The United States military bombed Nigeria on Christmas, reportedly targeting ISIS militants. President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. struck terrorists "who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries."
Nigeria has been plagued by sectarian violence, but that violence hasn't primarily targeted Christians — and certainly not at historically unprecedented levels. America's logic here isn't clear, but the strikes appear driven more by Trump putting on a show for his evangelical base than trying to reduce violence in Nigeria or even advance U.S. national interests.
It's the first time the U.S. has ever fired missiles into Nigeria, but it's one of several countries the Trump administration has bombed this year. In 2025, U.S. forces launched more than a thousand strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, more than a hundred in Somalia mostly targeting al-Shabab, dozens against ISIS in Syria, 29 and counting against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, plus some strikes targeting Iran's nuclear program. All of those efforts killed people and damaged things, but none appear to have achieved anything lasting.
Those other strikes are different, though, because they took place in areas hostile to the U.S.
Nigeria is a U.S. counterterrorism partner.
This is a preview of Nicholas Grossman's latest column. Read the full column here.
