The United States has been discovered to have established a military base in al-Wigh, an oasis in southernmost Libya, was Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documentation going back as far as 2015 on its establishment and operation.

This is significant because the base’s existence was never announced to the public, and AFRICOM documents still don’t reveal the exact status and size fo the base. It is officially a “non-permanent” base, which appears to be how they managed to keep it a secret.

This appears to have been one of the “lilypad” bases that AFRICOM leaders have been talking about wanting to set up across Africa, giving the US military presence in several countries across the continent allowing them to carry out strikes anywhere on a whim.

This is important because President Trump has insisted that the US doesn’t have any business in Libya, and that he doesn’t see a role in the country in the long term. It’s not clear if he was informed about the base either.