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US Denies Blocking Nigerian Government's Purchase Of War Aircraft
http://www.africaeagle.com/2014/09/us-denies-blocking-nigerian-governments.html
The United States embassy in Nigeria has faulted a story of its purported blocking of the sale of CH-47 Chinook transport aircraft by the state of Israel to Nigeria.
Responding to the story published by a Nigerian newspaper, that the US had prevented Israel from selling the cargo helicopters to Nigeria, the embassy’s press attaché, Sean J. McIntosh, said his country had a good diplomatic relationship with Nigeria.
“The United States remains committed to helping the government of Nigeria address the threat posed by the terrorist organisation Haram. We continue to support Nigerian efforts to bring about the safe recovery of the abductees and to advise the government of Nigeria on its response,” he said.
He further added that, “We are advising on issues of survivor support, humanitarian assistance, criminal investigations, intelligence and strategic communications.”
He, however, declined to give any assurance of a mutual complement of arms purchase policy that is not in conformity with that of his country and its interests.
“U.S. Departments of State and Defense review all potential arms transfers for their consistency with US policy and interests, as detailed in the US Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, updated by Obama in January. This includes any requests for one country to transfer US-origin defence items to another country,” McIntosh said, emphasising that he could not comment on any specific application of the policy.
Meanwhile, Mukhtar Dan’Iyan, the editor-in-chief of the 15Past8 Media Group based in City, who is also an expert on Africa and Middle East policy and security gave his opinion on the matter in a tweet he posted.
Dan’Iyan wrote, “Israel does not use CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, so selling surplus (or any stock) to Nigeria or any other nation is not even a possibility. The story about USA blocking the sale of non-existent equipment from Israel is therefore non-sequitur.
“Incidentally, Israel uses the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion as its heavy transport helicopter, and Boeing would do anything to get that business for its Chinook,” he wrote.
Boko Haram killed 13,000 Nigerians in 5 years – Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan has in New York, United Statesthat the Haram sect has killed about 13,000 persons in Nigeria since 2005.
Addressing the United Nations Security Council High-Level Meeting on the Threat of Terrorism to Peace and Security yesterday , Jonathan, who urged the international community to act immediately to stop the troubling new phenomenon of terrorists and foreign fighters attacking and trying to hold parts of sovereign nations, stated that there was the need to support countries like Nigeria which are in the frontline of the war against terrorism.
Informing the UN Security Council that his administration has continued relentlessly to confront the menace of terrorism with unrelenting determination, Jonathan said the federal government has also evolved initiatives to alleviate the plight of people in affected communities.
He said, “Nigeria knows too well the destructive effects of terrorist activities. Over the past five years, we have been, and are still confronting threats posed by Boko Haram to peace and stability predominantly in the North Eastern part of our country.
“The costs are high: over 13,000 people have been killed, whole communities razed, and hundreds of persons kidnapped, the most prominent being our innocent daughters from Chibok Secondary School, in North East Nigeria.
As daunting as the challenge may be, we have faced it with unrelenting determination, mobilising all the resources at our disposal to ensure that the scourge of terrorism is rooted out of our nation.
“In addition to our counterterrorism efforts, we have evolved initiatives to alleviate the plight of the population in the affected communities. These include a holistic effort through the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE) which is aimed at providing immediate relief and fast tracking the infrastructural re-development of the region. It also has as a core goal, an integrated effort at achieving the de-radicalisation of potential terrorist recruits.
“We have also launched a Victims Support Fund which has already raised about $500million of the expected minimum of $1billion in direct support of the victims of acts of terrorism. This is in addition to the. Safe Schools Initiative championed by Mr. Gordon Brown, former British Prime Minister and currently the UN Special Envoy for Global Education which is being rigorously supported by Nigeria’s Federal Government”.
Jonathan further urged the international community must also do more to support countries like Nigeria which are in the frontline of the war against terrorism.
He said, “There is no doubt that foreign fighters have added a troubling dimension to this emerging phase of terrorism. From targeted attacks by Al Qaeda a few years ago, we now have mobile bands of thousands of terrorists sweeping across vast areas, destroying lives, and even attempting to hold territory. This is unacceptable; we must act now.
“We must capitalize on the commitment and evident determination of the Security Council to seek more innovative responses to the threat of terrorism and in particular to the growing menace of foreign fighters. The Council should be concerned about the existence of sources of arming and funding terrorists. Evidence has shown that Boko Haram, for instance, is resourced largely from outside our country.
“We must also commit to ensuring that countries which are in the frontline of this challenge, receive adequate support from the international community.
Only by united action and firm resolve can we check this raging threat to humanity, and also build the enduring structures that will resist their re-emergence”.
