Ocnus.Net
News Before It's News
About us | Ocnus? |

Front Page 
 
 Africa
 
 Analyses
 
 Business
 
 Dark Side
 
 Defence & Arms
 
 Dysfunctions
 
 Editorial
 
 International
 
 Labour
 
 Light Side
 
 Research
Search

Defence & Arms Last Updated: Feb 24, 2012 - 4:31:39 PM


BOKO HARAM: U.S COMMANDOS STORM NIGERIA IN JUNE.
By Pointblank News 22/2/12
Feb 24, 2012 - 4:30:27 PM

Email this article
 Printer friendly page

Barring any last minutes change, top United States elite forces made up of members of the Marines, Navy Seals and Special Forces, will be in Nigeria in June as part of effort to help the country deal with the Boko Haram insurgence.

Nigeria and the United States Military have existing agreements in counter-terrorism, Maritime Security, military transformation and other areas.

A U.S. Army officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the mission said U.S. troop members on the mission have already been informed.

Monica Matoush, spokeswoman for the U.S Defense Department did not return calls when Pointblanknews.com sort for clarifications on the planned June mission.

Nicole M. Dalrymple Media Action Officer, West and Central Africa AFRICOM Public Affairs Office told Pointblanknews.com that she cannot immediately confirm the June mission but disclosed that counterterrorism, Maritime Security and others are areas the U.S is rendering assistance to Nigeria.

"If I'm able to find anything out about specific training in June I will let you know," she told Pointblanknews.com in an email exchange.

In public comments, Nigerian and U.S. officials acknowledge "strategic cooperation" and confirm high-level meetings. However, they play down the meetings as routine, apparently for fear the Northern Muslim leaders will be outraged.

The military source said the mission is purely training but did not rule out a possible change of plans based on a new request for assistance from Nigeria.

"The mission is purely for a training purpose but we understand there is a new request and I don't know details of it yet. But if we have directive to do otherwise, then we won't have any choice than to do just that. I am aware that some senior officials are in talks with some Nigerian officials for more help but I cannot say what other help it is."

Pointblanknews.com could not confirm details of the latest request from the Nigerian Government to the U.S Military. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense,Colonel Mohammed and Army Spokesman, Colonel Usman Abdul did not pick up their calls.

The source confirmed that the soldiers on the mission would be drawn from AFRICOM and from those who just returned from Iraq and Afghanistan because of their understanding of the Arab world.

Dalrymple however disclosed, "our partnership with Nigeria is focused in four areas requested by the Nigerians. Those areas are maritime security, crisis response (i.e. peacekeeping operations, pandemic response, airlift), counterterrorism, and military transformation (i.e.joint doctrine development, integration of women into the military, civil-military capability).

She said while there are no U.S. troops on the ground in an operational capacity assisting the Nigerian military in their response to Boko Haram attacks, "Nigeria is a member of the U.S. State Department's Trans Sahara Counter Terrorism
Partnership."

According to her, "In recent years, at Nigeria's request, the U.S. has been working with the Nigerian military on their nascent counter-force through recurring training events.

"This training has included basic soldiering skills, basic small unit infantry tactics and leadership training," she told Pointblanknews.com

Boko Haram employs the tactics of Al-Qaeda, using suicide bombers and waging guerilla warfare in their quest to Islamize Nigeria. Their insurgency has led to several deaths and destruction of properties including the United Nations building in the Nigeria capital of Abuja in 2011.

Ambassador J. Anthony Holmes, U.S. Africa Command's civilian Deputy had in October 2011 said "Given the realities on the continent, however, our focus tends to be on Somalia and the surrounding countries to deal with al-Shabaab, and in West Africa, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which is based in northern Mali but increasingly has ties with Boko Haram in northern Nigeria. So we try to assist the governments and militaries of the countries in that region to develop the capacity to come to grips with and solve its own terrorism problem.


Source:Ocnus.net 2012

Top of Page

Defence & Arms
Latest Headlines
The 2022 Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation: Mobilization, Maritime Law, and Socio-Economic Warfare
SSBNs Age Disgracefully
Infantry: Unique Ukrainian Sniper Rifle Makes A Record Shot
Submarines: More Realistic Training
Russian UAV Failures
Creative Solutions To Ukrainian Needs
Naval Iron Dome successfully tested, as Iran hits another tanker
Breaking Records In Orbit
Surface Forces: Ukraine’s New ASV Goes Large
Air Force's Mysterious Spaceplane Finally Lands After Spending 2.5 Years in Orbit