Quote Originally Posted by JMA View Post
Bill, you must please listen to KingJaja on this... this stuff has been happening for years not only internally in Nigeria... but also under ECOWAS interventions in Sierra Leone and Liberia. How is it that you can not be aware of this stuff... which BTW is not limited to Nigeria.
Yes it has been happening for years, and I'm quite familiar with the atrocities committed in both the north and in the Niger Delta (been there). I recall reading about 200-300 getting killed a day with small arms and machetes in Jos, it was situation normal, and it wasn't unusual to see bodies floating the rivers and swamp in the Delta. Nonetheless I was surprised to see the current Nigerian military (if it actually was) commit these crimes based on our experience with the Nigerians in Liberia (second intervention) in 2003 where they were lauded for their professionalism, in contrast to the first intervention where they frequently raped the locals and set up illegal drug rings along with a number of other crimes. Clearly a major step backwards, but then again the U.S., along with other countries I suspect, greatly reduced to their support to Nigeria after 9/11.

Reference Sri Lanka, there was more to their strategy than killing civilians. Some spread the myth that the Sri Lankans quit focusing on taking and holding territory, and instead focused on killing the separatists, but the reality is they did both. While not decisive, their small unit operations in LTTE controlled areas were essential enablers in weakening LTTE cohesion and allowing decisive maneuver by larger elements. Their military tactics were actually quite good, but they failed to effectively consolidate their victory by failing to treat the civilians with respect and meet their needs (physical and psychological). Tactics generally shouldn't be followed blindly in different wars/locations for obvious reasons. A lesson the U.S. can't seem to apply effectively.

To your point about the U.S.'s ability to do anything about Africa, I don't think it our intention to save Africa from itself, but when there are opportunities to reinforce a positive movement I think we'll dedicate some support to it. Hopefully you know there are a lot countries playing in Africa besides the U.S., so you can start directing some your ire against them also, to include S. Africa, what the hell are they doing to help stabilize the region?