China, Russia Exploiting Terrorist Unrest in Africa

Terrorist groups are spreading rapidly throughout Africa and will likely target Western nations in the near future, according to one member of Congress. The continued influence of the groups is also inadvertently ceding the region to China and Russia, said Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) during a Dec. 12 talk at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) think tank. “We need to be very aware of the threat,” Mr. Panetta said. “Not only is the violence going to extend to the littoral states … there clearly is a growing threat of the [Violent Extremist Organizations] moving from the Middle East into Africa and using that as a fertile ground upon which they could launch another attack against the West.”...