U.S. military officials wanted an armed drone to accompany Green Berets in Niger before the ambush took place, but their request was denied.
The Green Beret team, ambushed by up to 50 fighters that were part of an Islamic State-affiliate, belonged to a larger mission that may have been more dangerous than the original one, which Pentagon officials have maintained was believed to be low-risk, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In reality, the threat situation escalated to the point where military officials thought an armed drone was warranted, and unfortunately, the Green Beret team was subsequently hit by an ambush of ISIS-affiliated fighters, who made use of rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and small arms.
However, that request was blocked. The chain of approval for an armed drone includes the Pentagon, State Department and Nigerien government. The fact that a request ever existed in the first place indicates that military officials believed this particular mission to be more dangerous than other previous ones, which occurred without major incident. U.S. forces have operated in the area for the past year without being attacked.
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