The controversy surrounding the Niger attack escalated this week as the White House engaged in a high-profile feud with Frederica Wilson, a Democratic congresswoman, over Trump’s condolence call to the widow of one of the fallen soldiers. It was confirmed on Friday that the FBI had joined the investigation into the Niger attack, a standard practice when American citizens are killed overseas. Asked if Trump had authorized the US mission in Niger, Mattis would not say. Left unaddressed amid the furor was whether Trump authorized the US mission in Niger, a country that prohibits offensive air operations. The Trump administration, as the Obama administration did, has been relying on the authorization for use of military force (AUMF) passed by Congress in 2001 to authorize the war in Afghanistan.

Source: The Guardian October 20, 2017 19:59 UTC