Washington-bound for Defense One Summit, just a few developments I’ll be charting today:
- Implications of U.S. State Departments classification of Nigeria-based Boko Haram / Ansaru as terrorist organizations. While Defense One reported on the importance of the action, citing increased US policy tools to confront and erode these group’s power, The New York Times’ Eric Schmidt warned that the designation might further legitimize both groups who are allegedly tied to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
- Boko Haram’s latest kidnapping victim might be a French priest taken from northern Cameroon, according to Reuters.
- Questions re: the future of asymmetrical warfare (by land, air, and sea). Reflections from the summit.
Finally, I wanted to draw attention to the latest New York Times update on the Chevron/Ecuador case. Nearly two years ago, I wrote about the impact of Chevron’s investment in Ecuador in a long-form narrative piece (published on this site.) Given the consequences of this case for environmental litigation in the global north and south, the article is worth a read.
Adam McCauley 