The latest attack in Nigeria had no Congressional consultation, but seems timely given the US administration’s direct participation in the latest TPUSA event attended by JD Vance and Speaker Johnson and GOP calls for intervention as a sop by backbench politicians. Needless to say, the gaps among political groups are more complex considering the differences among ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram.
Attacking on Xmas day does have messaging potential for US domestic consumption by the Trumpist base, especially given the US history of conflicts between farmers and herders in its 19th Century range wars. And then there’s the openness to white refugees from South Africa.
As MS Now indicated in its broadcast that the US attack was largely symbolic amid an ISIS-Sahel (1,000) and ISWAP (7,000) population of no more that 8,000 total. This attack does seem influenced by a limited number of Christian interest groups since nearly one-half of Nigeria’s 200 million is Christian. hardly a minority.
This trial balloon for military intervention against land targets fits with other US intentions deploying violence, performative such as they are, in the Caribbean.
ISIS-Sahel is a branch of ISIS that operates primarily in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Originally associated with the al-Qa'ida-aligned group al-Murabitun, it broke away in 2015 to pledge allegiance to ISIS, which acknowledged it as a branch in 2022. www.dni.gov/...
‘Fast, Vicious, and Sweet’ violence seem somehow fitting to ‘Guns-a-Blazing’ rhetoric in its superficial pathology. A pseudo-beatification of Charlie Kirk continues with a celebrity endorsement for US military intervention. Auditioning as a celebrity apprentice, did this surprise appearance influence ‘war’ decisions.
Nicki Minaj Working With Trump Admin on Plight of Christians in Nigeria
Erika Kirk: This is something I know that's really important to you and on your heart, and I just, I, I personally want to know what inspired you to speak out for the Christians that are being slaughtered in Nigeria.
Nicki Minaj: Well... and that brings me back to our great president and this administration and our great country that we take for granted that are right now in this world are people who cannot worship God as they please, where they please. If we take them for granted because we have it, we can't even imagine not having that right, but every time we pray in fellowship, we have to remember the people that are right now in this world hiding to pray in fellowship.
And we have to pray for them, and - first of all, Nigeria is a place I've always loved, someone very dear to me, my pastor, is Nigerian, I have lots of Nigerian bonds, and so hearing that people are being kidnapped - while they're in church, people are being kidnaped, people are being killed, brutalized, all because of their religion.
That should spark outrage in the Great America, and that's what it's doing. And again, we're not backing down anymore. We are not going to be silenced by the bullies anymore. Okay? Know that. Hear that. Receive that. Bullies. We won't be silenced ever again. We will speak up for Christians wherever they are in this world.
And there's been, there's been, there's been a lack of that. There's been a lack of that in our media, in our everyday conversation. People have been, you know, interestingly enough, people have been even persecuted - Christians have been being persecuted right here in our country in different ways. So when we talk about Nigeria and other countries, know that prior administrations saw nothing wrong with that, and that's what was wrong with that. I truly feel that there are people out there who felt good about chastising Christians right here in our country, and it's kind of really, really sick.
www.newsweek.com/…
Christians in West African nation hail an offer by Donald Trump to tackle Muslim extremists
The US president had threatened to intervene against the persecution with “guns-a-blazing” to protect Nigerian Christianity from an “existential threat” posed by Muslim extremists.
Mr Trump said: “They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen.”
This claim was rejected by Nigeria’s government, which accused Mr Trump of over-simplifying the country’s “social conflict” into a religious one to woo US evangelical conservative voters. But on Thursday, they appeared to succumb to US pressure by providing the Americans with intelligence on where the militants were.
www.telegraph.co.uk/...
There are 90 million Christians in Nigeria
Nigeria recorded no fewer than 169 033 violent deaths between 2006 and 2021, with 2014 reporting the highest number (22, 873) and Borno State being the most affected, followed by Lagos, Kaduna, Zamfara, Plateau, Delta, Benue, Rivers and Adamawa.
The highest number of deaths (51, 425) was attributed to crime, followed by insurgency (50, 252) and road crashes (27, 645). Other significant causes of death were political issues (8, 324) and cattle grazing (5, 501).
injuryprevention.bmj.com/...
Trump Christmas bombs Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) in NW Nigeria for allegedly killing Christians when the majority of victims are Moslem.
Boko Haram, the jihadist group in the north-east of the country, has killed thousands, most of their victims being Muslims, and became notorious for the 2014 Chibok mass kidnapping of schoolgirls.
But “They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers.”
Nigeria Regions Affected: The violence is most prevalent in the northern and Middle Belt regions, where there are largely Muslim populations and significant numbers of Christians. This includes ongoing conflicts between herders (mostly Muslim) and farmers (predominantly Christian).
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Casualty Figures: Reports indicate that thousands of Christians have been killed due to religiously motivated violence over the years. For instance, groups like Boko Haram, which targets Christians specifically, have been responsible for numerous attacks resulting in fatalities.
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Ethnic and Religious Conflation: The violence is often exacerbated by ethnic tensions and political factors. In many cases, attacks on Christians are framed within broader socio-economic disputes, but the underlying religious motivations remain significant.
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Displacement and Insecurity: Many Christians have been displaced from their homes due to attacks, leading to increased vulnerability and exacerbation of their humanitarian plight. Camps for internally displaced persons often reflect this demographic reality.
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International Attention: Various human rights organizations and international bodies have documented these issues, calling for greater awareness and intervention to protect persecuted communities.
duck.ai
However, as we’ve discovered from Stormy Daniels, POTUS does take missionary positions.
