--- title: Obama Sends Troops to Chad in Search for Nigeria Girls With Boko Haram description: President Barack Obama is putting American boots on the ground for the first time to help find the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram canonical: https://time.com/108025/nigeria-chad-boko-haram-american-troops-obama/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-21T19:38:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:01:18.162Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Sends Troops to Chad in Search for Nigeria Girls With Boko Haram og:description: President Barack Obama is putting American boots on the ground for the first time to help find the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram og:url: https://time.com/108025/nigeria-chad-boko-haram-american-troops-obama/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2dbe94d93c2bde16/6986906655a8592667a80ebb/barack-obama-nigeria-chad-boko-haram-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Sends Troops to Chad in Search for Nigeria Girls With Boko Haram twitter:description: President Barack Obama is putting American boots on the ground for the first time to help find the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2dbe94d93c2bde16/6986906655a8592667a80ebb/barack-obama-nigeria-chad-boko-haram-girls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. Deploys Troops in Search for Kidnapped Nigerian Girls > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=49de783e-2f67-41ee-8957-2c763f48b989&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Who Is The Leader Of Boko Haram? [Watch (HLS stream): Who Is The Leader Of Boko Haram?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/D9jtIA2G.m3u8) (2:13)  _Published 2014-05-08. Who Is The Leader Of Boko Haram?_ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller May 21, 2014 7:38 PM UTC  President Barack Obama speaks to the media at the Washington Irving Boat Club in Tarrytown, N.Y., on May 14, 2014 President Barack Obama speaks to the media at the Washington Irving Boat Club in Tarrytown, N.Y., on May 14, 2014 Seth Harrison—AP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller May 21, 2014 7:38 PM UTC The U.S. has deployed 80 American troops to Chad to assist in the search for more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the militant group [Boko Haram](http://time.com/107440/boko-haram-survivor-congress-testimony/) last month, President Barack Obama told Congress on Wednesday. “These personnel will support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area,” Obama wrote in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy. “The force will remain in Chad until its support in resolving the kidnapping situation is no longer required.” The letter was sent to comply with the War Powers Resolution, which requires congressional notification within 48 hours of American troop commitments. The deployment follows manned and unmanned surveillance flights launched by American personnel earlier this month, as well as the deployment of a team of U.S. military, law-enforcement and hostage-negotiation advisers to the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Obama has been under fire from some lawmakers on Capitol Hill for not more aggressively deploying American troops in the search for the missing girls. “We should devote more of our national capabilities to help our Nigerian partners in locating the girls,” said Arizona Senator John McCain on May 16\. “And if we get actionable intelligence about where they are being held, we should send U.S. Special Forces to rescue them — with the approval and cooperation of the Nigerian government and security forces if possible, but without them if necessary.” The girls’ plight gained international recognition amid a celebrity-backed Twitter-hashtag campaign earlier this month, but public attention to their kidnapping has waned in recent days. ## Transcript [ FOREIGN ] He's one of the most wanted men in the world. The leader of Nigeria's growing terrorist threat, Boko Haram. But who is Abubakar Shekau? [ FOREIGN ]. [ FOREIGN ] Smiling and laughing, he admits to the mass kidnapping of nearly 300 girls. While he's posted a number of videos online, espousing his extremist Islamic ideology, saying he wants to end all western education. Little is known about Shekau. His exact, age, is not clear. He's said to be in his mid 30s or 40s. [ FOREIGN ]. Experts say Shekau considers himself, an Islamic holy man. But he's also a ruthless killer. His group blamed for attacks that have killed thousands of innocent civilians. [ FOREIGN ]. Shekau was once deputy, to Boko Harrum founder Mohammed Yousuf, until Nigerian security forces killed him in 2009. Shekau was also thought to be dead, but he resurfaced a year later announcing in a video he was the new leader of the group. He was reportedly wounded in 2012, and there were reports again last year, that he'd been killed. So far his attacks have been largely confined to Nigeria, but Shakau has also declared his allegiance to Al queda ., [ FOREIGN ] [ CROSSTALK ]. The U. S. State Department, has declared Shekau a global terrorist, and put a $ 7 million bounty on his head. Nigerian authorities have tried for years to capture or kill him, but so far. Abubakar Shekau has managed to evade all attempts, to stop his campaign of terror. 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