House bill would permanently authorize Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership to prevent terrorism, extremism in West Africa

The Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), which was created in 2005 to help West African nations counter terrorism and extremism, would be permanently authorized under a bill introduced last week in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act of 2018, H.R. 6018, would codify the TSCTP as an interagency program. Its goal would be to enhance the short- and long-term capabilities of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia to address terrorist threats. U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Bill Keating (D-MA) introduced the bill.

“While terrorism is not new to Africa, ISIS fighters are moving South following the defeat of the caliphate into a region already encountering threats from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram, and Al Shabaab,” McCaul, chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, said. “The Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership — created in 2005 but never authorized by Congress — is key to preventing the rise of another safe haven for Islamic jihadists. Given the threats we face, I hope we can work quickly to get this legislation to the Floor and codify our efforts to boost the capabilities of our African partners.”

The U.S. Department of State administers TSCTP with support from the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). TSCTP seeks to enhance the counter-terrorism capacity of militaries and police departments in the region, improve regional collaboration, strengthen border security, monitor, and counterterrorism financing, and undermine support for violent extremism in local communities.

Keating, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs Terrorism, said it’s important to “think of terrorism outside the lens of traditional networks.”

“Combatting terrorism effectively and keeping Americans safe is also about eliminating terrorist financing flows, strengthening the rule of law, and promoting community level engagement — including through the meaningful participation of women in countering violent extremism and more generally in their countries,” Keating said. “As ISIS has lost territory in Syria and Iraq, terrorists will be leaving the region and seeking safe haven elsewhere to recruit and plan attacks, so failing to invest in our counterterrorism capabilities2 and partnerships in Africa now would be a grave mistake.”