United States president, Barack Obama has called on the world to join him in the effort to degrade and ultimately destroy militants terrorising the world.
Addressing the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, Obama highlighted efforts being made to build an international coalition to combat ISIS and Al-Qaeda terrorists, who are taking some parts of the countries affected by their activities.
According to Obama, the militants were terrorising people in Iraq and Syria, gunning down innocent children and subjecting mothers, sisters and daughters to rape as a weapon of war.
“Bodies have been dumped in mass graves. Religious minorities have been starved to death. In the most horrific crimes imaginable, innocent human beings have been beheaded, with videos of the atrocity distributed to shock the conscience of the world.
“In this effort, we do not act alone. Nor do we intend to send US troops to occupy foreign lands. We will train and equip forces fighting against these terrorists on the ground. We will work to cut off their financing and to stop the flow of fighters into and out of the region.
“The ideology of ISIS or Al-Qaeda or Boko Haram will wilt and die if it is consistently exposed, confronted and refuted in the light of day,” Obama said.
He cited as an example a new Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies and Sheikh binBayyah, who described its purpose: “We must declare war on war, so the outcome will be peace upon peace. Look at the young British Muslims who responded to terrorist propaganda by starting the hash tag #NotInMyName campaign, declaring ‘ISIS is hiding behind a false Islam’.
“Look at the Christian and Muslim leaders who came together in the Central African Republic to reject violence. Listen to the Imam who said, ‘Politics tries to divide the religious in our country, but religion shouldn’t be a cause of hate, war, or strife’.”
President Obama urged the world – especially Muslim communities – to explicitly, forcefully and consistently reject the ideology of Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Boko Haram.
“It is the task of all great religions to accommodate devout faith with a modern, multicultural world. No children, anywhere, should be educated to hate other people. There should be no more tolerance of so-called clerics who call upon people to harm innocents because they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim.
“It is time for a new compact among the civilised peoples of this world to eradicate war at its most fundamental source: the corruption of young minds by violent ideology. It’s time to end the hypocrisy of those who accumulate wealth through the global economy and then siphon funds to those who teach children to tear it down,” he said.
Contesting the space that terrorists occupy, including the Internet and social media, he said, “Their propaganda has coerced young people to travel abroad to fight their wars and turned students into suicide bombers. We must offer an alternative vision.
“All religions have been attacked by extremists from within at some point, and all people of faith have a responsibility to lift up the value at the heart of all religion: do unto thy neighbour as you would have done unto you,” Obama said.
Source: Leadership
Responding to the story published by a Nigerian newspaper, that the US had prevented Israel from selling the cargo helicopters to Nigeria, the embassy’s press attaché, Sean J. McIntosh, said his country had a good diplomatic relationship with Nigeria.
“The United States remains committed to helping the government of Nigeria address the threat posed by the terrorist organisation Haram. We continue to support Nigerian efforts to bring about the safe recovery of the abductees and to advise the government of Nigeria on its response,” he said.
He further added that, “We are advising on issues of survivor support, humanitarian assistance, criminal investigations, intelligence and strategic communications.”
He, however, declined to give any assurance of a mutual complement of arms purchase policy that is not in conformity with that of his country and its interests.
“U.S. Departments of State and Defense review all potential arms transfers for their consistency with US policy and interests, as detailed in the US Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, updated by Obama in January. This includes any requests for one country to transfer US-origin defence items to another country,” McIntosh said, emphasising that he could not comment on any specific application of the policy.
Meanwhile, Mukhtar Dan’Iyan, the editor-in-chief of the 15Past8 Media Group based in City, who is also an expert on Africa and Middle East policy and security gave his opinion on the matter in a tweet he posted.
Dan’Iyan wrote, “Israel does not use CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, so selling surplus (or any stock) to Nigeria or any other nation is not even a possibility. The story about USA blocking the sale of non-existent equipment from Israel is therefore non-sequitur.
“Incidentally, Israel uses the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion as its heavy transport helicopter, and Boeing would do anything to get that business for its Chinook,” he wrote.
Boko Haram killed 13,000 Nigerians in 5 years – Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan has in New York, United Statesthat the Haram sect has killed about 13,000 persons in Nigeria since 2005.
Addressing the United Nations Security Council High-Level Meeting on the Threat of Terrorism to Peace and Security yesterday , Jonathan, who urged the international community to act immediately to stop the troubling new phenomenon of terrorists and foreign fighters attacking and trying to hold parts of sovereign nations, stated that there was the need to support countries like Nigeria which are in the frontline of the war against terrorism.
Informing the UN Security Council that his administration has continued relentlessly to confront the menace of terrorism with unrelenting determination, Jonathan said the federal government has also evolved initiatives to alleviate the plight of people in affected communities.
