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26–759PDF 2018

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE COUNTERTERRORISM

BUREAU: THE FY 2018 BUDGET

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, 

NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

SEPTEMBER 7, 2017

Serial No. 115–87

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

DANIEL M. DONOVAN, JR., New York 

F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., 

Wisconsin 

ANN WAGNER, Missouri 

BRIAN J. MAST, Florida 

FRANCIS ROONEY, Florida 

BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania 

THOMAS A. GARRETT, JR., Virginia 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

AMI BERA, California 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania 

DINA TITUS, Nevada 

NORMA J. TORRES, California 

BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER, Illinois 

THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York 

ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York 

TED LIEU, California

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE

TED POE, Texas, Chairman 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

PAUL COOK, California 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

BRIAN J. MAST, Florida 

THOMAS A. GARRETT, JR., Virginia 

WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania 

DINA TITUS, Nevada 

NORMA J. TORRES, California 

BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER, Illinois 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESS 

The Honorable Nathan Alexander Sales, Coordinator for Counterterrorism, 

Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism, U.S. Department of State ................................................................................................. 3

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

The Honorable Nathan Alexander Sales: Prepared statement ............................ 5

APPENDIX 

Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 24

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 25

The Honorable Ted Poe, a Representative in Congress from the State of 

Texas, and chairman, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and 

Trade: Prepared statement .................................................................................. 26

The Honorable Dina Titus, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Nevada: Questions submitted for the record ................................................. 28

(1)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

COUNTERTERRORISM BUREAU: 

THE FY 2018 BUDGET 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2017

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:00 p.m., in room 

2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Paul Cook presiding. 

Mr. COOK [presiding]. The subcommittee will come to order. 

Without objection, all members may have 5 days to submit statements, questions, and extraneous materials for the record, subject 

to the length limitation in the rules. 

This hearing right now—I had the pleasure of meeting with our 

guest and talking about some of the issues beforehand. This is an 

area that is extremely important in light of what is going on in the 

world. And counterterrorism is something that has a lot of different 

opinions, solutions, and what have you, but this is one which is not 

going to go away and I am delighted that we have our guest with 

us. 

And right now I don’t see anyone else, and I am not going to 

chastise the ranking member for taking his time getting down 

here, but I know here is my very, very good friend, Representative 

Keating, from the great state of Massachusetts. So I was just in 

your district where I spent some time with my family and it was 

absolutely great. So I am going to turn to the ranking member for 

5 minutes for an opening comment. 

Mr. KEATING. Well, thank you Mr. Chairman and thanks for 

coming and spending money in my district, and it is always a 

pleasure to team up with you as we have on many issues and will 

continue to do in the future. And for Chairman Poe and yourself 

and myself, this is an important hearing on a very important subject; so I would like to thank you and I would like to thank the 

chairman for holding this hearing. 

I would also like to thank Ambassador Sales for joining us today. 

And once again, I had the pleasure to do this the other day, extend 

my congratulations on your appointment to this position and I look 

forward to working with you on U.S. counterterrorism policy and 

how we can be more effective in addressing what is truly a global 

threat. 

2

Terrorist attacks, we have witnessed, take innocent lives and 

wreak havoc in communities not just domestically but around the 

world. And they underscore how critical the issue is for promoting 

greater security for us here at home and for our families around 

the world because of these great and challenging threats. 

It is widely understood that the fight against terrorism is not 

solely taking place on battlefields. Violent extremism incubates 

where individuals are denied access to justice and an opportunity 

to provide for their own families’ basic needs. It spreads when we 

do not dismantle terrorist financing networks or when governments 

turn a blind eye to terrorism, even as it undermines their own legitimacy and ability to guarantee security for their own people. 

It grows when conflicts emerge, humanitarian crises unfold, or 

new governments struggle to establish the institutions that are 

necessary to bring their countries through what are often turbulent 

transitions. This is why the State Department is so critical to our 

security and combating terrorism. Terrorism is a global threat and 

requires coordination with our allies and partners throughout the 

entire world. 

We cannot shut down terrorist financing networks, support new 

democratic governments, stimulate investment and economic 

growth, track foreign fighters, and train law enforcement and counterterrorism units on securing our communities by ourselves. Yet 

these and so many other steps are necessary—and if we want to 

live in a world we do not have to wake up daily to new developments in the fight against terror, we will have to address these 

issues. 

And our diplomats, Foreign Service officers, and countless individuals serving their country at the State Department make our 

partnerships and cooperation with other countries possible. State 

Department funding provides the relief, training, and investment 

that is critical for generating the stability and security needed for 

eradicating the threat of terrorism. 

This funding comes with the expertise of the entire department 

of individuals who understand the local contexts and leaders and 

geopolitical issues to different conflicts and who are best positioned 

to make sure when the money is being spent to combat terrorism 

it is being spent in ways that further American security as well. 

That is why I was joined by so many of my colleagues in our disappointment with the President’s State Department budget, cutting 

nearly a third of the Department’s budget at a time when we face 

numerous complex security challenges throughout what is an increasingly more dangerous world. 

Today we are here to address the counterterrorism aspects of the 

budget request and I look forward to hearing from you on your priorities and plans for using critical human and funding resources 

available through the State Department and partner agencies 

across the U.S. Government. If we fail to really use diplomacy and 

strategic investments in promoting stability we will be mired in 

conflict and the threat of terrorism for decades to come. 

Thank you again, Ambassador Sales. I look forward to hearing 

your testimony and thank you for being here and taking the time 

to meet this week. I yield back. 

Mr. COOK. Thank you, Congressman Keating. 

3

Before I introduce our witness I just want to explain what is 

going on here. Right now we have got multiple hearings and there 

is one over at the House Committee and there is one in Judiciary 

which have a lot of attention going on, besides that votes and everything like that; so I want to apologize for the three-ring circus 

that you are part of. And sometimes you come in here it is very, 

very busy, sometimes you feel like the Lone Ranger—no pun intended. But I am personally delighted to have you here particularly 

after our conversation, and I am rest assured you are going to do 

a great job. 

So without objection, the witness’ prepared statement will be 

made part of the record. I ask that the witness keep your presentation to no more than 5 minutes. Hopefully we are going to have 

other members that will join us here because this subject is so important. 

So right now I want to introduce the Ambassador, Ambassador 

Sales. He is the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department. Ambassador Sales was previously a law professor at Syracuse University of Law, and before that Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security. And he 

is from, as I said, Syracuse in the Northeast, where I had occasion 

to spend some time and I hope he has thawed out since those experience after leaving California. 

So, Ambassador Sales, once again, it is our honor to have you 

here, and please give your presentation. Thank you. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE NATHAN ALEXANDER 

SALES, COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM, BUREAU 

OF COUNTERTERRORISM AND COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

Ambassador SALES. Thank you very much. Thank you, Chairman 

Cook and Ranking Member Keating and members of the subcommittee. It is a wonderful opportunity to discuss——

Mr. COOK. Excuse me. Do you have your microphone on or——

Ambassador SALES. Yes, I do. Closer, point. Right. 

