Why We Designated Boko Haram A Terrorist Group – U.S Diplomat

The United States' Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, in the Department of State, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has explained reasons why the government of the United States of America decided to officially name the Boko Haram sect a terrorist organisation.

According to Mrs Greenfield, the decision to designate Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organisation will provide the US government "tools that will assist the Nigerian government in addressing these problems."

She disclosed that the US is providing equipment including non-lethal materials and vehicles. "The military is working with the government on the list of requirements.
We are also assisting with coordination tools so that various elements of the government security sector coordinate better with each other."
She stressed the importance of communication between the different security agencies citing one major failure on the part of the US government during the 9/11 crisis. "One of our major failures after 9/11 was the fact that our security agencies did not have communications that allowed them to communicate cross-agencies," she said, adding that the US government would help Nigeria in connecting all the agencies working on combating Boko Haram.

In the area of intelligence gathering, Mrs Greenfield said it is part of the package but was quick to add that it is still in process as discussions are still on-going.