Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post

There are plenty of links between Boko Haram and Al Qaeda related groups in Africa, and those in the know actually making decisions understand that. However, that doesn't mean Boko Haram will conduct attacks outside the borders of Nigeria.
They have more than enough territory and people to keep them busy just in Nigeria. After all, they do not claim any global goals that I know of.

Nigeria is important whether or not AQ is present, it is the largest nation in Africa, it is the HQs of ECOWAS which does a fair job of retaining some degree of regional stability in W. Africa, and it produces a fair amount of oil. The bottom line is if the situation in Nigeria escalates significantly it will most likely further destabilize the region due to direct spill over from its borders and indirectly by degrading ECOWAS.

All that said I don't know what the U.S. should do that it isn't doing already?
Yep. Yet it has little press attention in the USA or Europe.