Former U.S. General In Africa: 'I Think We Can' Help Find Nigerian Girls
What can the U.S. — or anyone — do to return more than 200 abducted girls to their families in Nigeria? And what might happen if the U.S. engages with another violent group of extremists? Retired Gen. Carter Ham, who until last year led the U.S. African Command, says there's still a chance to help.
Ham's former command will be part of the U.S. effort to search for the missing schoolgirls, who were kidnapped three weeks ago by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. The group's leader said this week that he plans to sell them. Ham says he suspects some of the girls may have already been sent to other countries.
"I suspect they've been probably dispersed by now. That'll be a difficult challenge," Ham tells NPR's Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition. "But we have surveillance platforms, signals intelligence and other capabilities that would be helpful."