Chairman Cook, Ranking Member Keating, and distinguished 

members of the subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to 

discuss the Counterterrorism Bureau’s work and our efforts to keep 

America safe. I have been on the job about 3 weeks now, and I am 

grateful for the chance to speak with you so early in my tenure at 

the State Department. 

Since 9/11, the United States has been the world’s counterterrorism leader. We have invested a great deal of blood and treasure 

in taking the fight to our enemies. CT will always remain a top 

American priority, and we emphatically state that we will not retreat from our global leadership role, but it is time for the rest of 

the world to step up too. 

Our friends and allies must share more of the burdens, financial 

and otherwise. We need them to make the same commitments that 

we have made to fight terrorism around the globe. Now sometimes 

that means military action, but it is just as important to confront 

terrorism with civilian tools. 

The administration’s goal is to degrade the terrorism threat to a 

level where it can be addressed with civilian mechanisms like law 

4

enforcement, diplomatic engagement, and capacity building—measures where the CT Bureau has long played a central role. In our 

fiscal year 2018 request we have prioritized three programs: The 

Counterterrorism Partnership Fund, the Antiterrorism Assistance 

program, and the Terrorist Interdiction Program. 

Let me quickly run through a few of our most important diplomatic efforts and programmatic efforts. First, the protection of soft 

targets: Terrorists increasingly are attacking soft targets like hotels, resorts, and cultural sites. We have seen the trend in Barcelona, Berlin, London, Manchester, and Nice, and here at home as 

well in places like Orlando and San Bernardino. 

To counter this growing threat, CT has spent the past year working with our international partners through the Global Counterterrorism Forum to develop a set of international good practices on 

the protection of soft targets. We hope to finalize these recommendations and announce them publicly in the very near future. 

Second, information sharing: It is essential that we share counterterrorism information especially at international borders. Working with our international partners here at home, the State Department has concluded bilateral agreements under HSPD-6 for 

sharing information about known and suspected terrorists. 

Since 2007, 65 countries around the world representing all corners of the earth have signed HSPD-6 agreements. That includes 

all 38 members of the Visa Waiver Program. When fully implemented, these agreements will help us identify, track, and prevent 

the travel of those who would do us harm. 

Third, aviation security: ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist 

groups continue to prioritize attacks on commercial aviation. Look 

no further than last year’s attack on Daallo Airlines or the recently 

thwarted plot in Australia. Along with DHS, the CT Bureau is 

working to elevate the baseline of global aviation security and ensure that our foreign partners can respond to these deadly threats. 

Fourth and finally, capacity building: The CT Bureau uses the 

foreign assistance funds that Congress appropriates to improve our 

partners’ counterterrorism capabilities. We are helping them help 

themselves. In particular, we assist in building their ability to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate terrorism-related cases. To investigate we provide training, equipment, and mentoring to law enforcement; to prosecute we teach lawyers how to prepare persuasive, well-developed cases that will lead to convictions; and to adjudicate, we work with judges so they have a better understanding 

of the complexities and challenges of deciding terrorism cases. In 

my written testimony you will see examples where these efforts are 

yielding concrete and tangible results. 

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, the terrorist threat is constantly evolving and along with our friends and partners around 

the world, we too must evolve to meet that threat. We greatly appreciate Congress’ support in this shared endeavor. I look forward 

to your questions and to our discussion. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ambassador Sales follows:]

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STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD 

NATHAN A. SALES 

Coordinator for Counterterrorism 

U.S. Department of State Counterterrorism Bureau: The FY 2018 Budget 

HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 

Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade 

September 7, 2017 

2:00p.m. 

Chairman Poe, Ranking Member Keating, and Distinguished Members of the 

Subconm1ittee: thank you for this opportunity to speak about the work of the 

Counterterrorism Bureau, our ongoing diplomatic and programmatic efforts to 

advance U.S. cmmterterrorism priorities, and the funding we believe is required to 

advance these goals and keep America sate in the years to come. Simply put, 

terrorism is a global threat, and the United States cannot fight it alone. More than 

ever, we need willing and able partners. 

The CT Bureau is playing a leading role in the U.S. govemment's intemational 

efforts to promote counterterrorism cooperation, strengthen partnerships, and build 

civilian capacity to address the full spectrum of terrorist threats - both today's 

threats and the ones that may emerge tomorrow. Building on the increased funding 

that was made available to the CT Bureau for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017, the 

Department's Fiscal Year 2018 request for CT includes more than $228 million to 

continue and sustain our civilian counterterrorism partnership efforts and 

strengthen partner capabilities. 

The Administration's fundamental counterterrorism objective is to degrade 

terrorist threats to a level that they are capable of being addressed by civilian 

authorities. That is why we are strengthening the capacity of law enforcement 

agencies and other civilian partners - from Justice and Interior Ministries to border 

and aviation security officers to police departments. Our goal is to ensure 

effective, whole-of-govemment approaches to terrorism These will become even 

more important as our successes in Iraq and Syria against ISIS's false caliphate 

will be followed by efforts against the remnants of its global network. We also 

must do more to prevent and counter recruitment and "inspiration" of a new 
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generation of terrorists, and we are expanding our partnerships with private actors 

who can help counter terrorist recruitment and messaging. 

In the CT portion of the FY 2018 budget request, we have prioritized sustaining 

three key programs: the Cmmterterrorism Partnership Ftmd (CTPF), the 

Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program, and the Terrorist Interdiction Program 

(TIP). These programs are critical to advancing our long-tem1 capacity-building 

goals. The focus areas for these programs include crisis response, aviation and 

border security, com1terterrorism legal frameworks (i.e., prosecutions and 

investigations), counterterrorism financing, and addressing terrorist radicalization, 

recruitment, and rehabilitation. 

Funding requested under ATA will also allow us to continue to support im10vative 

multilateral efforts by U.S.-created institutions such as the Global Counterterrorism 

Forum (GCTF) and the Institute for International Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), 

where we have advanced our counterterrorism agenda and priorities by developing 

shared best practices and advancing the rule oflaw. 

Overview of Terrorist Threat Landscape 

ISIS, and its murderous ideology, currently represents the top terrorist threat to the 

United States and our interests abroad. With Coalition support, local forces have 

reclaimed more than three-quarters of the territory ISIS once held in Iraq and 

approximately two-thirds of the territory it previously held in Syria. The so-called 

caliphate is crumbling. Yet despite this progress, ISIS remains capable of carrying 

out and inspiring terrorist attacks in Syria, Iraq, and abroad. In fact, largely as a 

result of its loss of territory and a precipitous decline in the number of foreign 

terrorist fighters that were once available to the group, we have seen ISIS-directed 

or "inspired" small-scale decentralized attacks on soft targets outside of the 

Syria/Iraq conflict zone. These have included assaults on hotels, tourist resorts, 

and cultural sites in Bamako, Barcelona, Berlin, Jakarta, London, Marawi, and 

Ouagadougou, among other places. 

