[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 131 (Friday, September 20, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11102-S11103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   WHY AFRICA MATTERS: INTERNATIONAL CRIME, TERRORISM, AND NARCOTICS

 Mrs. KASSEBAUM. Mr. President, I rise to continue a series of 
speeches about why Africa matters to the United States. I have already 
spoken about our vulnerability to infectious diseases coming out of 
Africa, and have addressed the many ways in which environmental crisis 
in Africa can touch Americans right here at home.
  Today, I want to speak about a topic that many people believe will be 
the primary security threat in the years ahead--international crime and 
terrorism. American corporations are spending increasing amounts of 
money to protect themselves from international criminal networks. Our 
children are still threatened by a thriving drug trade that links this 
country to narcotics centers around the globe. And after the World 
Trade Center bombings and the tragic loss of the passengers and crew of 
TWA flight 800, the threat of international terrorism has created a 
sense of insecurity in the American public such as we have never felt 
before.

[[Page S11103]]

                        weak state institutions

  As the rise of criminal networks in the former Soviet Union has 
shown, weak state institutions and judiciaries create a climate for 
crime to flourish--and Africa is no exception. West Africa is noted as 
a hub for passport forgery; counterfeit money is produced in various 
African urban centers, and criminal networks smuggle diamonds and ivory 
across the continent's porous borders and overseas.
  In some parts of the continent, soldiers and political officials use 
their formal occupations as an entry point to high-stakes criminal 
activity, taking control of resources to finance crime and 
appropriating entire localities to serve as a base of operations. 
Diamonds, drugs, and arms are flowing to and from these individual 
fiefdoms, because no strong, capable financial or legal institutions 
exist to differentiate the legitimate from the illegitimate. Let me 
give a few examples:
  Warlords in Liberia use diamonds stolen from Sierra Leone to finance 
their contribution to Liberia's bloody conflict.
  Not long ago, Angolan rebels were selling poached elephant ivory and 
smuggled diamonds on international markets to raise funds for their 
cause.
  The rise of mercenary movements on the continent is a testament to 
this trend--mercenaries are often paid by allowing them access to 
resource-rich territories, further turning Africa into a free-for-all 
for criminals seeking profit, while legitimate governments and 
businesses are increasingly marginalized.
  Criminal networks in Nigeria defraud American citizens of millions of 
dollars each year. Yet, the Nigerian military government--itself 
infected with corruption--does little to stop these acts.
  And even in Africa's most developed economy--South Africa--the lack 
of effective and legitimate law enforcement has led to the growth of 
crime and narcotics trafficking. Nearly 500 criminal networks are 
thought to operate in Johannesburg, dealing in cocaine, heroin, 
Mandrax, diamonds, and ivory.


                            narcotics flows

  Not only does such activity threaten to destabilize one of the most 
inspiring success stories of this century, but it also threatens 
Americans right here at home. Only one-tenth of the contraband in South 
Africa is for local consumption--the rest finds its way to Europe and 
the United States. In fact, approximately 30 to 40 percent of all hard 
narcotics that enter the United States come via African drug cartels. 
The drug world is becoming increasingly cosmopolitan: South American 
drug lords are buying African banks to launder their illegal profits.
  For years, the United States has thrown money at supply-side 
solutions in South America that simply do not work. In Africa, we 
should apply the lessons learned from that experience and address the 
institutional weaknesses that permit the drug trade to flourish. 
Stronger and more transparent political and judicial systems must be 
developed to stop the flow of narcotics from Africa.


                        terrorism also a threat

  Mr. President, international terrorists are no strangers to Africa. 
Sudanese nationals were at the heart of the New York City bomb plots. 
The Libyan Government still refuses to extradite the men believed to be 
responsible for the bombing of PanAm flight 103. In 1995, a fraud 
scheme uncovered in South Africa revealed an international crime 
network with close links to the Irish Republican Army.
  In this era of instantaneous communications and world travel, all 
nations must join in the battle against international terrorism. Even 
one rogue state presents a threat to American interests both here and 
abroad.


                               conclusion

  Mr. President, these images are bleak, but writing off Africa in 
frustration is an unacceptable solution. International crime rings, 
drug lords, and terrorist groups have not forgotten about Africa, and 
neither can we. In the interest of global stability and our national 
security, the United States must keep Africa on the foreign policy 
agenda, and work with the African people to strengthen the institutions 
that bring shadowy international crimes to light.

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