Found this report on NBC News. US
Intelligence report suggests that racism
will keep ISIS operating in Northern
Africa from teaming up with Boko
Haram. Amen! Read report below...
Long before ISIS militants
beheaded Christians on a Libyan
beach last week, Nigeria's Boko
Har
am was carrying out similar
atrocities 1,500 miles to the
south. Now that ISIS is operating
in northern Africa, will the Syria-
based organization join forces with
the continent's largest Islamist
terror group? Maybe not, say U.S.
intelligence officials, and they
suggest one obstacle is racism.
The Arab world is incredibly
racist," explained a U.S.
intelligence official. "They don't
see black Africans as equivalent to
them."
ISIS may show "affinity" with Boko
Haram, said the official, "but they stop
short of allegiance." Moreover, said the
official, while Boko Haram has in the
past year released videos to show
"affiliation" with groups like ISIS, there's
no evidence of either group sending
members to fight with the other. And
while Boko Haram has praised ISIS, and
shown the ISIS flag in videos, ISIS has
not reciprocated.
"There are still questions of the ISIS
view of Boko Haram and Nigeria," said
the official. "But Boko Haram does not
operate in sync with ISIS. The caliphates
are separate." There was concern last
October when Boko Haram declared its
caliphate that the two might team up,
but there's no indication that's
happening, said the official.
The groups differ in many ways. Both
use social media, but the ISIS campaign
is much more sophisticated - using more
than 20 languages -- and attempts to
communicate the Islamic rationale for
its operations. Boko Haram posts
increasingly slick videos on the web, like
one released Tuesday that threatens
the leaders of Cameroon, Benin and
Chad, but its prime recruiting tool is
older and simpler than social media.
"Boko Haram," said one official, "uses
fear."
The governance of their respective
caliphates also differs. ISIS attempts to
replace the bureaucracies it found in
conquered territories with its own,
while Boko Haram has been satisfied
simply taking over villages and cities and
establishing Sharia courts that mete out
rough justice.
ISIS has more "hardcore" soldiers than
Boko Haram -- about 26,000 to 31,000
compared to 4,000 to 6,000. ISIS is also
more attractive to foreign fighters, with
an estimated 2,700 Westerners having
fought for the group. Intelligence
officials say that other than a few
fighters who've crossed the border into
Nigeria from Cameroon, Chad and Niger,
the numbers of foreign fighters in Boko
Haram are negligible. There's no
evidence, they say, of any North
Americans or Europeans fighting in
Nigeria.
But even if there is no link beyond
shared values between the groups, ISIS
may be a role model for Boko Haram,
said Michael Sheehan, chairman of the
Countering Terrorism Center at West
Point. He said he's "not sure" Boko
Haram would've "gone the caliphate
route" if ISIS hadn't done so first.
"Each of them has been successful,
reinforcing their own optimism, and
that's not insignificant," said Sheehan.
And there is little difference in the level
of violence perpetrated by the groups.
An intelligence official told NBC News
that many of the attacks and atrocities
carried out by the Nigerian group have
not been publicly reported publicly.
The two groups also share a crucial
asset: a charismatic leader. Intelligence
officials say that just as Abu Bakr al-
Baghdadi's persona is central to ISIS,
Abubakar Shekau's "fiery persona" has
made him a strong commander-in-chief
of Boko Haram -- one who would be
difficult to replace.
"Everything starts with Shekau," said an
intelligence official. "There doesn't
appear to be a charismatic leader below
him." Officials note that in videos made
since the announcement of the
caliphate, like Tuesday's, Shekau has
presented himself less as a militant and
more as a leader.
Intelligence report suggests that racism
will keep ISIS operating in Northern
Africa from teaming up with Boko
Haram. Amen! Read report below...
Long before ISIS militants
beheaded Christians on a Libyan
beach last week, Nigeria's Boko
Har
am was carrying out similar
atrocities 1,500 miles to the
south. Now that ISIS is operating
in northern Africa, will the Syria-
based organization join forces with
the continent's largest Islamist
terror group? Maybe not, say U.S.
intelligence officials, and they
suggest one obstacle is racism.
The Arab world is incredibly
racist," explained a U.S.
intelligence official. "They don't
see black Africans as equivalent to
them."
ISIS may show "affinity" with Boko
Haram, said the official, "but they stop
short of allegiance." Moreover, said the
official, while Boko Haram has in the
past year released videos to show
"affiliation" with groups like ISIS, there's
no evidence of either group sending
members to fight with the other. And
while Boko Haram has praised ISIS, and
shown the ISIS flag in videos, ISIS has
not reciprocated.
"There are still questions of the ISIS
view of Boko Haram and Nigeria," said
the official. "But Boko Haram does not
operate in sync with ISIS. The caliphates
are separate." There was concern last
October when Boko Haram declared its
caliphate that the two might team up,
but there's no indication that's
happening, said the official.
The groups differ in many ways. Both
use social media, but the ISIS campaign
is much more sophisticated - using more
than 20 languages -- and attempts to
communicate the Islamic rationale for
its operations. Boko Haram posts
increasingly slick videos on the web, like
one released Tuesday that threatens
the leaders of Cameroon, Benin and
Chad, but its prime recruiting tool is
older and simpler than social media.
"Boko Haram," said one official, "uses
fear."
The governance of their respective
caliphates also differs. ISIS attempts to
replace the bureaucracies it found in
conquered territories with its own,
while Boko Haram has been satisfied
simply taking over villages and cities and
establishing Sharia courts that mete out
rough justice.
ISIS has more "hardcore" soldiers than
Boko Haram -- about 26,000 to 31,000
compared to 4,000 to 6,000. ISIS is also
more attractive to foreign fighters, with
an estimated 2,700 Westerners having
fought for the group. Intelligence
officials say that other than a few
fighters who've crossed the border into
Nigeria from Cameroon, Chad and Niger,
the numbers of foreign fighters in Boko
Haram are negligible. There's no
evidence, they say, of any North
Americans or Europeans fighting in
Nigeria.
But even if there is no link beyond
shared values between the groups, ISIS
may be a role model for Boko Haram,
said Michael Sheehan, chairman of the
Countering Terrorism Center at West
Point. He said he's "not sure" Boko
Haram would've "gone the caliphate
route" if ISIS hadn't done so first.
"Each of them has been successful,
reinforcing their own optimism, and
that's not insignificant," said Sheehan.
And there is little difference in the level
of violence perpetrated by the groups.
An intelligence official told NBC News
that many of the attacks and atrocities
carried out by the Nigerian group have
not been publicly reported publicly.
The two groups also share a crucial
asset: a charismatic leader. Intelligence
officials say that just as Abu Bakr al-
Baghdadi's persona is central to ISIS,
Abubakar Shekau's "fiery persona" has
made him a strong commander-in-chief
of Boko Haram -- one who would be
difficult to replace.
"Everything starts with Shekau," said an
intelligence official. "There doesn't
appear to be a charismatic leader below
him." Officials note that in videos made
since the announcement of the
caliphate, like Tuesday's, Shekau has
presented himself less as a militant and
more as a leader.
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