Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, made the following statement during today's joint hearing with the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights entitled, "Assessing the Consequences of the Failed State of Somalia":
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you including the terrorism subcommittee in today’s hearing. I held the gavel of the Africa Subcommittee once. Mr. Payne and I saw many African nations make good strides during that time, and since. Sadly, Somalia remains a failed state.
Nowhere are the consequences of Somalia more evident than when it comes to international terrorism and the threat from al-Shabaab, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.
In the past few years, the Shabaab threat has grown dramatically. Roadside bombs and suicide blasts have come to Somalia. Militant compounds there reportedly resemble "Pakistan-style terror training camps." And because of the influx of foreign fighters, one Mogadishu neighborhood is referenced by locals as "Little Afghanistan."
A year ago, the group conducted its first attacks outside of Somalia, killing 76 – including one American - in Kampala, Uganda. There is growing concern that al-Shabaab leaders are striving to strike targets beyond Somalia and Africa. A European plot was recently in the works.
Links between al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula – the most active of the al-Qaeda franchises – are becoming clearer. They are communicating more about operations, training and tactics. AQAP’s bomb-making expertise plus al-Shabaab’s recruits with Western passports make this a deadly combination.
That's why last month then-CIA Director Panetta called al-Shabaab’s threat to the U.S. homeland "significant and on the rise." U.S. forces have gone on the offensive, targeting Shabaab leaders from the sky.
But we should have a diplomatic attack as well, targeting al-Shabaab’s outside sources of support. The Government of Eritrea’s support for al-Shabaab is well-documented. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson has testified to Congress about Eritrea’s supply of weapons to terrorists inside Somalia. The U.N. Security Council – acting largely at the urging of African neighbors – passed sanctions against Eritrea, demanding that the country "cease arming, training, and equipping" al-Shabaab.
With al-Shabaab under pressure, it's time to tackle its state supporters before this menace reaches our shores. We must have an honest recognition of the destructive role Eritrea is playing in the region ... and designate it as a state sponsor of terrorism.
