110 HCON 441 IH: Recognizing the threat that the spread of
U.S. House of Representatives
2008-09-29
text/xml
EN
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Whereas nearly 500,000,000 Muslims live in Africa, and
Islam reportedly is the fastest growing religion on the continent;
Whereas according to the World Bank, Africa hosts the
world’s largest proportion of people living on less than $1 per day;
Whereas despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of
Muslims in Africa practice moderate and tolerant forms of Islam, poverty,
corruption, and political marginalization have facilitated the spread of
radicalism in a number in areas in Africa, particularly among growing
populations of impoverished and disaffected youth;
Whereas the spread of radical Islam undermines the
historically moderate influence of Islam in Africa, exacerbates existing
political and religious tensions within African nations, provides fertile
ground for recruitment by international terrorist organizations, and poses a
direct threat to the security of the United States and our partners on the
African continent;
Whereas despite the purported intention to target western
interests and “infidels”, attacks perpetrated by radical Islamist terrorist
groups in Africa have resulted in a devastatingly disproportionate number of
deaths and casualties among Africans and fellow Muslims;
Whereas the terrorist al Qaeda network has publicly
expressed its intention to expand in Africa, most notably calling for jihad in
Nigeria, Sudan, and Somalia, and Hezbollah has developed a sophisticated and
deeply embedded financial infrastructure in a number of African
countries;
Whereas, on August 7, 1998, 229 people, including 12
United States citizens, were killed and another 5,000 people were injured
during simultaneous car bomb attacks against the United States Embassies in
Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;
Whereas the 1998 East Africa Embassy bombings were the
first major terrorist attacks directed against United States interests by Osama
bin Laden and his al Qaeda network;
Whereas, on November 8, 2002, nearly simultaneous
terrorist attacks were launched in Mombasa, Kenya, including a car bomb attack
that killed at least 13 people at the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel and an
unsuccessful missile attack on a charter aircraft as it departed Moi
International Airport en route to Israel;
Whereas Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a senior al Qaeda
operative from the Comoros Islands who is on the Federal Bureau of
Investigation’s Top 22 Most Wanted list in connection with the 1998 East Africa
Embassy bombings and the 2002 attacks in Mombasa, and who most recently has
been linked to the al-Shabaab radical Islamist terrorist group in Somalia,
reportedly evaded capture in Malindi, Kenya, on August 2, 2008;
Whereas a number of radical Islamist terrorist
organizations from Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria allegedly have merged
with al Qaeda and have claimed responsibility for attacks against western
interests in North Africa;
Whereas in May 2003, and between March and April 2007, the
Moroccan city of Casablanca was rocked by a series of suicide bombings,
including a bombing outside the United States Consulate on April 14, 2007,
allegedly carried out by members of Salafia Jihadia, an offshoot of the
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group which is believed to have links to al Qaeda,
or by members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, also believed to have links
to al Qaeda;
Whereas in September 2006, the Algerian radical Islamist
terrorist group, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), formally
merged with al Qaeda, renaming itself al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM);
Whereas AQIM has since claimed responsibility for more
than a dozen deadly suicide attacks in Algeria, including the December 2006
attack on a bus belonging to a United States-Algeria joint venture carrying
several expatriate workers, the April 11, 2007, simultaneous bombings of
multiple targets, including the office of Algeria’s prime minister, and the
December 11, 2007, bombings of the Algerian Constitutional Council and the
United Nations headquarters in Algeria;
Whereas AQIM has found sanctuary in the vast ungoverned
spaces of the region, easily crossing the porous borders between Mali,
Mauritania, Niger, Algeria, and Chad to recruit extremists for training and
terrorist operations in the Trans-Sahara region and beyond;
Whereas in late December 2002, Ethiopian and Transitional
Government of Somalia forces overthrew the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which
had seized control of vast parts of Somalia and, along with its radical
Islamist al-Shabaab militia, are believed to have harbored senior al Qaeda
operatives, including Fazul Abdallah Mohammed and Saleh Ali Saleh
Nabhan;
Whereas in an Internet video released in January 2007,
Ayman al-Zawahiri, a leading al Qaeda figure, urged all mujahedin, specifically
those in the Maghreb, to extend support to Somali Muslims in a holy war against
