WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Rob Wittman (VA-01) delivered the following opening statement at a hearing on national security challenges and U.S. military activities in the Greater Middle East and Africa.
Rep. Wittman’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I too want to welcome our witnesses and express my appreciation for their service. General Townsend, as we discussed last week, the threats in Africa are multi-faceted and rapidly increasing. But spending in AFRICOM comprises only 0.3 percent of our defense budget. Those meager resources have been spread even thinner as Russia and China increase their presence on the continent. Russia is entering into a disturbing number of arms sales and basing agreements with African nations. China is using its Belt and Road Initiative to extract African natural resources and gain permanent footholds on the continent. The Chinese have built an overseas military base on the strategically important Horn of Africa. And they are actively scouting other locations, including along the Atlantic Coast. The growing presence of China and Russia in Africa is a threat to our national security. It is imperative we increase investments there. I look forward to hearing from General Townsend about how we can maximize diplomatic and military efforts to counter Russia and China’s global ambitions in Africa. In CENTCOM, General McKenzie is also seeing increased Chinese presence. China is building ports and other infrastructure throughout the region. It has entered into trade and telecom agreements with allies in the region. But what I find most concerning is that President Xi continues to cozy up to the Ayatollah. China signed valuable trade deals with Iran, bought Iranian oil in defiance of international sanctions, and joined Russia in conducting joint drills with the Iranian navy. These actions provide a lifeline to Iran at a very dangerous time. The Ayatollah continues to fund and equip terrorists targeting American troops. His cronies are prolonging a civil war and a humanitarian crisis in Syria. And his regime is aggressively pursuing nuclear weapons. We absolutely cannot allow that to happen. I do not believe that reentering JCPOA will stop them. I look forward to hearing more about the Administration’s plan for ending the Ayatollah’s quest for a nuclear weapon and how they intend to deal with the rest of the regime’s destabilizing actions. Finally, both General McKenzie and General Townsend continue to face tremendous challenges snuffing out hardened terrorists in both A.O.Rs. I am very concerned that we are back sliding on the progress we made in combatting terrorism In Africa, the repositioning of U.S. and French forces further from terrorist hot spots is making it much harder for us to successfully conduct counter terrorism operations. In CENTCOM, President Biden’s decision to unilaterally and unconditionally withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan has undermined our national security. As anticipated by nearly everyone except the President, the Taliban has overrun the government, and Afghanistan is reverting back to being a breeding ground for terrorists. The President assures us that his so-called “over-the-horizon” strategy will prevent that from happening. But it’s a farce. In the six months since the withdrawal, we’ve not been informed of a single successful over-the-horizon strike. I guess it’s possible that Al Qaeda and ISIS-K have thrown down their arms and decided to live in peaceful coexistence with the West. But I fear what’s more likely is we no longer have a good handle on where the terrorists are and what they’re doing. The truth is without persistent ISR, reliable partners on the ground, and nearby facilities to launch assets, we lack the capabilities we need to conduct a successful strike. I look forward to this afternoon’s classified discussion on what capabilities we’ve lost and how we can help restore them. As our posture shifts to the Indo-Pacific, we need to ensure our other Combatant Commanders have the capabilities they need to carry out their missions. We cannot allow for blind spots. Especially in these two A.O.Rs. Before I wrap up, I’d like to thank to General McKenzie’s for his service and wish him the best in his retirement.
