Transcript
of House Western Hemipshere Subcommittee Hearing, October 10, 2001
2001
THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE'S RESPONSE TO
THE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 TERRORIST ATTACK
ON THE UNITED STATES
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH
CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
OCTOBER 10, 2001
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Serial No. 10743
Printed for the use
of the Committee on International Relations
Available via the
World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/internationalrelations
COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois,
Chairman
BENJAMIN A. GILMAN,
New York
JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
DAN BURTON, Indiana
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
PETER T. KING, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
AMO HOUGHTON, New York
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York
RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
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JOHN COOKSEY, Louisiana
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
RON PAUL, Texas
NICK SMITH, Michigan
JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania
DARRELL E. ISSA, California
ERIC CANTOR, Virginia
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
BRIAN D. KERNS, Indiana
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
TOM LANTOS, California
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
CYNTHIA A. McKINNEY, Georgia
EARL F. HILLIARD, Alabama
BRAD SHERMAN, California
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
JIM DAVIS, Florida
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
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GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
BARBARA LEE, California
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania
EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
GRACE NAPOLITANO, California
ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
DIANE E. WATSON, California
THOMAS E. MOONEY,
SR., Staff Director/General Counsel
ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director
Subcommittee on the
Western Hemisphere
CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina, Chairman
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
RON PAUL, Texas
NICK SMITH, Michigan
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
ROBERT MENENDEZ,
New Jersey
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
GRACE NAPOLITANO, California
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
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DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
CALEB MCCARRY, Subcommittee
Staff Director
PEDRO PABLO PERMUY, Democratic Professional Staff Member
TED BRENNAN, Professional Staff Member
JESSICA BAUMGARTEN, Staff Associate
C O N T E N T S
WITNESSES
The Honorable Francis
X. Taylor, Ambassador-at-Large, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism,
U.S. Department of State
Ambassador James
F. Mack, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau on International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State
The Honorable Roger
Noriega, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States
LETTERS, STATEMENTS,
ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
The Honorable Cass
Ballenger, a Representative in Congress from the State of North Carolina,
and Chairman, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere: Prepared statement
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The Honorable Francis X. Taylor: Prepared statement
Ambassador James
F. Mack: Prepared statement
The Honorable Roger
Noriega: Prepared statement
APPENDIX
J. Curtis Struble,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S.
Department of State: Prepared statement
THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE'S
RESPONSE TO THE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 TERRORIST ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER
10, 2001
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met,
pursuant to call, at 2:09 p.m. in Room 2200, Rayburn House Office Building,
Hon. Cass Ballenger (Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
Mr. BALLENGER. I
call the meeting to order, and I have an opening statement.
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Excuse me. Before
I even make my opening statement, I would like to say hello to Paul Durand,
the Canadian Ambassador to the OAS, and my old friend, General Serrano.
Welcome, General, from Colombia.
The deliberate and
deadly attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
on September 11th have forever changed the notion that America is safe
from terrorism. The terrorists who perpetrated those grisly acts have
clearly demonstrated that terrorism can strike anywhere and at anytime.
The use of terror
to achieve political ends is not a new concept, however it has become
more and more popular over the past several decades, especially since
the end of the Cold War. With the exception of the several deadly terrorist
attacks on the American military and diplomatic targets overseas, the
1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing,
America comparatively has been untouched by terrorism. September 11th
brought the pain and uncertainty of terrorism to our own doorstep.
How could such attacks
happen here? That is a common question we hear from our friends and our
constituents almost daily. And it is my hope that the panelists today
could provide us with some answers to this nagging question. Since September
11, Federal law enforcement, U.S. policy makers, and now the U.S. military
have rightly focused their attention on Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda network
and other Middle Eastern and South Asian terrorist organizations. However,
there are other terrorists operating around the world, and some of them
right here in our own hemisphere.
Page 8 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
Today, our hearing will focus on the Western Hemisphere's response to
the terrorist attack on our nation. The nations of our hemisphere have
invoked the mutual defense clause of the Rio Treaty. And our good friends
and allies in Canada have gone a step further and committed military support.
We will also focus
on terrorism in Latin America, and how it is related to the ongoing war
on drugs. If you have traveled to Latin America as often as I have, you
know that there are two basic facts of life, drug trafficking and terrorism.
Both share a symbiotic relationshipfeeding off one anotherone
making the other possible.
In Colombia, for
example, the ongoing 35-year-old insurgency is threatening the stability
of Latin America's oldest democracy. Colombia's two largest insurgencies,
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the National
Liberation Army, or ELN, have been listed by the U.S. Department of State
as both drug traffickers and terrorist organizations. In addition, the
illegal paramilitary umbrella group, the AUCwas listed as a terrorist
organization just a few days before the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
were attacked.
All three of these
organizations are well known for their brutality, bombing, kidnappings,
assassinations and mass murders. And all three use drug trafficking to
finance their terrorism.
Several months ago,
the Colombian National Police arrested three members of the Irish Republican
Army in Bogota on suspicion that the men had been in the FARC controlled
Despeje, which President Pastrana just reauthorized on Monday. The men
were apparently involved in providing the FARC guerrillas with technical
support and specialized training in bomb making and upgrading weapon systems.
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Other terrorist
groups may also be operating in this Switzerland-sized area of Colombia
which was granted to the FARC as an incentive for peace negotiations.
Many believe that the ''Zona de Despeje'' is being used as a safe haven
to train and harbor terrorists and to provide protection for drug traffickers
being sought by the Colombian government and the United States.
The involvement
of well known international terrorists like the IRA, combined with the
recent threats made by FARC's leader, Manuel Marulanda, suggesting that
he will hit American targets in response to our nation's support of the
drug war, raises real questions about the FARC's role in the support of
international terrorism.
Terrorism and drug
trafficking cannot be handled as a separate issues. They go hand in hand.
Profits from drug production are used to fund terrorist activities while
the acts of terror protect the drug traffickers by destabilizing governments
and tying up valuable security resources.
Colombia's drug
traffickers have used the FARC, the ELN, and the AUC to protect their
drug shipments, paying them handsomely for their services. In turn, the
FARC, the AUC, and the ELN use drug money to purchase weapons, war materials
and technical support from outside groups, perhaps even other international
terrorist organizations. We do not know how many terrorist organizations
are operating inside the Despeje, but if recent history is any guide,
we can be sure that the Despeje is crawling with terrorists.
The war on drugs
in Colombia has to some extent been successful. With such success, however,
comes consequences. I already spoke about the FARC in Colombia making
threats about attacking American targets. Recently in Peru, where coca
is also being produced, members of the Shining Path have engaged and killed
a number of Peruvian police officers who were involved that country's
coca eradication efforts. In Ecuador, a kidnapping campaign of foreign
nationals, including Americans, along with a number of bombings of the
Ecuadoran oil pipeline, is now underway, threatening that nation's stability.
As the war on drugs continues to escalate, we can expect to see the number
of terrorist acts to rise with it.
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In the tri-border
area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, Middle East terrorist organizations
such as Hamas and Hizballah train terrorists and conduct fundraising activities
in an area which has a growing population of Middle Eastern and South
Asian immigrants. Funds raised in the tri-border area are sent directly
to the Middle East to support the operation of these organization, possibly
even the planning and execution of terrorist acts. I have no doubt that
funds raised in the tri-border area have made it to the pockets of Al
Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.
Afghanistan produces
75 percent of the world's heroin. The Taliban reaps tremendous profits
from such trade and use them to sponsor Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists.
As Americans, we must recognize that fighting the war on drugs is tantamount
to fighting the war on terrorism. Every time an American boy buys cocaine
or heroin, they are directly funding the terrorists who are responsible
for the deaths of over 6,000 innocent Americans.
Today, the Subcommittee
on Western Hemisphere will hear from a distinguished panel of official
witnesses who will provide us with important testimony about the type
of terrorist organizations operating in our hemisphere, the links between
international terror and drug trafficking, and the efforts of the OAS
and its member states to help our nation win the war on terrorism.
While I have no
doubt that these panelists will provide the Subcommittee with excellent
testimony, I am profoundly troubled that Otto Reich has yet to be confirmed
as the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. At
this time, the President needs to have his nominee confirmed and in place
to fight both drug trafficking and terrorism in Latin America.
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And I yield to the
Ranking Member, Mr. Menendez.
[The prepared statement
of Mr. Ballenger follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT
OF THE HONORABLE CASS BALLENGER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, AND CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
The deliberate and
deadly attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
on September 11th have forever changed the notion that America is safe
from terrorism. The terrorists who perpetrated those grisly acts have
clearly demonstrated that terrorism can strike anywhere and at anytime.
The use of terror
to achieve a political end is not a new concept, however it has become
more and more popular over the past several decades, especially since
the end of the cold war. With the exception of several deadly terrorist
attacks on American military and diplomatic targets overseas, the 1993
bombing of the World Trade Center and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing,
America comparatively has been untouched by terrorism. September 11 brought
the pain and uncertainty of terrorism to our own doorstep.
How could such attacks
happen here? That is a common question we hear from our friends and constituents
almost daily. It is my hope that the panelists today could provide us
with some answers to this nagging question. Since September 11, federal
law enforcement, U.S. policy makers and now the U.S. military have rightly
focused their attention on Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda network and other
Middle Eastern and South Asian terrorist organizations. However, there
are other terrorists operating around the world, some of them right here
in our own hemisphere.
Page 12 PREV PAGE
TOP OF DOC
Today, our hearing
will focus on the Western Hemisphere's response to the terrorist attack
on our nation. The nations of our hemisphere have invoked the mutual defense
clause of the Rio Treaty. Our good friends and allies in Canada have gone
a step further and committed military support. We will also focus on terrorism
in Latin America, and how it is related to the ongoing war on drugs. If
you have traveled to Latin America as often as I have, you would know
that there are there are two basic facts of life, drug trafficking and
terrorism. Both share a symbiotic relationshipfeeding off one anotherone
making the other possible. In Colombia, for example, the ongoing 35-year
long insurgency is threatening the stability of Latin America's oldest
democracy. Colombia's two largest insurgencies, the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia or FARC and the National Liberation Armythe ELNhave
been listed by the U.S. Department of State as both drug traffickers and
terrorist organizations. In addition, the illegal paramilitary umbrella
groupthe AUCwas listed as a terrorist organization just a
few days before the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked.
All three of these organizations are well known for their brutality, bombings,
kidknappings, assassinations and mass murder. And all three use drug trafficking
to finance their terrorism.
Several months ago,
the Colombian National Police arrested three members of the Irish Republican
Army in Bogota on suspicion that the men had been in the FARC controlled
Zona de Despeje, which President Pastrana just reauthorized on Monday.
The men were apparently involved in providing the FARC guerillas with
technical support and specialized training in bomb making and upgrading
weapon systems. Other terrorist groups may also be operating in the Switzerland-sized
area of Colombia which was granted to the FARC as an incentive for peace
negotiations. Many believe that the Zona de Despeje is being used as a
safe haven to train and harbor terrorists and provide protection for drug
traffickers being sought by the Colombian Government and the United States.
The involvement of well known international terrorists like the IRA, combined
with recent threats made by the FARC's leader, Manuel Marulanda, suggesting
that he will hit American targets in response to our nation's support
of the drug war, raise real questions about the FARC's role in support
of international terrorism.
Page 13 PREV PAGE
TOP OF DOC
Terrorism and drug
trafficking cannot be handled as separate issues. They go hand in hand.
Profits from drug production are used to fund terrorist activities while
acts of terror protect the drug traffickers by destabilizing governments
and tying up valuable security resources. Colombia's drug traffickers
have used the FARC, ELN and the AUC to protect their drug shipments, paying
them handsomely for their services. In turn, the FARC, AUC and ELN use
drug money to purchase weapons, war materials and technical support from
outside groups perhaps even other international terrorist organizations.
We do not know how many terrorist organizations are currently operating
inside the Despeje, but if recent history is any guide, we can be sure
the Despeje is crawling with terrorists.
The war on drugs
in Colombia has to some extent been successful. With such success however
comes consequences. I already spoke about the FARC in Colombia making
threats about attacking American targets. Recently in Peru, where coca
is also being produced, members of the Shining Path have engaged and killed
a number of Peruvian Police Officers who were involved with that country's
coca eradication efforts. In Ecuador, a kidknapping campaign of foreign
nationals, including Americans along with a number of bombings of the
Ecuadoran oil pipeline is now underway, threatening that nation's stability.
