NIGERIA: Revealed - 'Actionable Intelligence' From U.S. On Chibok Girls Was Ignored By Military
A revealing report by the New York Times on the faltering relationship between Nigeria and the United States of America has shown that when ...
http://www.africaeagle.com/2015/01/nigeria-revealed-actionable.html?m=0
A revealing report by the New York Times on the faltering relationship between Nigeria and the United States of America has shown that when the Pentagon came up with what it called "actionable intelligence" from drone flights on information that might have indicated the location of some of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls and turned it over to the Nigerian military commanders to pursue, they did nothing with the information.
Quoting unnamed Africa Command officials in Stuttgart, Germany, the New York Times, however, reported that shortly after the US offered to help rescue the girls, it flew several hundred surveillance drone flights over the vast, densely forested regions in the North-east (Sambisa forest) where the girls were seized, but officials in Stuttgart said that with few tips to guide the missions, the flights yielded little information, while diverting drones from other missions in war zones like Iraq and Syria.
The lack of result was also blamed on mutual mistrust between US and Nigerian officials: "Although the United States reached an agreement with Nigeria last spring to share some intelligence, American officials did not include raw intelligence data because they believed that Boko Haram has infiltrated the Nigerian security services."
According to the New York Times, "Soon after the Islamist group, Boko Haram, kidnapped nearly 300 teenage girls in Nigeria in April, the United States sent surveillance drones and about 30 intelligence and security experts to help the Nigerian military try to rescue them. "Gen. David M. Rodriguez, the top general for American missions in Africa, rushed from his headquarters here to help the commanders in the crisis.
"Seven months later, the drone flights have dwindled, many of the advisers have gone home and not one of the kidnapped girls has been found. Many are believed to have been married off to Boko Haram fighters, who in the past six months have seized hundreds more civilians, including children, planted bombs in Nigerian cities and captured entire towns."
In Washington, the newspaper added that the fleeting moment of cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in May has now devolved into finger pointing and stoked the mistrust between the two countries' militaries.
"Nigeria's ambassador to the United States has accused the Obama administration of failing to support the fight against Boko Haram, prompting the State Department to fire back with condemnations of the Nigerian military's dismal human rights record.
"Tensions in the US-Nigeria relationship are probably at their highest level in the past decade," Johnnie Carson, the State Department's former top diplomat for Africa, said in an interview. "There is a high degree of frustration on both sides. But this frustration should not be allowed to spin out of control."
In Stuttgart, the New York Times reported, officials at the headquarters of the United States Africa Command offered their own bleak assessment of a corruption-plagued, poorly equipped Nigerian military that is "in tatters" as it confronts an enemy that now controls about 20 per cent of the country.
"Ounce for ounce, Boko Haram is equal to if not better than the Nigerian military," said one American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational reports.
The violence is in the meantime spilling into neighbouring countries like Cameroun, which carried out its first airstrikes against Boko Haram this week, after militants overran a military base and attacked five villages there.
Despite Boko Haram's advances, United States Embassy officials in Abuja said Nigeria has cancelled the last stage of American training of a newly created Nigerian Army battalion.
The lack of cooperation was magnified when Maj. Gen. James B. Linder, the head of American Special Operations forces in Africa, visited Nigeria in late October, but was barred from visiting the base where American trainers were instructing the new Nigerian Army battalion created to help fight Boko Haram.
Source: This Day
Quoting unnamed Africa Command officials in Stuttgart, Germany, the New York Times, however, reported that shortly after the US offered to help rescue the girls, it flew several hundred surveillance drone flights over the vast, densely forested regions in the North-east (Sambisa forest) where the girls were seized, but officials in Stuttgart said that with few tips to guide the missions, the flights yielded little information, while diverting drones from other missions in war zones like Iraq and Syria.
The lack of result was also blamed on mutual mistrust between US and Nigerian officials: "Although the United States reached an agreement with Nigeria last spring to share some intelligence, American officials did not include raw intelligence data because they believed that Boko Haram has infiltrated the Nigerian security services."
According to the New York Times, "Soon after the Islamist group, Boko Haram, kidnapped nearly 300 teenage girls in Nigeria in April, the United States sent surveillance drones and about 30 intelligence and security experts to help the Nigerian military try to rescue them. "Gen. David M. Rodriguez, the top general for American missions in Africa, rushed from his headquarters here to help the commanders in the crisis.
"Seven months later, the drone flights have dwindled, many of the advisers have gone home and not one of the kidnapped girls has been found. Many are believed to have been married off to Boko Haram fighters, who in the past six months have seized hundreds more civilians, including children, planted bombs in Nigerian cities and captured entire towns."
In Washington, the newspaper added that the fleeting moment of cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in May has now devolved into finger pointing and stoked the mistrust between the two countries' militaries.
"Nigeria's ambassador to the United States has accused the Obama administration of failing to support the fight against Boko Haram, prompting the State Department to fire back with condemnations of the Nigerian military's dismal human rights record.
"Tensions in the US-Nigeria relationship are probably at their highest level in the past decade," Johnnie Carson, the State Department's former top diplomat for Africa, said in an interview. "There is a high degree of frustration on both sides. But this frustration should not be allowed to spin out of control."
In Stuttgart, the New York Times reported, officials at the headquarters of the United States Africa Command offered their own bleak assessment of a corruption-plagued, poorly equipped Nigerian military that is "in tatters" as it confronts an enemy that now controls about 20 per cent of the country.
"Ounce for ounce, Boko Haram is equal to if not better than the Nigerian military," said one American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational reports.
The violence is in the meantime spilling into neighbouring countries like Cameroun, which carried out its first airstrikes against Boko Haram this week, after militants overran a military base and attacked five villages there.
Despite Boko Haram's advances, United States Embassy officials in Abuja said Nigeria has cancelled the last stage of American training of a newly created Nigerian Army battalion.
The lack of cooperation was magnified when Maj. Gen. James B. Linder, the head of American Special Operations forces in Africa, visited Nigeria in late October, but was barred from visiting the base where American trainers were instructing the new Nigerian Army battalion created to help fight Boko Haram.
Source: This Day
America seems to be playing a game here. They said Nigeria will break up in 2015 & so far what they have been doing appears to be attempts to foster that prediction. Why did they stop the governments effort to get weapons to fight bh? Now they are mentioning human rights violation by the army. What do you want the government to do? I don't trust them anymore
ReplyDeleteSo much for our war against terrorism. God help us
ReplyDeleteUSA, UK and opposition are sponsors which is why the are training the soldiers to revolt against their commanders and abandon war fronts and flee.
ReplyDeletehow can you said that boko haram controls 20% of the country when actualy they in three state which is just about 10% or even less
ReplyDeleteThe real reason has still not been told! This present administration is already known for what it is, insensitiveness , corruption, impunity and cluelesness, but this is not enough for US to refrain from helping suffering masses from the menace of this insurgency.
ReplyDelete