{ "id": "R43756", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43756", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 578234, "date": "2018-02-05", "retrieved": "2018-02-08T14:17:04.368846", "title": "Al Qaeda and U.S. Policy: Middle East and Africa", "summary": "After a more than a decade and a half of combating Al Qaeda (AQ) in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States faces a diverse array of threats from Al Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East and Africa. While senior Al Qaeda figures reportedly remain based in Pakistan, the network includes a number of affiliates across the Middle East and Africa including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and Al Shabaab. Al Qaeda also retains a small but possibly growing presence in Afghanistan. U.S. officials have stated that Al Qaeda still maintains a foothold in Syria through its ties to Hay\u2019at Tahrir al Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front), though the exact nature of that relationship may be evolving. This report examines the threat posed by Al Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East and Africa as described by U.S. officials and outside observers, as well as the U.S. approach to date in responding to these threats. \nThe rise of the Islamic State and its rapid territorial expansion across Syria and Iraq has at times eclipsed the attention directed towards Al Qaeda, at least in the public debate. However, U.S. officials have warned that Al Qaeda remains focused on attacking the United States, and that some of its affiliates in the Middle East have the capability to do so. It is also possible that Al Qaeda could leverage the Islamic State\u2019s setbacks in Iraq and Syria to bolster its recruits, resources, and prestige.\nAQ affiliates that have primarily targeted local governments have also turned their efforts to Western interests in the region, aiming at soft targets\u2014such as hotels\u2014frequented by Americans or Europeans. U.S. officials have cautioned that some Al Qaeda affiliates may increasingly turn to this type of attack as a way of remaining \u201ccompetitive\u201d for funds and recruits, in light of the wide publicity garnered by such attacks carried out by the Islamic State.\nCongressional concerns regarding these issues might shape ongoing reevaluations of the laws that underpin U.S. counterterrorism policy, including the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF, P.L. 107-40) as well as successive National Defense Authorization Acts that have progressively broadened the scope of the U.S. military\u2019s involvement in training and equipping foreign forces for counterterrorism purposes. Overall, Congress has addressed the enduring presence of Al Qaeda affiliates through a number of channels, including oversight of executive branch counterterrorism policies and practices; authorization and appropriations of U.S. funds for counterterrorism activities; and oversight of assistance for partner nations engaged in such activities.\nNote: This report does not cover Al Qaeda affiliates outside of the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Africa. See also CRS Report R44563, Terrorism and Violent Extremism in Africa, by Lauren Ploch Blanchard and Alexis Arieff, and CRS Report R44501, Terrorism in Southeast Asia, by Ben Dolven et al.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43756", "sha1": "f111a1958371857d2b3b55c7516393cb59c4010e", "filename": "files/20180205_R43756_f111a1958371857d2b3b55c7516393cb59c4010e.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43756_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180205_R43756_images_50ca6952af2d8970de1db5e53b21672ce1627989.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43756", "sha1": "0af1fa07e5da0f678e9b96a11463cc115419bbdc", "filename": "files/20180205_R43756_0af1fa07e5da0f678e9b96a11463cc115419bbdc.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4818, "name": "Afghanistan & Pakistan" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4878, "name": "International Terrorism, Trafficking, & Crime" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4879, "name": "Sub-Saharan Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 455161, "date": "2016-08-11", "retrieved": "2016-11-28T21:47:10.137882", "title": "Al Qaeda and U.S. Policy: Middle East and Africa", "summary": "After nearly a decade and a half of combating Al Qaeda (AQ) in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States faces an increasingly diverse threat from Al Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East and Africa. While senior Al Qaeda figures reportedly remain based in Pakistan, the network maintains a number of affiliates across the Middle East and Africa including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and Al Shabaab. Al Qaeda also retains a small but growing presence in Afghanistan. U.S. officials have stated that Al Qaeda still maintains a foothold in Syria through its ties to Jabhat Fatah al Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front). This report examines the threat posed by Al Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East and Africa as described by U.S. officials and outside observers, as well as the U.S. approach to date in responding to the threat posed by individual