Skip to main content

Nigerian Girls Missing, Thought To Be Sold: What the White House Says Its Doing To Help

"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights" Gloria Steinem

Just two months after the world celebrated International Women's Day, we find that more than 200 Nigerian girls have been kidnapped and thought to be sold by the infamous Islamic Jihadist group, Boko Haram.

 Nigeria is calling for the help of all nations to help in finding and releasing the young girls, many of whom are under the age of seventeen.

 During conversations at yesterday's White House press briefing, the subject of what the United States is doing to assist Nigeria in the search and rescue efforts to find the missing girls and bring them home, Press Secretary Carney stated, "What I can tell you is that we view what has happened there as an outrage and a terrible tragedy.  The President has been briefed several times and his national security team continues to monitor the situation there closely.  The State Department has been in regular touch with the Nigerian government about what we might do to help support its efforts to find and free these young women."
    

 



 Even First Lady Michelle Obama is making a statement, tweeting "Our prayers are with the missing Nigerian girls and their families. It's time to #BringBackOurGirls." -mo




On Tuesday, the White House says it is prepared to send a team of 'advisors' and 'negotiators' to Nigeria to assist the country with rescue efforts.

 Here are excerpts from that exchange.
     Q    And also, there have been some calls today for the Nigerian President to accept international help that’s now been offered by the U.S. and by Britain.  Does the White House feel like Nigeria is open to the help that is out there?  And is it cooperating with efforts coming from elsewhere?

     MR. CARNEY:  I’m glad you asked, because this morning, Secretary Kerry called Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to reiterate our offer of assistance.  President Jonathan welcomed Secretary Kerry’s offer to send a team to Nigeria to discuss how the United States can best support Nigeria in its response to this horrific event, these kidnappings. 

Our embassy is prepared to form an interdisciplinary team that could provide expertise on intelligence investigations and hostage negotiations, could help facilitate information sharing and provide victim assistance.  It would include U.S. military personnel, law enforcement officials with expertise in investigations and hostage negotiations, as well as officials with expertise in other areas that may be helpful to the Nigerian government in its response.  President Obama has directed that we do everything we can to help the Nigerian government find and free these girls.  The President and Secretary Kerry will discuss this very issue in their meeting later today.
 Q    Can I follow up on that?

     MR. CARNEY:  Yes, Ann.
     Q    Are you saying that the United States is actually going to send an additional -- offer of personnel?  Seven months ago, when President Obama and President Jonathan sat down together in New York, President Obama said that we want to be cooperative in the process of building the capacity inside of Nigeria to deal with this dangerous group.

     MR. CARNEY:  With Boko Haram.

     Q    Yes. 

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, that is certainly the case.

     Q    What has happened in the last --

     MR. CARNEY:  This is in addition to -- this is the product of a conversation that Secretary Kerry had with the Nigerian President this morning, where he reiterated our offer of assistance.  And President Jonathan welcomed Secretary Kerry’s offer to send a team to Nigeria to discuss how the U.S. can help Nigeria in its response to this specific incident.  So this would be a team that would be focused on this issue, not just on the broader Boko Haram challenge that Nigeria faces. 

     Q    How would the United States assess what the Nigerian government has done so far?  Has it been enough?

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, what I can tell you is that it is certainly Nigeria’s responsibility to maintain the safety and security of its citizens.  These girls were captured and kidnapped 22 days ago and time is of the essence.  Appropriate action must be taken to locate and to free these young women before they are trafficked or killed.

     We urge the Nigerian government to ensure that it is bringing all appropriate resources to bear in a concerted effort to ensure their safe return.  We are absolutely committed to helping Nigeria, but it is the Nigerian government’s responsibility, first and foremost, to maintain the safety and security of its citizens.  And we urge the Nigerian government to take action to ensure that it is bringing all appropriate resources to bear in the effort to find them and free them.

     Q    There are U.S. forces on the ground in Africa looking for Joseph Kony.  Can you imagine American resources being used in that kind of sense? 

     MR. CARNEY:  Well, we’re not considering at this point military resources.  We would urge Nigeria to ensure that any operation to free the girls would protect civilians and human rights. 

 Related
Congresswomen united, appeal for safe return of Nigerian girls.  "There's a special place in hell" for Boko Haram.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In wake of the Zika virus, travel, spring break still O.K.

Representatives from the CDC and the NIH were on hand at the White House during Monday's press briefing to update the public and address concerns over the Zika virus that has caused some babies to be born with deformities. Dr. Anne Schuchat from the Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Tony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health told reporters that a vaccine is in the making.   The pair also said they are particulary concerned about women who are pregnant, or plan to get pregnant, who have either traveled to or plan to travel to areas of South America and the Carribean known to have the Zika virus. Despite those bold statements, the doctors said there is no wide-spread concern and that Americans should continue to travel, including during upcoming college spring breaks --  when college students travel to warmer climate destinations to escape winter weather. "Travel to Zika-affected areas is very common among Americans, and we don’t think that needs to stop...
Post a Comment
Read more

Congressional Black Caucus Week Tackles Tough Issues: Among Them Youth Unemployment and Education

Congressional members convene at today's Congressional Black Caucus Town Hall Meeting. Photo/CD Brown  Mark your calendars to attend this year's Congressional Black Caucus events at the Washington Convention Center. This year's theme Vision, Journey, Mission will address many topics concerning Americans including jobs and education (especially for youth), and economic advancement.  In today's Town Hall meeting titled 'Educating Our Way To Prosperity' members on the panel that included Congressman Elijah Cummings, Representative Dianne Watson (D-CA), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), and author of The Other Wes Moore talked about educating youth for green jobs, and to think entrepreneurial instead working for someone else. "We must develop entrepreneurial opportunities", said Fattah. "In many cultures it's a common discussion to educate youth to think about starting a business." Congressman Elijah Cummings who sits on the Joint Economic ...
Post a Comment
Read more

President Obama Meets Muslim Leaders

from the White House press office. THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 4, 2015 Readout of the President’s Meeting with American Muslim Leaders The President this afternoon met with American Muslim leaders to discuss a range of domestic and foreign policy issues.  The President thanked the participants for their work in a variety of fields and for coming together to offer views on issues of importance to their communities, noting that his regular interactions with different faith communities provided him with valuable insights and feedback.  Among the topics of discussion were the community’s efforts and partnerships with the Administration on a range of domestic issues such as the Affordable Care Act, issues of anti-Muslim violence and discrimination, the 21 st  Century Policing Task Force, and the upcoming White House Summit on Countering Violence Extremism.   The President reiterated his Administr...
Post a Comment
Read more