occupying Ethiopian forces;
Whereas al-Shabaab has since been designated as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act
and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under section 1(b) of Executive
Order 13224, and is believed to be responsible for numerous suicide bombings,
the use of landmines, remote controlled roadside bombs, attacks against African
Union peacekeeping forces, and targeted assassinations against Ethiopian and
Transitional Government of Somalia security forces, other government officials,
journalists, and civil society leaders in Somalia;
Whereas in Nigeria, more than 10,000 people have been
killed as a result of violent ethnic and religious clashes over the past
decade, 12 of the country’s 36 states have proclaimed Islamic Sharia law, and
recent press reports indicate that Hezbollah has become active in northern
Nigeria;
Whereas Hezbollah has long been active in West Africa,
most notably engaging in terrorist financing through the exploitation of blood
diamonds which have fueled deadly conflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cote
d’Ivoire;
Whereas according to the Department of State’s 2007
Country Reports on Terrorism, Hezbollah remains the most technically capable
terrorist group in the world;
Whereas the 2007 Country Reports on Terrorism also assert
that Iran remains “the most significant state sponsor of terrorism,” that “a
critically important element of Iranian national security strategy is its
ability to conduct terrorist operations abroad,” and that “Hezbollah, a
designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, is key to Iran’s terrorism
strategy”;
Whereas in mid-September 2008, it was reported that the MV
Iran Deyanat, a ship owned and operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran
Shipping Lines (IRISL), a state-owned company run by the Iranian military and
currently under United States sanctions, had been hijacked by pirates in the
Gulf of Aden while attemping to deliver mysterious cargo
,
thought to include small arms and chemical weapons, to Eritrea for use by
Islamist insurgents in Somalia and that within days, pirates who boarded the
ship had developed strange health complications, skin burn and loss of
hair
;
Whereas it was widely reported nearly two years earlier
that Iran had supplied Islamist insurgents in Somalia with sophisticated
anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons, including SA–7 Strella and SA–18 Igla
shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles and AT–3 Sagger anti-tank missiles, in
direct violation of a United Nations arms embargo;
Whereas in recent years, Iran has embarked upon a campaign
to strengthen military, economic, and diplomatic ties with countries on the
African Continent;
Whereas, on January 29, 2008, Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki declared that 2008 would mark a “milestone in Iran-Africa
ties,” a notion that was reinforced by his attendance three days later at the
African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and a subsequent announcement
that Iran would soon convene an Iran-Africa Summit in Tehran;
Whereas while many African countries sorely need the
increased trade opportunities and investments in energy, agriculture, and
infrastructure that Iran has offered, Iran’s assistance does not come without a
price;
Whereas Senegal and Iran have signed a number of
agreements to expand economic relations, including agreements on the
construction of an oil refinery, a chemical plant, and an automotive assembly
plant in Senegal and, in return, Senegal has expressed support for Iran’s
nuclear program;
Whereas Iran reportedly is pursuing similar deals for
expanded diplomatic relations and strengthened commercial ties with Mali,
Malawi, Uganda, Lesotho, Namibia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, and Cote d’Ivoire,
in exchange for support of Iran’s nuclear ambitions;
Whereas in exchange for strengthened energy and trade
ties, as well as in recognition of Iran’s support for the African National
Congress during the apartheid era, South Africa frequently has intervened on
behalf of Iran at the United Nations Security Council in defense of Iran’s
nuclear ambitions;
Whereas Iran also is seeking to align itself more closely
with fellow despots and “outposts of tyranny” on the African Continent;
Whereas Iran is among the top four arms suppliers to the
genocidal regime in Khartoum, and, upon visiting Khartoum in March 2007, Iran’s
defense minister reportedly asserted that developing military ties with Africa
and the “especially brotherly and friendly country of Sudan, is on top of
Iran’s foreign policy agenda”;
Whereas Zimbabwe’s embattled dictator, Robert Mugabe,
reportedly was hailed as a hero while visiting Tehran in 2006, proclaiming
“Iran and Zimbabwe think alike,” securing Iran’s pledge to shield Zimbabwe from
sanctions before the United Nations Security Council, and inking deals to boost
energy cooperation, rehabilitate Zimbabwe’s oil refinery, and expand
agricultural ties;
Whereas after signing four deals to expand bilateral ties
with Eritrea in May 2008, Iran’s leader announced that there was “no limit for
