Hearings to examine countering terrorism in North Africa, focusing on opportunities and challenges.
Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs
2026-02-03
Source: Congress.gov
Participants
Transcript
This hearing will come to order. Thank you, Senator Rosen. Good to have you here, Senator Kaine. The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism will come to order. I first want to thank our witnesses for being here today. We've got two great witnesses, and Senator Rosen for her partnership and your idea. This hearing was your idea, and I think it's a good one. As we continue our crucial work of counterterrorism oversight, this hearing represents an opportunity to analyze North Africa a strategic region important to our national security interest. The five countries that make up this region, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, occupy positions of geostrategic significance that directly impact global commerce and Western security. They control key maritime choke points, serve as gateways between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, and sit within crucial energy corridors. Libya alone shares borders with six nations and has become a transit hub. for arms, fighters, and illicit trafficking that threatens the Mediterranean. Egypt controls the Suez Canal, through which 12% of global trade passes. Morocco, of course, guards the Straits of Gibraltar. Political instability and governance challenges have created opportunities that terrorist organizations look to exploit. In the years following the ceasefire in Libya, the country's political fragmentation has contributed to internal instability and has prevented effective security coordination against shared threats. This fragmentation has allowed ISIS, Libya, and Al-Qaeda to maintain logistical networks to some degree, though the threat has been greatly diminished when compared with the previous decade. And in Egypt, one of the three US-designated major non-NATO allies in the region, terrorist groups like ISIS-Sinai have historically committed violence against government entities, Coptic Christians, and other civilian targets. Security gains have been made by joint counterterrorism efforts in recent years to reduce the threat, and prevent mass attacks. Last month, I was pleased to see the Treasury Department designate the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood as a specially designated global terrorist group.
This designation unlocks additional tools to combat the illicit financial networks that have legitimized terrorism and spread the group's influence globally. I really want to applaud the administration's efforts to disrupt terror networks that undermine our national security. Tunisia, another major non-NATO ally, has seen a significant reduction in Islamic militant violence since 2006, which demonstrates improvements in Tunisian security capacity. At the same time, we know that certain terror cells remain active in border regions, as evidenced by the recent death of a Tunisian police officer during a counterterrorism operation along the Algerian border. Algeria represents both opportunity and challenge. While Algeria maintains warm relations with Russia, and has divergent foreign policy positions on issues like Israel and Iran, counterterrorism remains an area of bilateral cooperation. Lessons can be gleaned from our positive counterterrorism partnership with Morocco. As a major non-NATO ally since 2004, Morocco's comprehensive counterterrorism strategy, which successfully disrupted terrorist cells as recently as this year, combines enhanced security measures with multilateral coordination. North Africa's security gains are evident in that region that has not experienced a massive terrorist attack in almost a decade. While smaller incidents have occurred, the greatest threat North Africa currently faces is from spillover risk posed by Sahel-based groups. The Sahel region, including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, has witnessed the rise of JNIM, which has grown into one of Africa's most potent Islamic terrorist groups. JNM evolved from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, an organization with Algerian roots that originated from the Islamist insurgencies of the 90s, which claimed thousands of lives, including three U.S. citizens that were killed in a 2013 attack on an Algerian gas plant. It's my understanding that this committee will soon convene a hearing on the Sahel, and I look forward to continuing this conversation as it relates to those threats.
This hearing provides an opportunity to assess the progress made to counter threats and also better understand where we go from here. It's also been over two decades since the global war on terror started, and it's critical we learn from the failures, resist mission creep, while also leveraging strategic programming that bolsters regional security and involves our partners, our allies, paying their fair share. The Trump administration has taken decisive action to reshape the US approach to counterterrorism, eliminate wasteful spending, and streamline bureaucracy. As the Department of State realigns its efforts with the administration's goals, Congress strands ready to work together. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure the American taxpayer dollars are being spent effectively, that our personnel are positioned for success, and that we are doing everything necessary to protect the American people from terrorist threats emanating from North Africa and beyond. I am now happy to recognize the ranking member of this committee, Senator Rosen, for her opening remarks. Well, thank you, Chairman McCormick, and thank you for you and your staff's cooperation in setting up the hearings that we've had and the good work that we are trying to do in this area.
The hearing is extremely important, and I want to thank you, two of the witnesses, for joining us today as well. Because today's hearing is focused on a region that frequently just doesn't get enough attention, North Africa, also known as the Maghreb. Strategically located between Europe and the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, the countries of North Africa are important to U.S. national, economic, and energy security. The region deserves a deeper look at the immense opportunities as well as the unique challenges it experiences. While American attention has strayed from the region in recent decades, our nation has a long history of engagement with North Africa.
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