Blood On Our Hands

How the Obama and Trump administrations empowered the genocides in Nigeria and Syria

l-r Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Former US President Barack Obama, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa aka Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, US President Donald Trump

NIGERIA

In March 2014, Raymond Ibrahim of the Middle East Forum published the article Nigerian ‘Sex-Slaves’ Disrupt Obama Narrative on Islam. The Islamic jihadist group Boko Haram had kidnapped nearly 300 mostly Christian girls from Chibok in Borno State in an attack that would spur the short-lived #BringBackOurGirls social media campaign. (The girls were never brought back.) Ibrahim’s piece provided crucial context in understanding the Obama administration’s nefarious role in Nigeria’s struggle against jihad, a struggle that has become a genocide of thousands of Nigerian Christians.

…in May 2013, soon after Nigerian forces killed 30 Boko Haram members, Reuters reported that “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a strongly worded statement [to the Nigerian president] saying: “We are … deeply concerned by credible allegations that Nigerian security forces are committing gross human rights violations, which, in turn, only escalate the violence and fuel extremism” from Boko Haram.

Yes. Secretary of State John Kerry told Nigeria that killing terrorists was violating their human rights. The piece continued:

As for Kerry’s predecessor, Hillary Clinton, who is now bemoaning the lot of the kidnapped girls in Nigeria-saying it’s “abominable, it’s criminal, it’s an act of terrorism and it really merits the fullest response possible"-when she was Secretary of State, and in a position to help offer “the fullest response possible” she repeatedly refused to designate Boko Haram as a “foreign terrorist [organization],” despite the countless atrocities it had already committed, [and] despite the fact that it had boasted it would “strike fear into the Christians of the power of Islam by kidnapping their women,” as it just has.

At this time, Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, was Nigeria’s president. Jonathan was struggling against accusations of corruption and was facing a presidential election just one year away. With the Obama administration actively hindering Nigeria’s ability to combat Boko Haram, President Jonathan turned to his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for help. While the Israelis were willing to help Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts, they were stopped short of selling Nigeria the US-made Chinook helicopters that President Jonathan requested. From the 2014 piece, US Blocks Nigeria From Buying Military Helicopter:

A source in the Nigerian Army, who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said: “The US government has frustrated Nigeria all the way in our war against terrorism despite its public statements in support of Nigeria.

“They have refused to sell us arms and equipment and even our recent attempt to buy Chinook helicopters, which are manufactured in the US, from the Israelis was blocked, based on unfounded allegations of human rights violations by our troops.

"This is after the office of Prime Minister Benjamin [Netanyahu] had initially approved the purchase. But because they were supplied by the Americans, the Israelis required a ‘No Objection’ letter from Washington which was refused.

The next year (2015), President Obama inserted himself into Nigeria’s presidential election, even taking the extraordinary step of recording a video in which he directly addressed the Nigerian people. Though he never said it outright, it seemed clear to everyone, including Goodluck Jonathan, that Obama was backing Jonathan’s challenger, Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim. From the piece How Obama plotted my defeat in 2015 — Goodluck Jonathan:

“On March 23, 2015, President Obama himself took the unusual step of releasing a video message directly to Nigerians all but telling them how to vote…”

“In that video, Obama urged Nigerians to open the ‘next chapter’ by their votes. Those who understood subliminal language deciphered that he was prodding the electorate to vote for the opposition to form a new government.”

Mr Jonathan lost the 2015 elections to…President Muhammadu Buhari, marking the first time an incumbent president would lose reelection.

“The message was so condescending, it was as if Nigerians did not know what to do and needed an Obama to direct them,” Mr Jonathan said of the video message.

He lampooned Mr Obama…for saying “all Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear,” but was reluctant to allow the Nigerian security forces [to] drive Boko Haram insurgents away from the Nigerian territories they had been occupying in order to free Nigerian citizens there ahead of elections.

Over the past 15 years, over 50,000 Christians in Nigeria have been slaughtered by Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, and other Islamic jihadists. International human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe has declared Nigeria “the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian.” In the piece The System is Broken: From Hamas to al-Qaeda, the US funds the terrorism that Africa & Israel must fight, IBSI discusses how Islamic terrorist groups like Boko Haram are funded by US taxpayers in the form of USAID. The fingerprints of the US government are all over the Christian genocide in Nigeria.

Their blood is on our hands.

SYRIA

In December 2024 (at the end of the Biden administration), Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (a brutal dictator) was toppled by rebel forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani (or al-Julani). Succinctly stated, al-Julani is a jihadist who killed many, including Americans, as both an ISIS and al-Qaeda fighter, and, until late December, had a $10 million US bounty on his head. There is much disinformation in the media about al-Julani, largely based on the deception that he is a reformed terrorist. But as Afghan-American army veteran, Legend stated, al-Julani has simply “dropped his turban and worn a suit and a necktie. But he’s still a terrorist.” Yet, President Trump followed Biden’s lead in accepting the legitimacy of al-Julani’s presidency. After meeting with Julani in Saudi Arabia, Trump described al-Julani as a “Young, attractive, tough guy,” and euphemistically dismissed his jihadist resumé as a “Strong past.”

In May, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, President Trump announced that he was being encouraged to remove US sanctions on Syria by Turkish President Recep Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. While Trump stated that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was also in favor of removing Syria’s sanctions, several Israeli insiders have told IBSI that it was more likely that Netanyahu was going along with Trump’s wishes. The Trump administration also heralded a $7 billion energy deal between Syria, Turkey, and Qatar.

Over the past two weeks, what began as territorial tensions between Israel and al-Julani’s government have exploded into an armed conflict. The central reason for this is al-Jualni’s vicious attack on the Druze and Christian communities in Syria. Syria’s propagandists in the media and political circles have promoted the lie that al-Julani was forming a unified army of Syrian Muslims, Druze, Alawites, and Christians, and wanted to disband separate fighting groups divided by ethnic or religious tribes. But as Israeli Druze IDF and activist Mansor Ashkar told CBN News, al-Julani is systematically slaughtering Druze, Christians, and other religious minorities just as he did as an ISIS and al-Qaeda terrorist. Ashkar told Raj Nair of CBN:

I don’t know if you’ve seen the horrific videos that just came from the hospital in Suwayda. [It is] one to one, October 7 [Hamas massacre]. Dozens of bodies piled on one another in the hospital — women, children, doctors — all slaughtered with the jihadis standing over them, stepping on them, spitting on them, and live v-logging themselves.

There was an audio announcement by some sort of [Syrian] official where he is addressing the military and he’s telling them, “Please stop recording the massacre on video. Shave their beards, cut their mustaches [a grave insult to Druze men], slit their throats, burn them…just don’t record it.” And then he added, “learn from the mistake when we slaughtered the Christians on the coast.”

Israeli Druze are among the most loyal non-Jewish citizens and the fiercest fighters in the IDF. They have the utmost respect of the entire nation. They were watching and listening as their family members on the Syrian side of the fence were (are) being annihilated. Sheikh Muafak Tarif, leader of the Druze community in Israel, made a personal appeal to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to help his people in Syria. Netanyahu responded by ordering airstrikes on Syria’s military headquarters in Damascus. As those strikes began, Netanyahu posted a video on social media in which he stated:

The leader of the Druze in Israel…told me, “During the Holocaust, when you were being slaughtered, you Jews called for help and no one came. Today, the Druze are being slaughtered and we are calling for help from the state of Israel.” And I said, “he’s right” and we acted, and will continue to act as necessary.

In a scene eerily similar to Obama’s handling of Nigeria and Boko Haram, Trump condemned Israel’s actions in Syria. On July 18th, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said:

The United States did not support recent Israeli strikes [in Syria]. We are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis, and to reach a lasting peace between the two sovereign states. President Trump has outlined his clear vision of a prosperous Middle East and stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors.

Tom Barrack, Trump’s envoy to Syria, who has compared al-Julani to George Washington, told the Associated Press:

“…the killing, the revenge, the massacres on both sides” are “intolerable,” but that “the current government of Syria, in my opinion, has conducted themselves as best they can as a nascent government with very few resources to address the multiplicity of issues that arise in trying to bring a diverse society together.”

Regarding Israel’s strikes on Syria, Barrack said: “The United States was not asked, nor did they participate in that decision, nor was it the United States’ responsibility in matters that Israel feels is for its own self-defense.”

However, he said Israel’s intervention “creates another very confusing chapter” and “came at a very bad time.”

The AP added that Barrack, “suggested that Israel would prefer to see Syria fragmented and divided rather than a strong central state in control of the country.”

The fingerprints of the US government are all over the Druze and Christian genocide in Syria.

Their blood is on our hands.

Admittedly, Nigeria and Syria are very different nations with very different pasts. Both nations have a history of bloodshed caused by former leaders and various outside forces. However, when considering the past decade in Nigeria and the past seven months in Syria, the parallels are striking. Both have or have had presidents who have either participated in or turned a blind eye to the Islamic slaughter of Christians (and Druze). Both are beset by terrorists who are funded by the US government. The victims of terrorism in both nations appealed to Israel for help, only to have the US government denounce or even block Israel from helping. And the media has followed the lead of both the Obama and Trump administrations in virtually ignoring the genocides taking place there. It’s as if they don’t exist.

In the book of Revelation, chapter 6, the Apostle John relays this part of his vision:

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Christians are taught that the blood of the slain — the martyrs — cries out to God for vengeance. This means that there is recompense coming for al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and every jihadist, Nazi, Communist, or individual terrorist who murdered the faithful. The Bible also teaches that there will be judgment on the nations that came against Israel and the Jewish people. For decades, the US government has provided material support for every one of the terrorist groups listed above and more. And the primary targets of each of those groups are Christians and Jews. This is one of the many reasons why there is an increasing judgment on our nation.

Finally, the phrase “blood on your hands” is based on the principle found in the Tanakh (Christian Old Testament). While the topic this article addresses may be unpleasant, it is shared with an understanding of spiritual responsibility. In a very detailed and compassionate way, God told Ezekiel to warn the people. I write this piece as both a pastor and the CEO of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel.

From Ezekiel 3.17-21

¹⁷ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ¹⁸ If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for^[n] his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹ But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. ²⁰ Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹ But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”