Four U.S. soldiers were killed in Niger after a group of 50 militants affiliated with the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara ambushed the patrol team during a routine train-and-advise mission.
More than two weeks after the ambush, still not much is known about why the troops were under-protected and why they were there in the first place.
Maddow’s theory on the ambush drew sharp criticism from experts familiar with the region, including assistant professor Laura Seay of Colby College’s Department of Government, who spoke to HuffPost’s Willa Frej after Maddow’s segment aired.
“No, that’s crazy,” Seay said of Maddow’s suggestion that Chadian troops were battling ISIS in Niger. “Everybody that I know is appalled by this. I would like to think that Maddow’s researchers are more responsible.”
