Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters
Philip Obaji Jr., Daily Beast: U.S. to Nigeria: No Guns to Fight Boko Haram
There are many reasons the U.S. doesn’t trust Nigeria’s military: human rights, corruption, losing weapons to the enemy. But while D.C. dithers, the insurgents thrive.
LAGOS — As the fight against Boko Haram intensifies, President Barack Obama is supporting Nigeria’s neighboring countries with $35 million worth of military and defense support services to Chad, Niger and Mali channeled through France. A press statement from the White House last week said the U.S. leader gave the support to help shore up the security of the three French-speaking African nations that share borders with Nigeria.
But the United States did not include Nigeria, which is at the center of the five-year war on Boko Haram. And that does not speak well of the relations between Washington and the Nigerian military.
WNU Editor: The Nigerian army needs more than just weapons. They need counter-insurgency training, discipline, responsible leaders and commanders, and a political process that is not utterly corrupt.
1 comment:
WNU Editor,
Africom has been providing training to the Nigerian military for almost a decade,
It's just everything else they need.
Not weapons.
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