Nigerian terrorist organization Boko Haram expanding in reach, evil. 

Much like the straggling members of the Lord’s Resistance Army, Boko Haram thrives in places where civil society is failing or totally absent. Both inhabit lawless zones where a combination of a failing state and a shifting climate make it nearly impossible for others to live. Both thrive in chaos and rely on fear. Menacing and destroying civil society is more than symbolic; it is a practical weapon of insurgency. Although Kony’s disparate band of wayward stragglers poses no strategic threat to the United States, Boko Haram decidedly does.

So far, their attacks have been limited to within Nigeria’s borders. But that’s unlikely to remain so. Already, their ideology, funding, and foot soldiers are bleeding over the border into their northern neighbor, Niger. Boko Haram is already linked to a global network of killers, including offshoots of al-Qaida. There are eight direct flights a day from Nigeria to the United States. This time, we ignore the fate of these some 190 young women at our peril.