groups. \nThe rise of the Islamic State and its rapid territorial expansion across Syria and Iraq has at times eclipsed the attention directed towards Al Qaeda, at least in the public debate. However, U.S. officials have warned that Al Qaeda remains focused on attacking the United States, and that some of its affiliates in the Middle East have the capability to do so. AQ affiliates that have primarily targeted local governments in the region have also turned their efforts to Western interests abroad, aiming at soft targets\u2014such as hotels\u2014frequented by Americans or Europeans. U.S. officials have cautioned that some Al Qaeda affiliates may increasingly turn to this type of high-profile attack as a way of remaining \u201ccompetitive\u201d for funds and recruits, in light of the wide publicity garnered by the Islamic State.\nCongressional concerns regarding these issues might shape ongoing reevaluations of the laws that underpin current U.S. counterterrorism policy, including the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF, P.L. 107-40). In addition to the AUMF, Congress has addressed the emergence of Al Qaeda affiliates through a number of channels, including oversight of executive branch counterterrorism policies and practices; authorization and appropriations of U.S. funds for counterterrorism operations; and oversight of assistance for partner nations engaged in such operations.\nNote: This report does not cover Al Qaeda affiliates outside of the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Africa. See also CRS Report R44563, Terrorism and Violent Extremism in Africa, by Lauren Ploch Blanchard and Alexis Arieff, and CRS Report R44501, Terrorism in Southeast Asia, by Ben Dolven et al.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43756", "sha1": "802b8c47c7605d1ea57297b4fc09d325e115d313", "filename": "files/20160811_R43756_802b8c47c7605d1ea57297b4fc09d325e115d313.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43756", "sha1": "2304405c4a67fa0be04f37b17b54fb6a3d5a104a", "filename": "files/20160811_R43756_2304405c4a67fa0be04f37b17b54fb6a3d5a104a.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4758, "name": "Middle East & North Africa" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4818, "name": "Afghanistan & Pakistan" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4878, "name": "International Terrorism, Trafficking, & Crime" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4879, "name": "Sub-Saharan Africa" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 434866, "date": "2014-10-10", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:01:20.203773", "title": "Al Qaeda-Affiliated Groups: Middle East and Africa", "summary": "After more than a decade of combating Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States now faces an increasingly diverse threat from Al Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East and Africa and from emerging groups that have adopted aspects of Al Qaeda\u2019s ideology but operate relatively or completely autonomously from the group\u2019s senior leadership. \nU.S. counterterrorism debates have focused on \u201cformal\u201d Al Qaeda affiliates, and policymakers increasingly are considering options for addressing the range of threats posed by the wider spectrum of groups inspired by\u2014or similar in goals and aspirations to\u2014Al Qaeda. An additional challenge is the fluid nature of the threat, given the apparent fragmentation of Al Qaeda, and Ayman al Zawahiri\u2019s struggle to assert leadership of the group in light of challengers such as Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Finally, concerns regarding these issues might shape ongoing reevaluations of the federal statutes that underpin current U.S. counterterrorism policy, including the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF, P.L. 107-40).\nIn addition to the AUMF, Congress has addressed the emergence of Al Qaeda affiliates through a number of channels, including oversight of executive branch counterterrorism policies and practices; authorization and appropriations of U.S. funds for counterterrorism operations; and assistance for partner nations engaged in such operations.\nNote: In addition to focusing on Al Qaeda affiliates, or groups that have publicly sworn allegiance to Al Qaeda leadership and been formally accepted as affiliates, this report also profiles a selection of other groups such as the Islamic State (formerly known as ISIL or ISIS) and Boko Haram.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43756", "sha1": "28f3838604e02cf12c8b5d8a2e4c5e80a371c14a", "filename": "files/20141010_R43756_28f3838604e02cf12c8b5d8a2e4c5e80a371c14a.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43756", "sha1": "eaa936db9237bba15901e21d7019f8ef5c2639a4", "filename": "files/20141010_R43756_eaa936db9237bba15901e21d7019f8ef5c2639a4.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 276, "name": "Sub-Saharan Africa" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 282, "name": "Middle East and North Africa" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3456, "name": "Terrorism and Counterterrorism Policy" } ] } ], "topics": [ "African Affairs", "Appropriations", "Foreign Affairs", "Intelligence and National Security", "Middle Eastern Affairs", "National Defense" ] }