Al-Qa'ida and its atllliates remain a substantial threat to the United States and our 

interests. These groups include the remnants of the AQ core in Afghanistan and 

Pakistan, al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb, alShabaab, al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent, and al-Nusrah Front, which is AQ's 

affiliate in Syria and its largest atllliate. AI-Nusral1 is COlllllitted to ousting the 

Assad regime. It also seeks to expand its reach regionally and globally, consistent 

with core AQ's longstanding ideology. In January 2017, al-Nusrah merged with 

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other hardline opposition groups to fom1 Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which 

after fighting with other Syrian opposition in July, now dominates northwest Syria. 

We also know that AQ is trying to strengthen its global networks by relocating 

some of its remaining leadership cadre from South Asia to Syria. 

Iran remains the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, carrying out attacks 

and other destabilizing activities through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' 

Quds Force, as well as through the Lebanese terrorist group Hizballah. Iran is 

responsible for intensifying multiple conflicts and undermining U.S. interests in 

Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain, Afghanistan, and Lebanon, and continues to support 

attacks against Israel. Iran and its terrorist affiliates and proxies pose a significant 

threat and demonstrate a near-global terrorist reach. 

Homegrown Terrorists: During the last few years, we have witnessed a shift 

from the centralized command and control of terrorist attacks by foreign 

organizations to a new framework in which individual terrorists use whatever 

weapons are at hand on their home turf against soft targets. Increasingly, the 

responsibility for deciding where, when, and how to attack has been devolved to 

these self-directed terrorists - and this trend is only becoming more widespread. 

We saw devastating examples of this in the Nice and Manchester attacks. We have 

also seen it here at home- in San Bemardino in 2015 and in Orlando in 2016. 

What Are We Doing About These Threats? 

Since September 11, 2001, the United States has served as the global 

counterterrorism leader, investing our blood and treasure to take the fight straight 

to the terrorist groups. The State Department has focused its diplomacy on 

building the political will and counterterrorism capacity of partner govemments 

and non-state actors, including intemational organizations. We have strengthened 

old relationships and built new ones with foreign militaries, intelligence services, 

law enforcement authorities, foreign ministries, financial officials, civil society 

organizations, and private industry to advance our common counterterrorism goals. 

The CT Bureau has been responsible for much of the development, funding, and 

coordination of programs to build partner counterterrorism capacity in law 

enforcement, border security, information sharing, counterterrorism finance, and 

more recently, programs to counter radicalization to violence and terrorist 

recruitment. We work closely with the full array of U.S. govemment agencies -

including the intelligence community, the NSC, DOD, DOJ, DHS, and Treasury, to 

determine the nature of the threat, prioritize the allocation of resources, and 
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ultimately devise a strategic response. The CT Bureau's FY 2018 request is 

critical to ensure we are resourced to build effective counterterrorism partnerships 

and capabilities across the globe. 

While counterterrorism remains a top U.S. priority, and we will not retreat from 

our leadership role, it is also time for the rest of the world to step up its etlorts. 

Our friends and allies must share more of the financial burden to counter global 

terrorist threats; we need our partners to increase their own commitment of 

resources to counter terrorism within and outside their own borders. This includes 

funding for domestic counterterrorism functions such as law enforcement, 

intelligence, and border security; support for key multilateral institutions, such as 

INTERPOL, the IIJ, and the Global Commtmity Engagement and Resilience Ftmd 

(GCERF); and capacity-building assistance for frontline states. 

The CT Bureau has adopted a results-focused approach to program design, 

management, and evaluation to improve performance, outcomes, and 

accountability and ensure the sustainability of our collective efforts. We have 

developed tools and best practices to determine progress and results and to 

facilitate perfonnance-infom1ed decision making. We create monitoring plans for 

all of our activities and involve third party contractors for targeted evaluations to 

inform future programming. Evaluation recommendations have allowed us to 

refine and focus the programs as well as identity areas for improvement. 

Protecting Soft Targets 

We have experienced over the last few years an increased challenge of protecting 

locations that are designed to be open and inviting for everyday activities, such as 

dining, shopping, and lodging. Together, govemments and businesses share the 

responsibility to strike a balance of security and accessibility at these locations. 

Preventing and preparing for soft target attacks depends on multilateral 

collaboration as well as national-level communication and coordination across 

multiple departments, disciplines, and ftmctions, including intelligence, 

infom1ation sharing and risk analysis, law enforcement, emergency management, 

and critical infrastructure security and resilience. Preparedness also requires 

commtmication and cooperation with private industry and civil society. 

The CT Bureau is therefore working with intemational partners under the auspices 

of the Global Counterterrorism Forum to draft a set ofintemational good practices 

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focused on the protection of soft targets from terrorist attacks. We plan to finalize 

and announce these recommendations in the near future. 

Border Security and Information Sharing 

We place a high value on information sharing, especially at intemational borders, 

where there is a critical need to detect and prevent terrorist travel. With the FBIadministered Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), and in coordination with U.S. 

interagency partners, the State Department has engaged foreign partners to 

conclude bilateral arrangements for the exchange of identity information on known 

and suspected terrorists pursuant to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6 

(HSPD-6). Since 2007, the Department and the TSC have signed over 60 HSPD-6 

arrangements with foreign partners, which when fully implemented will help 

identify, track, and deter the travel of known and suspected terrorists; this includes 

all38 Visa Waiver Program countries. 

We have encouraged our partners to further increase security at their borders to 

better identify, restrict, and report the travel of suspected foreign terrorist 

fighters. This means getting countries to make greater use of INTERPOL's Stolen 

and Lost Travel Document and other databases and resources related to foreign 

terrorist fighters - resources that allow cmmtries to screen travelers and to assist 

their law enforcement agencies in identifying and investigating terrorist travelers. 

We also continue to expand the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and 

Evaluation System (PISCES) program, which provides state-of-the-art border 

screening systems to 24 countries. 

As a result of all of these initiatives, we've seen a significant increase in 

coordination among partners to add suspects to terrorist watchlists and to share that 

infom1ation more broadly. Over the next year, we will aim to sign new 

arrangements with a mm1ber of priority cmmtries and will focus on achieving the 

full implementation of existing arrangements. 

Aviation Security 

ISIS and other terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation. We saw 

this most recently with the thwarted aviation plot in Australia. We are working 

with our DHS colleagues to elevate the baseline of global aviation security and 

make sure our foreign partners are poised to respond to threats. Sometimes this 

requires enhanced measures, as in the case of the March 2017 ban on personal 

electronic devices and the heightened security requirements that replaced it on Jtme 

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28,2017. Other times, it means increasing awareness of the threats so countries 

adopt a security approach that meets the threat environment. 

