PKSOI/GLOBAL TRENDS CASE STUDIES The Foreign Terrorist Designation of Boko Haram | Page 4

Case Study # 0417-01
PKSOI TRENDS GLOBAL CASE STUDY SERIES
The Requirements and Rationale for FTO Designation
According to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, the decision to designate an FTO
resides with the secretary of state. 4 FTO designation has three core requirements:
1. The group in question “must be a foreign organization.
2. The organization must engage in terrorist activity, as defined [by various U.S. statutes], or retain the capability and
intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism.
3. The organization’s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security
(national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.” 5
According to the Department of State’s website, “FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism
and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism
business.” 6 In practical terms, an FTO designation would have three principal consequences:
1. It would make it “unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to
knowingly provide “material support or resources” to a designated FTO.” 7
2. It would prohibit U.S. entities from doing business with Boko Haram and “cuts off access to the U.S. financial sys
tem for the organization and anyone associating with it.” 8
3. It would demonstrate U.S. resolve in fighting an emerging terrorist group as part of the Global War on Terror. As
a consequence, FTO designation “also serves to stigmatize and isolate foreign organizations by encouraging other
nations to take similar measures.”
Arguments For and Against FTO Designation
As of May 2012, Boko Haram had never targeted U.S. personnel or interests in Nigeria or elsewhere. Indeed, a De-
cember 2011 report published by the Homeland Security committee acknowledged that “[u]ntil recently, Western
intelligence services did not widely view Boko Haram as a potential threat. Even after the U.N. attack, Nigerian experts
remain skeptical about Boko Haram’s intent and capability to strike U.S. interests and the homeland.” 9 However, the
same report asserted that “the U.S. Intelligence Community has underestimated the intent and capability of other ter-
rorist groups to launch attacks against the U.S. homeland” and concluded that it would be prudent for the U.S. Govern-
ment to thoroughly and carefully examine the extent of the threat from Boko Haram.” 10 On May 17, 2012, the Reuters
news agency reported that Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco had written to Department of State senior officials
to urge a decision, stating that “Boko Haram meets the criteria for a foreign terrorist listing, in that it either engages in
terrorism which threatens the United States or has a capability or intent to do so.” 11
On the other hand, a wide variety of actors with decades of experience working in Nigeria – aid workers, academics, ca-
reer U.S. diplomats, and the Government of Nigeria itself – argued against FTO designation. For example, in a letter to
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on May 21, 2012, a group of 21 American “scholars with a special interest in Nigeria
and broad expertise on African politics” stated, “an FTO designation would internationalize Boko Haram, legitimize
abuses by Nigeria’s security services, limit the State Department’s latitude in shaping a long term strategy, and undermine
the U.S. Government’s ability to receive effective independent analysis from the region.” 12 Meanwhile, the Nigerian am-
bassador in Washington argued forcefully against the Boko Haram bill in an op-ed piece in The Hill newspaper: “Rec-
ognition through FTO designation by a sovereign the size and stature of the United States would give Boko Haram the
title they seek and status they desire, stimulating a fundraising effort that has not yet been attainable from their current
perch in northern Nigeria. Make no mistake — Nigeria will continue to collaborate with the United States in the fight