Tibor Nagy Discusses Boko Haram and Need for Specialized Force [Audio]

Tuesday on Lubbock's First News, Tibor Nagy, Vice Provost for international affairs at Texas Tech University, discussed Boko Horam and the kidnapped girls in Nigeria.

Nagy noted the need of Nigerians to seek help with intelligence in taking action to retrieve the kidnapped girls from Boko Haram. He observed that while Nigerians are good at sending "heavy handed" forces to an operation area, leaving behind "major mayhem." However, Nagy believes they will need the help of specialized forces to gather information on the location of the girls and to form a specific plan of action to face Boko Haram, who are considered have some good training. Nagy suggested the part of the country in which the group (has power?) fosters aggression among people because it has been abandoned by the government and led to a generally more impoverished and less educated population.

Although many have requested Boko Haram be placed on an internationally recognized list of terrorist groups, some are concerned about placing them on this list because it may grant them greater notoriety among other terrorist organizations. Nagy said this is a concern because it could empower multiple groups, strengthening them by making that connection. However, this may bring greater media attention to the kidnapped girls, which Nagy believes is currently lacking. He noted that focused global attention makes things happen, saying, "I suspect they would have gone on for years and years doing the same kind of stuff." He explained, "It's almost like there is a relative value to tragedy if it happens in the West or a country we've heard of somehow it's worse somehow it's worse than massive disasters in unknown parts of the world."

Get more details on this conversation by listening to the interview below.

Listen to the full interview: