Chibok Girls: Obama Seeks Rationale To Send Elite Troops to Nigeria
Written by Laolu Akande (just back from Washington DC)
Nigerian Guardian
TOP US Senators and some US-based Nigerians are asking the President Barack Obama to send a full contingent of the country’s Military Special Force Operations to get more directly involved in the search for the more than 274 schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram some three weeks ago.
Although the US President has approved a team of about 10 military advisers, they are not expected to have a direct role in the search and rescue mission, but will operate out of the US Embassy in Nigeria.
Already, those US military personnel are now in Nigeria — eight of them freshly deployed this week to join 10 others who have been working in the US embassy.
According to US Secretary of State, John Kerry, a Coordination Cell is being set up in the Embassy in Abuja where the US involvement would be based.
US military policy and defence experts have, however, distinguished the assistance offered by the US already from a full impact Special Forces Operations.
A Special Forces military operations deployment by the American president comes under the War powers of the US Commander in Chief, which the current team does not require. Besides, a Special Forces Deployment would be a much larger group that can add up to 100 or more.
For instance, there are about 250 US Special Forces in Central Africa now searching out for the LRA leaders and his gang, and even though he has not been found as yet, the LRA activities have since been in significant decline.
The Special Forces would be more directly involved than an operation from the US Embassy and is deemed to be a US military operations, which is not what the US has offered so far.
Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, is leading the 20 female US senators to demand for US military assistance. In an interview with CNN last week, she specifically asked for Special Forces Operations. At a global press conference also in Washington DC about the same time, the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans, (CANAN) leaders also made the request that Special Forces be deployed to Nigeria to rescue the Chibok girls.
According to Collins, “I will like to see Special Forces deployed to rescue these young girls” And later at an international press conference in Washington DC, the President of CANAN, Dr. James Fadele, on behalf of the association asked the US President to consider “sending Special Forces unit as already suggested by a sitting US Senator Susan Collins.”
CANAN added that the “US should use every available tool within its arsenal to trace, track and terminate,” Boko Haram operations.
Pentagon spokesperson, Rear Admiral John Kirby, said during the week in Washington DC that what the US government has done so far does not amount to a Special Forces operations in Nigeria, which is what Senator Susan Collins and CANAN requested for.
From the point of view of the US government, it is believed that, until last week, the Nigerian military have been reluctant to invite US military to the country. In particular, Nigeria has led the resistance among African countries to the creation of the US-Africa Command, (AFRICOM), which was set up during the George W. Bush administration.
Kirby said this much last week, observing that “we had made repeated offers of assistance, and it was only just this week when the Nigerians accepted the offer of this coordination cell.”
Sources said it is not even clear if the Nigerian Federal Government would accept the Special Forces military operations in Nigeria.
Kirby said US personnel already in Nigeria are trained in intelligence collection and analysis, He made it clear that “we’re not talking about US military operations in Nigeria to go find these girls…that’s not the focus here.”
But specially trained personnel, such as Special Operations Forces (SOF), could provide some much-needed expertise, according to some US experts.
“Special Operationss would give us a deeper understanding of what’s going on,” says retired Lt. Col. Rudy Atallah, former Africa Counterterrorism director at the Pentagon, in local US media report over the weekend. Atallah added that those Special Forces would also help to “figure out how to mitigate the threat.”
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| Bomb damage done in the West African state of Nigeria. |
Nigerian Guardian
TOP US Senators and some US-based Nigerians are asking the President Barack Obama to send a full contingent of the country’s Military Special Force Operations to get more directly involved in the search for the more than 274 schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram some three weeks ago.
Although the US President has approved a team of about 10 military advisers, they are not expected to have a direct role in the search and rescue mission, but will operate out of the US Embassy in Nigeria.
Already, those US military personnel are now in Nigeria — eight of them freshly deployed this week to join 10 others who have been working in the US embassy.
According to US Secretary of State, John Kerry, a Coordination Cell is being set up in the Embassy in Abuja where the US involvement would be based.
US military policy and defence experts have, however, distinguished the assistance offered by the US already from a full impact Special Forces Operations.
A Special Forces military operations deployment by the American president comes under the War powers of the US Commander in Chief, which the current team does not require. Besides, a Special Forces Deployment would be a much larger group that can add up to 100 or more.
For instance, there are about 250 US Special Forces in Central Africa now searching out for the LRA leaders and his gang, and even though he has not been found as yet, the LRA activities have since been in significant decline.
The Special Forces would be more directly involved than an operation from the US Embassy and is deemed to be a US military operations, which is not what the US has offered so far.
Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, is leading the 20 female US senators to demand for US military assistance. In an interview with CNN last week, she specifically asked for Special Forces Operations. At a global press conference also in Washington DC about the same time, the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans, (CANAN) leaders also made the request that Special Forces be deployed to Nigeria to rescue the Chibok girls.
According to Collins, “I will like to see Special Forces deployed to rescue these young girls” And later at an international press conference in Washington DC, the President of CANAN, Dr. James Fadele, on behalf of the association asked the US President to consider “sending Special Forces unit as already suggested by a sitting US Senator Susan Collins.”
CANAN added that the “US should use every available tool within its arsenal to trace, track and terminate,” Boko Haram operations.
Pentagon spokesperson, Rear Admiral John Kirby, said during the week in Washington DC that what the US government has done so far does not amount to a Special Forces operations in Nigeria, which is what Senator Susan Collins and CANAN requested for.
From the point of view of the US government, it is believed that, until last week, the Nigerian military have been reluctant to invite US military to the country. In particular, Nigeria has led the resistance among African countries to the creation of the US-Africa Command, (AFRICOM), which was set up during the George W. Bush administration.
Kirby said this much last week, observing that “we had made repeated offers of assistance, and it was only just this week when the Nigerians accepted the offer of this coordination cell.”
Sources said it is not even clear if the Nigerian Federal Government would accept the Special Forces military operations in Nigeria.
Kirby said US personnel already in Nigeria are trained in intelligence collection and analysis, He made it clear that “we’re not talking about US military operations in Nigeria to go find these girls…that’s not the focus here.”
But specially trained personnel, such as Special Operations Forces (SOF), could provide some much-needed expertise, according to some US experts.
“Special Operationss would give us a deeper understanding of what’s going on,” says retired Lt. Col. Rudy Atallah, former Africa Counterterrorism director at the Pentagon, in local US media report over the weekend. Atallah added that those Special Forces would also help to “figure out how to mitigate the threat.”
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