Congress seeks uptick in North Africa operations
The House Homeland Security panel chief wants to boost funding for counterterrorism in the Sahara region.
A key lawmaker is seeking to codify a long-standing US counterterrorism program in North Africa to fight the spread of the Islamic State (IS) and other militant groups as they fan out across the continent.
The bill put forward this month by House Homeland Security Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, would formally establish the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership as an interagency program under the purview of the State Department. The 13-year-old cooperative effort between US civilian and military agencies helps countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria improve and coordinate their counterterrorism efforts.
McCaul’s bill, co-sponsored by Bill Keating, D-Mass., for the first time calls on the Donald Trump administration to give Congress a whole-of-government strategy to combat terror in Africa, a congressional aide told Al-Monitor. The State Department declined to comment on the pending legislation.
McCaul is also seeking $84 million for the program for the upcoming fiscal year, the aide added. That represents an 8% increase over this year’s $78 million request, according to a budget analysis by the nonprofit Security Assistance Monitor, a Washington-based organization that tracks US military aid.