Through diplomatic engagement and targeted foreign assistance, we are working 

with our partners overseas to improve passenger and cargo screening, upgrade 

technology, and employ mitigation measures such as canine detection teams to 

address more complex threats. The CT Bureau is in the process of launching 

aviation security assistance programs in Ethiopia, E~,>ypt, Jordan, and Morocco, and 

a regional project focused on Southeast Asia. 

Building Partner Capacity 

The CT Bureau uses foreign assistance resources to build the ability of partner 

nations to identify, deter, dismpt, apprehend, prosecute, and convict terrorists and 

their supporters. Our goal is for these partners to be able to confront the terrorist 

threats they face themselves without turning to the United States for assistance. 

The CT Bureau's capacity-building efforts include ensuring there are appropriate 

legal frameworks in place to bring criminal cases against offenders. In particular, 

we assist partner countries in building the ability to investigate, prosecute, and 

adjudicate terrorism-related cases. 

To investigate, we provide training, equipment, and mentoring to law enforcement 

bodies so they have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and tools to detect, thwart, 

and respond to terrorism. This includes training and equipping crisis response, K9, 

bomb, and cyber investigation teams. To prosecute, we work with prosecutors to 

increase their skills to prepare persuasive, well-developed cases that will lead to 

convictions. Examples include case-based mentoring designed to secure 

prosecutions or working with countries to develop CT prosecution cells that are 

versed in terrorism case law. To adjudicate, we work with judges on procedural 

and substantive issues so they have a better understanding of the complexity of 

terrorism cases. To rmmd out our efforts within the criminal justice system, we 

work with prison officials to provide training and teclmical assistance so they can 

effectively punish terrorism offenders and identify those who may be receptive to 

rehabilitation. 

What we've been doing in this area is already working. In Somalia, on March 24, 

2017, CT-tl.mded Somali Joint Investigation Tean1s responded to a suspicious 

vehicle, m1covering three charges. Investigators neutralized the meticulously 

prepared- and fully intact- vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and sent it 

to the FBI for further forensic analysis. The Somali Police Commissioner also 

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disseminated infommtion to international partners (such as the UN and embassies) 

and Somali interagency partners. 

In the past few years, 131 people have been convicted under newly-passed foreign 

terrorist fighter laws in the Balkans. Resident Legal Advisors from DOJ, and 

funded by the CT Bureau, assisted local prosecutors in evidence organization, 

analysis, prosecution strategies, and case-specific challenges through a case-based 

mentoring program. There are now approximately 33more FTF defendants 

indicted or on trial, all in Kosovo. 

In 2016 CT-funded AT A-trained response forces latmched a raid against suspected 

terrorists at an apartment building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. During the seven-hour 

operation, law enforcement officers kept the terrorists under surveillance, 

evacuated nearby residents, and exchanged gunfire with the suspects, who also 

threw explosive devices at police from inside the tlve-story residential building. 

Nine suspects were killed and one was taken into police custody. After police 

secured the site, ATA-trained bomb disposal technicians successfully recovered 

and rendered safe 13 hand grenades, five kilograms of homemade gel explosives, 

more than 20 detonators, and additional bomb-making equipment. 

In the Philippines, aCT-funded AT A-trained explosive ordnance disposal team has 

responded to several crises, including a bomb attempt near the U.S. Embassy in 

Manila and the ongoing violence in Marawi City. In 2016, the team participated in 

an early-morning raid on a suspected terrorist safe house in Mindanao and 

discovered a cache of weapons and explosive devices, resulting in four arrests. By 

using an ATA-provided x-ray machine, bomb technicians from the Philippines 

National Police evaluated and rendered safe an anti-personnel mine, a commercial 

electric blasting cap, an improvised electric blasting cap, and two fragmentation 

hand grenades. ATA-trained members of the PNP Special Action Force and AntiCybercrime Group are also contributing to ongoing operations and investigations 

in Marawi and around Mindanao. 

While the Philippines has a specific terrorism law, the Hwnan Security Act, this 

law has been used a limited munber of times and resulted in only one conviction in 

2015. To remedy some of the law's shortcomings in terrorism cases, the State 

Department is funding a DOJ Resident Legal Advisor to provide guidance and 

support to the government's working group charged with updating the law, and 

working with prosecutors to better prepare terrorism cases. We are also partnering 

with DOJ to help the Philippines address the challenges it faces in its prison 

system. 

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Countering Radicalization 

Cotmtering radicalization is a critical component of a comprehensive approach to 

com1terterrorism. We must do more than simply identifY and stop foreign terrorist 

fighters from traveling or removing them from the battlefield. We need to 

delegitimize the violent ideology that attracts them and also prevent them from 

getting into terrorist pipelines in the first place. To do so, we must work with 

partners inside and outside of govenunent to increase outreach efforts to youth, 

women, and victims of terrorism. We have increased our engagement with 

governments with vulnerable populations to take ownership of the issue and 

develop comprehensive, rights-respecting national strategies and action plans to 

counter violent extremism. 

As part of this effort, we have expanded our engagement with a range of 

municipal, civil society, and private sector partners. One example is GCERF, 

which was established as the first global etfort to support private, commtmity-level 

initiatives aimed at strengthening resilience against terrorist ideology. Operating at 

the nexus of security and development, GCERF has raised more than $37 million 

from 14 other cotmtries to support national strategies and address the local drivers 

of radicalism. It is active in Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mali, and will soon expand to 

Kenya and Kosovo. 

In an effort to reach local actors, the CT Bureau partners with the Strong Cities 

Network (SCN), which was launched at the UN in September 2015. The SCN is 

the first global network of mayors, municipal-level policy makers and practitioners 

m1ited to build conmmnity resilience to counter violent extremism in all its forms. 

The network has more than I 00 city members from Los Angeles, New York, and 

Chattanooga, to Peshawar, Nairobi, and Vilvoorde. 

Additionally, the CT Bureau works closely with the Department's Global 

Engagement Center, which is charged with coordinating the U.S. government's 

com1terterrorism messaging to foreign audiences. 

******* 

The CT Bureau uses a range of tools and resources to counter terrorist threats 

arotmd the world. Protecting the homeland is our top priority as we enlist the 

cooperation and build the capacity of partners to take on these challenges. We are 

encouraged by reporting from our diplomatic posts about how our training and 

8 
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26759a-9.eps

resources are directly assisting partners to disrupt terrorist operations, prosecute 

terrorist suspects, and protect borders. 

