[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 441 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 441
Recognizing the threat that the spread of radical Islamist terrorism
and Iranian adventurism in Africa poses to the United States, our
allies, and interests.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 29, 2008
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Royce, Mr.
Chabot, Mr. Fortuno, and Mr. Pence) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the threat that the spread of radical Islamist terrorism
and Iranian adventurism in Africa poses to the United States, our
allies, and interests.
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
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
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.
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