US military draws up action plan for Nigeria

The United States is perfecting plans for a possible military action in the country.

Reports from the New York Times indicate that the plan by the United States may not yield the desired results, as options to quell the violence were limited.

United States President Donald Trump had directed the Pentagon to prepare for military action in the country as a result of existential threats being faced by Christians in Nigeria.

The New York Times report indicated that the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) presented various options to the country’s Department of Defense after the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, made an operational plan request.

While the options, according to military sources, have been classified as heavy, medium, and light, senior officials of the United States military affirmed that the military action by the United States may not achieve its aim.

The New York Times report stated that only a full-scale military campaign can go a long way in taming the insurgency.

“American forces are unlikely to be able to end a decades-long insurgency in Africa’s most populous country, despite President Trump’s order,” officials said.

“First, the self-evident: Despite President Trump’s order that the Pentagon prepare to intervene militarily in Nigeria to protect Christians from attack by Islamic militants, US forces are unlikely to be able to end a decades-long insurgency that has claimed lives across sectarian lines in Africa’s most populous country,” military officials say.

“The American military cannot do much to quell the violence unless it is willing to start an Iraq- or Afghanistan-style campaign,” the officials said, something that no one appears to be seriously contemplating. But they said there were some steps available to American war planners that could have limited impact on the militants.

“The Air Force could conduct airstrikes on the few known compounds in northern Nigeria inhabited by militant groups,” officials said. American drones like the MQ-9 Reaper and the MQ-1 Predator could attack a few vehicles and even a handful of convoys. And American forces could team up with Nigerian soldiers to raid villages to root out insurgents who have ensconced themselves in rural hamlets in the country’s north,” the New York Times stated.

Source: The Sun