Mr. Chaim1m1, the terrorist threat is constm1tly adapting and we must adapt along 

with it. We can best protect our people and interests over the long run by being 

nimble m1d able to recognize the potential need to retool programs as the threat 

evolves. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with domestic agencies to expand 

intemational cooperation, strengthen partnerships, build bilateral and regional 

capabilities, m1d promote rule of law-based approaches to counterterrorism. We 

will work to dismantle terrorist safe havens and disrupt the movement of foreign 

terrorist fighters and their resources, and address the conditions that terrorists 

exploit tor recruitment. 

We greatly appreciate Congress's support in this shared endeavor. I look forward 

to your questions and our discussion. 

9 
14

Mr. COOK. Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador. You are 

going to have quite a job on your hands, and this is one—I don’t 

envy your situation. And I support the ranking member’s concern 

about funding. I think this is something that we cannot ignore. If 

we don’t fund some of your activities or what have you, all we are 

going to be doing is funding more as Secretary Mattis talked about, 

more guns, more money, you know—that is going to be the end result. 

So some of the programs that you are involved with, my question 

basically is how are you going to constantly reprioritize? And you 

know, this is like what day of the week is it, what has happened 

recently, and of course we are approaching the anniversary of 9/11 

and it is like okay, what is the biggest terrorist threat that we are 

facing? And by the way as an aside, your comments about working 

with our allies and everybody on the same sheet of music in a common goal I think is laudatory—and very, very happy that you are 

saying it. 

So in regards to all the threats and I won’t even list them, you 

know them better than I do, how are you constantly going to reevaluate on an almost daily, weekly basis? What is the greatest 

threat facing the United States and Americans? 

Ambassador SALES. It is an important question, Congressman, 

and an important challenge that we have to meet. The terrorist 

threat is, as you say, constantly changing, constantly evolving, constantly adapting. Our enemies are capable of learning from their 

mistakes. They are capable of learning from our successes. And a 

good example of this is the rise of what you might call self-directed 

terrorism. 

The al-Qaeda model of carrying out terrorist attacks is one where 

you have a centralized, hierarchical, command-and-control structure that issues orders to operatives to go out and carry out attacks. It provides them with training. It provides them with resources. It provides them with marching orders. What we have 

seen in recent years is, coexisting with that earlier model of terrorism, a model of terrorism in which individual terrorists are responsible for selecting targets on their own. They don’t necessarily 

require detailed instructions or even any instructions from a centralized command structure. They are self-directed and capable of 

striking independently. 

And that rise of that model of terrorism is one that we have seen 

here in the United States, in San Bernardino and Orlando. We 

have seen it increasingly in Europe as well. And so the challenge 

is to adapt our capabilities to meet that threat. That has to be 

based on an analysis of the problem. It has to be informed by intelligence reporting about what our adversaries are doing and what 

their plans are and how they are adapting, and it has to inform 

as well by our diplomatic engagement with allies around the world 

to understand the problems that they are experiencing in their 

countries. 

Mr. COOK. Thank you for your answer. Before I turn it over to 

my colleague here, I just want to—I know you have been on the 

job 3 weeks, but I think the people on this committee are very, very 

interested in your activities. Don’t be afraid to keep us in the loop. 

We have got a lot of things going on, but everything is so important 

15

and I think your efforts and your education can go a long way to 

produce allies in this battle that you have. 

So at this time I am going to turn it over to the ranking member, 

Congressman Keating. 

Mr. KEATING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And not only as ranking member of this committee, I am also on the subcommittee on 

Homeland Security on counterterrorism as well as aviation safety; 

so the issues you spoke to are longstanding concerns of mine. 

One of the things as we traveled around looking at different airports through Europe and even in Africa, we were looking at resources that our country was offering to certain countries and we 

found in that trip that people, other countries were reluctant to 

even take advantage of our resources. But I think, given the string 

of terrorist attacks in Europe in particular, we have seen a change 

of mind. Are you seeing that change and receptiveness to our resources and our help? 

Ambassador SALES. I certainly am, Congressman. I think—you 

mentioned Europe in particular. I think Europe, leaders in Europe, 

are very well aware of the severity of the threat that they face. And 

I think atrocities like we have seen in Barcelona and London and 

Manchester, and the list goes on, have really galvanized leaders at 

the national level and at the EU level as well to work internally 

together within Europe and to work as part of our Transatlantic 

Alliance with the United States to counter this threat together. 

Mr. KEATING. You know, one of the areas of concern was the—

it was in Istanbul and the airport there. There is such a huge, you 

know, mecca of travel, and I think that you know there was a reluctance there, but there have been a lot of discussion about improvements in that regard. What have you seen in that area? 

Ambassador SALES. Turkey has made a number of important 

strides. As you know and as you just said that the Istanbul Airport 

has been an important transit point not just for tourists and business people, but also for foreign terrorist fighters who are seeking 

to enter the conflict zone in Syria and Iraq. 

I think when the ISIS scourge started sweeping across the Middle East for the first time in 2014, we saw 20,000-30,000 foreign 

fighters traveling into the war zone through a number of routes, 

but including through our NATO ally Turkey. Since then, Turkey 

has begun to take a number of strong steps to gain better control 

of its border with Syria to stanch the flow of foreign fighters in. 

Turkey has also stepped up the sharing of information with other 

NATO allies to give a heads up about the possible movements of 

foreign terrorist fighters. We have still got some work to do, but 

I am encouraged by the direction things are heading. 

Mr. KEATING. You know, we have had success with our coalition, 

military success on the ground with ISIS. However, ISIS is different. It is sort of like a franchise—it has been described before 

as opposed to an entity, because they deal in ideology and they will 

go anywhere and they will be receptive to activities throughout the 

whole world. And, you know, that is including not just the Middle 

East but areas, you know, Southeast Asia, Central Asia—you see 

it in the Philippines. We have even had discussions just recently 

about concerns with countries like Bangladesh where there is, you 

know, the incubation I talked about, all those characteristics are 

16

there—and how people that are firsthand in terms of their information have described changes that have occurred. 

So with that as a given it brings us back to the importance of 

USAID and other initiatives that we have, because if indeed they 

are this franchise that local people on the ground given fertile territory to exist and grow will take advantage of, if we are not countering that we are not going to be successful in stemming this because it is a moving target. 

And all those moving targets are over the world, but they could 

be a threat back here in the United States for all the reasons that 

you described in terms of air traffic and in terms of people using 

the social media to become inspired and they don’t even have to be 

directed to act. 

So I will get back to the cuts that were there. I honestly feel although your reference to other partners stepping up to the plate, 

I think they are understanding the need of that more than they did 

even a few years ago. But for the taxpayer, the best bang for the 

dollar in dealing with terrorism is to deal with these issues because 

it is spread throughout the world. It has metastasized. 

So how do you get around that honestly? I know that we are 

talking about this in our committee. I don’t think there has been 

a full committee hearing where we haven’t right across the aisle 

spoke to this need as well as understand that even the filling of 

State Department positions are so critical in that regard. 