As the war on drugs continues to escalate, we can expect to see the number
of terrorists acts to rise with it.
In the tri-border
area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, Middle East terrorist organizations
such as Hamas and Hizbollah train terrorists and conduct fundraising activities
in an area which has a growing population of Middle Eastern and South
Asian immigrants. Funds raised in the tri-border area are sent directly
to the Middle East to support the operation of these organizations, possibly
even the planning and execution of terrorist acts. I have no doubt that
funds raised in the tri-border area have made it to the pockets of Al
Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.
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Afghanistan produces
75% of the world's heroin. The Taliban reaps tremendous profits from such
trade and use it to sponsor Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists. As Americans,
we must recognize that fighting the war on drugs is tantamount to fighting
the war on terrorism. Every time an American buys cocaine or heroin, they
are directly funding the terrorists who are responsible for the deaths
of over 6,000 innocent Americans.
Today, the Subcommittee
on the Western Hemisphere will hear from a distinguished panel of official
witnesses who will provide us with important testimony about the type
of terrorist organizations operating in our hemisphere, the links between
international terror and drug trafficking and, the efforts of the OAS
and its member states to help our nation win the war on terrorism. While
I have no doubts that these panelists will provide the Subcommittee with
excellent testimony, I am profoundly troubled that Otto Reich has yet
to be confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere
Affairs. At this critical time, the President needs to have his nominee
confirmed and in place to fight both drug trafficking and terrorism in
Latin America.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you having this hearing, and having just
come from a presentation as the Chairman of the Task Force of the Democratic
Caucus on Homeland Defense, I think that these hearings are particularly
important in getting us as a government and our people prepared. So let
me thank you for holding the hearing.
Let me take the
opportunity to express my personal gratitude to the people in governments
throughout Latin America and the Caribbean for their kind expressions
and offers of support and solidarity with the people in government of
the United States after the horrific attacks of September 11th on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
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And let me also
express my sincerest condolences to any relatives and friends of those
Latin American and Caribbean citizens who lost their lives in the attack.
Secretary Powell
was in Lima on the morning of the 11th, and he was most graciously supported
by a demonstration of the best in hemispheric diplomacy. The unanimous
invocation at the initiative of Brazil and Al Hadena by the 22 signatories
to the Rio Treaty on September 19th send an unequivocal and important
message to the world that the members of the Organization of American
States are united against terrorism as civilized nations. An attack on
one is indeed an attack of all.
After September
11th, terrorism, I think, cannot viewed merely as a common problem for
the nations of this hemisphere, but must be considered and acted upon
cooperatively as a common threat.
If there is a lesson
to be learned from the 1998 attacks against our embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania, it is that terrorism is a clear and present danger not only
to U.S. interests, but to those of our friends in the hemisphere, several
of whom have been victims of terrorist acts on their own soil. We must
not let these acts again be replicated in the region. We must cooperate
immediately and over the long term to eliminate the threat of terrorism
from our hemisphere. We must share information and intelligence, better
secure our borders, and track financial transactions to curb money laundering
and to prevent funds from reaching suspected terrorists.
Open source reporting
indicates that the FBI claims Islamic extremist cells linked with Hizballah,
Islamic Jihad and Al Qaeda are operating in Paraguay, Uruguay and Ecuador.
The tri-border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay has been used by these
individuals for years. The Andean region is a hub for narcotics and arms
trafficking due to the conflict in Colombia, with the FARC outrageously
praising the attacks. And in Cuba, the Castro regime has, not surprisingly,
suggested that we brought this upon ourselves.
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Since law enforcement,
intelligence and military acts and judicial capabilities among the nations
of the Americas vary, so do the capabilities among hemispheric nations
to effectively thwart terrorist organizations or prevent attacks.
And in this threat
environment, effectiveness is the key. If we are to succeed, we must work
together to ensure that all the nations of the Americas in very short
order have the institutional capacity to do so. That includes the United
States where effectiveness in this struggle will be determined by individual
and collective capabilities of local, state and Federal institutions.
As the Chair of
the Democratic Homeland Security Task Force, I can tell you that we are
hard at work to ensure that from our perspective we are effective.
As we proceed to
secure ourselves against terrorism, our North American neighbors in particular
share the front line with us. President Vicente Fox of Mexico was very
gracious to visit Washington and New York last week. He has discussed
recently the concept of perimeter security. He proposes a NAFTA security
mechanism in order to fashion a unified North American approach toward
cooperative security that bears serious consideration, and he is to be
commended for his proactivism.
Prime Minister Chretien
of Canada from where some of the terrorists entered the United States
has been steadfast on the side of the United States and Canada has just
announced military support.
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Our friends in South America have stepped forward as well with the Mercosur
nations pledging to address the presence of terrorists in the tri-border
region, Argentina offering support in peacekeeping operations to ease
the load upon our troops overseas, and Chile, to send humanitarian aid
to Afghanistan, also saying that it is prepared to mobilize troops. Peru,
Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and the Central American nations likewise have
been very supportive in different ways. Those expressions of solidarity
have been impressive.
Let me conclude,
Mr. Chairman, by pointing out that if the horrific terrorism that we experienced
can tip an already sorrowing U.S. economy into a recession, the stakes
may be even higher for Latin America and the Caribbean. The economic repercussions
of the September 11th attacks are being felt not only in the New York
Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ, they are also being felt in Brasilia, Mexico
City, Buenos Aires and other capitals. U.S.-Latin trade and investment
flows are suffering as well. The worst pain, as usual, is being felt by
the tens of millions of poor in the region.
For years, I have
believed that we ignore our relationships in the hemisphere to our own
detriment, political, economic and social. And now security is once again
part of the equation. In the aftermath of September 11th and now following
U.S. and British strikes in Afghanistan, we must be more engaged than
ever with our neighbors and use the multiple facets of our relationships
throughout the region to effectively take on and dismantle the terrorists.
To do so serves not only our best national interest but also our best
hemispheric interest.
Mr. Chairman, let
me just take a moment to, since this is the first time I have seen him,
to congratulate Ambassador Noriega on his appointment as our Ambassador
to the OAS. I am sure he will do an outstanding job. I had the pleasure
of working with him as a staff member on the majority side as well.
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And I also understand
that Canada's Ambassador to the OAS is here with us well, Ambassador Durand,
we are certain privileged to have him with us and have our neighbor to
the north for so longin a border that we have shared for so long,
and we will continue to share in the same way among friends but with a
vigilance on both of our needs. We are very happy to have you here as
well.
And the Chairman
tells me General Jose Serrano is here, and it is always a pleasureI
do not see where he is. He is sitting in the back. [Exchange in Spanish.]
Mr. BALLENGER. Thank
you. It is always interesting for the only guy on this Committee that
does not speak Spanish to hear the conversation going back and forth without
an interpreter.
Mr. MENENDEZ. He
knows more than he leads us to believe, I am sure. [Laughter]
Mr. BALLENGER. Let
me, if I may, introduce the whole panel before we start testimony.
First of all, Secretary
Francis Taylor was sworn in as the State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism
with the rank of Ambassador-at-Large on July 13, 2001. The State Department
is the lead Federal agency dealing with international terrorism, and Ambassador
Taylor's office has primary responsibility for developing, coordinating
and implementing the U.S. counterterrorism policy.
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On behalf of the
Secretary, Ambassador Taylor represents the Department of Counterterrorism
Policy and Coordinating Committee, and chairs the interagency working
groups dealing with counterterrorism that develop and coordinate policy.
I have got another
page and a half to go, but we know you outrank everybody else so we will
just let it go. [Laughter.]
Second, we want
to welcome again our old friend, Ambassador Robert Francisco Noriega.
I am glad I finally know what your middle name is. I never did, all these
years. He was appointed by President George Bush on August 6th as the
permanent U.S. Representative to the Organization of American States.
The OAS is the premier hemispheric forum for consideration of political
issues. At the OAS, Ambassador Noriega works with hemispheric leaders
to strengthen democracy, advance human rights, foster economic integration,
and promote peace and security throughout the Western Hemisphere. And
we have had the pleasure of working with Roger for many years.
Ambassador James
Mack is a career senior Foreign Service Officer who now serves as Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs, and as Director of the Colombian Initiative
Task Force.
Prior to his current
assignment, Mr. Mack served as the U.S. Ambassador to Guyana from 1997
to April of 2000, and he has also served in a number of posts worldwide,
including the U.S. embassies in Paraguay, Costa Rica, Brazil, El Salvador,
Ecuador and Peru, and he has also served as the Belize-Guatemala desk
officer in the Department of State. Quite a list of Central and South
American posts. You have got it pretty well locked up there.
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And finally, J.
Curtis Struble. Curt Struble is the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the
State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, charged with
providing oversight of U.S. relations with the countries of South America,
and he also coordinates economic and trade issues involving the Western
Hemisphere.
Mr. Struble is a
member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister/Counselor,
and he has served in U.S. embassies in Ecuador, Thailand, Honduras, Spain,
Russia and Mexico, and has received many awards for his service.
And if we may, we
will start in the order that I just read it off, and I will not remember
what that is, but one, two, three, four.
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes,
sir.
Mr. BALLENGER. So,
Ambassador, it is yours.
STATEMENT OF THE
HONORABLE FRANCIS X. TAYLOR, AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE, OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR
FOR COUNTERTERRORISM, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. TAYLOR. Mr.
Chairman, Members of the Committee.
I am thankful for
the opportunity to appear before the Committee and to testify with my
colleagues on the terrorism and the presence of international terrorist
groups in the Western Hemisphere.
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As you know, we
have presented to both Houses of Congress and our coalition partners around
the world clear and compelling evidence that the September 11 attacks
originated in Afghanistan, with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization.
While this connection is clear, we must also recognize that the threats
to our people and interests can come from any venue, including from within
the Western Hemisphere. For that reason, I would like to speak for a few
minutes about terrorism in the Western Hemisphere.
This hemisphere
is no stranger to terrorism. Although we in the United States has been,
until recently, blessedly free of terrorist attacks by international groups,
terrorism has been a fact of life in many Latin American Countries such
as Colombia and Peru for more than 30 years.
In fact, one can
argue that modern terrorism originated in this hemisphere. We date the
advent of modern terrorism to 1968, 4 years before Munich, when revolutionary
movements began forming throughout the Americas. The following year, in
1969, the first terrorist kidnapping of an American Ambassador took place
when Ambassador Burke Eldrick was taken hostage in Brazil by members of
two revolutionary groups. In those early years of the still-new phenomenon,
Latin America saw international terrorist attacks more than any other
region in the world.
Today, the most
dangerous international terrorist group based in this hemisphere is the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC. Included on the State
Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, the FARC has murdered
13 Americans since 1980 and kidnapped over a hundred more, including three
New Tribes Missionaries, kidnapped in 1993, and now believed to be dead.
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The FARC leaders
not only welcomed the September 11 attacks, afterwards they reiterated
their periodic call for the targeting of Americans for murder and abduction.
In addition, we have seen in recent months evidence of an apparent relationship
between the FARC and the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the PIRA,
and possibly the Basque separatist group ETA as well.
The danger presented
by the FARC is compounded by activities of the other major Colombian insurgent
groups, the National Liberation Army, the ELN, a group that also targets
Americans, and by the far-right United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia,
the AUC. Both of these groups are included on our FTO list, and the AUC
in particular has a history of extreme brutality.
Further south, in
what is known as the tri-border area, where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay
converge, we see the longstanding presence of Islamic extremist organizations,
primarily Hizballah and, to a lesser extent, the Sunni extremists group
of al Gamaat, IG, and Hamas.
These organizations
are involved in fundraising activities and proselytizing among the large
expatriate population from the Middle East that lives in the tri-border
area and also on Venezuela's Margarita Island. These organizations engage
in document forgery, money laundering, contraband smuggling, and weapons
and drug trafficking.
Hizballah is the
prime suspect behind the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos
Aires and the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israel Mutual Association
community center. These attacks were characterized by the same faceless
cowardice that we saw on September 11, and they remain unsolved to this
day, although I am pleased that the trial in the 1994 bombing is now underway
in Buenos Aires. We hope the perpetrators will at last be brought to justice.
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The hemispheric
threats of terrorism are now moving closer to home. Turning to North America,
we are faced with a more diffuse and insidious threat: the threat posed
by our open borders with our friends to the north and south.
