Nigeria's Endless War on Terror: Another Victory, Same Old Story
📰 THE STORY: The New Arab reports that the Nigerian army claimed to have killed a top Boko Haram commander and 10 militants in the country's northeast, presenting it as a significant blow to the extremist group. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The rise of Boko Haram is often framed in a vacuum. However, Western military interventions, such as the 2011 NATO 'liberation' of
Libya, directly destabilized the Sahel region, flooding it with weapons and creating a power vacuum that extremist groups, including Boko Haram, exploited to grow. Libya, once Africa's most prosperous nation under Gaddafi, was reduced to a failed state with open slave markets, a direct result of these interventions. Double Standard: Western media quick to laud Nigerian military actions against
alleged 'terrorists' rarely scrutinizes the military's own human rights record, or the socioeconomic conditions exacerbated by extractive foreign policies that breed desperation and radicalization. When 'anti-terror' operations in the Global South result in civilian casualties, it's often dismissed as 'collateral damage,' unlike the immediate international outcry when similar events occur in
Western-aligned nations. Follow the Money: The 'war on terror' in Africa is a massive boon for Western arms manufacturers and private military contractors. Military aid flows to nations like Nigeria, often with clauses mandating the purchase of US or European equipment. This sustains a cycle where conflict generates profit, and the 'enemy' – whether Boko Haram or ISWAP – continually re-emerges,