They finally pulled up a presser for the Niger attack itself

Nearly three weeks after the attack that killed four US soldiers, and after The Most Notable Loser  spent several days recently attacking a widow of one of the soldiers and her friend, Congresswoman Federica Wilson, and his Chief of Staff had a presser to pile on, they finally decided they need to do some explaining about the actual event in Niger. The only problem is, the general they put on stage didn't seem to know jack shit.

Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he did not want to speculate about why service members took so long to call for backup.

[...]

Though [French] helicopters did not arrive until an hour after the troops called for help, a drone arrived overhead in minutes, General Dunford said, though he would not say whether it was armed.

[...]

General Dunford’s comments were the fullest explanation so far from the Trump administration about the ambush and what led up to it.

  NYT

Yeah. And that was essentially zip. How can they be three weeks post-incident and have no answers? Was this a mission with no plan? No one in charge?

“I make no judgment about how long it took them to ask for support. I don’t know that they thought they needed support prior to that time,” General Dunford said. “I don’t know how this attack unfolded. I don’t know what their initial assessment was of what they were confronted with.”

It was three weeks ago. Somebody knows these answers. Why trot out an old man who doesn't know anything?

The mission’s planners had said that encountering enemy forces was unlikely, according to General Dunford. The Pentagon is investigating whether the mission was altered after the unit left its operating base, he said. American forces in Niger operate under strict rules that forbid them going on missions that could involve contact with an enemy.

How stupid do we look? Any "mission" could involve enemy contact. Any US soldier in the country could be subject to enemy contact.

General Dunford said that the French support was part of the mission’s plan and that French, Nigerien and American troops searched nonstop for Sergeant Johnson

They're forbidden to go on any mission that might involve enemy contact, but they had a plan that required French backup support. For what? Possible flat tires?

According to General Dunford, the Americans and their Nigerien counterparts departed for the mission early on Oct. 3 and were attacked a day later while returning to base.

Sounds like their "mission" was done. Not altered.

General Dunford said that the Pentagon owes answers to the families of all four American service members who were killed in the attack.

His hourlong news conference was part of the Pentagon’s latest effort to contain the political fallout from the ambush.

I'm giving the Pentagon a big fail on that.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

Oh, yes, they do.

FURTHER UPDATE:

“With regard to Congress and the criticism we’re not providing enough information, … if the Congress doesn’t believe that they’re not getting sufficient information, then I need to double my efforts to provide them with information,” Dunford added.

  Politico

If my math skills serve me correctly, twice zero is still zero.

UPDATE 10/24/17:  So maybe the mission did get altered?  A survivor and a "senior US intelligence official" spoke to ABC.