What difference does it make?
Posted on 05/08/2014 8:43:58 AM PDT by jimbo123
The Justice Department is pressing the State Department to designate Boko Haram, a Nigerian militant group alleged to be responsible for hundreds of deaths, as a "foreign terrorist organization," according to a document obtained by Reuters.
Lisa Monaco, head of the Justice Department's national security division, sent a letter in January to State Department counter-terrorism chief Daniel Benjamin requesting that Boko Haram, also known as the "Nigerian Taliban," be put on the list.
A Congressional source said that in the last few days, State Department representatives have lobbied Congress to try to stop legislation which would force the administration to act against the group or explain why they had not done so.
On Thursday, Rep. Patrick Meehan, a Republican who chairs a House subcommittee on Homeland Security, introduced an amendment to a defense bill that does just that, after he said State officials inexplicably cancelled a briefing on Boko Haram.
-snip-
In a March 30 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Meehan and House Homeland Security Committee chairman Rep. Peter King suggested some of Boko Haram's most recent tactics have paralleled those of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Tehrik-i-Taliban in Pakistan, both of which have been linked to attempted - though unsuccessful - attacks on the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
As if any sentient being in the multiverse does anything except f*rt in the general direction of our present gang of semi-sentient incompetents.
No one is afraid of the “big bad (yellow-bellied) wolf).
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
Oh, no! Not a label!!!!!
Boko Haram?
OH, She thought they said Procol Harem!.............must be a 60’s flashback...........
I wonder what her commune name was? Thunder Flower?..................
Curious they’re just now getting to this. Take a look at the US immigration policy and results in 2000 vs. 2010.
http://immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/african-immigrants-america-demographic-overview
Nope, no possible terrorists here. So much so that we even allowed more.
Ewwwww. Actually, I bet she wore those pants all the time. I bet Slick was mesmerized by them. It’s like dangling a steak bone in front of a dog.
Actually it's thousands by now......
......but Reuters, the NYT and the MSM feel a compulsion to understate the truth in order to keep hope alive for the coveted ACCESS which they so covet.
Dude, that was like two....
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.
That’s good, but there is a much much larger group of terrorists that they refuse to acknowledge.
bump
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