"The teams will be limited to training and equipping efforts, and will not be permitted to conduct military operations without specific, additional approvals from the secretary of defense,” reports the Associated Press.

The U.S. military presence in Vietnam began when the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group established a presence in Saigon to assist French legionnaires battling Viet Minh forces. Over the next decade, the Pentagon turned this modest advisory role into a full-blown war that claimed the lives of nearly 60,000 Americans and more than 3 million Southeast Asians.

According to the political establishment in Washington and its military counterpart at the Pentagon, North Africa is threatened by al-Qaeda affiliated groups, particularly with the rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria. The West African nation is vitally important due to its vast oil reserves.