Africa Offers a Lesson in How to Topple Terrorists

WORLD

Discussion Ideas

What is Boko Haram?
- Boko Haram is a terrorist organization affiliated with both al-Qaida and Islamic State. (In fact, the group’s official name is Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyyah, or “Islamic State West Africa Province,” ISWAP.) Boko Haram is based in northeast Nigeria, but has infiltrated Chad, Niger, Cameroon, and Benin.

Although still a dangerous terrorist group, Boko Haram has seen its power decrease over the past several months. What are three major reasons the influence of Boko Haram has diminished?
- A severe drought in West Africa, made worse by El Niño, has reduced the food, water, and other resources available to the group.
- Boko Haram’s own devastating scorched earth policies are backfiring. According to the Christian Science Monitor, “The group . . . forced farmers to flee, abandoning fields and crops.”
- Perhaps most crucially, the Nigerian military is fighting Boko Haram for every inch of territory. “The Nigerian military is pushing the group out of towns and villages it once controlled . . . ‘At this point they can still carry out devastating attacks,’ says one expert, ‘but without secure territory to operate from, they are increasingly vulnerable to these mounting setbacks.’”

Why is the loss of geographic territory an “essential first step” in fighting terrorism?
- According to the CSM, “Holding territory is key to the longevity and expansion of extremist groups like Boko Haram because it provides a steady stream of food and other sources of financial support.”
- “Territory also provides a base at which to train fighters, build bombs, and from which to launch attacks.”

How does the geographic territory help define the danger posed by a terrorist group?
- According to experts, “Control of territory is a key feature of more established—and more dangerous—violent extremist groups . . . There is an organizational spectrum that ranges from ‘terrorist group’ to ‘insurgency’ to ‘insurgency plus,’ with the last referring to a group is also a governing force.”
  - A terrorist group is one which pursues political aims through the use of non-military violence and threats of violence. The Ku Klux Klan may be considered a terrorist group.
  - An insurgency is a terrorist group that has a discrete base of operations—its own territory. Boko Haram may be considered an insurgency.
  - Insurgency-plus refers to terrorist groups that are also acting as a local territorial government. Islamic State, which promotes itself as a caliphate, may be considered an insurgency-plus organization.

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