I think I am speaking for the vast majority of the full committee 

both sides of the aisle. This is something we see as a major need 

and just want to get your reaction to this. I know that you are constrained with budgets, but this is about your budget in a rare instance that Congress offered more money and it is not getting used 

for some of these things, so if you could just address that. I know 

you are brand new. 

Ambassador SALES. Certainly. Well, thank you for the question, 

Congressman. It is a very important question. You are right. ISIS 

is a franchise. They are branching out all over the world, not just 

in their core heartland of Syria and Iraq. We see affiliates in Afghanistan. We see them in the Philippines. We see them all across 

the globe; in every place that ISIS is we need to be as well. We 

need to have a presence to counter their false narrative. We need 

to have a presence to build up the capabilities of the countries that 

are now finding themselves with us in the front lines of the fight 

against ISIS, and we are doing that at the CT Bureau. Where ISIS 

is active we are committed to expending the resources that the 

American taxpayers have entrusted us with to counter this threat. 

You mentioned Bangladesh in your question and so let me just 

address that country in particular. Just last year in 2016, we funded crisis response forces in Bangladesh and last year they were 

very successful in carrying out a raid against suspected terrorists 

at a safe house in an apartment building. The CT Bureau-funded 

officials managed to arrest one of the terrorists. Several others 

were killed in a gun battle. The CT-funded officials found 13 hand 

grenades, five kilograms of explosives, 20 detonators, and additional bomb making equipment. 

So the Bangladeshis are safer because of the work that our Bureau did, and ultimately, the American people are safer because of 

17

the work that this Bureau did in helping take down that terrorist 

cell. 

Mr. KEATING. All right. I think, Mr. Chairman, we might have 

time given the conflicts that people had today to have a second 

round of questions. So I will yield back and maybe we will entertain a second round. Thank you. 

Mr. COOK. Thank you. We are joined by Congresswoman Torres 

and I hope she has some questions for us, and turn it over to you. 

Mrs. TORRES. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. 

And good afternoon, I think it is afternoon, Ambassador Sales. I 

would really like to bring it back to our communities—this conversation. I represent San Bernardino County. I have lost constituents in that attack that took place 2 years ago. It will be 2 years 

in December. As a former 911 dispatcher, I understand very well 

how key it is for our first responders, our police departments, to 

have a very close working relationship with our communities. 

What is the role of community policing in the Bureau, in the Bureau’s law enforcement assistant program? 

Ambassador SALES. Well, I couldn’t agree more with the premise 

of your question, Congresswoman. We need at that Counterterrorism Bureau and at the State Department generally to engage all 

levels of government—not just foreign ministers and other cabinet 

secretaries, but also law enforcement officials, community activists, 

civil society organizations, municipal authorities, the sort of people 

who are on the front lines of the struggle against ISIS and alQaeda, and I think we have been successful at doing that. 

Recently, we launched an initiative known as the Strong Cities 

Network which is designed to accomplish exactly this vision that 

we are talking about where we partner with local governments, 

municipal governments, including law enforcement authorities, to 

better protect their communities and the nation as a whole. 

Mrs. TORRES. Right. A concern that I have is that I don’t think 

that our cops in the street are getting a lot of information or proper 

training on how to identify and how to deal. There are some grants 

that are unattainable for small municipalities and I think that we 

need to focus more in the homeland in ensuring that our first responders have that information and have data and are able to work 

together, you know, with our alphabet soup at the Federal level. 

One thing that I am very proud of is that prior to—6 months before that incident happened—I was able to actually bring together 

Homeland Security, the FBI, ATF at a gathering with our local police departments and sheriffs. So the first time that they met was 

not when this incident happened. They had previously met, they 

had exchanged business cards, phone numbers, and therefore I 

think that that call when that incident happened to the FBI office, 

it wasn’t a cold call. You know, they had a contact there. 

And my concern is, I just don’t think that we are doing enough 

to share information and to properly train our cops in the street 

on how to deal with counterterrorism issues. 

Ambassador SALES. Well, thank you for that concern, Congresswoman. I can tell you that I am encouraged to hear about the institution-building that you helped facilitate in your district. That is 

the very sort of thing that we at the CT Bureau are trying to do 

on the international stage. You know, here at home we take a 

18

backseat to domestic entities like DHS and FBI who have the lead 

in building those relationships among domestic law enforcement 

players and municipal authorities, but we have the exact same vision when it comes to community engagement on the international 

stage working with exactly the same sorts of entities. 

Mrs. TORRES. Thank you so much. I yield back. 

Mr. COOK. Congressman Keating, you had another question? 

Mr. KEATING. Well, another region—and it is really hard because 

it is becoming so widespread to pick out entities. But another area 

of concern I have had too in terms of foreign fighter travel and 

radicalization is in the Balkans too, and it is becoming an increasing concern there. Could you just share, you know, your views on 

how things are going, what we could do to improve that specific 

area? And it is one of those areas I think where there is a difference on how the U.S. is perceived. 

And I guess as a secondary question, it is really important if we 

want cooperation as to how our country is viewed by the people, 

not just their leaders, themselves. So what is being done on that 

secondary level, and more specifically what is your view on what 

is going on with the Balkans? 

Ambassador SALES. So Congressman, the Balkans are a very important focus and priority area for the CT Bureau. The Balkans 

have the geographic fortuity of sort of lying right in the pathway 

of some of the migration routes into Iraq and Syria. And just as 

troublingly, they are right in the migration routes for people who 

having gained battlefield experience, are returning home to Europe 

perhaps to carry out more attacks like we saw in the Paris attacks, 

in the Brussels attacks. 

We are very active with government authorities in the Balkans. 

The CT Bureau has funded a number of law enforcement training 

initiatives and we have worked with the Justice Department funding resident legal advisors. Those efforts are paying, I think, very 

real dividends. Since we made the Balkans a priority, I believe 131 

people have been convicted of crimes related to the movement of 

foreign terrorist fighters and my understanding is there is about 33 

more who are currently under indictment and going through the 

criminal process right now—all of them in Kosovo. 

So the criminal law is a very powerful tool for deterring terrorist 

activity including terrorist travel and we are doing our utmost to 

use that tool in the Balkans. 

Mr. KEATING. Just on the secondary part of that, the way the 

U.S. is perceived in some of these areas is a concern—areas where 

I think we were much more—viewed much more in a supportive 

way that is not quite the case now for a number of reasons. 

And I guess if you could comment too, one of Russia’s objectives, 

have you seen any of their efforts, part of their engagement in elections there as they did in France as they are trying to do in Germany and as they are doing throughout the area as well as the 

propaganda that they have so successfully engineered to try and 

split our coalition apart; is that creating a problem too? 

