In a stunning segment on Thursday night, Rachel Maddow revealed the “mistaken” Donald Trump policy decision that may have led to the attack that killed four American soldiers in Niger.
According to Maddow, the administration’s decision to add the African nation of Chad to its revised list of travel ban countries may have been the first domino in a series of events that led to the deadly ambush in Niger.
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Rachel #Maddow Reveals ‘Baffling’ Trump Decision That Led To Four Dead U.S. Soldiers In Niger pic.twitter.com/OSeHVCdfuY
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— Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) October 20, 2017
Maddow said:
This really was the deadliest combat mission of his presidency thus far, and it really did follow just days after a policy decision by his administration – an inexplicable, baffling, possibly mistaken policy decision by his administration. I mean, it’s being called a mistake at best by everybody who knows the region. Just days after that policy decision by his administration, our best and most experienced and most battle-hardened regional military allies in that part of the world pulled out of that part of the world and went home, and then American soldiers were attacked.
As an apparent result of the Trump administration’s policy decision, Chad pulled hundreds of soldiers from Niger, where they were assisting the U.S. in an ongoing fight against terrorists in the region, including Boko Horam.
The reason behind Chad being added to Trump’s travel ban is even more stunning. According to NBC News, the African country was added to the list because they “had run out of passport paper.”
In short, Trump’s irresponsible decision to add Chad to his travel ban created a chain reaction that prompted the country to pull out of Niger, emboldened American enemies in the region, and led to the deaths of four brave U.S. soldiers.
It’s no surprise, then, that the commander-in-chief won’t touch this topic with a nine-foot pole, and instead, continues to wage a war against Gold Star families.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.