Posted on 05/08/2014 8:10:17 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Josh Rogin reports at the Daily Beast that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a terrible call on Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram. That group is reported to have kidnapped over 200 young girls, and is now threatening to sell them into slavery.
Overnight, the group launched a violent attack that left as many as 310 dead. Its very name — Boko Haram — means “western education is sinful.” It’s linked to al Qaeda.
Back in 2011, several agencies within the US government wanted to slap the terrorist label on Boko Haram. Those agencies lobbied to put Boko Haram on the US State Department’s official list of terrorist groups. Hillary Clinton was secretary of state at the time, and she refused to label Boko Haram a terrorist group, despite pleading from others within the Obama administration.
What Clinton didn’t mention [in her May 4 tweet highlighting the mass kidnapping] was that her own State Department refused to place Boko Haram on the list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2011, after the group bombed the U.N. headquarters in Abuja. The refusal came despite the urging of the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA, and over a dozen senators and congressmen.
“The one thing she could have done, the one tool she had at her disposal, she didn’t use. And nobody can say she wasn’t urged to do it. It’s gross hypocrisy,” said a former senior U.S. official who was involved in the debate. “The FBI, the CIA, and the Justice Department really wanted Boko Haram designated, they wanted the authorities that would provide to go after them, and they voiced that repeatedly to elected officials.”
In May 2012, then-Justice Department official Lisa Monaco (now at the White House) wrote to the State Department to urge Clinton to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization. The following month, Gen. Carter Ham, the chief of U.S. Africa Command, said that Boko Haram “are likely sharing funds, training, and explosive materials” with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. And yet, Hillary Clinton’s State Department still declined to place Boko Haram on its official terrorist roster.
Boko Haram was not added to the terrorist list until Clinton departed the State Department and John Kerry replaced her.
Had Hillary placed Boko Haram on her department’s terrorist list, the US government could have cut off some funds to the group. The US government could also have stigmatized and isolated the group. It could have started cracking down on anyone associated with it outside of Nigeria. Clinton’s refusal to call Boko Haram a terrorist group kept American law enforcement from going after Boko Haram for more than two years, while it was building up strength and terrorizing Nigeria.
On May 4, Hillary Clinton tweeted about the plight of the captured girls. But the fact is, her own decisions paved the way for Boko Haram to be in a position to kidnap those girls in the first place. US law enforcement lost a crucial two years to fight Boko Haram, thanks directly to Hillary Clinton’s management of the State Department.
One question is, did Clinton refuse to designate Boko Haram a terrorist group to help build the Obama campaign’s “al Qaeda is decimated/on the run” line that it used in the 2012 election?
Wow! Combine that fact with the fact that the doofus John Kerry recognized the problem and tried to clean up the mess and you have to realize that it was a major screw-up.
March 30, 2012
The Honorable Hillary Clinton
Secretary
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20520
Dear Secretary Clinton:
We are writing to urge you to immediately designate the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), in accordance with Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, and designate Boko Haram as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224. We are deeply concerned that Boko Haram’s tactics, targeting, and fundraising operations appear to be increasingly international in scope, including within the U.S. Homeland. In the ten years since the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. government has made great strides against al Qaeda, highlighted by the killing of Osama bin Laden. We must ensure that the Federal government does not become complacent and allow bureaucratic stovepipes to prevent us from addressing a critical terrorist threat.
On November 30, 2011, the Committee on Homeland Security released a bipartisan report entitled, “Boko Haram: Emerging Threat to the U.S. Homeland.” The report determined that Boko Haram has the intent and may be developing the capability to coordinate on an operational level with al Qaeda affiliates, including al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and al-Shabaab. The Committee also released a report in July 2011 that exposed the increasingly evolving threat that al Shabaab poses to the U.S. Homeland. As you know, Boko Haram’s evolution in targeting and tactics closely emulate that of other al Qaeda affiliates that have targeted the U.S. Homeland, mostly notably al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) on Christmas Day 2009 and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Times Square in May 2010.
In the last six months, Boko Haram has intensified its campaign of terrorism, including detonating a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) at a Catholic church during Christmas Day mass. The group also conducted a series of attacks in January 2012 throughout Nigeria that killed dozens. These attacks follow the August 26, 2011 bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Abuja that killed 23 and injured 100. According to Human Rights Watch, Boko Haram has killed more than 900 people in the last two years.
The brazenness and sophistication of these attacks are hallmarks of al Qaeda tradecraft. Boko Haram’s rapid progression from a machete wielding mob to a full blown al Qaeda affiliate targeting the United Nations and Western interests is deeply concerning to multiple members of the U.S. Intelligence Community, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).
As you know, designating Boko Haram an FTO will ensure that the Department of Justice has the necessary legal authorities to prosecute individuals associated with Boko Haram for any terrorism related crimes within the U.S. Homeland. It will also allow the Department of Treasury the authority to designate individuals within Boko Haram for illicit fundraising. Currently, neither the Departments of Justice nor Treasury can take such actions without FTO designation creating unnecessary risk. In addition, FTO designation will also ensure that all other members of the U.S. Intelligence Community have every military, intelligence, diplomatic, and economic tool at their disposal to disrupt and deter Boko Haram’s operations, planning, and fundraising both internationally and domestically.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at 202.226.8417
Sincerely,
PETER T. KING
Chairman
Committee on Homeland Security
PATRICK MEEHAN
Chairman
Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
What a couple!
-PJ
Monica's boyfriend's wife.
Hillary Clinton made a terrible call on Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram. That group is reported to have kidnapped over 200 young girls, and is now threatening to sell them into slavery.
Overnight, the group launched a violent attack that left as many as 310 dead. Its very name — Boko Haram — means “western education is sinful.” It’s linked to al Qaeda.
On May 4, Hillary Clinton tweeted about the plight of the captured girls. But the fact is, her own decisions paved the way for Boko Haram to be in a position to kidnap those girls in the first place. US law enforcement lost a crucial two years to fight Boko Haram, thanks directly to Hillary Clinton’s management of the State Department.
One question is, did Clinton refuse to designate Boko Haram a terrorist group to help build the Obama campaign’s “al Qaeda is decimated/on the run” line that it used in the 2012 election?
.
Hilary was very confused. She thought they were talking about the 1960’s band Procol Harum and wanted to hear them play for the DNC at the 2012 convention. Ya we have the answer. Bill used to enjoy inhaling to their music.
Mrs Hillary Clinton = A WHITER SHADE OF FAIL!!!
She thought it was Bozo the Clown and felt that was not worthy of her intelligence and diplomatic prowess.
I’m more and more leaning to the idea that she may not even get the 2016 nomination.
If she does, I’m betting she won’t win. These failures are popping up more and more along with the corruption that she has a track record of
Thanks for the ping/post to this OUTSTANDING thread, LucyT.
Run Hillaryous, run.
BTTT!
LOL! Very nice, Mikey.
Thank ye. Thank ye very Much!
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