Why’d Trump Bomb ISIS In Nigeria On Christmas?
Andrew Korybko
Dec 25, 2025
The new National Security Strategy declares that “we must remain wary of resurgent Islamist terrorist activity in parts of Africa while avoiding any long-term American presence or commitments” so it makes sense to work in coordination with local forces instead of unilaterally trying to thwart these threats. An unofficial US military presence, possibly comprised of special forces and/or intelligence agents, could help coordinate a campaign in Northern Nigeria and thus achieve the second identified objective.
In exchange for helping Nigeria defeat at least some of the terrorists that have been causing trouble for a while already, which the national armed forces have thus far been unable to due to corruption to poor leadership, the US likely expects privileged access to its emerging mining industry. This was also touched upon in the analysis hyperlinked to in the introduction and pairs with the third objective of Nigeria distancing itself from BRICS in the sense of the US beating China to the chase with this opportunity.
The attainment of the three prior objectives would lead to the fourth and final one whereby Nigeria could then restore its regional leadership role under America’s aegis. The US is uncomfortable with the Russian-allied Sahelian Alliance/Confederation, whose members – Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger – just announced a joint military battalion after their latest summit for better tackling terrorist threats. While their anti-terrorist goals formally advance US interests, the multipolar example set by them doesn’t.
The spree of patriotic military coups that swept across those countries removed French and therefore Western influence from their armed forces and political leaderships. This in turn led to enormous mining opportunities for Russia, including uranium in Niger, which borders conflict-afflicted Northern Nigeria. Therefore, it should be assumed that the US envisages “Leading from Behind” as Nigeria reasserts Western influence over the Sahel on its behalf, but likely after some time and not right away.
Why’d Trump Bomb ISIS In Nigeria On Christmas?
U.S, ally UAE is a major source of funding and arms to the terrorist in Nigeria in exchange for their illicit supply of gold and other critical minerals. The UAE hosts a significant U.S. military presence at Al Dhafra Air Base, where approximately 5,000 U.S. troops are stationed.
Terrorism can be used as a protection racket like the ones used by organized crime to extort money from businesses with the implied threat that the attacks will continue.
US Launches Christmas Strikes on Nigeria—the 9th Country Bombed by Trump | naked capitalism |
