Brian Higgins

This hearing is a timely and necessary follow-up to our hearing last May regarding al-Qaeda operations in both Iran and Syria.

It was always about control and manipulation.

I have gone on record before to state that cyber threats know no limits and have no boundaries.

I would like to thank the Chairman for holding today's hearing.

If a parallel move is made on the Palestinian side, what could the Palestinians do? As my colleague Ted Deutch had said, put Israel on a map.

What you need is mutual steps here.

I represent Buffalo. Buffalo was lobbed off the list because of budget constraints.

It was really a fight for power. In that part of the world, which is highly pluralistic--you know, minorities are aligning themself with Assad for one reason, survival.

But, you know, it seems--there was a debate 6 months ago here about authorizing the administration to use military force in Syria if they determined that was necessary.

Because, as we know, Syria is about 75 percent Sunni, and Sunnis take control.

I look forward to hearing today's testimony as we continue to expand our knowledge of the threats, groups, and counterterrorism efforts within the Caucasus region.

NATO, which is 28 countries including the United States and Canada and 26 European countries, was essentially established to safeguard the freedom and security.

President Putin has acted like a international street thug.

If Russia's behavior has changed then it would seem to me that Russia's status as a member of the G-8 should change.

Russia's occupation of Ukraine is a direct and clear violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Russia has violated all kinds of international laws including the treaty they signed with Ukraine guaranteeing its borders.

In the post-9/11 era, the one thing we know clearly is that terrorists seek to destruct and kill, but they also seek to disrupt our way of life.

The shame here is that, in 2011, during the uprising, in the final days in Tahrir Square, you had 8 million people, 10 percent of the Nation's population, which really represented the largest pro-democracy movement in the history of world.

However, during his presidency, Morsi brought the nation to the brink of collapse and was not a legitimate ruler in the eyes of the majority of Egyptians.

The United States relationship with Egypt is fractured and as we wait and see where Egypt's current political state leads the country, we must be mindful of our past relationship with Egypt while keeping an eye on any emerging threats from…

In 2011, the Egyptian uprising caused the world to stop and watch as Egyptians revolted and caused the 30-year regime of Hosni Mubarak to end.

The United States has provided significant military and economic assistance to Egypt since the late 1970s.

One group that has emerged as one of Egypt's biggest threats is al-Qaeda-inspired Ansar Beyt al Maqdis (ABM).

Rouhani ran against the policies that created international isolation, he ran against the policies that created sanctions, and then he won the election.

We certainly did not support the Assad regime.