Boko Haram pledge is a sign of weakness

Last week, the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram swore allegiance to the Islamic State. If there’s anything worse than one threatening terrorist organization declaring its loyalty to another, even more hostile group, it is the fact that Boko Haram did so through an audio message shared on Twitter.

The arc of many news narratives and the source of many of the world’s woes over the past several months have intersected, and now we find out about Boko Haram’s declaration on Twitter, a platform that produces inane celebrity wars. The pledge is ostensibly troubling. The group of terrorists who prompted the worldwide #BringBackOurGirls campaign have decided to team up with the barbaric extremists who produce videos of beheadings and kidnappings of innocent people. This creation, to borrow the words of noted political advisor David Frum, of an “axis of evil” at first suggests the formation of a powerful terrorist conglomerate in the Middle East, but it in fact betrays the increasingly unstable and fragmented leadership within both groups.

Recent international news headlines have been dominated by reports and stories of Boko Haram kidnapping children in Nigerian villages and denying them education, all while looking to expand its territorial control. If it’s not Boko Haram, it’s ISIS. ISIS has been in the news so much that almost everyone has an opinion on it. The videos of beheadings that ISIS has put online have become almost countless, which is alarming. The international community has become far too complacent in its strategy to defeat terrorists. A world where near weekly videos of mass murder and violence can be posted online without any immediate ramifications is not only disconcerting, but also a complete failure of world leaders to wipe out radical ideologues with an inhumane agenda to to wipe out radical ideologues with no regard for humanity.

With an incontrovertible core of extremism and intolerance, it is no surprise that a terrorist organization would have difficulty in its efforts to fortify allies supporting its actions. If there is anything to take away from Boko Haram’s message swearing allegiance to the Islamic State, it is the group’s apparent weakness and struggle to exist. Rather than signifying its strength and power, the fact that Boko Haram would even entertain the idea of aligning itself with another terrorist organization illustrates that the supporters of its philosophy are balking and the stamina of its crusade is wavering. With most of the attention being paid to the Islamic State, Boko Haram is left in the shadows, marginalized to the alleys of NPR sidebar news. As the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them.

The vulnerable position that Boko Haram is in provides an opportunity to stamp it out and reignite the fight to defeat ISIS. Boko Haram’s signals of allegiance indicate paralysis in the organization’s expansion and growth. As the flames of both groups’ highly extremist views continue to burn out, an allegiance between the two is not a cause for fear or panic, but rather an opportunity to batter the enemy down and begin to deconstruct the bubble of radicalism and intolerance the groups have sought to build.

To the international community, Boko Haram’s video sends signs of weakness. Ultimately, that might contribute to the organization’s demise.

Athanasius Georgy is a sophomore majoring in economics. His column, “On the World Stage,” runs Thursdays.