The world's longest
non-militarized border is that shared by the U.S. and Canada, and the
second longest is that shared by the U.S. and Mexico. Since the inception
of NAFTA, these borders that were already the world's busiest in terms
of commerce have become even busier.
We will never have
perfect knowledge of every person and every vehicle that crosses these
borders. Therefore, it is imperative that we work hand in glove with intelligence,
law enforcement, customs, and immigration officials in these countries
in order to make it as difficult as possible for international terrorists
to come into the United States undetected, as difficult as possible to
cross and re-cross our borders with criminal intent, and with impunity.
We in the Office
of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism view our relationship with Canada
as the model for bilateral counterterrorism cooperation, and we know that
we must continue to build on that solid foundation. Like our relationship
with Canada, we must improve coordination with our counterpartners in
Mexico as well as with Central American nations that act as points of
transit for people and material destined for the United States.
We know, above all,
that we cannot stop terrorism alone. We know that our best hope of stopping
Al Qaeda operatives and operatives from other terrorist organizations
from crossing land borders into the United States, is to continue close
intelligence and law enforcement cooperation with Canada, Mexico, and
the states of Central and South America.
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With these goals
in mind, we are working closely with the OAS to expand its involvement
in regional counterterrorism activities. My office has chaired the OAS
Counterterrorism Committee called CICTE for the last year and has sought
to invigorate it as a forum for exchange of ideas and improved cooperation
within the hemisphere. We are pleased with our progress and are optimistic
for the future.
My office has also
worked with the interagency community to craft a counterterrorism strategy
for Colombia and the other countries of the Andean region. This strategy
is designed to complement last year's Plan Colombia and this year's Andean
Regional Initiative.
We also intend to
intensify our bilateral relations with Mexico as well as those countries
in the Andean and tri-border areas of South America to address specific
threats from groups operating in these regions. Much of our efforts in
this area began before the events of 11 September; but that event has
given more urgency to these initiatives.
We cannot pretend
that we can make terrorism go away, but we can, in the short term, make
it far more difficult for terrorists to achieve their deadly objectives
in this hemisphere.
Mr. Chairman, that
concludes my remarks. I will be happy to respond to questions once my
colleagues have concluded.
[The prepared statement
of Mr. Taylor follows:]
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE FRANCIS X. TAYLOR, AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE,
OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. Chairman, Members
of the Committee:
Thank you for the
opportunity to appear before the Committee and testify with my colleagues
on the subject of terrorism, and the presence of international terrorist
groups in the Western Hemisphere.
The horrific attacks
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, just one month
ago, were a jarring reminder that our country and our hemisphere are no
longer safe from international terrorism. In this global era, the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans can no longer protect our land and our people from
violence, as they have done in previous international conflicts.
As you know, we
have presented to both Houses of Congress and our coalition partners around
the world clear and compelling evidence that the September 11 attacks
originated in Afghanistan, with Usama bin Laden's al Qaida organization.
While this connection is clear, we must also recognize that the threats
to our people and interests can come from any venue, including from within
the Western Hemisphere. For that reason I would like to speak for a few
minutes about terrorism in the Western Hemisphere.
This hemisphere
is no stranger to terrorism. Although we in the United States have been,
until recently, blessedly free of terrorist attacks by international groups,
terrorism has been a fact of life in many Latin American countries such
as Colombia and Peru for thirty years or more.
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In fact, one can
argue that modern terrorism originated in our Hemisphere. We date the
advent of modern terrorism from 1968, four years before Munich, when revolutionary
movements began forming throughout the Americas. The following year, in
1969, the first terrorist kidnapping of an American ambassador took place
when Ambassador Burke Elbrick was taken hostage in Brazil by members of
two revolutionary groups. In those early years of the still-new phenomenon,
Latin America saw more international terrorists attacks than any other
region.
CURRENT THREATS
Today, the most
dangerous international terrorist group based in this hemisphere is the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Included on the State
Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), the FARC have
murdered 13 Americans since 1980 and kidnapped over a hundred more, including
three New Tribes Missionaries, kidnapped in 1993, and now believed dead.
FARC leaders not
only welcomed the September 11 attacks. Afterwards they reiterated their
periodic call for the targeting of Americans for murder and abduction.
In addition, we have seen in recent months evidence of an apparent relationship
between the FARC and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and
possibly the Basque separatist group ETA as well.
The danger presented
by the FARC is compounded by activities of the other major Colombian insurgent
group, the National Liberation Army (ELN)a group that also targets
Americans, and by the far-right United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
(AUC). Both of these groups are also included on the FTO list, and the
AUC in particular has a history of extreme brutality.
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In Peru, the Shining
Path, though greatly weakened, continues to carry out sporadic attacks
in isolated parts of the country. These attacks, mostly raids on small
villages for supplies and financial gain, have resulted in 27 deaths so
far this year, the majority of which were civilians.
Further South, in
what is known as the ''Tri-Border Area'' where Argentina, Brazil, and
Paraguay converge, we see the long-standing presence of Islamic extremist
organizations, primarily Hizballah and, to a lesser extent, the Sunni
extremist groups al Gamaat (IG) and HAMAS.
These organizations
are involved in fundraising activities and proselytizing among the large
expatriate population from the Middle East that lives in the Tri-Border
area and also on Venezuela's Margarita Island. These organizations engage
in document forgery, money laundering, contraband smuggling, and weapons
and drug trafficking.
The size and nature
of these groups may signal the existence of clandestine support cells
that could be activated to conduct terrorist attacks anywhere in the region.
Hizballah is the
prime suspect behind the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos
Aires and the 1994 bombings of the Argentine Israel Mutual Association
(AMIA) community center. These attacks were characterized by the same
faceless cowardice that we saw on September 11, and they remain unsolved
to this day, although I am pleased that a trial in the 1994 bombing is
now underway in Buenos Aires. We hope the perpetrators will at last be
brought to justice.
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NORTH AMERICA
The hemispheric
threats of terrorism are now moving closer to home. Turning to North America,
we are faced with a more diffuse and insidious threat: the threat posed
by our open borders with our friends to the north and south.
The world's longest
non-militarized border is that shared by the US and Canada, and the second
longest is that shared by the US and Mexico. Since the inception of NAFTA,
these borders that were already the world's busiest in terms of commerce,
have become even busier.
We will never have
perfect knowledge of every person and every vehicle that crosses these
borders. Therefore, it is imperative that we work hand in glove with intelligence,
law enforcement, customs, and immigration officials in these countries
in order to make it as difficult as possible for international terrorists
to come into the U.S. undetected, as difficult as possible to cross and
re-cross our borders with criminal intent, and with impunity.
We in the office
of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism view our relationship with Canada
as the model for bilateral counterterrorism cooperation, and we know that
we must continue to build on that solid foundation. Like our relationship
with Canada, we must improve coordination with our counterparts in Mexico
as well as with the Central American nations that act as points of transit
for people and materials destined for the USA.
We know, above all,
that we cannot stop terrorism alone. We know that our best hope at stopping
al Qaida operatives and operatives from other terror organizations from
crossing land borders into the US, is to continue close intelligence and
law enforcement cooperation with Canada, Mexico, and the Central American
states. We know that our only hope of limiting the threat posed by groups
such as the FARC and the ELN in Colombia and the multiple Middle East-based
groups in the Tri-Border Area, is close intelligence and law enforcement
cooperation with our allies in these areas of operation.
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With these goals
in mind, we are working closely with the OAS to expand it's involvement
in Regional counterterrorism activities. My office has chaired the OAS
Counterterrorism Committee (CICTE) for the last year and has sought to
invigorate it as a forum for exchange of ideas and improved cooperation
within the Hemisphere. We are pleased with our progress and are optimistic
for the future.
STRATEGY
My office has also
worked with the interagency community to craft a Counterterrorist Strategy
for Colombia and the other countries of the Andean region. This strategy
is designed to complement last year's Plan Colombia and this year's Andean
Region Initiative (ARI).
We also intend to
intensify our bilateral relations with Mexico as well as those countries
in the Andean and Tri-Border areas of South America to address specific
threats from groups operating in these Regions. Much of our efforts in
this area began before the events of 11 September; but that event has
given even more urgency to these initiatives.
Now, more than ever,
is the time for building coalitions against terrorism based on proactive
diplomacy, proactive law enforcement, financial controls, intelligence
sharing and iron-willed resolve in the pursuit of justice.
We cannot pretend
that we can make terrorism go away, but we can, in the short term, make
it far more difficult for terrorists to achieve their deadly objectives
in this hemisphere.
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This concludes my
remarks. I will be happy to take any questions the Committee may have.
Mr. BALLENGER. Just
on seniority, Roger, I think Ambassador Mack has got you beat by a couple
of years.
Mr. NORIEGA. Just
a couple. Have at it.
STATEMENT OF AMBASSADOR
JAMES F. MACK, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU ON INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS
AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. MACK. Mr. Chairman,
Members of the Committee, first of all, I want to thank you for the opportunity
to speak today about this important subject.
I have submitted
a written statement for the record. I request that it be included in the
record.
Mr. BALLENGER. Without
objection.
Mr. MACK. The attacks
against the United States on September 11 made it very clear that the
mission of the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs, otherwise known as INL, to provide support to counternarcotics
and other anti-crime efforts worldwide is more important than ever before.
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While INL does not
have the lead on the war against terrorism, we are strongly supportive
of these efforts through our counternarcotics activities, which provide
training, equipment and institutional support to many of the same host
nation enforcement agencies that are charged with a counterterrorism mission.
There is often a
nexus between terrorism and organized crime. Many of the skills and types
of equipment needed to attack organized crime are applicable to combatting
terrorism. Much of INL assistancesuch as the equipping of forensic
labs, for example; assistance with drafting asset forfeiture and money
laundering legislation; provision of basic training in investigative techniques,
maritime enforcement and port securityall applies to both counternarcotics
and counterterrorism. Migrant smuggling, document fraud, arms trafficking,
contraband, and illegal financial transactions are tools for terrorists
as well as drug traffickers.
The methods used
for moving and laundering money for general crime purposes often are similar
to those used to move money to support terrorist activity. INL has worked
with the Departments of Justice and Treasury and with nations around the
world to strengthen controls that would thwart the drug traffickers' attempts
to launder their funds and to investigate and prosecute those who are
involved in moving criminal proceeds. These same law enforcement controls
could also help prevent the movement of funds of terrorist organizations.
Similarly, INL drafted
the first ''Trafficking in Persons'' report earlier this year. Migrant
smugglers bring in not only economic refugees, but also persons linked
to terrorism groups and linked to international crime syndicates. We must
therefore strengthen our efforts to halt all alien smuggling.
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In the Western Hemisphere,
there is historic link between terrorist groups and narcotics trafficking,
as has been pointed out before. The Shining Path cut a brutal swath through
Peru from the mid-eighties and mid-nineties, largely funded by profits
from taxes on cocaine trafficking. In Ciudad del Este, as Ambassador Taylor
has pointed out, and Paraguay, and along the very loosely controlled region
that it borders with Brazil and Argentina, members of radical Islamic
group are reported to be engaged in money laundering, drug trafficking,
intellectual property rights, piracy, migrant smuggling, arms trafficking.
It is well documented
that designated foreign terrorist groups in Colombia, all three referred
to by Ambassador Taylor, all benefit substantially from their deep, deep
commitment, deep involvement in drug trafficking.
For example, there
are strong indications that FARC, a group which openly engage in narcotics
production and trafficking, has established links with the IRA to increase
its capability to conduct urban terrorism. In July, the Colombian National
Police, as you all know, arrested three members of the IRA who are believed
to have used the FARC safe haven to train the FARC in the use of explosives.
We are watching the ongoing Colombian investigation of these arrests with
great concern.
The INL is also
an important element of the department's efforts to combat terrorism.
We assist foreign governments to strike at the very means that terrorists
use to finance their activities.
The Andean Regional
Initiative, overseen by INL, was developed to support the efforts of nations
plagued by drug production and/or transshipment to secure their borders
and to prevent the use of illegal activity to finance terrorism, or any
other criminal activity that disrupts the political and economic foundations
of democracy.
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As we now turn to
homeland defense, homeland security and to countering the terrorist threat,
we will be even more dependent on friendly narcotics source zone countries
to help us deal with the drug threat to the United States, and that makes
full funding for the Andean Regional Initiative even more critical now.
