Rep. Barbara Lee: Paul Ryan Won’t Debate Niger and Our Shadow Wars

On Oct. 30, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testified in front of the Senate to shed light on the tragedy in Niger. But one question went conspicuously unanswered: Why were our troops there in the first place? Secretary Mattis claimed the U.S. military presence was in “furtherance on U.S. national security interests.” But at no point did either Donald Trump Administration official shed light on the mission or long-term strategy in the region.