up now,” McCain said.