Mr. Chairman and
Members of the Committee, I want to thank you again for giving me the
chance to speak with you today and for your continued support for INL's
important role in the war against terrorism.
[The prepared statement
of Mr. Mack follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT
OF AMBASSADOR JAMES F. MACK, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU ON INTERNATIONAL
NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. Chairman and
Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you
today on this important subject.
The attacks against
the United States on September 11 stunned us all. They also made it very
clear that the mission of the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs (INL)to provide support to counternarcotics
and other anti-crime efforts worldwideis more important now than
ever.
While INL does not
have the lead on the war on terrorism, we are strongly supportive of these
efforts through our counternarcotics activities, which provide training,
equipment and institutional support to many of the same host nation law
enforcement agencies that are charged with a counter-terrorist mission.
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There often is a
nexus between terrorism and organized crime. Many of the skills and types
of equipment needed to attack organized crime are applicable to combating
terrorism. Much of INL assistancesuch as the equipping of forensic
labs; assistance with drafting asset forfeiture and money laundering legislation;
and provision of basic training in investigation techniques, maritime
enforcement and port securityapplies to both counternarcotics and
counterterrorism. Migrant smuggling, document fraud, arms trafficking,
auto theft, contraband, and illegal financial transactions are tools for
terrorists as well as narcotics traffickers.
In the wake of the
horrendous September 11 attacks, we need to rededicate ourselves to work
hand-in-hand with our coalition partners to stem narcotics smuggling and
to strengthen law enforcement and border controls. Very frequently, the
same criminal gangs involved in narcotics smuggling have links to other
criminal activities and to terrorist groups. Just as we in the U.S. are
trying to strengthen our homeland security, other nations are facing similar
challenges. Deepening our law enforcement cooperation with these like-minded
nations becomes all the more urgent.
The methods used
for moving and laundering money for general crime purposes are similar
to those used to move money to support terrorist activities. INL has worked
with the Departments of Justice and Treasury and with nations around the
world to strengthen controls which could thwart the drug traffickers'
attempts to launder their funds and to investigate and prosecute those
who are involved in moving criminal proceeds. These same law enforcement
controls could also help prevent the movement of funds of terrorist organizations.
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Similarly, INL drafted the first ''Trafficking in Persons'' report earlier
this year. It is important to note that migrant smugglers bring in not
only economic refugees, but also persons linked to terrorist organizations
and international crime syndicates. We must therefore strengthen our efforts
to halt all alien smuggling.
While we do not
possess conclusive evidence directly linking drug traffickers and terrorists
in Afghanistan, the Taliban's link to the drug trade is irrefutable. The
Taliban have de facto control over 90 percent of the country, including
the major areas of the Afghan opium crop. There is a symbiosis between
the Taliban and narcotics traffickers, whose smuggling and money laundering
networks would be of great help in the Taliban's efforts to circumvent
UN sanctions. Additionally, the Taliban is known to provide aid, training,
and sanctuary to various Islamic terrorist and separatist groups in Afghanistan,
including Osama bin Laden's al Qa'ida group. Al Qa'ida fighters have gained
an increasingly prominent role in the Taliban's war against the Northern
Alliance, reportedly because war-weary indigenous Afghans are reluctant
to fight.
Despite effectively
banning poppy cultivation in July 2000, the Taliban has allowed uninterrupted
trafficking of Afghan opiates over the past year by not taking any measures
to halt the drug trade.
Narcotics interdictions
by Afghanistan's neighbors show record seizures of Afghan opiates flowing
out and precursor chemicals flowing in. This clearly indicates that Afghan
heroin traffickers are drawing from their stockpiles, presumably with
the knowledge and perhaps the collusion of some in the Taliban, according
to a report by the UN Committee of Experts on Resolution 1333 for sanctions
against the Taliban. This report states that ''funds raised from the production
and trade of opium and heroin are used by the Taliban to buy arms and
war materials and to finance the training of terrorists and support the
operation of extremists in neighboring countries and beyond.''
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Before last year's
ban on opium poppy cultivation, the Taliban collected from 1020
percent taxes on the yield of poppy fields, as well as taxing the processing,
shipment and sale of opiates. United Nations estimates for 1999 say that
the value of the Afghan opium crop at the farm gate was $265 million,
which represents at least $40 million in tax revenue for the Taliban.
However, its revenue may be far greater, according to the UN.
In the Western Hemisphere,
there is a historic link between various terrorist groups and narcotics
trafficking. The Shining Path cut a brutal swath through Peru from the
1980's to the mid-1990's, largely funded by taxes on cocaine trafficking.
In Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, and along the loosely controlled region
that it borders with Brazil and Argentina, members of radical Islamic
groups are reported to be engaged in money laundering, intellectual property
rights piracy, alien smuggling, and arms trafficking.
One such individual
is Said Hassan Ali Mohamed Mukhlis, a suspected member of the Egyptian
Islamic Group with possible ties to Osama bin Laden. This group is linked
to the murder of 58 tourists in Luxor, Egypt, and Mukhlis himself was
arrested in 1999 by the Uruguayans in connection with foiled plots to
bomb U.S. embassies in Paraguay and Uruguay.
Three of the 13
Arab individuals, recently arrested in Paraguay for issuance of false
Paraguayan identification documents, were identified by the FBI as having
close ties to Hamas and the Lebanese Al-Kaffir group. Reportedly, they
collected funds for these terrorist groups to support terrorist plots
against the United States. In July of this year, a vehicle containing
improvised explosive devices was discovered near our Embassy in Paraguay.
Police said that a getaway vehicle used in this foiled plot was purchased
by an individual with suspected ties to the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic
Front, a known Chilean terrorist group.
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In August of this
year, Bolivian authorities expelled six Pakistani citizens suspected of
links to the terrorist attacks on September 11 in New York and Washington.
They were arrested by the FBI upon their arrival in Miami. It is well
documented that designated foreign terrorist groups in Colombia, such
as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), National Liberation
Army (ELN) and United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), all benefit
substantially from their deep involvement in drug trafficking. For example,
there are strong indications that the FARC, a group which openly engages
in illicit narcotics production and trafficking, has established links
with the Irish Republican Army to increase its capability to conduct urban
terrorism. In July, the Colombian National Police arrested three members
of the IRA who are believed to have used the demilitarized zone to train
the FARC in the use of explosives. We are watching this ongoing investigation
with great concern.
These are but a
few examples of how terrorists use narcotrafficking and international
crime to support their activities. INL can assist the Department's efforts
to combat terrorism by helping foreign governments to strike at the very
means that terrorists use to finance their activities.
The Andean Regional
Initiative, overseen by INL, was developed to support the efforts of nations
plagued with drug production and/or transshipment to secure their borders
and prevent the use of illegal activity to finance terrorism, or any other
criminal activity that disrupts the political and economic foundations
of democracy.
The Andean region
represents a significant challenge and opportunity for U.S. foreign policy
in the next few years. Important U.S. national interests are at stake
because drug trafficking is a problem that does not respect national borders
and that both feeds and feeds upon the other social and economic difficulties
with which the Andean region is struggling.
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Democracy is under
pressure in all of the countries of the Andes. Economic development is
slow and progress towards liberalization is inconsistent. The Andes produce
virtually all of the world's cocaine, and an increasing amount of heroin,
thus representing a direct threat to our public health and national security.
All of these problems are inter-related. Sluggish economies produce political
unrest that threatens democracy and provides ready manpower for narcotics
traffickers and illegal armed groups. Weak democratic institutions, corruption
and political instability discourage investment, contribute to slow economic
growth and provide fertile ground for drug traffickers and other outlaw
groups to flourish. The drug trade has a corrupting influence that undermines
democratic institutions, fuels illegal armed groups and distorts the economy,
discouraging legitimate investment. None of the region's problems can
be addressed in isolation.
Since we believe
Plan Colombia will result in major disruption of the cocaine industry,
a regional approach becomes even more of an imperative. Traffickers will
undoubtedly try to relocate as their operations in southern Colombia are
disrupted. We believe they will first try to migrate to other areas inside
Colombia, then try to return to traditional growing areas in Peru and
Bolivia. But if those options are forestalled, they may well seek to move
more cultivation, processing and/or trafficking routes into other countries
such as Ecuador, Brazil, or Venezuela.
Establishing security
along the borders of these countries will be a critical element in the
success of this regional plan. In that vein, Ecuador has established a
Northern Border Initiative to promote better security and development
in the region bordering Colombia; Brazil has launched Operation Cobra,
a law enforcement effort concentrated in the Dog's Head region bordering
Colombia; Panama has taken concrete steps to improve security and development
in the Darien region; and Venezuelan authorities have cooperated admirably
on drug interdiction, exemplified by last year's record multi-ton seizure
during Operation Orinoco.
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When looking at
U.S. programs in the Andean region, it is important to keep in mind the
situation in Colombia just a few years ago. The large drug lords and organizations
had embarked on an extensive campaign of violence to bring the government
to its knees, and almost succeeded. Their symbiotic relationship with
illegal armed groups continues to keep the government weak. And one can
imagine the threat to U.S. national security that would have been posed
by a narco-trafficking state used as a springboard for international terrorist
groups. That is why the Andean Regional Initiative continues to be critical.
Mr. Chairman, members
of the committee, I want to thank you again for giving me the chance to
speak with you today and for your continued support for INL's important
role in the war against terrorism.
Mr. BALLENGER. Thank
you.
Ambassador Noriega.
STATEMENT OF THE
HONORABLE ROGER NORIEGA, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN
STATES
Mr. NORIEGA. Thank
you very much, Chairman Ballenger and Ranking Member Menendez.
I thank you for
the invitation to testify before your Subcommittee this afternoon, and
I also thank the other Members in attendance.
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I will be pleased
to address the multilateral efforts underway in our hemisphere since the
September 11 attacks. Mr. Curt Struble, Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Western Hemisphere Affairs, has a written statement that we wish to submit
for the record, and Mr. Struble will answer any questions regarding the
actions of any individual countries in the region. We have also agreed
that he will take any of the particularly tough questions. [Laughter.]
I have, Mr. Chairman,
a written statement which I would like to submit for the record.
Mr. BALLENGER. Roger,
could you pull the microphone a little bit closer.
Mr. NORIEGA. I am
trying to work that out.
I have a written
statement that I would like to submit for the record
Mr. BALLENGER. Without
objection.
Mr. NORIEGA [continuing].
And I will make a brief summary here.
It is an honor for
me to have this opportunity, as I have said, Mr. Chairman, to discuss
the response of the Western Hemisphere nations at the OAS to the September
11 attacks. To provide some context for this discussion, I should explain
that on that fateful morning Secretary of State Colin Powell was in Lima,
Peru, joining other foreign ministers of the region convened there in
a Special General Assembly of the OAS to sign the historic Inter-American
Democratic Charter, which is a charter that commits all of the members
states of the OAS to defend and to strengthen democratic institutions
in our hemisphere.
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I watched the shocking
images of the ongoing attacks in television monitors outside the assembly
hall with hundreds of delegates from throughout the Americas. Quite literally,
Mr. Chairman, from the first moments the nations of the Americas were
standing with usunited to confront the evil threat of terrorism.
The OAS member states
have collectively answered the call, pleading solidarity and cooperation
and mandating specific measures from the OAS and from its member states
in the hemisphere to respond to the September 11 attacks.
Notably, the Rio
Treaty members have unanimously approved a resolution that puts the hemisphere
foursquare within the global coalition confronting terrorism, and I think
it is wholly appropriate that you have recognized the presence here of
Canada's Ambassador to the OAS, Paul Durand, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Menendez,
because Mr. Durand's leadership was singularly important in arranging
for Canada and the other Caribbean states that are not party to the Rio
Treaty to accept the will of the other member states to invoke the Rio
Treaty, and they participated fully in those debates, and I think that
is very important that they recognize the vital message that invoking
the Rio Treaty was needed in that important hour.
Mr. Chairman, these
resolutions, which I will describe, are not mere rhetoric. They provide
the framework for action. In point of fact, they represent legislation
that sets policy for OAS member governments and also the Rio Treaty resolution
constitutes a legally binding commitment by each of the parties to the
treaty. That Rio Treaty resolution states clearly that,
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''these attacks against the United States of America are attacks against
all American states and that in accordance with all relevant provisions
of the. . . . Rio Treaty and the principle of continental solidarity,
all States Party to the Rio Treaty shall provide effective reciprocal
assistance to address such attacks and the threat of any similar attacks
. . .''
