The Pentagon is considering a proposal to send military advisers to Nigeria in order to train Nigerians to fight the Boko Haram militant group, a U.S. official said Friday.
Speaking on conditions of anonymity, the official said that the induction of U.S. troops was suggested among other "possible courses of action."
"I don't think anyone is ready to approve anything today. Recommendations were made, these are still being assessed," said the official, according to AFP.
Another U.S. official told The Voice of America that the talks are "ongoing."
There were "still a number of decision points yet to be resolved with regard to the full assessment across the U.S. government. These same type of advise-and-assist operations are ongoing across the African continent. U.S. military advisers are working every day to assist African partner nations in providing for their own defence and enable regional solutions to collective problem sets," the Pentagon said in a statement on the issue.
"Rather than entangle U.S. combat forces on the ground, help build the capacity of regional forces to tackle their countries' security challenges. Training and advising and perhaps imparting the lessons we learned the hard way is a good thing," said Jennifer G. Cooke, Africa director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, according to The New York Times.
"Despite losing territory in 2015, Boko Haram will probably remain a threat to Nigeria throughout 2016 and will continue its terror campaign within the country and in neighboring Cameroon, Niger and Chad," James R. Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, told the House Intelligence Committee in Washington on Thursday.
It was after this assessment that Nigeria's present president, Muhammadu Buhari, sought U.S. assistance.