He said, “Nigeria knows too well the destructive effects of terrorist activities. Over the past five years, we have been, and are still confronting threats posed by Boko Haram to peace and stability predominantly in the North Eastern part of our country.
“The costs are high: over 13,000 people have been killed, whole communities razed, and hundreds of persons kidnapped, the most prominent being our innocent daughters from Chibok Secondary School, in North East Nigeria.
As daunting as the challenge may be, we have faced it with unrelenting determination, mobilising all the resources at our disposal to ensure that the scourge of terrorism is rooted out of our nation.
“In addition to our counterterrorism efforts, we have evolved initiatives to alleviate the plight of the population in the affected communities. These include a holistic effort through the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE) which is aimed at providing immediate relief and fast tracking the infrastructural re-development of the region. It also has as a core goal, an integrated effort at achieving the de-radicalisation of potential terrorist recruits.
“We have also launched a Victims Support Fund which has already raised about $500million of the expected minimum of $1billion in direct support of the victims of acts of terrorism. This is in addition to the. Safe Schools Initiative championed by Mr. Gordon Brown, former British Prime Minister and currently the UN Special Envoy for Global Education which is being rigorously supported by Nigeria’s Federal Government”.
Jonathan further urged the international community must also do more to support countries like Nigeria which are in the frontline of the war against terrorism.
He said, “There is no doubt that foreign fighters have added a troubling dimension to this emerging phase of terrorism. From targeted attacks by Al Qaeda a few years ago, we now have mobile bands of thousands of terrorists sweeping across vast areas, destroying lives, and even attempting to hold territory. This is unacceptable; we must act now.
“We must capitalize on the commitment and evident determination of the Security Council to seek more innovative responses to the threat of terrorism and in particular to the growing menace of foreign fighters. The Council should be concerned about the existence of sources of arming and funding terrorists. Evidence has shown that Boko Haram, for instance, is resourced largely from outside our country.
“We must also commit to ensuring that countries which are in the frontline of this challenge, receive adequate support from the international community.
Only by united action and firm resolve can we check this raging threat to humanity, and also build the enduring structures that will resist their re-emergence”.
United States president, Barack Obama has called on the world to join him in the effort to degrade and ultimately destroy militants terrorising the world.
Addressing the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, Obama highlighted efforts being made to build an international coalition to combat ISIS and Al-Qaeda terrorists, who are taking some parts of the countries affected by their activities.
According to Obama, the militants were terrorising people in Iraq and Syria, gunning down innocent children and subjecting mothers, sisters and daughters to rape as a weapon of war.
“Bodies have been dumped in mass graves. Religious minorities have been starved to death. In the most horrific crimes imaginable, innocent human beings have been beheaded, with videos of the atrocity distributed to shock the conscience of the world.
“In this effort, we do not act alone. Nor do we intend to send US troops to occupy foreign lands. We will train and equip forces fighting against these terrorists on the ground. We will work to cut off their financing and to stop the flow of fighters into and out of the region.
“The ideology of ISIS or Al-Qaeda or Boko Haram will wilt and die if it is consistently exposed, confronted and refuted in the light of day,” Obama said.
He cited as an example a new Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies and Sheikh binBayyah, who described its purpose: “We must declare war on war, so the outcome will be peace upon peace. Look at the young British Muslims who responded to terrorist propaganda by starting the hash tag #NotInMyName campaign, declaring ‘ISIS is hiding behind a false Islam’.
“Look at the Christian and Muslim leaders who came together in the Central African Republic to reject violence. Listen to the Imam who said, ‘Politics tries to divide the religious in our country, but religion shouldn’t be a cause of hate, war, or strife’.”
President Obama urged the world – especially Muslim communities – to explicitly, forcefully and consistently reject the ideology of Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Boko Haram.
“It is the task of all great religions to accommodate devout faith with a modern, multicultural world. No children, anywhere, should be educated to hate other people. There should be no more tolerance of so-called clerics who call upon people to harm innocents because they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim.
“It is time for a new compact among the civilised peoples of this world to eradicate war at its most fundamental source: the corruption of young minds by violent ideology. It’s time to end the hypocrisy of those who accumulate wealth through the global economy and then siphon funds to those who teach children to tear it down,” he said.
Contesting the space that terrorists occupy, including the Internet and social media, he said, “Their propaganda has coerced young people to travel abroad to fight their wars and turned students into suicide bombers. We must offer an alternative vision.
“All religions have been attacked by extremists from within at some point, and all people of faith have a responsibility to lift up the value at the heart of all religion: do unto thy neighbour as you would have done unto you,” Obama said.
Source: Leadership