Specifically, the
Rio Treaty parties are committed to take the following actions:
''To use all legally
available measures to pursue, capture, extradite, and punish'' any persons
involved in the September 11 attack or any persons harboring the perpetrators
of the acts; and also they are committed to ''render additional assistance
and support to the United States and to each other'' to address the September
11 attacks and ''to prevent further terrorist acts.''
The OAS foreign
ministers, including those states that are not party to the Rio Treaty,
also called upon all member states and the entire international community
to take effective measures to deny terrorist groups the ability to operate
within their territories. And the ministers declared that
''those responsible
for aiding, supporting, or harboring the perpetrators, organizers and
sponsors of these acts are equally complicit in these acts.''
Complying with the
mandates of the foreign ministers, the Inter-American Committee Against
Terrorism, which is currently chaired by Ambassador Taylor's deputy, as
a representative of the United States, is set to meet in special session
next Monday to identify practical, urgent measures that governments in
the region should take to fight terrorism, with the initial focus on drying
up sources of financing and ferreting out their illicit assets as well
as encouraging broader and stronger border controls and airport security.
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In addition, the
OAS Permanent Council will begin a thorough but urgent drafting process
that we expect to develop a regional treaty for fighting terrorism that
is both forward-looking and practical. It could potentially serve, Mr.
Chairman, as a model for the rest of the world given the exceptional degree
of unity and purpose and resolve that we find here in the hemisphere.
Mr. Chairman and
Members of the Committee, in recent years, thanks to a bipartisan policy
in the Americas, the OAS has been gradually evolving into a more results-oriented
organization that can advance a common agenda of promoting democracy and
human rights, fighting illicit narcotics, and bolstering economic development
and trade.
In the Americas,
multilateralism does not mean pursuing the lowest common denominator,
but rather, advancing the highest common ideal.
Since the horrific
attacks of September 11 our hemispheric solidarity is galvanized as never
beforenot out of fear, but by an iron-willed resolve, not out of
any doubts about our common ideas, but by a strong determination to stand
together to defend them.
Thank you very much,
Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement
of Mr. Noriega follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT
OF THE HONORABLE ROGER NORIEGA, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE ORGANIZATION OF
AMERICAN STATES
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Mr. Chairman, I
thank you for inviting me to testify before your Subcommittee this afternoon.
I will be pleased to address the multilateral efforts under way in the
hemisphere since the September 11 attacks. Mr. Curt Struble, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, has a written statement
that we wish to submit for the record, and Mr. Struble will answer any
questions Members may pose related to the actions of any individual country
in the region.
It is an honor for
me to have this opportunity to discuss the response of Western Hemisphere
countries at the Organization of American States to the terrorist attacks
of September 11. To provide some context for this discussion, I should
explain that on that fateful morning Secretary of State Colin Powell was
in Lima, Peru, joining other foreign ministers of the region at an OAS
Special General Assembly convened to approve the historic Inter-American
Democratic Charter. The Secretary was told of the attacks during a private
meeting with Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, and I watched the shocking
images on television monitors outside the Assembly hall along with hundreds
of delegates from throughout the Americas. Quite literally, from the first
moments, the nations of the Americas were standing with usunited
to confront the evil threat of terrorism. We witnessed the attack as an
Inter-American community, and we are responding as a community now. Indeed,
within less than two hours after the attack, just before the Secretary
left Lima to return to the United States, the OAS General Assembly issued
a statement condemning the attack and calling for strengthened hemispheric
cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
In the ensuing weeks,
hemispheric solidarity with the United States has been steadfast. Many
ambassadors to the OAS told me privately that their instructions from
their capitals were clear: ''Our nation stands in firm solidarity with
the United States.'' Within hours of the attack, several key OAS member
states called for invoking the 1947 Rio Treaty (the Inter-American Treaty
of Reciprocal Assistance) to declare that an attack against one American
state is an attack against all and to bind one another to act in our common
defense.
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On September 19,
the OAS Permanent Councilin which I represent the United Statesinvoked
the Rio Treaty and convened a meeting of the Hemisphere's foreign ministers
two days later to adopt urgent measures to respond to the attacks.
Even those 12 of
the 34 OAS member countries that are not Parties to the Rio Treatyincluding
Canada and all but three Caribbean countriesparticipated in the
meeting invoked under the Treaty because they recognized that these assaults
on humanity demanded an unprecedented, concerted response.
Secretary of State
Powell told the assembled foreign ministers at OAS Headquarters September
21, ''We, the united democracies of the Western Hemisphere, join the world
in the global campaign against terrorism. We have pledged to deny terrorists
and their networks the ability to operate within our territories. We have
resolved to hold to account all those responsible for aiding, financing,
and otherwise supporting and harboring terrorists.''
The OAS member states
have collectively answered the call, pledging solidarity and cooperation
and mandating specific actions from the OAS and member states in response.
In addition, the Rio Treaty members have unanimously approved a resolution
that puts the Hemisphere foursquare within the global coalition confronting
terrorism. The resolution states clearly that these ''terrorist attacks
against the United States of America are attacks against all American
states and that in accordance with all relevant provisions of the . .
. Rio Treaty and the principle of continental solidarity, all States Parties
to the Rio Treaty shall provide effective reciprocal assistance to address
such attacks and the threat of any similar attacks. . . .'' (OAS Ministerial
Resolution, ''Terrorist Threat to the Americas,'' September 21, 2001,
RC.24/RES.1/01, para. 1)
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Mr. Chairman, these
resolutions are not mere rhetoric; they provide the framework for action.
They represent legislation that sets policy for the OAS member governments.
Moreover, the resolution pursuant to the Rio Treaty constitutes legally
binding commitments by each of the parties to the Treaty.
Specifically, the
Rio Treaty parties agreed:
''To use all legally
available measures to pursue, capture, extradite, and punish'' any persons
involved in the September 11 attacks or any persons harboring the perpetrators;
(para. 2) and,
To ''render additional
assistance and support to the United States and to each other'' to address
the September 11 attacks and ''to prevent future terrorist acts.'' (para.
3)
In addition, the
foreign ministers authorized a Rio Treaty Committee of the OAS Permanent
Council to track the ensuing events and adopt additional measures necessary
to ensure an effective Hemispheric response to these attacks and the threat
of terrorism. To this end, State Department Counterterrorism officials
briefed OAS Permanent Representatives and White House Ambassadors on October
5 on the compelling evidence assembled since September 11 that implicates
Usama Bin Ladin and the al-Quaida terrorist network.
The OAS foreign
ministers also called upon ''all member states and the entire international
community to take effective measures to deny terrorist groups the ability
to operate within their territories. . . .'' The ministers declared that
''those responsible for aiding, supporting, or harboring the perpetrators,
organizers and sponsors of these acts are equally complicit in these acts.''
(OAS Ministerial Resolution, ''Strengthening Hemispheric Cooperation to
Prevent, Combat, and Eliminate Terrorism,'' September 21, 2001, RC.23/RES.1/01,
para. 3)
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The foreign ministers
also approved two specific mandates: the Inter-American Committee Against
Terrorism was tasked ''to identify urgent actions aimed at strengthening
. . . cooperation to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism in the Hemisphere.''
(para. 8) And, the OAS Permanent Council was instructed to draft an ''Inter-American
Convention Against Terrorism.'' (para. 9)
Since receiving
those mandates, the Committee Against Terrorism, which is currently chaired
by the United States, is set to meet in a Special Session next Monday
to identify practical, urgent steps that governments in the region should
take to fight terrorism, with the initial focus on drying up sources of
financing and ferreting out their illicit assets as well as encouraging
stronger border controls and airport security. We expect that the Committee
Against Terrorism will convene the region's senior counterterrorism policy
makers for a regular session in the near future to commit to long-term
strategies and tactics aimed at denying terrorists the ability to operate
in the Americas.
With respect to
the proposed regional treaty against terrorism, the OAS Permanent Council
will begin a thorough but urgent drafting process which we expect will
develop a regional accord for fighting terrorism that is both forward-looking
and practical. It could potentially serve as a model for the rest of the
world, given the exceptional degree of unity of purpose and resolve within
the Hemisphere. This will not be a mere repetition of other international
instruments: we expect to take additional steps to make our Hemisphere
inhospitable to those who desire to conduct terrorist activities and to
those who support terrorists.
As Secretary Powell
said at the OAS last month, ''Now, the long hard work must be done. Now,
our governments, our law enforcement authorities and our civic institutions
must find ways to work together at all levels and more cooperatively than
ever before, exchanging life-saving information, coordinating our activities.
Now, individually and collectively, we must take concrete steps to tighten
border controls, enhance air- and seaport security, improve financial
controls and increase the effectiveness of our counter-terrorism forces.''
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He continued, ''Let
there be no question, let there be no doubt, we are in this worldwide
campaign together for the long haul. We have endured an enormous tragedy
but we will overcome. We will defend the rule of law against the lawless.
We will not allow murderers to destroy our democracies and devastate our
economies. We will never let our future be hijacked by terrorists.''
Mr. Chairman and
Members of the Committee, in recent years, thanks to a bipartisan policy
in the Americas, the OAS has been gradually evolving into a more results-oriented
organization that can advance a common agenda of promoting democracy and
human rights, fighting illicit narcotics, and bolstering economic development
and trade. In the Americas, multilateralism does not mean pursuing the
lowest common denominator, but, rather, advancing the highest common ideals.
Through the OAS,
and bilaterally, the governments of the Western Hemisphere are beginning
to show themselves capable of working rapidly, systematically, and cooperatively.
It is timely that they have agreed to defeat the scourge of terrorism
by working through this increasingly active multilateral forum.
Since the horrific
attacks of September 11, our Hemispheric solidarity is galvanized as never
beforenot out of fear, but by an iron-willed resolve, not out of
any doubts about our common ideals, but by a strong determination to stand
together to defend them.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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Mr. BALLENGER. Thank you.
Ambassador Mack,
as you may well know, I have been heavily involved in everything you all
have been doing in Colombia and other areas of the Andes, and my understanding
is the Senate has come forward with a projection of sorts in the Andean
Initiative by cutting it by $160 million.
Could you speak
to that?
Mr. MACK. Yes, Mr.
Chairman. Clearly, we believe more now than ever that it is very important
to have support from Congress for full funding for the Andean Regional
Initiative.
As you are aware,
many of the law enforcement and military forces that the United States
maintains in the region have had to reposition themselves for homeland
defense. It becomes more important to assist host nations, friendly host
nations in the Andean area control movement of chemicals and cocaine in
and out of their countries and toward the United States. So we need to,
I think, reinvigorate our assistance to these areas rather than cut it
at this critical time.
Mr. BALLENGER. I
would just like to throw out a quote, I showed it to Ambassador Taylor
before. It is an Associated Press articleevidently a State Department
spokesman made this statement, and it says that,
''The Sandinista
Party in Nicaragua has maintained ties over the years with Iraq and Libya.
In addition to Iraq and Libya, the Sandinistas have maintained contact
with the FARC rebels in Colombia, the ETA separatists in Spain . . .''
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Does anybody have
any background knowledge, that is kind of a general question across the
board?
Obviously, there
is an election coming up that has some effect on, I guess, all of our
policies, and I was just curious. Is anybody in a position to speak up
on that?
Mr. STRUBLE. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
I believe that the
department spokesman was referring to a well documented history when the
Sandinistas were in power in Nicaragua, providing both political support
and refuge for members of other terrorist groups.
The Sandinistas
have been out of power for 12 years now, and I am actually not able to
tell you at this moment what relations they have with these terrorist
groups. But based upon their past behavior, we do have concerns about
this issue, and we have concerns about what their intentions will be should
they win the elections on November 4.
Mr. BALLENGER. Good
enough. I just, like I say, with the election coming up so closely and
so many elections coming up at the same time, I do not know whether it
is an evil plot to have all of our friends have elections within certain
periods of time, and all you can see isI remember when we were first
talking about Vietnam, the domino theory. Somehow I read the domino theoryI
am worrierI read the domino theory as far as elections are concerned
in Central and South America.
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Just another question comes to my mind, and I do not know who specifically
to aim it at. But we were in Honduras and met the two next candidates
for President. They are going to have an election there. And everybody
was terribly worried about the gang situation there, where they think
that close to 150,000 of trainees that we trained in Los Angeles in our
slums, we sent back to Honduras, and now gangs ofthose numbers kind
of blew my mind because 150,000 is an awful lot of teenage kids and so
forth.
