The four American soldiers who were slain in Niger were sent into harm’s way on Donald Trump’s orders, even though the military had made clear that there was not adequate support in the area.

The L.A. Times reports that “for months before the ambush” the military had requested the presence of drones, other surveillance aircraft, and additional military medical support to back up operations in the theater of operations.

Those requests were resisted by the U.S. ambassador to Niger, who was “reluctant to increase the American presence in the country.”

The military, acting on orders from Trump, who is the commander in chief of all armed forces, went ahead with the doomed mission.