On Christmas Day, the United States carried out targeted airstrikes against Islamic State–affiliated militants in north-west Nigeria. The operation was modest in scale, limited in scope, and coordinated with Nigerian authorities. Yet its significance extends well beyond the immediate tactical results. The strikes represent an instance in which American power was exercised with moral clarity, naming and confronting a real evil that has too often been obscured by diplomatic timidity.
For years, Christian communities in Nigeria have endured relentless violence at the hands of Islamist groups. Churches have been burned, priests kidnapped and murdered, entire villages emptied through terror. While Nigerian officials insist that such violence affects Muslims and Christians alike, the reality is that Christians are targeted with particular ferocity, often explicitly because of their faith.
