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 concur-
rent 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 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:00 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
•HCON 441 IH 
in a number in areas in Africa, particularly among grow-
ing populations of impoverished and disaffected youth; 
Whereas the spread of radical Islam undermines the histori-
cally moderate influence of Islam in Africa, exacerbates 
existing political and religious tensions within African na-
tions, provides fertile ground for recruitment by inter-
national 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 in-
terests and ‘‘infidels’’, attacks perpetrated by radical 
Islamist terrorist groups in Africa have resulted in a dev-
astatingly disproportionate number of deaths and casual-
ties among Africans and fellow Muslims; 
Whereas the terrorist al Qaeda network has publicly ex-
pressed its intention to expand in Africa, most notably 
calling for jihad in Nigeria, Sudan, and Somalia, and 
Hezbollah has developed a sophisticated and deeply em-
bedded 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 at-
tacks 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 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:00 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
•HCON 441 IH 
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 Inter-
national Airport en route to Israel; 
Whereas Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a senior al Qaeda oper-
ative 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 re-
cently 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 car-
ried 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, renam-
ing 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 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:00 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
•HCON 441 IH 
the December 2006 attack on a bus belonging to a 
United States-Algeria joint venture carrying several expa-
triate workers, the April 11, 2007, simultaneous bomb-
ings 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 Na-
tions 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 occu-
pying Ethiopian forces; 
Whereas al-Shabaab has since been designated as a Foreign 
Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act and as a Specially Des-
ignated Global Terrorist under section 1(b) of Executive 
Order 13224, and is believed to be responsible for numer-
ous suicide bombings, the use of landmines, remote con-
trolled roadside bombs, attacks against African Union 
peacekeeping forces, and targeted assassinations against 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:00 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
•HCON 441 IH 
Ethiopian and Transitional Government of Somalia secu-
rity 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 ex-
ploitation 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 Coun-
try 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 Ira-
nian national security strategy is its ability to conduct 
terrorist operations abroad,’’ and that ‘‘Hezbollah, a des-
ignated 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 Is-
lamic 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 pi-
rates 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 insur-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:00 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
•HCON 441 IH 
gents in Somalia and that within days, pirates who 
boarded the ship had developed ‘‘strange health complica-
tions, skin burn and loss of hair’’; 
Whereas it was widely reported nearly two years earlier that 
Iran had supplied Islamist insurgents in Somalia with so-
phisticated 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 cam-
paign 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 rein-
forced by his attendance three days later at the African 
Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and a subse-
quent announcement that Iran would soon convene an 
Iran-Africa Summit in Tehran; 
Whereas while many African countries sorely need the in-
creased 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 agree-
ments to expand economic relations, including agree-
ments 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 nu-
clear program; 
Whereas Iran reportedly is pursuing similar deals for ex-
panded diplomatic relations and strengthened commercial 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:00 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
•HCON 441 IH 
ties with Mali, Malawi, Uganda, Lesotho, Namibia, Mau-
ritania, 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 am-
bitions; 
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 Khar-
toum 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, re-
portedly was hailed as a hero while visiting Tehran in 
2006, proclaiming ‘‘Iran and Zimbabwe think alike,’’ se-
curing 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’’ be-
tween 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 inter-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:00 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
•HCON 441 IH 
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 sta-
bility 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 dis-
covered the shipment; 
Whereas while the motivations behind Tehran’s adventurism 
in Africa may vary widely between seeking diplomatic al-
lies among members of the Non-aligned Movement, to 
countering the dominance of Sunni Muslims in the re-
gion, to establishing new or expanding existing bases for 
Hezbollah and other militant Islamist groups, to increas-
ing 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 bar-
riers and promoting economic development, combating 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:00 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
•HCON 441 IH 
corruption and other illicit activities, and promoting crit-
ical 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 intercom-
munal dialogue; 
Whereas according to the African Union, ‘‘International ter-
rorism over the past decade has come to constitute the 
most serious threat to global peace, security and develop-
ment . . . This unfortunate development and all its evil 
manifestations around the world and particularly in Afri-
ca, undermine the most cherished values and funda-
mental 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 de-
cision 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 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:33 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
•HCON 441 IH 
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 citi-
zens 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 rad-
ical Islamist terrorism and Iranian adventurism in 
Africa poses to the United States, our allies, and in-
terests; 
(2) acknowledges the commitment and coopera-
tion of some governments and regional organizations 
in Africa to deny the use of their territory to radical 
Islamist terrorist organizations and calls on all gov-
ernments to intensify their efforts toward that end; 
(3) expresses concern over the emerging na-
tional 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 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:00 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
•HCON 441 IH 
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 infor-
mation sharing among supportive countries in Afri-
ca, especially in light of Iran’s increased involvement 
in the region; and 
(7) urges the new, unified Combatant Com-
mand for Africa (AFRICOM) to play a constructive 
role in coordinating United States security objectives 
in the region in close cooperation with our African 
partners. 
Æ 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:00 Sep 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HC441.IH
HC441
smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS