Washington’s compromises on politics in the name of advancing security sidestep the need for political solutions
October 22, 2015 2:00AM ET
by Alexander Thurston @sahelblog
On Oct. 12 the United States began deploying ground troops to Cameroon to “conduct airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations in the region,” according to White House spokesman Josh Earnest. He said the 300-person force will have no combat role. Instead, it will offer the United States’ “unique capabilities” to a regional force that is fighting to stamp out the Nigeria-based Boko Haram insurgency. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian military have praised Washington’s decision.

Nigeria and its neighbors — Cameroon, Chad and Niger — launched a coordinated offensive against the group in northeastern Nigeria in January. However, the African Union–backed initiative has had mixed results. Boko Haram remains a serious threat. In addition to continued attacks in Nigeria, it has intensified violence in neighboring countries, carrying out regular bombings and massacres.

This is the second major deployment of U.S. troops to counter Boko Haram. In 2014 the U.S. sent some 80 military personnel to Nigeria after the group kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in Chibok. But the latest effort is larger and more directly involved in the conflict. It implicitly acknowledges that the regional approach is not entirely working as intended. Within the context of U.S. policy toward Nigeria, the deployment sends a clear signal that Washington prioritizes security over the messy work of understanding and resolving the political aspects of the Boko Haram conflict.

The move sidesteps some of the legal issues that might complicate a direct deployment to Nigeria, whose heavy-handed response to Boko Haram has been marred by grave and systematic human rights violations. Yet there is recurring congressional pressure on President Barack Obama to waive the Leahy Law, which prevents the U.S. from providing security assistance to foreign military forces implicated in human rights abuses. The U.S. appears increasingly ready to make security reform in Nigeria a secondary concern rather than a prerequisite for deepening its involvement in the fight against Boko Haram. The deployment to Cameroon may foreshadow direct involvement in Nigeria.

Ultimately, Washington lacks a strategy that extends much beyond the goal of helping regional governments defeat Boko Haram militarily. Its policy is based on a simplistic assumption that the insurgency is mostly a result of poverty. As a result, the United States’ postconflict reconstruction agenda hinges on investing more in socioeconomic development in Nigeria’s northeast.

This approach ignores several questions. What happens to Boko Haram fighters who are not killed? Is there any possibility of dialogue with the group’s various factions? What steps are necessary to ensure that Boko Haram does not spring back after it is defeated? Who must be held accountable nationally and locally?

The deployment of U.S. troops to Cameroon does not necessarily prevent Buhari or his peers from thinking through these questions. Buhari has already expressed willingness to talk to Boko Haram. Yet Washington’s aversion to talking with those it deems terrorists — and its long-standing silence on the merits of dialogue and negotiations — creates a climate that prioritizes militarizing the conflict over sorting through its political complexities.

Read Full Story http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/10/us-strategy-against-boko-haram-could-prove-counterproductive.html

Everyone thinks US is perfect in whatever they do and that's wrong

Rubbish. Much ado about nothing. The 300 men deployed to Cameroon, is just a PR stunt, just to look relevant, after being kicked out of the middle east by the Russians.

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who is aljazeera?
if they know so much about combating insurgency why have they not helped us before US offered to help?
aljazeera should shut the fvck up and keep to their job of reporting news

Lolz. Thinking that America will assist Nigeria in the fight against bokoharam is like thinking that Barca and Madrid will be friend. America has long been concluding their useless plans to help us but nithing has been done. That's why Russia kicked their ass from Syria. Lolzz, 300 american troops will fight against bokoharam. The truth is, America has run out of lies. Sending 300 troops to Nigeria but the troops are in camerooon. Lwkmd. It's high time our government make a U turn and start romancing Russian goverment for help before this bokoharam ruin us.

[quote author=Idiataqueen post=39281250][/quote] is that how to do it

vsaintchigs:
is that how to do it

tell me ow to do it?

Idiataqueen:
tell me ow to do it?

i give up