Nigeria 2013-2017

[Bill Moore]

So Boko Haram has finally been designated as a "foreign terrorist organization" (after all the politics has been played in DC and Obama can no long sit on the fence on this issue).

But please, what does this mean in practice?

It depends on the group, I recall working in another country where Department of State was considering designating a group a FTO, and that particular FTO lobbied hard with State and Congressional members to avoid the designation because it hurt their substantial fund raising activities in the U.S.. Department of State finally designated them, and I have to assume it degraded that particular group. Will the world turn upside down for Boko Haram? Hardly, but like you said at least we are now mandated by law to take some action again them.

http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm

Legal Ramifications of Designation

1. It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide "material support or resources" to a designated FTO. (The term "material support or resources" is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(1) as " any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who maybe or include oneself), and transportation, except medicine or religious materials.” 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(2) provides that for these purposes “the term ‘training’ means instruction or teaching designed to impart a specific skill, as opposed to general knowledge.” 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(3) further provides that for these purposes the term ‘expert advice or assistance’ means advice or assistance derived from scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge.’’

2. Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances, removable from the United States (see 8 U.S.C. §§ 1182 (a)(3)(B)(i)(IV)-(V), 1227 (a)(1)(A)).

3. Any U.S. financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which a designated FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

[KingJaja]

Read this - now imagine the impact on Christian/Muslim relations.

(Reuters) - In the gloom of a hilltop cave in Nigeria where she was held captive, Hajja had a knife pressed to her throat by a man who gave her a choice - convert to Islam or die.

Two gunmen from Boko Haram had seized the Christian teenager in July as she picked corn near her village in the Gwoza hills, a remote part of northeastern Nigeria where a six-month-old government offensive is struggling to contain an insurgency by the al Qaeda-linked Islamist group.

In a new development, Boko Haram is abducting Christian women whom it converts to Islam on pain of death and then forces into "marriage" with fighters - a tactic that recalls Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army in the jungles of Uganda.

The three months Hajja spent as the slave of a 14-strong guerrilla unit, cooking and cleaning for them before she escaped, give a rare glimpse into how the Islamists have changed tack in the face of Nigerian military pressure.

"I can't sleep when I think of being there," the 19-year-old told Reuters, recounting forced mountain marches, rebel intelligence gathering - and watching her captors slit the throats of prisoners Hajja had helped lure into a trap.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...9AG04120131117

[KingJaja]

This is serious:

Suspected Boko Haram terrorists, Monday morning, attacked the Composite Group Air force Base and other places in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
The siege which started at about 3am shook the town as sporadic gunshots and other Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers fire were heard, with ensuing airstrikes in Maiduguri and Jere metropolis till 8 am.
Sources said during the attacks on the Air force Base and other targets, including the Maiduguri International Airport, several people were killed as the terrorists, numbering over 300 planted explosives in targeted areas in the state capital.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/s....u5MU2HKG.dpuf

[Fuchs]

Europe follows the stupid pattern:

no nation-state -> war for nation-state -> wars with other nation-states -> cooperation with other nation-states -> most close cooperation with other nation-states -> kind of confederacy

Nigeria is stuck at "no nations state" (for the different groups)

A smart move might be a big leap forward to confederacy or federation.

[davidbfpo]

Paul Rogers has written a long commentary on Nigeria, within he says:

There is a strong argument that the movement's violent approach is alienating the public in the areas affected. But this itself makes a specific action early on 2 December 2013 very significant. A Boko Haram operation involving scores - possibly hundreds - of paramilitaries was launched close to the city of Maiduguri, the site of Boko Haram’s foundation and long a centre of support.

Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/paul-ro...a-and-long-war

He then cites a UK newspaper report:

Boko Haram fighters] streamed towards Maiduguri city in the early hours of Monday in pick-up trucks and on motorcycles, before opening fire with rockets and small arms on a military base. After a five-hour battle, two helicopters, three under-repair fighter jets, vehicles, officers' housing, workshops and regimental buildings had been destroyed.

Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...n-Nigeria.html

Rightly Paul notes:

A bigger problem for the government, though, was the very fact that the militants were able to overrun the base with every evidence of impunity.

Not that such attacks have not happened before in Nigeria and other, better known campaigns. After all (sigh, personal theme cometh ) terrorism is armed propaganda.

[carl]

A few weeks ago King Jaja linked to a NYT article reporting that Boko Haram had been substantially suppressed in Maiduguri itself. This attack is reported to have come from outside the city. The attackers descended upon the place in light vehicles. If true, this type of attack is seems fairly typical for areas in or bordering the Sahara; guys pile into HiLuxs, drive some hundreds or dozens of miles and hit a place. They often don't do so well after the initial attack.

Could this be the case in Maiduguri? Boko Haram gets mostly ejected from the city; afterwards they can raid it but can't hold it.

[davidbfpo]

The full BBC headline is 'Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan sacks military chiefs' may come as a surprise to readers, but all is normal:

BBC Nigeria analyst Naziru Mikailu says Mr Jonathan's decision does not come as a complete surprise because there is a tradition in Nigeria of sacking military chiefs.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25759755