Faithin Omaha eBook Collection

Download or read book Biafra Still Matters written by David Walter Myrick and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This thesis is a historical analysis of the United States’ involvement in the Biafran Airlift. The Biafran Airlift is the second largest humanitarian airlift operation in history behind the Berlin Airlift. Participants flew over 5300 sorties and delivered over 60,000 tons of humanitarian supplies to starving civilians in the breakaway state of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War. Unlike the Berlin Airlift, civilian organizations conducted the operation. They did so despite violent military opposition from the Federal Military Government of Nigeria. The United States decided to remain neutral while later supporting the humanitarian operation. Such shades of gray foreshadowed many of the dilemmas the US faces today in the international security environment. The United States Government was neck deep in an increasingly unpopular conflict in Vietnam and the Cold War but found time to conduct genuine strategic dialogue over the crisis. This thesis ultimately determines if the Biafran Airlift is a persuasive case for the United States to utilize contested humanitarian airlift as an instrument of national power. The pull of American liberal idealism manifested itself for the first time in the international media coverage that projected a civil war onto the global conscience. Domestic action groups pressured the White House and Congress for action. By synthesizing modern doctrine and policy for foreign humanitarian assistance, this thesis looks back at the Biafran Airlift and derives three implications (technical, environmental, political) for today’s policy makers. The significance of the Biafran Airlift is not lost on a Syria scenario today, but perhaps more important is the glimpse into how policy squares with action for today’s security environment flush with failed states and civil conflict."--Abstract.