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Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
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Philip Obaji Jr., Will Brown, Kovie Biakolo, Philip Obaji Jr., Will Brown, Kovie Biakolo

Why America’s Trillion-Dollar War on Terrorism Couldn’t Defeat Boko Haram

Soldiers of the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army sit on the back of a Military Toyota Land Cruiser at the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria, on March 25, 2016. Stefan Heunis/AFP via Getty Images

In April 2014, the hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons was on a yacht cruising in the Caribbean when he tweeted about the 276 girls kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram from a secondary school in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria. The hashtag he copied lit a matchstick that inflamed the world. Politicians and celebrities followed suit and shared the viral campaign, #BringBackOurGirls.

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