A screen grab made on October 21, 2010 in Kano from a video allegedly released by the Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram in northern Nigeria reportedly shows two alleged sect members standing against a background of a Google Earth shot of the northern Nigerian city of Bauchi with the triangular city prison visible. Boko Haram 'spokesman' claims responsibility for the attack on the UN building in Abuja that killed 18 on August 26, 2011.
At least 58 people are dead in Nigeria, victims of another religiously motivated attack against Christians from the Muslim group Boko Haram.
Hundreds of Boko Haram terrorists armed with guns and machetes infiltrated several Christian villages in central Nigeria on Saturday. The group released a statement stating that Christians in Nigeria “will not know peace again” if they do not accept Islam.
The latest violence provides glaring new evidence that Boko Haram should be deemed a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Despite the group’s cold-blooded killing sprees, the Obama Administration has yet to acknowledge them as such. That tentativeness could eventually put Americans in grave danger.
While the U.S. does condemn Boko Haram’s terrorist actions and provide aid to Nigeria to fight back, some are regrettably hesitant to group Boko Haram with other international terrorist groups. As Heritage’s Morgan Roach reported, some in power believe it would “discourage political solutions to the crisis (among other reasons).”
But Boko Haram meets all the requirements of an FTO, and not placing it on the list is a foreign policy faux pas that shows that the Obama Administration is not taking the threat seriously.
It’s clear that Boko Haram—which, unsurprisingly, aims to implement Sharia law—has no qualms about killing Christians simply because they’re Christians. Just this past year, they attacked Christian churches at Christmas and Easter, killing 85 people.
Nigerian forces have attempted to curb the attacks and implement peace talks, but their efforts have largely failed. The only safe and sensible option is for the Obama Administration to designate Boko Haram as an FTO, which would enable the U.S. to hold it criminally liable and keep a closer watch on what the group is doing.