I will attempt to examine the US approach to the kidnapped girls in Nigeria from the lens of interest or ideas.
The country of Nigeria is NOT vital to US interests. Nigeria is important because it exports oil. However, the US is not dependent on Nigerian oil. The US interest in Nigeria is Boko Harum and its affiliation as an Islamist extremist group. The critical question that has been debated on the news recently is if Boko Harum is an Al Qaeda affiliate.
With regard to ideas, the rescue of the kidnapped school girls is well aligned with basic American values. The media has been providing a fair amount of sympathetic coverage with US congressman and even the First Lady showing their support for the kidnapped school girls. The challenge from this perspective is if the President of the United States (POTUS) should commit the US military to support a rescue effort.
I think that the current US approach is the correct one. The US should provide US military support in an indirect role. It can provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets to assist in locating the girls. It can also provide a degree of training and operational planning assistance to the Nigerian counterterrorist unit. However, US forces should NOT participate directly in any rescue effort. There is just too much risk in terms of loss of life to one of the hostages or even to an American serviceman. Boko Harum can prepare itself for a rescue attempt and develop a plan to inflict a high number of casualties. This practical approach shows that the US is committed to supporting our values, but understanding it is in our best interest to NOT conduct a military operation unilaterally in the country of Nigeria because of risk analysis.
Let me adopt the position of the devil's advocate, by asking a question about "national interest". From your 2nd paragraph, does a *real* US national interest mean that the US is *dependent* on that thing? Would you say the security of Canadian oil is a real national interest since that is probably the most important good exchanged in the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world?
ReplyDeleteCorrect me in re-stating your position: the US policy toward Nigeria is determined by both interests and ideas. However, what if the formation of that interest is determined by ideas about dependence? If this idea is *prior* to the understanding of what the US national interest is, would this change your position?