But the idea that
a combination of the northeast coast of Honduras, which has no roads,
just some Indians, and has been heavily used by the drug smugglers coming
out of Colombia and so forth, if those kids with the weapons that they
have got, that they have gotten from us, if those kids ever tie up with
the drug situation they will make the FARC look like kind of a child's
game.
Is that even on
the screen as far as we are concerned at the state level or anything?
Mr. STRUBLE. Mr.
Chairman, I do not know the specific numbers of Hondurans who have been
deported in the last several years. I would be very happy to look into
that for you and try to provide you with that number. One hundred and
fifty thousand sounds a little bit high.
But more generally,
you put your finger on something that is a great deal of concern to us,
and that is the large number of unemployed people in Central America who
do not have economic opportunities, who will find a strong attraction
in the opportunities provided by illegal activities, and more specifically,
by narcotics trafficking.
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And we continue
to believe that it is important for the United States to focus on that
through, in the first instance, trade initiatives. We congratulate the
Congress for giving authority for the Caribbean Basin Initiative renewal
a year ago. And we believe that it is very important for the United States
to retain leadership in hemispheric trade through the FTA process, through
its work with small economies, and through another factor that I believe
Congressman Menendez cited earlier, and that is due attention to the financial
and the economic effects of the terrorist attacks of September 11th on
economies that are even more vulnerable than our own.
Mr. BALLENGER. Congressman
Menendez.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
Let me thank our
panel for their testimony. I have a series of questions. Let me start
of with, in the Committee's possession are about a dozen different excerpts
from different journalists throughout the hemisphere who have written
about different elements of terrorism in the hemisphere. I would like
to address one to you and see if you have any sense of this.
A Moroccan man,
Mr. Gueddan Abdel Fatah, who had been imprisoned in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
reportedly delivered a letter to his attorney on September 5, 2001, warning
of the coordination of an attack on the United States. The letter did
not reach the U.S. Embassy prior to the September 11th attacks, and according
to this report the case is currently under investigation by American and
Brazilian law enforcement authorities.
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Mr. Fatah claims
to have participated in meeting of Shiite and Sunni groups at a mosque
in the tri-border region to organize an attack on the United States.
Can you tell the
Committee anything about this beyond this press account?
Mr. TAYLOR. Sir,
I am not specifically familiar with that press account, and would defer
to the FBI on their investigation.
I would likeI
can get you more information, perhaps not in this session, on that if
that would be okay.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Are
youis it a question of being able to answer the question in public
versus in closed session, or is it a question of not having the specific
information right now?
Mr. TAYLOR. I do
not have specific information on the investigation right now, but I can
follow up on that.
Mr. MENENDEZ. All
right. Would you, Ambassador Mack, have any information?
Mr. MACK. No, Mr.
Menendez, I do not have any specific information on that.
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Mr. MENENDEZ. Do you all follow these press accounts, not that the press
is always 100 percent accurate? Notice I said 100 percent, I want to give
them a fair degree. I am sure they are out there somewhere. But do you
follow these accounts as part of your review of what is happening in the
hemisphere in addition to your own intelligence base?
Mr. TAYLOR. Absolutely.
And because I do not have specific information does not mean that someone
is not following up it.
Mr. MENENDEZ. All
right.
Mr. TAYLOR. It is
just not an issue that has come to my attention.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Well,
then, I would appreciate you, and I am sure we can give you a copy of
this, I would appreciate you getting back to the Committee
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes,
sir.
Mr. MENENDEZ [continuing].
And through the Chair and getting us information on that.
[The information
referred to follows:]
RESPONSE BY MR. TAYLOR
TO THE QUESTION POSED BY THE HONORABLE ROBERT MENENDEZ
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QUESTION:
Did the Department have knowledge (in reference to Brazilian press article)
about a Moroccan individual arrested in Brazil who allegedly communicated
to an American official before September 11 that there was a threat of
an imminent attack to the US?
ANSWER:
According to our colleagues at the FBI, Morroccan citizen Gadan Abdel
FATTAH made warnings about terrorist attacks that coincided with the timing
of the September 11 attacks in the U.S. He was subsequently questioned
by Brazilian, US consular, and US law enforcement officials. All three
concluded that there was no corroborating evidence that Mr. Satah had
any real knowledge of any terrorist attacks. This report represents one
of the many thousands of leads that have been investigated and found baseless.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Ambassador
Taylor, I listened to all of the statements and they all make me feel
good for the moment. Having said that, when I read through each of your
statements while you were giving it and read the entirety of the statement,
and I do not feel as good. And it is not because of your effort, but because
of the circumstances.
I heard your statement
and I read it. Can you further define for me what is our strategy in the
hemisphere on this issue? And what are its components?
Mr. TAYLOR. Sir,
I would be happy to tell you what or strategy is, and the components,
sir, and what those components are.
First of all is
to improve the capability of the countries in the hemisphere to identify,
investigate or provide intelligence capability to monitor individuals
who are involved in illegal or illicit activity, to bring those issues
to their attention, and certainly working with us to our attention. And
then to provide them with the means to go after, if you will, those elements
legally using the legal system.
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Across the world
we recognize that the United States of America is not going to be able
to do this without the close cooperation with our colleagues in the region.
And part of our CICTE initiative was to improve, one, understanding of
the problem; create the political will to engage; and then determine how
we can best invest our resources, both the INL resources and our anti-terrorism
assistance resources in the areas where they need to be invested to improve
capability.
But it is to strengthen
the capability of the nations in the region, one, to identify the problem,
and then to reach to it.
Mr. MENENDEZ. And
how are we going about strengthening their abilities?
Mr. TAYLOR. One
way is through dialogue on this particular issue through our Committee
that Ambassador Noriega talked about. The other is through an investment
with our ATA, our anti-terrorism assistance.
I would tell you
that Assistant Secretary Beers and I have been engaged in a very strong
conversation about how we can better leverage what he is doing. As Ambassador
Mack mentioned, much of the training that INL has given is also very effective
from a counterterrorism point of view in terms of improving law enforcement
capability and those sorts of things.
But it is our hope
that through that training investment that we improve capacity to monitor,
to investigate, to arrest, and do what is effective to get ahead of these
people before they
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Mr. MENENDEZ. What
is our budget for that purpose?
Mr. TAYLOR. For
that purpose? Thirty-eight million total for FY01. It is going to
about 55 million in FY02 for anti-terrorism assistance specifically.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Well,
I have to be honest with you. We have been reviewing what we domestically
need to deal with, and we are alarmed by both the scope of what we have
to deal with and the cost of what is being projected we have to deal with.
So my question to
Ambassador Mack is, do we really expect much from our Latin American neighbors
notwithstanding all the best intentions, considering their lack of resources,
considering that we have had as a priority up to the events of September
11th a focus on using resources in narco-trafficking and its related aspects,
including money laundering?
Do we really honestly
expect very much from our Latin American neighbors, considering their
capacity and the resources that are involved here and a relatively minor
budget to try to help them?
Mr. MACK. Well,
I think we can expect certainly some progress. They are starting from
a lower resource and training level than obviously our forces. But as
I pointed out in my testimony, my prepared testimony, much of what we
do to counter the narcotics threat, the money laundering threat is directly
applicable to thwarting terrorism.
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So for example, I will give you the kind of things we do: training program
in border security, inspection techniques. Those are very simple things,
do not cost a lot of money. Investigative techniques; cargo control. We
have helped the Dominican Republic, for example, establish a state-of-the-art
passport issuance system. We have helped a number of countries established
automated entry and exit control systems.
So these are programs
that have dual uses, and can be effective. And given the relatively low
level of sophistication in some of those countries, but not all of them,
it can have a positive effect.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Let
me ask you one last question. At a later time I would like to pursue that
a little bit more. I hear you, but I am not feeling warm and fuzzy. [Laughter.]
I see none of your
testimonies you mention Cuba. I have read accounts that two Afghanis were
arrested in the Cayman Islands after transiting Cuba. I wonder if you
can comment on that.
Cuba has been haven
for terrorists. There have been issues raised on several occasions about
laboratories in Cuba with reference to biological and chemical weaponry.
And recently the arrest of the analyst in our own Defense Intelligence
Agency, the analyst who was responsible for telling us what is the reality
of the situation inside of Cuba vis-a-vis our interests, and who was obviously
giving us not us not only the wrong assessments, but was also giving the
Cubans assessments and information because as an analyst, as I understand
it, you get a high degree of information to be able to analyze. So it
seems to me we had a major weakness by virtue of this person who was spying
for the Cuban regime.
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Now, I know the
Cuban regime is harmless, but I do not understand why they spent all these
resources on all of these spies to go ahead and be engaged in what is
happening in the United States if they have no intentions of any negative
consequence to the United States.
So could you comment
on those realities, the Afghanis being arrested in Cayman Islands after
transiting Cuba, the issue of terrorist havens, those who have found refuge
in Cuba, and lastly, what can you tell us in terms of the Defense Intelligence
Agency's arrest?
Mr. MACK. Mr. Menendez,
I am going to have to defer to my experts in terrorism. I do not have
specific information on the arrest in the Caymans nor the arrest of the
Cuban agent associated with the DIA.
Mr. TAYLOR. Sir,
I am not familiar specifically with the arrest in the Caymans. But clearly
Cuba remains on our state sponsor list because it has not changed its
political commitment to terrorism as a political tool. So it would not
surprise me that people are operating of this ilk coming through Cuba,
but I am not specifically aware of the arrest.
With regard to the
specific example of the arrests in DIA, I would defer to the FBI and their
investigation, or the Defense Department. But I can tell you from my earlier
assignment in Air Force Counterintelligence that the Cuban intelligence
services have been very active in the United States of America for years,
and continue to be.
So the fact that
they had a source or attempted to gain a source in that agency from a
counterintelligence point of view is
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Mr. MENENDEZ. Well,
according to the arrest they had a source, not that they attempted to
gain a source.
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes,
sir.
Mr. MENENDEZ. They
had a source, an analyst at a high level.
One last question,
Mr. Chairman
Mr. BALLENGER. Sure.
Mr. MENENDEZ [continuing].
As a result of your answer.
Do you all share
with each other, I hope? I mean, after September 11th, I hope that we
are sharing information with each other, and I know that one of the Committee's
jurisdictional oversights has oversight on some of these issues. I would
hope that we are, you know, maybe in closed session at some point, Mr.
Chairman, we have the opportunity to figure out what you are sharing,
because you gave me a series of answers that you are basically referring
me to other agencies. This is the State Department of the United States.
It has to deal with other countries. It has to figure out what our policy
should be vis-a-vis those countries. I would hope that you would beyou
would know what in fact some of these standings are on these issues that
obviously affect our policy toward those countries.
So if that is not
the case, then I for one as one Member of this Committee would like to
know if that is the case, that you are not getting information because
you should be getting information, as well as sharing information, obviously.
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Mr. MACK. Do you
want to talk?
Mr. STRUBLE. I just
wanted to comment that you may be assured, Congressman, that we are sharing
information. For example, on the Montez case, we are obviously sharing
information with the FBI. We do have an interest in that. But it is an
ongoing prosecution, and Ambassador Taylor is perfectly correct to refer
you to the Justice Department because there are strict limits to what
can be said in the context of an ongoing investigation and prosection.
Mr. TAYLOR. I would
agree with that certainly, and indicate, sir, that we in the counterterrorism
business probably share information better than in most bureaucracies
in our government has been my experience, and certainly that is improving
since September 11th. It is not perfect, but clearly the only reason I
would not address the issue, as Mr. Struble mentioned, it is an FBI issue
under investigation. It is inappropriate for me to discuss it.
Mr. MENENDEZ. My
point simply is, without getting into the specifics of that particular
arrest and investigation, there are consequences to your decision-making
as a result of information that was analyzed.
Mr. TAYLOR. Absolutely.
Mr. MENENDEZ. And
brought to you through obviously a perverted source.
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Mr. TAYLOR. Yes,
sir.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Someone
who is not working for our government but working for them. And that anlaysis,
which is shared with you, I would assume
Mr. TAYLOR. Indeed.
Mr. MENENDEZ [continuing].
Although it came out of the Defense Department, obviously is shared with
our foreign policy people to make decisions as to how we react to certain
countries on the world. So that is the concernthe context in which
I raise that concern.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. BALLENGER. Congresswoman
Davis.
