Growing Russian and Chinese influence could spark extremism, task force says

Russia’s and China’s expanding economic and military reach could foster extremism in developing nations, and the U.S. must engage the rest of the world in trying to prevent that threat from materializing, a task force spearheaded by the leaders of the 9/11 Commission argues in a new report.

The report, released Tuesday, the 17th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, comes as President Donald Trump has pursued overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin and other autocrats, tried to slash foreign aid spending and broken with America’s traditional democratic allies to an unusual degree.......

Countries such as Russia and China, meanwhile, have increased their economic and military outreach to the governments of “fragile states.” The assistance offered by China and Russia, such as loans or military aid, generally doesn’t come with requirements to respect human rights, exhibit transparency or other facets of good governance. This lets China and Russia bolster their influence, and also “allows predatory governments to avoid reforms and has been shown to have increased corruption.” Populations in the developing states are more likely to lose faith in their governments and, as a result, be more willing to support alternative rule offered by extremists.

In Africa, the report states, “Moscow is by far the largest weapons supplier. … When the United States denied Nigeria’s request for Cobra attack helicopters because of human rights concerns, Russia stepped in and also agreed to train Nigerian security forces.”

China, the report notes, is “Africa’s largest single-country trade partner and its biggest creditor,” to the point where some African countries’ failure to repay their loans could allow the Chinese to take control of much of their infrastructure.

Separately, regional rivalries, such as that between Iran and Saudi Arabia, are fueling violence, extremist ideology and despair across the Middle East and North Africa.

Iran, the report states, is “operating more than a hundred religious institutions in Africa.” The Saudis, who between 1982 and 2005 “spent $75 billion to fund mosques, madrassas and religious television channels,” are lashing out at Iran in places like Yemen.Intra-Arab rivalries, such as that between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are further exacerbating tensions, the report states.

The report is the first of at least two to be produced by the Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States. The first focuses on laying out the reasoning behind why a new strategy to prevent extremism is needed and establishing some principles of what it should look like; the next report, due in 2019, will propose a comprehensive strategy to implement.......

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