[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 303 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 303
Recognizing the growing threat that al Qaeda and its affiliates in
Africa, particularly al Shabaab and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,
pose to the United States and its allies and interests.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 22, 2010
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Royce, Mr. Pence, Mr. Fortenberry,
Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, and Mr. Burton of Indiana) submitted the
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the growing threat that al Qaeda and its affiliates in
Africa, particularly al Shabaab and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,
pose to the United States and its allies and interests.
Whereas, on August 7, 1998, 229 people, including 12 United States citizens,
were killed and another 5,000 people were injured during simultaneous
attacks against the United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar
es Salaam, Tanzania;
Whereas the 1998 East Africa Embassy attacks were the first major terrorist
attacks directed against United States interests by Osama bin Laden and
his al Qaeda network;
Whereas al Qaeda, a designated foreign terrorist organization pursuant to
section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and specially
designated global terrorist pursuant to section 1(b) of Executive Order
13224, has since expressed its intention to expand in Africa, most
notably calling for jihad in Nigeria, Sudan, and Somalia;
Whereas in September 2006, the Algerian radical Islamist insurgent group, the
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), formally merged with al
Qaeda, renaming itself al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and has
since claimed responsibility for more than a dozen deadly suicide
attacks in North Africa and across the Sahel;
Whereas AQIM is now considered one of al Qaeda's most robust affiliates and is
pursuing a sophisticated, global jihadist agenda, including by targeting
western interests and deploying fighters to Iraq;
Whereas in December 2009, 3 West African men were apprehended in Ghana and
subsequently charged in a United States Federal Court with conspiracy to
commit narco-terrorism and provide support to a foreign terrorist
organization after attempting to broker a deal between AQIM and the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for the transshipment of hundreds
of kilograms of cocaine into Spain;
Whereas the radical Islamist al Shabaab insurgent group, which emerged during
the rise of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in Somalia, has pledged
fealty to al Qaeda and has been designated 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;
Whereas, on October 29, 2008, al Shabaab militants launched 5 simultaneous
suicide attacks in northern Somalia, including a presidential palace, an
Ethiopian consulate, and United Nations offices, killing at least 28
people and signaling a clear tactical shift toward al Qaeda;
Whereas according to court documents, between September 2007 and October 2009,
approximately 20 young men from the Minneapolis area trained and
ultimately fought with al Shabaab, and on March 11, 2009, Deputy
Director of Intelligence for the National Counterterrorism Center
(NCTC), Andrew Liepman, asserted, ``we are concerned that if Somali-
American youth can be motivated to engage in such activities overseas,
[Shirwa] Ahmed's fellow travelers could return to the U.S. and engage in
terrorist activities here'';
Whereas al Shabaab was formally renamed Harakat al Shabaab al-Mujahidin in 2009
to express its global jihadist aspirations, and is now believed to
include hundreds of foreign fighters;
Whereas, on September 17, 2009, simultaneous suicide attacks at the headquarters
of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) killed over 30
peacekeepers, including the deputy commander General Juvenal
Niyoyunguruza;
Whereas, on December 3, 2009, al Shabaab operatives reportedly launched a
suicide attack at a graduation ceremony for medical students in
Mogadishu, killing 24 people, including 3 ministers in the Transitional
Federal Government;
Whereas, on December 23, 2009, the United Nations Security Council in resolution
1907 (2009) demanded that all Member States, in particular Eritrea,
cease to arm, train, and equip armed groups, including al Shabaab, that
aim to destabilize the region, and in subsequent investigations the
United Nations Monitoring Group has reported that the Government of
Eritrea ``has continued to provide political, diplomatic, financial,
and--allegedly--military assistance to armed groups in Somalia'' in
violation of resolution 1844 (2008);
Whereas in his February 2010 testimony before Congress, Dennis C. Blair,
Director of National Intelligence, warned that ``East Africa-based al-
Qa'ida leaders or al-Shabaab may elect to redirect to the Homeland some
of the Westerners, including North Americans, now training and fighting
in Somalia'', and noted that al Shabaab's ability to operate continues
to increase, as the group ``has assumed control over many local revenue-
generating structures including ports, airports, roads, and water
resources since taking over large portions of central and southern
Somalia last year'';
Whereas, on June 5, 2010, and again on July 21, 2010, United States citizens
reportedly attempting to travel from New York to Somalia to join al
Shabaab were arrested and charged with conspiracy to kill, maim, and
kidnap people outside the United States, and with providing material
support to al Shabaab, respectively;
Whereas, on July 11, 2010, more than 70 people, including 1 United States
citizen, who had gathered to watch the World Cup finals were killed when
simultaneous explosions tore through a rugby club and an Ethiopian
restaurant in Kampala, Uganda;
Whereas al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Uganda, which
provides the majority of AMISOM forces, as an act of revenge for
Uganda's involvement in Somalia, marking the first time the group has
conducted a successful attack outside Somali territory, and has
threatened attacks against Burundi, which has also contributed troops to
AMISOM;
Whereas the United States has already launched at least 7 military strikes
against al Qaeda and al Shabaab targets in Somalia since early 2007,
including a helicopter-borne commando raid that killed Saleh Ali Saleh
Nabhan, a prominent member of al Qaeda's East Africa cell, on September
14, 2009;
Whereas according to the African Union, ``International terrorism . . . 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''; and
Whereas a number of African countries have engaged with the United States in
efforts to combat terrorism, deny terrorist sanctuary, disrupt terrorist
financing, and counter extremist ideologies through programs such as the
Tran-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) and the East Africa
Regional Security Initiative (EARSI), and through the efforts of the
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA): Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the growing threat that al Qaeda and its
affiliates in Africa, particularly al Shabaab and al Qaeda in
the Islamic Maghreb, pose to the United States and its allies
and interests;
(2) acknowledges the commitment and cooperation of a number
of governments and regional organizations in Africa to deny
safehaven to al Qaeda and its affiliates and calls upon all
governments to intensify their efforts toward that end; and
(3) calls upon the Administration to formulate a
comprehensive strategy, in cooperation with all relevant
stakeholders in the United States Government and its African
partners, to--
(A) confront the growing regional and global threat
posed by al Qaeda and its affiliates in Africa;
(B) prevent the spread of violent Islamist
extremism;
(C) disrupt the operations of extremist networks;
and
(D) deny safehaven to extremist groups in Africa.
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