U.S. senators seek answers on U.S. presence in Niger after ambush

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. senators said yesterday the White House has not been forthcoming with details about the military’s presence in Niger after the deaths of four soldiers there earlier this month and they want more answers on U.S. operations in the west African country. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said in separate interviews that they support Republican Senator John McCain’s effort to get answers from the Pentagon on the ambush and more broadly on the U.S. fight against ISIS in Niger.

Graham and Schumer said they had been unaware of the large U.S. presence in the country and said Congress needs more information on what could become a long and open-ended involvement.

“I didn’t know there was 1,000 troops in Niger,” Graham said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “This is an endless war without boundaries and no limitation on time and geography,” he added. “You’ve got to tell us more and he is right to say that.”

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Graham and McCain, who serves as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Friday that the military is shifting its counter-terrorism strategy to focus more on Africa and expanding the ability to use force against suspected terrorists. The attack earlier this month, which U.S. officials suspect was carried out by a local Islamic State affiliate, has thrown a spotlight on the U.S. counter-terrorism mission in Niger, which has about 800 U.S. troops.