Ambassador SALES. Well, Congressman, I think our Transatlantic Alliance is strong and durable and it is built on shared history and even more importantly, shared values. NATO of course is 

the bedrock of our security regime, security posture, and it is the 

19

bedrock of the post-war international system. I think it is 

unshakeable and I think you are seeing not just the United States, 

but our European allies redouble their commitments to NATO. Not 

just to deal with traditional adversaries, but also to focus on new 

threats that we face like counterterrorism. 

And as you know, NATO has recently announced the appointment of a counterterrorism coordinator and the development of new 

counterterrorism capabilities. I find that very encouraging that 

NATO is adapting in the same way that the global threat environment is adapting. 

Mr. KEATING. They were quite anxious to, you know, to get involved in that area. 

Just a quick question, finally is—the committee has had hearings 

before on the role of women engaging in counter terrorist activities 

for a number of reasons, number one they are the center point of 

the families that are involved and they can spot radicalization perhaps sooner than other members. And when we put resources in 

the hands of many of the women they go more directly to the hands 

of helping children and helping education and things that really 

buffer us from radicalization—is that going to be a priority with 

you? 

Ambassador SALES. Yes, it will, Congressman. I say that, I answer that question as the father of two young girls so I have some 

skin in this game, as it were, absolutely. Women are often frontline targets of terrorists. You think of the atrocities committed 

against girls by Boko Haram and countless other examples that 

readily come to mind. So women and girls are important assets, important assets in the struggle against terrorism. Not just potential 

targets for terrorism, not just potential victims of terrorist depredations. So I think it is important to engage all levels of society, all 

members of society in this mutual fight. 

Mr. KEATING. Great. I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. COOK. Thank you. Congresswoman Torres, do you have anymore? You do? 

First of all, I want to thank you very, very much. But to the committee, I know we had—oh, excuse me. I noticed we have one more 

member that snuck in here very quietly and I want to give the opportunity for Congressman Zeldin to ask him some questions. 

Mr. ZELDIN. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for hosting this 

hearing. And to the Ambassador, good luck—I look forward to 

working with you. I think it is great that you are starting to reach 

out individually to different members to build relationships and I 

think that is great to hear all of our different concerns. You have 

an important job ahead of you and I wish you the best for all my 

constituents’ safety and security for this country’s safety and security. 

I have had something interesting happen to me a couple of times 

over the course of the last month and a half, right before the August recess. I was at a dinner off-site with some members of a foreign affairs committee of a Parliament in the Middle East and we 

asked them about battling this radicalization that exists in their 

countries. And one person at the table said something that would 

be very politically incorrect to say here in the United States, and 

when that person said it everyone at the table agreed. And the perVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:36 Jan 02, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_TNT\090717\26759 SHIRL
20

son said we need to, in their country, they said we need to take 

them out of the mosques. It gave me a lot to think about. 

Coming back from August recess, I just had an ambassador in 

my office from another country from the Middle East and I shared 

that reflection and that moment that happened and I asked him 

and his staff what he thought about it and he said it was true. I 

would be really interested to hear what your perspective is. I know 

this is a tough question. It is a really important issue and it is one 

that we have in many respects struggled with here because we 

want to protect America’s national security and I think we in many 

respects we are always trying to say and do the right thing. 

Fascinating perspective that I got from two different countries in 

the Middle East, both Muslims who were sharing this perspective, 

both saying that we should take them out of the mosques. What 

is your thought of that? 

Ambassador SALES. Well, I think, Congressman, you have raised 

a very important issue which is how do we address the threat not 

just of violence, but of the radicalism that ultimately culminates in 

violence? And at the CT Bureau we have partnered with a number 

of important partners and allies around the world to address this 

very issue and to engage in a systematic counter radicalization 

campaign that can offer opportunities to young people to divert 

them away from a path toward radicalization, to offer off-ramps 

such that people who might have been inclined to embrace violence 

see alternatives to that course, to more fully integrate all members 

of society into the economic opportunities that can help dissuade 

them from pursuing violence. 

But it is not just enough for us to address the risk of violence. 

That is merely the tip of the iceberg. What we are engaged in is 

a fundamental contest of ideas and there is an ideological component to this struggle as well in much the same way that there was 

an ideological component to the Cold War. We have to engage our 

adversaries at the level of ideas and demonstrate why their false 

claims are indeed false. And in so doing, it is important for us to 

partner with authentic voices of Islam around the world who likewise reject the siren song of radicalism and violence. 

Mr. ZELDIN. Here in the United States and the international 

community, we view places of worship and schools and hospitals as 

protected sites that are respected, that are off limits—that are sacred. And it seems like it is pretty obvious, I guess, at this point 

that some of what we hold dear and sacred institutions to us in the 

United States might not be getting used in the same way that we 

aspire to for our own children and others here in the United States. 

So with Israel, when they face issues with Hezbollah storing missiles inside of protected religious sites or I hear this story about 

taking kids out of mosques, or kids learning with textbooks that 

are teaching them a version of history that grooms them to be adversarial to good people, these are all challenges that you face. I 

wish you the best. 

I thank again the chairman for hosting this hearing, and please 

continue to work on building that relationship with each and every 

one of us. 

Ambassador SALES. I certainly will, thank you. 

21

Mr. COOK. Mr. Ambassador, I want to thank you very much and 

I appreciate the members showing up here and asking their questions. You have been on the job 3 weeks. Speaking on behalf of the 

committee, I think we have got to have you back again. Obviously 

today was somewhat of an anomaly, but it is a crazy place. 

But I think about funding, about supplemental requests for funding. This is a very bipartisan committee, and I think a lot of people, both Democrats and Republicans, realize how important your 

job is. So I would ask the staff’s indulgence in the future to let’s 

do this again, I think, in a number of months where we are not 

jammed with oh, votes, hearings—on some very important issues 

and this and that, because what you have to say, I think, is extremely important and we can perhaps help you in lending support 

for a cry for more money for the important work you do. So I want 

to thank you very, very much and, at this time, this meeting is adjourned. Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 3:49 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

(23)

A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

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26759n.eps

SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING NOTICE 

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6128 

Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade 

Ted Poe (R-TX), Chairman 

TO: MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

You are respectfully requested to attend an OPEN hearing of the Committee on Foreign 

A±Iairs, to be held by the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade in Room 

2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building (and available live on the Committee website at 

http :i /wvvw ForeignAft:'li rs.house. u:ov ): 

DATE: 

TIME: 

SUBJECT: 

WITNESS: 

Thursday, September 7, 2017 

2:00p.m. 

