Washington, D.C. – Tomorrow at 10 a.m., Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce (R-CA) and Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee Michael McCaul (R-TX) will convene a joint hearing entitled “The Rise of Radicalism: Growing Terrorist Sanctuaries and the Threat to the U.S. Homelands.”

Chairman Royce on the hearing: “Radical Islamist groups like ISIS and al Shabaab are recruiting and radicalizing foreign fighters at an alarming rate.  In Syria and Iraq, ISIS has welcomed tens of thousands, including more than 250 Americans, to join their brutal campaign.  This joint hearing will examine the administration’s efforts to deny safe havens to extremist movements, disrupt the foreign fighter pipeline, and confront the grave threats posed by these fighters as they seek to return home.”

Chairman McCaul on the hearing: “We are witnessing the most rapid spread of Islamist terror sanctuaries in history, but still have no viable strategy to combat this national security threat. The brutal Assad regime, with its Iranian support, continues to fuel radicalism. ISIS is using its base in Syria and Iraq to expand globally. And a destabilizing Russia is flexing its military muscle in the region in the absence of American leadership. Meanwhile at home, the FBI is conducting ISIS-related investigations in all 50 states. ISIS alone has inspired or directed 18 terrorist plots in America since 2014 and the group has been linked to more than 60 plots around the globe. This hearing is necessary to examine how instability abroad creates dangerous safe havens for Islamist terrorists to train and recruit, as well as how our lack of a strategy to deal with these ungoverned spaces leads to a greater threat to Americans at home.”

What:
Joint Hearing: The Rise of Radicalism: Growing Terrorist Sanctuaries and the Threat to the U.S. Homeland

When:
10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 18

Where:
House Visitors Center, Room 210

Witnesses:
General Jack Keane, USA, Retired
Chairman of the Board
Institute for the Study of War

Mr. Peter Bergen
Vice President and Director
New America

The Honorable Matthew G. Olsen
Co-Founder and President
Business Development and Strategy
IronNet Cybersecurity
(Former Director, National Counterterrorism Center)

***See foreignaffairs.house.gov for updates.

***Coverage note:  All Foreign Affairs Committee proceedings are webcast live at foreignaffairs.house.gov/live-video-feed.

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