The Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week unanimously advanced long-stalled legislation to formally institutionalize a counterterrorism partnership with numerous North African and Sahel states.
The Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act, originally introduced by the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Mike McCaul of Texas, also seeks to increase congressional oversight of the initiative, first established in 2005 under the George W. Bush administration. Under the Trans-Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership, the United States provides military, law enforcement and logistical support to US partners in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia as well as numerous Sahel countries.