Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to French military action in Mali to combat al Qaeda-linked militants:

“I welcome France taking the initiative to combat this serious security threat in North Africa.  The vast area of northern Mali gives these al Qaeda-linked militants space to operate, and the weapons flowing out of Libya makes them deadly. This cancer could not go unaddressed. 

“This isn’t avant garde for the French. They have shown leadership in working with Ivory Coast and other African governments to improve security.  Paris understands the high stakes.

“I expect the Obama Administration to honor appropriate requests for intelligence and logistics support from France.  When confronting a shared threat, we should have our ally’s back.”

 

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