Ms. DAVIS. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, gentlemen, for being here.
Ambassador Taylor
and Ambassador Mack, both of you when you gave your testimonies, Ambassador
Taylor in particular, you were talking about in the tri-border area there
were evidence of Hizballah and other extremist groups that were there,
and they had fundraising activities used and document forgery, money laundering,
contraband, smuggling and so forth.
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And then, Ambassador Mack, you talked about the Western Hemisphere, that
there is a historic link between the various terrorism groups, and you
even mentioned one individual who as linked to the Osama Bin Laden.
And I guess my concern
isthen also I believe in your testimony, Ambassador Taylor, you
also stated that the, who was it, the IRA terrorist had been training
the FARC.
And I guess all
of this gives me some great concern because in another Subcommittee hearing
that I was in, with a different Committee, I asked some of the members
from the Colombian police, ''Were there international terrorists in Colombia?''
and was told ''No, it was just local terrorists.'' But yet I am hearing
differently today.
And I guess my question
is, who is there? And do we know who is there? What are we doing to stop
the fundraising activities that is the source of money to possibly Osama
Bin Laden?
Mr. TAYLOR. Well,
certainly, when the investigation that the Colombians were involved in
that identified the PIRA let us know that those people were operating
there, and it was a very effective action to identify and arrest those
individuals.
We have ongoing
cooperation with the tri-border authorities to identify and effectively
attempt to investigate and disrupt the illegal activities that these people
are involved in on an ongoing basis both from counternarcotics and from
our counterterrorism point of view.
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Have we been totally
successful? Not yet, but there is a clear commitment on the part of those
governments as well as in our assistance to assist them in going after
these individuals who are involved in this type of activity.
Mr. MACK. I would
like to comment on the issue of link between internal Colombian terrorist
organizations and drug trafficking.
One of the reason
we are supporting the Colombian government's efforts to combat narcotics
trafficking is that in fact to the degree we can reduce the income generated
by narcotics trafficking, we can also decrease the capacity of the three
terrorist organizations that we have designated terrorist organizations
in Colombia to conduct their activities.
So there is a direct
link between our efforts to stem narcotics trafficking and our efforts
to stem terrorist violence in Colombia.
Ms. DAVIS. There
have also been press reports for the city of Maicao, I believe it is pronounced,
in Colombia, where there is a heavy population supposedly of Middle Eastern
extremists who are doing the same thing.
Can you comment
on that?
Mr. TAYLOR. I believe
that is in Ecuador.
Ms. DAVIS. In Colombia,
I believe.
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Mr. TAYLOR. Colombia?
Mr. MACK. Are you
referring to Manton, Ecuador?
Ms. DAVIS. No, Maicao.
It is MAICO, I believe, and it is on the border
of the Venezuela, if I am not mistaken. Is that not correct, Colombia
and Venezuela?
Mr. MACK. I am not
familiar with that situation.
Mr. TAYLOR. Nor
am I.
Mr. STRUBLE. There
are large expatriate populations in a number of areas in Latin America.
The tri-border region has been mentioned before. There is also Santa Margarita
Island in Venezuela, the Colon Free Trade Zone in Panama, and then a number
of others throughout the hemisphere.
We are quite concerned
about the possibility or in some instances the certainty of financial
transactions from these areas supporting terrorist groups in the Middle
East.
Mr. Mack alluded
before to the efforts of INL over a number of years to give countries
the tools, help them develop the tools, and work multilaterally in this
hemisphere to control money laundering through more effective sharing
of financial transaction information.
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It is a complex
issue and therefore I am grateful that INL has been working on it for
years because it has given us a huge head start. There are nowmost
of the countries in this hemisphere have a legal basis to demand the kind
of records of banks, to assert the sorts of requirements that we have
here in the United States, the transactions above certain levels be reported
to authorities. They have trained police in place to review these records
and begin to act on the basis of them.
So when we recently
sought or made a request of the hemisphere, asking that they enforce UN
Resolutions 1333 and I believe it is 1373 to stop financial transactions
and support of terrorist groups in the UN list and then later on the executive
order issued by our own President, many of these countriesnot allbut
many of the countries of our hemisphere werethanks to efforts that
had been underway for many yearsin a much better position to move
and to enforce these sorts of resolutions.
Ms. DAVIS. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. DELAHUNT. Would
the gentlelady yield for a moment?
Ms. DAVIS. Yes,
be happy to
Mr. DELAHUNT. She
was referring to this city in Colombia, and none of you seem to be aware
of what is part of a staff memo to the Committee Members, and it quotes
as a source the periodical ''Cambio.''
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Now, there is no date attached to it, but the quote, presumably this is
a quote from the periodical, from ''Cambio.'' And let me read it.
''The Colombian
city of Maicao, located on the northern border with Venezuela, has become
a haven for Middle East extremists who support Palestinian terrorist activities.
Most of the 4,000 Middle Eastern businessmen operating in Maicao contribute
a percentage of their profits to the Palestinian cause. Financial transactions
have been traced to Middle Eastern destinations from Maicao as well as
through a variety of countries. Suspicions exist that Maicao was a meeting
place for weapons traffickers who are supplying arms to the extremist
groups support the Intifada.''
This is a rather,
I would say, disturbing quote. Now, neither the gentlelady nor I am sure
anyone has the ability to ascertain the legitimacy, the validity or the
accuracy of the quote. But the fact that none of you appear to be familiar
or conversant with this particular community leads me to believe that
this particular quote should not be given much credence.
Is that a fair statement,
Representative, that is the concern that you were expressing in your question?
Ms. DAVIS. [Nodding.]
Mr. DELAHUNT. Jim,
you have been in Colombia a long time. Roger?
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Mr. MACK. I certainly would not say we should not give it credence. I
would say we should go back and do our homework and see what is going
on in Maicao. I just personally had not been familiar with this particular
Mr. DELAHUNT. Again
let me emphasize, there is no date here attached. But the fact that it
has drawn a blank from the four of you I find somewhat disconcerting.
I yield back and
thank the gentlelady.
Ms. DAVIS. Thank
you for explaining my concern there. [Laughter.]
If you could get
back to me with an answer on that, I would certainly appreciate it.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. BALLENGER. Congressman
Faleomavaega.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I would like to offer my personal ''bienvenidos''
to our distinguished panel that is here, and especially to my good friend,
Ambassador Noriega, who has an important post, I certainly want to thank
you for your statements.
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I think, as a follow up of what my good friend, Mr. Delahunt had stated
earlier, I have been a Member of this Committee for about 13 years now,
been through three Presidents and I know, Mr. Chairman, you have been
through a lot more than I have, and your wisdom and experience I always
depend upon in understanding this region.
And if I were to
project some sense of understanding and appreciation for our Latin American
neighbors, if I were to have one word to define our policy over the years
that I have been trying to follow toward this region, which I feel is
very, very important, I call it indifference. And it is always when we
deal with Latin America, it is like ''We'll get to it.''
And then the responses
also from the Latin American neighbors have not been positive either.
Always seems like they felt like they have been left behind. And maybe
I am wrong in my observation, but this seems to be what I hear when I
visit some of our Central and South American Latin leaders.
And I suppose maybe
to project it in another way in cold, common sense figures, what is the
total population of Latin America, including Mexico with 90 million? Are
we talking about 600 million people living in that region?
Mr. MACK. [Nodding.]
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
And what is the total investment does our country have toward Latin America?
Has there been any figures given on that, gentlemen?
The State Department
should know, I would hope. Any guesses? You can wing it. Any idea how
much investments we have there in Latin America?
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Mr. STRUBLE. I do
not have the hemispheric figures, Congressman. I do know that in Brazil
it is on the order of $40 billion, which is
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
Forty billion dollars?
Mr. STRUBLE. Forty
billion dollars, which is more than the level of U.S. direct foreign investment
in China. In Mexico, it is under Brazil's level of 40 billion, but growing
very quickly.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
So it is
Mr. STRUBLE. It
is quite substantial. Yes, sir.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
Very substantial.
And I suppose my
next question, how many U.S. citizens live in Latin America? Anycan
you wing it?
The reason for my
raising this question is that I recall the tremendous problems we are
having in a country like Indonesia. We have about a $20 billion investment
in that country, and there are 36,000 U.S. citizens living there. And
at the height of the tragedy on September 11, and this was something that
I admonish very strongly against our State Department friends, is that
what provisions or what is the Administration doing to make sure that
we end up with not having hostages like we have done in the past, or just
U.S. citizens' lives being taken at risk.
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And the reason for
my asking this question, how many U.S. citizens live in Latin America?
Do we know that?
Mr. STRUBLE. Yes,
we do know that, Congressman. Our indices are required to do a report
twice a year called the F77 report that gives the number of American
citizens who are believed to be residents in their country, and visitors
at any given time.
I do not have aggregated
figures for the hemisphere, but I would glad to get those for you.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
Can you submit that for the record?
Mr. STRUBLE. Yes,
I will.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
I really would appreciate it.
[The information
referred to follows:]
RESPONSE BY MR. STRUBLE
TO THE QUESTION POSED BY THE HONORABLE ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA
Our posts are required
to submit a report once each year, entitled the ''F77 Report of
Potential Evacuees,'' which estimates the number of American citizens
believed, at any given time, to be residing in a country, whether permanently
or as tourists.
Page 72 PREV PAGE TOP OF DOC
It is important to note that data included in the F77 represent
only an estimate. These figures are based mainly on the voluntary registrations
of U.S. citizens who contact the U.S. Embassy when they arrive in a country.
In addition, information provided by local immigration services or tourism
boards are important references for this report.
The most recent
F77 reports from posts reporting to the Bureau of Western Hemisphere
Affairs (including Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean) estimate that there
are 2,354,628 U.S. citizens in the region. This number includes 14,708
U.S. Government personnel who can be ordered to leave in the event of
an emergency.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
I think there is one thing that I would like to share with the members
of the panel. As Ambassador Noriega had referred earlier about the Rio
Treaty.
Are there provisions
in the Rio Treaty that has military aspects like we have as a security
agreement like NATO? Does it have a section 5 provision in there? You
hit me and the rest of us are going to hit you?
Mr. NORIEGA. That
is
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
An attack against one country is an attack against all?
Mr. NORIEGA. Yes,
Mr. Faleomavaega, it explicitly does incorporate that principle.
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Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
Okay.
Mr. NORIEGA. There
is an obligation for mutual defense. An attack against one American state
is an attack against all, and that wasthat provision, all of the
provisions of the Rio Treaty were involved on September 19th.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
Okay. So now in recognition of the fact that many of our Latin neighbors
are not economically well off, and the reason why Canada is the only country
in the Western Hemisphere that has offered military assistance, but yet
by the same token most of our Latin American neighbors, a tremendous amount
part of their budget goes into military hardware purchase, solders.
And so I want to
ask the panel. When you say that there is total commitment, my question
is, what kind of a commitment are we getting from our Latin neighbors?
Or should they be
committed, given the fact that our policy toward them has always been
indifference?
Or am I wrong in
my observation that our policy toward Latin American has always been with
indifference, not giving them the real sense of priority like we do Europe
or the Middle East?
Mr. NORIEGA. Well,
Mr. Faleomavaega, if I could comment very explicitly on the specific point
on the use of force.
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Every form of assistance
is compulsory except for the use of force, which is, of course governed
by individual governments' constitutions. And so the treaty cannot compel
a government to commit to the use of force.
Mr. Struble would
know explicitly, I think, of particular countries that have offered some
form of military cooperation, although we have emphasized that we are
not asking for that sort of commitment from most of the countries of Central
or South America in response to this particular crisis.
I think at the OAS
the agenda of the United States has been one of engagement with countries
in the hemisphere. We pushed the President's policy of economic development
and promotion of trade, and recognize that it is very important to our
overall foreign policy.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
But please, Ambassador Noriega, I did not mean to interrupt you. But we
are talking about what happened September 11. Obviously, this is the reason
for our meeting today. This is not just a regional issue, this is a global
issue. Almost 7,000 U.S. citizens as died as a result of this tragedy.
I just, and I can
understand the economic problems that our Latin neighbors are having.
That is perfectly understandable. But I just wanted just to know if the
State Department can come out tomorrow and says they are so committed
that they are eventhey are willing to send volunteers or to do whatever
if we have to go to Afghanistan. They may not have the money to send troops
to Afghanistan. But would they be willing to volunteer to fight along
side us?
