[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.
                                 <all>