That you have a shoe bomber from Britain does not make all British terrorists’ yet Nigeria is today grouped with Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia or Yemen, or one of the following countries designated as a state sponsor of terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria simply because of one young and inexperienced Boy, brainwashed and misguided into extremism as he studied in London? GIVE ME A BREAK!
Obama is wrong; Nigeria does not sponsor terrorism!
The choreographed international heightened response to another botched terrorist attack has provided a much-needed excuse for some agenda-driven American ideologues to demand opening “new fronts” in the “war on terror”, with “profiling” of Nigerians, Muslims and other poor countries at airports as a consequence.
Why should Nigeria be grouped with Countries classified by the US as ‘state sponsors of terrorism’? This smacks of a panicky measure!
New security measures announced Sunday night by the Transportation Security Administration take aim at those travelling to the United States from abroad and targets Nigeria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia or Yemen, or one of the following countries designated as a state sponsor of terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. Such extra scrutiny will now be virtually mandatory for passengers coming into the United States who hold passports from or who have travelled through countries that sponsor terrorism, or other so-called “countries of interest.”
A foiled attack on a US passenger jet on Christmas Day, in which a 23-year-old Nigerian allegedly trained in Yemen is accused of trying to blow up the plane as it approached Detroit, has focused British and American attention on the growing threat from al-Qaida in Yemen while the USA looks for a scapegoat.
As President Barack Obama comes under increased attack from the Republicans, He is under enormous pressure to show he too could be tough on terrorism.
Sarah Palin, in her latest dispatch, echoes Dick Cheney’s charge that Obama misunderstands the “war on terror,” as conservatives seem to move toward a unified position opposed to Obama’s national security policies:
“President Obama’s meeting with his top national security advisers does nothing to change the fact that his fundamental approach to terrorism is fatally flawed. We are at war with radical Islamic extremists and treating this threat as a law enforcement issue is dangerous for our nation’s security. That’s what happened in the 1990s and we saw the result on September 11, 2001. This is a war on terror not an “overseas contingency operation.” Acts of terrorism are just that, not “man caused disasters.” The system did not work. Abdulmutallab was a child of privilege radicalized and trained by organized jihadists, not an “isolated extremist” who travelled to a land of “crushing poverty.” He is an enemy of the United States, not just another criminal defendant”.
The tension in these attacks is between casting Obama as an abrupt departure from Bush and recognizing how much continuity there’s been between their approaches to the conflict. Nigeria refuses to be made a cannon fodder in the Republican versus Democrats war of words!
Meanwhile in the UK, Gordon Brown under pressure that he is “playing politics” with public safety has admitted that Downing Street may have overreacted and oversold its response to tackling the threat posed by Yemen, where the alleged bomber is thought to have been trained by an al-Qaida offshoot.
But in their attempt to display the nimble reaction of the prime minister, Downing Street officials engaged in some overzealous briefing and PM Brown has apologised for his error.
London-born Richard Reid has been sentenced in the United States after admitting trying to blow up a commercial flight using bombs hidden in his shoes. The son of an English mother and Jamaican father, so-called “shoe bomber” Richard Reid was born in 1973 in the London suburb of Bromley.
Born and raised in the UK, a breeding ground for terrorists.
That you have a shoe bomber from Britain does not make all British terrorists’ yet Nigeria is today grouped with Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia or Yemen, or one of the following countries designated as a state sponsor of terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria simply because of one young and inexperienced Boy, brainwashed and misguided into extremism as he studied in London? GIVE ME A BREAK!
The new air safety measures issued by the United States are unfair by Nigeria, one of the nations singled out for special checks.
Information Minister Dora Akunyili said the rules discriminated against 150 million Nigerians. Bomb suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab did not represent Nigeria, she said.
We fully support Aunty Dora on this one.
Nigerians are among 14 nations whose nationals face stiffer rules, including body searches and luggage checks. Four other African countries – Algeria, Libya, Somalia and Sudan – are also subject to the new measures. Akunyili said 23-year-old Abdulmutallab’s act was a one-off. “Abdulmutallab’s behaviour is not reflective of Nigeria and should therefore not be used as a yardstick to judge all Nigerians. He was not influenced in Nigeria, he was not recruited or trained in Nigeria, he was not supported whatsoever in Nigeria. It is unfair to discriminate against 150 million people because of the behaviour of one person,” she said.
The Minister of Information and Communications, Professor Dora Akunyili, fielding questions from newsmen in her office in Abuja, described as “unfair” the US decision to include Nigeria in the list, insisting that Nigerians do not have terrorists’ tendencies.
Nigeria passengers travelling to the US by air now face extra security screening. This screening includes body-pat and carry-on baggage checks. This is discriminatory.
“It is unfair to include Nigeria on the US list for tighter screening,” said the minister, “because Nigerians do not have terrorists’ tendency. Abdulmutalab’s act was a one off-thing.”
She noted that, Farouk Umar AbdulMutallab was not influenced in Nigeria. “He was not recruited or trained in Nigeria. He was not supported whatsoever in Nigeria. His behaviour is not a reflective of Nigerians and should, therefore, not be used as a yardstick to judge all Nigerians,” she said.
According to the minister, it is unfair to use the action of one Nigerian to judge over 150 million Nigerians.
“A typical Nigerian does not want to die. We are peace-loving and happy people. We were even voted as the happiest people on earth,’‘ she said.
President Obama is right to be furious with US agents. In his words;
“This was a screw-up that could have been disastrous. We dodged a bullet, but just barely. It was averted by brave individuals, not because the system worked, and that is not acceptable. While there will be a tendency for finger-pointing, I will not tolerate it.”
But in reality, the cost and implausibility of installing full body scanners at every port of entry around the world make his proposed measures impractical. And that’s if people can get over their privacy concerns or if modifications make the machines less graphic.
There is absolutely no need to focus on, or stigmatise Nigeria and Nigerians, neither is there any need to focus on screening of the population most likely to terrorize the U.S., meaning, Muslims.
This is a bad idea because even if you disregard constitutional and moral qualms about harassing a group of people because of their religion, the truth is that ethnic profiling is ineffective and counter-productive.
In Picking Targets, Mostly innocents populate the target group, and plenty of terrorists-in-training exist outside it.
Nigeria is definitely among the innocents.
elsdaniel@yahoo.com