Marines could lead the charge against Boko Haram: Marines could play an important role in containing — if not defeating — Boko Haram, according to a new study published just days after the radical organization announced its allegiance to the Islamic State group.
The study was commissioned by U.S. Naval Forces Africa, and was conducted by the CNA Corporation. It proposes ways to defeat Boko Haram within the confines of what its authors describe as a complicated relationship between Washington and Nigeria.
Boko Haram has carried out a number of atrocities across Nigeria, including kidnapping hundreds of school-aged girls and forcing them into marriage. Its recent allegiance to the Islamic State group has troubled world leaders.
The strategy proposed by CNA to combat the group includes the short-term goal of working with Nigeria's neighbors to contain Boko Haram, all the while advocating for a "whole of governance" or counter insurgency approach to eventually dismantle it.
With Marines possessing more than a decade of experience with COIN in Iraq and Afghanistan, and units regularly conducing military exchanges in the region, experts agree that the service could prove an important tool in working towards containment and eventual defeat of Boko Haram.