expansion of mutual cooperation” between Iran and Eritrea and that “fostering
friendship and cooperation among countries that are independent as well as
peace and justice-loving is vital for ensuring international peace and
cooperation,” even as Eritrean forces were launching a military incursion into
neighboring Djibouti;
Whereas up to 2,000 members of the United States Armed
Forces currently are stationed at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti as part of the
Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa (CJTF–HOA) to promote regional
stability and prevent conflict in the region;
Whereas in August 2006, the Sunday Times (UK) published a
report outlining Iran’s efforts to smuggle uranium 238 from the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, citing a July 18, 2006, report by the United Nations
Group of Experts and interviews with Tanzanian customs officials who discovered
the shipment;
Whereas while the motivations behind Tehran’s adventurism
in Africa may vary widely between seeking diplomatic allies among members of
the Non-aligned Movement, to countering the dominance of Sunni Muslims in the
region, to establishing new or expanding existing bases for Hezbollah and other
militant Islamist groups, to increasing access to Africa’s vast natural
resources, including uranium, the threat that Iran poses on the continent must
not be overlooked;
Whereas the African continent faces unique development and
security challenges which demand significant attention and unique policy
approaches;
Whereas the United States provides nearly $9,000,000,000
in assistance to Africa each year, with programs ranging from providing
humanitarian relief to strengthening health and education systems, breaking
down trade barriers and promoting economic development, combating corruption
and other illicit activities, and promoting critical democratic, judicial, and
human rights reforms;
Whereas United States military security assistance
programs in Africa represent about 3 percent of the United States total aid and
development package for Africa;
Whereas a number of African countries have engaged with
the United States in efforts to combat terrorism, deny terrorist sanctuary, and
disrupt terrorist financing, through programs such as the Tran-Sahara
Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), and the East Africa Counterterrorism
Initiative (EACTI);
Whereas a number of African countries also have embarked
upon efforts to counter the influence of radical Islamist ideology by promoting
religious tolerance and intercommunal dialogue;
Whereas according to the African Union, “International
terrorism over the past decade has come to constitute the most serious threat
to global peace, security and development … This unfortunate development and
all its evil manifestations around the world and particularly in Africa,
undermine the most cherished values and fundamental principles of the 21st
century,” and “The African Union strongly condemns all acts and forms of
terrorism in Africa and wherever they may occur”;
Whereas in February 2007, the President announced his
decision to create a unified command for Africa, the United States Africa
Command (AFRICOM), in an effort to “[build] partnership capacities, [conduct]
theater security cooperation, [build] important counter-terrorism skills and,
as appropriate, [support] U.S. Government agencies in implementing other
programs that promote regional stability”; and
Whereas while AFRICOM is expected to support, not shape,
United States foreign policy in Africa, communicating the purposes of AFRICOM
to African governments and citizens remains an important challenge: Now,
therefore, be it
That Congress—
(1)recognizes the threat that the spread of
radical Islamist terrorism and Iranian adventurism in Africa poses to the
United States, our allies, and interests;
(2)acknowledges the
commitment and cooperation of some governments and regional organizations in
Africa to deny the use of their territory to radical Islamist terrorist
organizations and calls on all governments to intensify their efforts toward
that end;
(3)expresses concern
over the emerging national security implications of the Iranian regime’s
efforts to expand its influence in Africa;
(4)calls on the
United States Government to work with governments in Africa to pursue an
antiterrorism campaign based on mutual cooperation and constant
vigilance;
(5)urges the United
States Government to work bilaterally and multilaterally with countries in
Africa to help them create antiterrorism legislation that would give
governmental authorities new tools to take action against terrorist
networks;
(6)recommends that
the President of the United States create more mechanisms for joint
counterterrorism operations and intraregional information sharing among
supportive countries in Africa, especially in light of Iran’s increased
involvement in the region; and
(7)urges the new,
unified Combatant Command for Africa (AFRICOM) to play a constructive role in
coordinating United States security objectives in the region in close
cooperation with our African partners.