State Department compared Nigeria's Boko Haram crisis to religious minorities in United States

Washington Examiner ^ | May 9, 2014 | Joel Gehrke

[Cincinatus' Wife]

When congressional leaders asked the State Department to tailor American assistance to Nigeria in a way that would protect Christians from religious persecution at the hands of Boko Haram, an extremist group that kidnapped hundreds of Christian girls last month, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's team dismissed the idea on the theory that the organization was not motivated by religion.

"This religious tension, while real, should not be mistaken as the primary source of violence in Nigeria," David Adams, assistant secretary of legislative affairs, wrote to Congress in an Oct. 4, 2012 letter. "Similar to the United States, Nigeria's religious diversity is a source of strength, with communities working across religious lines to protect one another."

Caitlin Poling, a former aide to Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., said she couldn't believe the State Department's implication that Boko Haram was analogous to a religious minority in the United States.

"We don't have daily assaults by extremist Muslims on churches in the U.S.," Poling, who is now the director of government relations at the Foreign Policy Initiative, told the Washington Examiner. "Could you imagine if a group like Boko Haram was perpetrating such attacks in the United States? I don't think it would be that same type of line from anyone in the administration."

Poling explained that Boko Haram carried out attacks against Christians in order to provoke Christian counterattacks, which Boko Haram then used as a means of radicalizing moderate Muslims.

Congressional leaders such as Pompeo and Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., wanted State to help secure religious communities against such attacks.

"The State Department should acknowledge the religiously-motivated nature of this violence and conduct an assessment of Boko Haram in that context," a bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote to Clinton in July 2012, only to receive Adams' contrary response. "It will then be possible to appropriately tailor State Department and USAID initiatives in Nigeria to include a strong emphasis on ensuring the security of Christians and moderate Muslims."

Instead, Adams said that the State Department was already addressing "the driving forces of violence including poverty, disenfranchisement, and lack of quality government services in health, education, and sanitation."

("It's unbelievable that State thought that quality government services like sanitation would curb Boko Haram," a Franks staffer scoffed.)

"Attacks in the north, however, are likely to continue until the Nigerian government counters Boko Haram through a comprehensive, whole of government strategy, which takes into account the legitimate social, political, judicial, and economic grievances of northern populations and addresses retaliatory security force abuses," Adams wrote in that Oct. 4 letter.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, in response to questions prompted by Josh Rogin's report that Clinton's team had refused to designate Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organization, emphasized that the State Department favored "a holistic approach to countering terrorism."

"That's what we're pursuing, what we've been pursuing with the Nigerians and international partners," Psaki told reporters Friday. "We've been working to counter Boko Haram for many, many years."

[Gaffer]

"Similar to the United States, Nigeria's religious diversity is a source of strength, with communities working across religious lines to protect one another."

At some point if she ends up on a debate stage for 2016, I hope we have a candidate with the cojones to make her eat those dissembled words that protected this group.

[samtheman]

I hope we have a candidate with the cojones to make her eat those dissembled words that protected this group.

I fear it won't happen. I fear that -- as always -- the big money will flow to those Republicans who viciously attack conservatives while kowtowing to Democrats.

[nathanbedford]

I'm sure the folks in Northern Ireland feel the same way about religious diversity and warmly embrace it as a source of their strength.

I wonder how the folks in Serbia think about religious diversity?

Do you suppose some of the folks who live in the suburbs of many Scandinavian cities are beginning to question whether diversity is a source of strength?

I am sure there are people whose automobiles or being burned virtually every night in the vicinity of Paris are waiting for that strength which comes from diversity.

I wonder what those Christians thought about diversity as they were being slaughtered in Egypt?

No matter, we must not abandon the shibboleth.

[Libloather]

Almost Amish.

[Rome2000]

If the CPUSA can't come up with better than CANKLES in 2016, the Right will have an easy time of it.

They done real good in 2008 producing this:

[Cincinatus' Wife]

What gives Boko Haram its strength

[Truth29]

A good educational exercise would be to turn David Adams, Jen Psaki and Hillary Clinton over to Boko Haram for a seminar on sensitivity training. Maybe they would learn something they could bring back to us...

[LMAO]

Can anyone name anything Hillary has been put in charge of that's turned out successfully? Policy wise?

If her tenure as SoS is what we can expect from a President Clinton,God help us

[PGalt]

It’s simple sister. It’s the youtube video that’s causing this uproar. Western music is haram. Mocking a heralded Islamic collective with a riff on their name is a no-no. Find that video maker. Let the girl’s families know that you will get that youtube video maker and bring him to justice. Connect the dots. It’s obviously the case. It’s Benghazi II. (Sorry to get the talking points out there so late, statists) It’s simple sister.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SbzE0dr0ys

[ilovesarah2012]

They are liars or stupid or both. Ask them if they can give an example of muslims working across religious lines to one another. America will not survive liberals much longer. Their one goal is the destruction of this country.

[ilovesarah2012]

So if they have working toilets, they wouldn’t kidnap and kill?

[dforest]

“State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, in response to questions prompted by Josh Rogin’s report that Clinton’s team had refused to designate Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organization, emphasized that the State Department favored “a holistic approach to countering terrorism.”

“That’s what we’re pursuing, what we’ve been pursuing with the Nigerians and international partners,” Psaki told reporters Friday. “We’ve been working to counter Boko Haram for many, many years.”

____________________________________________________________

Well Jan, What you have been pursuing hasn’t worked after the many years. God forbid a leftist admit that their ideas are wrong and failed.

Maybe Moochelles’s hashtag message will lead to release of “our girls”. Yeah, that’ll work.

[PGalt]

holi$tic approach

meet the new meme, same as the old meme

[Roman_War_Criminal]

I don’t get why all of a sudden Boko Haram is now an international crisis?

They’ve been cutting off Christian’s heads and burning entire villages down for years.

Is the press suggesting that the kidnap of school girls is all of a sudden more newsworthy than the body bag trail this satanic cult has left behind?

[ScottinVA]

Another great talking point to be used in 2016... but unfortunately one that will sail over the empty little heads of typical American voters...

Most Americans have no earthly clue what Boko Haram is...

[Excellence]

It wouldn't convince them; they would be going into it already paralyzed with Stockholm syndrome.

[Liz]

One of Hillary's all girl State Dept simpletons, Jen Psaki (she's in charge of Official Reponses that Save Hillary's ***) emphasized that Hillary's State Dept favored "a holistic approach to countering terrorism."

Huh, come again?

Josh Rogin reported that Clinton refused to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization (which would have given the US more tools to stop their murderous rampage).

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One of the things power-crazed Dummycrats have elevated to an art form is acting like it never happened (when their policies turn disastrous).

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THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BE PRESIDENT Hillary Clinton is now decrying the infamous kidnapping of 300 Nigerian schoolgirls, but she never mentioned that her State Dept (which she ruled w/ an iron hand)---- refused to place the savage "Boko Haram" terrorist group on the State Dept list of foreign terrorist organizations going way back in 2011, after the group bombed UN headquarters in Abuja.

Hillary's 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 Dept really wanted Boko Haram designated, they wanted the multiple authorities that would provide to go after them, and they voiced that repeatedly to elected officials.” (Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...

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HILLARY'S NATIONAL SECURITY POLICES DESIGNED FOR PEOPLE WHO FELL OFF A TURNIP TRUCK Hillary refused to place the savage "Boko Haram" terrorist group on the State Dept list of foreign terrorist organizations.....and today puts on her best "outrage act" over the kidnapped girls.

"Faking amnesia means never having to say you're sorry."

[onedoug]

hillary and huma