US forces are helping Nigeria — but there are limits to what they'll do

[undeterred]

Rachel Daniel, 35, holds up a picture of her abducted daughter Rose Daniel, 17, as her son Bukar, 7, sits beside her at her home in Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria on May 21, 2014. Rose is one of the more than 200 of her classmates on April 14 by Boko Haram militants from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno state.

The Obama Administration is trying to make clear what it is and what it isn't doing to help Nigeria find the more than 200 girls kidnapped by the Boko Haram militant group. Sarah Sewall, undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, says the US is focused on helping and working with the Nigerian government.

"And what they're helping the government in Abuja to do is build up its capacity to find the girls," she says. She was referring to the Amercan advisers already in Nigeria who are sharing their expertise in everything from intelligence to hostage negotiations. "We [are helping] them with capacity to find and trace the source of IEDs [improvised explosive devices]. We help them with forensic capacity, with military training. We are helping them enhance their special forces units. We're helping them build a new ranger battalion."

The White House said on Wednesday that it had also sent 80 members of the US armed forces to Chad, along with a Predator drone, to aid in the search for the kidnapped girls. "These personnel will support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area," the administration wrote in a letter to Congress. "The force will remain in Chad until its support in resolving the kidnapping situation is no longer required."

By law, President Barack Obama was required to notify the House speaker and the president of the Senate because the aircraft are armed, though the US forces in Chad will only be involved in maintaining the aircraft and analyzing data. They are not combat troops. Sewall says the specific US goal right now is simple: "Our role right now is really locating the girls — and that's why we've sent this interdisciplinary team to Abuja and that's why we've sent folks to Chad to help with the intelligence and surveillance and reconaisscance mechanisms that will hopefully allow us to pinpoint the location or locations of the hostages." Once the girls are located, says Sewall, it will be up to Nigeria to decide how to win their safe return.

Read more: http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-05-22/us-forces-are-helping-nigeria-there-are-limits-what-theyll-do

[GeorgeGist]

1. Announcing this is irresponsible ...

as the kidnapped girls are those most at risk.