Abd Al-Baset Azzouz

Floor Speech

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Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in order to commend the recent
intelligence partnership between the United States and the country of
Turkey that led to the apprehension and eventual transfer into U.S.
custody of a senior Al Qaeda operative, Abd al-Baset Azzouz.

The State Department of the United States listed Azzouz as a
``Specially Designated Global Terrorist'' pursuant to Executive Order
13224 on September 24, 2014. Additionally, the State Department states
that Azzouz ``has had a presence in Afghanistan, the United Kingdom,
and Libya. He was sent to Libya in 2011 by al-Qa'ida leader Ayman al-
Zawahiri to build a fighting force there, and mobilized approximately
200 fighters. He is considered a key operative capable of training al-
Qa'ida recruits in a variety of skills, such as IED construction.''

I am encouraged by this positive development between Turkey and the
United States and hope that this event indicates a growing partnership
between our countries that will result in a common military strategy
against hostile elements in Iraq and Syria. While no international
relationship is perfect, there is already a large amount of cooperation that exists between the U.S. and allies like Turkey and it is critical that we continue to grow our existing partnerships in this important region as well as forge new ones.

It is important that we recognize and commend this very positive
incident of counterterrorism cooperation between the U.S. and Turkey,
as well as do all that we can to encourage these efforts to continue.

Finally, I submit the recent articles from the Washington Post and
International Business Times.

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