U.S. Department of State Counterterrorism Bureau: The FY 2018 Budget 

The Honorable Nathan Alexander Sales 

Coordinator for Counterterrorism 

Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism 

U.S Department of State 

By Direction of the Chairman 
25

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26759m.eps

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

MINUTES OF SUBCOMMITTEE ON Terrorism, Nnnproli[emliou, mul Trmle HEARING 

Day __ T._1t __ ll_l',\'--'<i-'-a"-y __ Date. ___ 0_9_'10_7._'!2_0_1_7 ___ Hoom ___ .=2c..l,;_c72=----

Starting Time -~-'~'0~8"'p~11~1 __ Ending Time -~3~:~4~9Ep~ll~l _ 

Recesses (__to __ ) ( __ to __ ) L_lo __ J ( __ to __ ) ( __ to__j ( __ to__j 

llepreselliuthre Puu{ Cook 

Open Session 0 l"xecutivc i£!!!scd) Session D Televised [J 

TIT! ,F, OF HF.A RING: 

Electronically Record!lliJI>!ped) 0 

Stenographic Ueconl LLI 

"U.S. Deparlmento,{State Coumalerrorism Bureaw FY2018 Bmlget" 

SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBEUS PUESENT: 

Rep. Cook, Keating, Zeitlin, Torres 

NON-SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: (Mark with an *[(they are not members ojJirll committee) 

HEARING WITNESSES: Same as meeting notice attached? Yes D NoD 

(If "no", p!emw list he! ow anrllnclude title, nwmcy, depnNment, m· m'f!.alli'Zatian) 

ST ATRMRNTS FOR THE RECORD: (List any sratements submitter/for the record) 

QFR submitted by Rep. Titus 

IFR .~ubmitte<l by Rep. Poe 

TIME SCHEDULED TO RECONVENE ___ _ 

ur 

Tl ME AIJJOU RN Ell __ 3_._·4_91=-'J_u __ 
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26759b-1.eps

Opening Statement of the Honorable Ted Poe (R-TX), Chairman 

Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade Hearing: 

"U.S. Department of State Counterterrorism Bureau: FY 2018 Budget" 

September 7, 2017 

(As prepared for delivery) 

The threat of terrorism remains a deadly challenge for us and our allies around the globe. So far in 2017 

there have been over 900 terrorist attacks causing nearly 5,500 fatalities globally. Just last month, 

Europe was struck again as terrorists drove a vehicle into a crowd in Barcelona, Spain, killing 16 people. 

60 percent of countries today see higher levels of terrorism than a decade ago. This surge in violence 

has been led by the rise of ISIS and fostered by weak states and toxic ideologies. Although we are 

making steady progress against ISIS on the battlefields of Iraq, Syria, and Libya, the recent spike in 

attacks in Europe as well as persistent violence throughout the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia 

remind us that we still have much to do to counter this menace. 

The State Department's Counterterrorism Bureau is a crucial instrument for completing this mission. 

Created in 1972 in response to the Munich Olympics attack, the Bureau forges partnerships with foreign 

governments, multilateral organizations, and NGOs to coordinate and advance counterterrorism 

objectives that enhance global security as well as our own. Under that broad mission it has several core 

responsibilities, including coordinating strategy across the State Department and other agencies1 

conducting bilateral and multilateral counterterrorism diplomacy, building capacity of partner nations to 

effectively combat terrorism and extremism within their own borders, counter violent extremism1 and 

strengthen homeland security. 

CT Bureau pursues these responsibilities through a number of programs. Its largest being the 

Antiterrorism Assistance program that provides training courses, mentorships, and equipment to law 

enforcement agencies of our allies. This assistance enhances their ability to conduct investigations, 

secure their borders, protect critical targets, respond to crises, and enhance cyber security. Since 1983, 

the Bureau has trained more than 90,000 law enforcement personnel from 154 countries. 

Given the heightened threat from terrorism that we and our allies face it is crucial that CT Bureau does 

its job effectively and efficiently. It is our job in Congress to ensure that the American taxpayers are 

getting their money's worth. We are talking about millions of dollars going towards programs abroad: 

the people of Houston need to know that these millions they are sending abroad are vital to their safety 

and security. This is all the more important given the Bureau faces a 45% cut to its assistance programs. 

With limited resources every penny must be spent wisely. 

It has proven difficult to determine if the Bureau is spending its funding wisely since only five 

evaluations have been conducted in the last 6 years. With the large cuts the State Department is trying 

to implement, we should only be investing in initiatives that have a positive impact. We cannot afford to 

throw good money after bad. But how can anyone know this without evaluating the programs that are 

currently in place? For example, since 2012 the Bureau has promised to evaluate its CVE efforts, yet it 

still has not completed this evaluation. Since then, the Bureau has made CVE a cornerstone of its efforts. 

CT Bureau opened up a brand new CVE office last year and planned to hire new employees to staff it. To 

put it bluntly, it makes absolutely no sense to invest more and more money into a field that has not 

been proven to yield results. 
27

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26759b-2.eps

Not only does CVE not have a tangible and proven track record of success, but since the Bureau has 

launched its CVE focus, ISIS has managed to attract tens of thousands of fighters towards its murderous 

cause. So obviously something is not working. If that were not enough, last year the State Department 

announced the establishment of yet another CVE-related office, the Global Engagement Center or GEC. 

The GEC is outside of CT Bureau and till this day we have not received a clear idea as to how the Bureau 

will engage and coordinate with the GEC and how duplication of efforts will be avoided. 

Knowing that the dangerous cancer of Islamic terrorism is not going away any time soon, it is crucial that 

the CT Bureau expends its efforts and money wisely in ways proven to yield results. We simply cannot 

afford to lose this ideological battle. We must ensure that CT Bureau has the resources needed to carry 

out its mission and at the same time that the Bureau acts responsibly with the resources provided by the 

American people. Our security and those of our allies depends on it. 

And that's just the way it is. 
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[NOTE: Responses to these questions were not received prior to printing.]

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26759c.eps

Question 1: 

Questions for the Record 

Submitted by the Honorable /)ina Titus 

To Ambassador Sales 

Mr. Sales, thank you for joining us today. Tt is a welcomed change to have an appointed 

administration witness come before our subcommittee. 

I want to ask you about the tone and priorities of the Administration, and if they are helpful to 

your efforts to combat terrorism and counter extremism. 

The USA Today published an alarming article recently: "International tourism to U.S. dips by 

700,000." I represent Las Vegas, where international visitors represent our largest growth market 

and are vital to keeping so many employed in our state. 

There was another article earlier this week highlighting that Mexican tourists who normally visit 

the U.S. are bypassing us for Canada, hurting many tourism communities throughout Southwest. 

At the same time, the President promotes his "America First" policies, cutting the State 

Department Budget by 31%, while simultaneously becoming an erratic, but shrinking violet on 

the world's stage. 

I am an active Member on the House Democracy Partnership where we work with our colleagues 

in developing democracies to strengthen their democratic institutions and civil society. Some of 

our partner countries, such as Afghanistan, continue to face the dangers of terrorism and radical 

extremism. Yet, the budget looks to cut these types of programs around the world. What message 

does this send to our partners, and our enemies? 

Do you believe your job is made more challenging by some of the statements from the White 

House and the cuts to programs designed to bring stability to governments in need"