IV 

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. FORTUN ̃O, 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 


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•HCON 441 IH 

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 


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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 


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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 alShabaab 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 


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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 stateowned 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 

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gents 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-toair 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 


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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 

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national 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 


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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 


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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 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) recognizes the threat that the spread of rad4 ical Islamist terrorism and Iranian adventurism in 

5 Africa poses to the United States, our allies, and in6 terests; 

7 (2) acknowledges the commitment and coopera8 tion of some governments and regional organizations 

9 in Africa to deny the use of their territory to radical 

10 Islamist terrorist organizations and calls on all gov11 ernments to intensify their efforts toward that end; 

12 (3) expresses concern over the emerging na13 tional security implications of the Iranian regime’s 

14 efforts to expand its influence in Africa; 

15 (4) calls on the United States Government to 

16 work with governments in Africa to pursue an 

17 antiterrorism campaign based on mutual cooperation 

18 and constant vigilance; 

19 (5) urges the United States Government to 

20 work bilaterally and multilaterally with countries in 


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1 Africa to help them create antiterrorism legislation 

2 that would give governmental authorities new tools 

3 to take action against terrorist networks; 

4 (6) recommends that the President of the 

5 United States create more mechanisms for joint 

6 counterterrorism operations and intraregional infor7 mation sharing among supportive countries in Afri8 ca, especially in light of Iran’s increased involvement 

9 in the region; and 

10 (7) urges the new, unified Combatant Com11 mand for Africa (AFRICOM) to play a constructive 

12 role in coordinating United States security objectives 

13 in the region in close cooperation with our African 

14 partners. 

Æ 


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