Wesley M. Bruer
Articles by Wesley M. Bruer:
Boko Haram Brings Nigeria to the Brink of Collapse
February 5, 2012 by Wesley M. Bruer
Nigeria’s troubles are fuelled by ethnic and religious tensions. Stringer/EPA
The people committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad, or Boko Haram as they are infamously known to the international community, has escalated its war on the Nigerian government in recent months with devastating effects. In January alone, the terror group’s attacks have already claimed over 250 lives, more than half of all deaths inflicted by their attacks in all of 2011. With a history of sectarian violence and recent bouts of civil unrest, Nigeria is on the path of collapse as it faces one of the deadliest Islamic insurgencies in the world.
Maiduguri, located in north-east Nigeria’s Muslim-dominated Borno state, is the birthplace of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, Boko Haram’s official nom de guerre. Founded in 2002 by influential Muslim cleric Mohammad Yusuf, the group evolved from the leader’s mosque and madrassa members to a nation-wide threat aimed at establishing sharia law throughout Africa’s most populous nation.
US-Pakistan Diplomatic Ties Being Put to the Test
October 4, 2011 by Wesley M. Bruer
America’s diplomatic ties with Pakistan have further deteriorated following critical statements made by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen earlier last week. In his testimony before a Sept. 22 Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing, Admiral Mullen called out Pakistan’s shadowy Inter Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) for its long-suspected ties to terrorists networks in the region, purporting that the country’s intelligence wing has directly supported recent insurgent attacks on US targets in Afghanistan.
The Haqqani network, led by Jalaluddin Haqqani based out of Pakistan’s lawless Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) was a key ally to the United States during the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980’s, is quickly becoming the most obvious threat to US interests in the region and US officials claim to have evidence of their involvement in recent high-profile attacks. Admiral Mullen testified: “There is ample evidence confirming that the Haqqanis were behind the June 28th attack against the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul and the September 10th truck bomb attack that killed five Afghans and injured another 96 individuals, 77 of whom were US soldiers.”
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