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You know, they say
that there are many acquaintances but very few friends, and you know who
your real friends are when the guy is next to in the fox hole.
And so it is nice
that we talk about the rhetoric, and all the beautiful statements that
we can do in paper, but I just wanted to find out if the 600 million fellow
Western Hemispherians living along our side of this planet, are they willing
to do the same thing that we are trying to resolve.
Mr. STRUBLE. Congressman,
let me first of all say that I am always of two minds when I hear the
charge that the United States is not paying adequate attention to this
hemisphere because on the one hand I kind of like that. I would like to
see as much attention paid to the Western Hemisphere as possible, and
I believe that it can be very helpful to our policy objectives in having
that attention.
On the other hand,
I know that it is really not true, and it has certainly not been true
in this Administration. I would feel confident in saying that, at least
before the events of September 11 when President Bush received a large
numbers of visitors to the White House, that there had been more visitors
from the Western Hemisphere in the Oval Office than from any other geographic
region of the world. And I think our President has had a very strong interest
in Latin America. For that matter, the previous Administrations have had
a growing interest in Latin America, and paid increasing attention to
it.
I do not think it
is an appropriate measure of the dedication of our friends in our hemisphere
to ask how many of them are offering military forces to us. As Ambassador
Noriega noted, in the first instance we have not asked. And in the second
case, it is actually not true that Latin American countries spend a lot
of money on their militaries. Our Latin American neighbors spend a lower
percentage of their gross domestic product on their militaries than in
any other region in the world. That is something, I think, that we can
proud of.
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It has been a policy
objective of the United States to try to help the countries in this region
devote more resources to their crying social needs and development needs,
and not to their militaries. And in fact their militaries do not have
the sorts of power projection abilities that would allow them to participate
on that sort of basis with U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
What they have done,
however, is to offer the kind of assistance that is within their reach;
intelligence cooperation. We have talked about dangers in this hemisphere
from terrorists groups that are here, and we have enjoyed very good cooperation
from a number of countries in that sphere.
We have made reference
to enforcement of UN resolutions to block the financing of terrorist groups.
And once again, we are getting good hemispheric cooperation on that.
Down to very simple
things like enhanced protection for our embassies and American citizens,
I am not aware of a single country in the hemisphere that has failed to
fulsomely answer our requests following September 11th for that assistance.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
All right. Mr. Ambassador, I know my time is coming up, and I hate to
cut you off, but I do make one observation.
When I was in Argentina,
I had the most sad occasion of having to meet with the relatives and families
of the 86 Jewish people who were bombed and killed in that tragedy. And
for 10 years the Argentine government kept giving them the runaround in
terms of conducting proper investigations and finding out who the culprits
were. And to this day they are still undergoing this.
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So I mean, I can
understand too that there is apprehension, even among some government
leaders in wanting to cooperate fully or their lives would be at risk.
So there is that understanding.
I just wanted just
to say, do you think that it is possible that our President will also
give Cuba the same notice as he did to Saddam Hussein; that if he in fact
does harbor terrorists or in any way being of any held to bin Laden, that
his time will also be given proper notice?
This is just a parentheticI
mean, a hypothetical. [Laughter.]
This is just a hypothetical
question.
Mr. STRUBLE. I think
the President has made a clear statement to all countries in the world
on the U.S. position, Congressman. Thank you.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My time has expired.
Mr. TAYLOR. Mr.
Chairman, if I just might comment too
Mr. BALLENGER. Sure.
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Mr. TAYLOR [continuing]. On the Congressman's question. And this is a
unique campaign in the history, I think, of the world, and it is our expectation
that countries will do all they can internally as countries in the region
have in law enforcement, financial transactions, and intelligence sharing.
And we have gotten tremendous support for that.
In many ways, that
kind of cooperation is even more important to us long term in this campaign
because of our ability through that cooperation to track people around
the world. So this campaign is about military force today, but the long
term part of it is about worldwide law enforcement, intelligence and financial
cooperation that allows us to find these people, to focus on them, and
to arrest them, and to bring them to justice, and that will be very, very
important to us down the road.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
So you are giving us absolute assurance that our Latin American neighbors
are sharing intelligence, find the culprits, share it with them, send
them over to
Mr. TAYLOR. Sir,
I know better than to give absolute anything. [Laughter.]
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA.
Good politician.
Mr. NORIEGA. Mr.
Chairman, could I just amplify
Mr. BALLENGER. Yes.
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Mr. NORIEGA [continuing]. On the answers, very excellent answers that
Mr. Struble and Ambassador Taylor have given on this?
It is very important,
as Mr. Menendez noted, you know, today there is a lot of support, and
we recognize that. Where will we be in a year or 6 months from now? Will
we have the intensity of cooperation?
And I am not just
sort of going to bat for my client here because I actually work for the
U.S. at the OAS, not for the OAS. But what is important about the OAS
is that we can set in place urgently now a work plan, and then day in
and day out push progress across the board, and engage the member states
to encourage the cooperation, find out where the gaps are in their expertise,
where can they use some additional technical assistance and training,
plug those things in.
I can assure you
that the Ambassador of Colombia has probably heard of Maicao, Colombia,
for example, and Colombia also has, thanks to the United States, perhaps
the best financial controls in the Western Hemisphere, and they have come
to us and said let us take the lead at the OAS to strengthen our other
countries in Latin America its capacity to control the laundering of money
through their territory. And they will be able to do that in a horizontal
way, and again, day in and day out. And we have to maintain the momentum
that we have now. Take the political commitment we have now, shape a work
plan, and then day in and day out work that at the OAS and other international
organizations.
Mr. BALLENGER. Congressman
Payne.
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Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. I will be relatively brief. I, unfortunately,
missed your testimony, but I can kind of get a drift from the questions
that it seems like a little bit was left to be desired.
I just have a question,
one of those hypothetical questions also. Our policy has indicated that
if you are willing to be on our side, so to speak, that we are willing
to sort ofyou know, we are new allies.
What I mean by that
is, for example, Sudan that harbored bin Laden from 1991 to 1996, and
has had a horrendous war going on for about 18 years, a couple of million
people are dead, they just bombed some food sites yesterday. We were out
on the move, and the Subcommittee finally had some legislation that was
going to try to get those people pumping oil, and buying gum arabic from
Sudan to have them taken off of the capital markets. We had capital market
things, we were really moving in the right direction.
Well, that was before
September 11th. Now Sudan is2 million people are gone, and 4 million
have been displaced. They can still bomb people in these little villages.
And they are going to give us some information, so they are right now
our ally.
Supposing Fidel
Castro says he got some information, he has not killed 2 million people
as the NIF, the National Islamic Front, government has done in Sudandirectly
through famine that has been created and so forth. But I mean, bin Laden
lived there for 6 years. They plotted the assassination of Mubarak in
Sudan.
Maybe we ought to
call Fidel up and ask him to give us some names, and then our policy will
change. What do you think?
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Mr. TAYLOR. Sir,
if I might, Sudan remains on our list of state sponsors of terrorism.
They have not gotten a ''get out of jail card'' if you will for their
support or their help or assistance in locating and investigating individuals
that we are concerned with, and will not get for that action. But we will
take information that helps us identify people from anyone, that will
help us get at the people we are looking for.
But that does not
necessarily result in a tremendous change in our policy with regard to
Sudan. It remains a part of our state-sponsored list. It is still sanctioned
under the state sponsorship and other sanctions, and that has not changed
and will not change just because of what they have done here.
Mr. PAYNE. Well,
I hope not. I know our Sudan Peace Act was asked by the Administration
to be withdrawn, which we had to, and Sudan has just been allowed to become
a member of one of the committees that we blocked from our position on
the Security Council for the last 7 years, but now their diplomats are
no longer sanctioned in this 20-mile radius of Washington. They can romp
around the U.S. anywhere they want to. However, that is there.
Let me just ask
a specific question regarding the IRA and Colombia. Is there very muchdo
you think that this group, several persons or two men who were arrested,
do you believe that this were a couple of persons sort of their own a
part of thesort of the Provisional or what they call the new IRA
or not even IRA organizational people, but just some guys that sort of
wanted to make some money on their own or whatever?
What is your assessment
of that?
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Because as you know,
some of the members of Sinn Fein, you know, Jerry Adams and those folks
have been moving toward trying to have governance up in the north of Ireland,
having really taken this as a real setback because of this business. And
it appears as though they were not a party to it or even had knowledge
of it. So I wonder what is the official stand on that.
Mr. TAYLOR. It is
our assessment that they were members of the PIRA. Whether they were there
at the direction of Sinn Fein or not, I do not think the investigation
has determined that as yet. But the fact that these individuals were members
of the PIRA, I think, is indisputable.
Mr. PAYNE. Just
one last question. I do not want to, you know, put anybody on the spot.
I just wondered. Do you know what the amount of foreign aid, not investment,
that is a whole different story, but do you know what our foreign aid
budget is for Latin America, more or less?
Mr. STRUBLE. I don't
have that figure with me right now.
Mr. PAYNE. Okay.
I imagine it's not much, I mean, comparatively, which is another problem
that we have when we talk about our image around. You know, there are
a lot that we could have done in the past by sharing some of our resources
or helping with foreign aid, and especially in our neighborhood in Latin
America where you probably have as much abject poverty as anywhere in
the world.
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And I would hope that as we move forward we would start taking a look
at our policies worldwide and how we help to share our resources. We do
not only have to put money, I am just talking about teachers, maybe some
engineers to build a road, maybe some army corps to drill, you know, a
well so maybe some people might have some clean water. You know, if we
start reviewing our policies for the past 50 years or so, we haveGod
did bless us, and God blessed America, but we sometimes have thought it
was only our sea to shining sea, and the rest of the world be damned.
And I just think we could have done more, and even our dues in the UN,
billion dollars behind. Poor countries send in troops for peacekeeping.
We are supposed to send our money that goes to pay those poor countries
for those troops. Four or five years behind. It is really not fair.
But I know you guys,
that is a little above your pay grade. But I just want to say that I hope
as we move into this new war on terrorism, I want to see them knocked
out as much as anyone else. I do not like this situation of not being
able to get into our garage when we want to and all that sort of thing.
But I think we are going to have to take a whole new global look at the
way we do business in the world. The world is a big place. It is not only
us.
Mr. STRUBLE. Congressman,
if I may make a comment.
We do not depend
simply upon on our assistance levels for Latin America to provide development
opportunities for this hemisphere. You know, for 10 years and through
three Administrations there has been a comprehensive strategy toward the
Western Hemisphere, through the Summit of the Americas process that recognizes
the need to provide resources for countries to invest in its people and
education and health, to provide a basis for development.
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An important element of that, of course, is providing opportunities for
trade as well through the Free Trade Area of the Americas. In fact, I
think that there is broad agreement that trade not aid is the most significant
single contribution that we could make to development.
So we certainly
hope that we can work together with the Congress to provide the bases
for moving forward on the Free Trade Area of the Americas as quickly as
possible through, for example, the adoption of TPA authority.
Thank you.
Mr. BALLENGER. If
I may, just to match up with what you are talking about. I have been trying
to tell anybody at the State or anybody at the national level of power
structure that the Andean Trade Preference Act is something that I think
can pass very easily through this Congress because we are supporting our
friends and we are helping people in their war against drugs. And it might
even work in Chile, that would be an easy one to pass.
But when you get
to TPA, all of a sudden you run into a whole bunch of difficult ball games
or different things that may cause trouble, and I would just like to pass
the word again to the Administrationwhy not take the easy ones first
instead of taking the tough one that may not pass. I hate to be that negative.
I would like to
ask one question more. President Fox, when he was here a week ago or so,
he told Members of Congress that he would propose a common security arrangement
between the NAFTA members, and he told this to President Bush.
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Have you heard anything
along the line as hehas he ever come through with anything yet?
Mr. STRUBLE. I will
have to take the question, Congressman, and see if we have a specific
proposal for Mexico. We have had a number of specific actions that they
have taken both before September 11th and after to help enhance common
security along our border. But let me check on that for you.
Mr. BALLENGER. Okay,
I would appreciate it.
[The information
referred to follows:]
RESPONSE BY MR. STRUBLE
TO THE QUESTION POSED BY THE HONORABLE CASS BALLENGER
President Bush and
President Fox discussed the issue of border security, in the context of
counterterrorism cooperation, at their brief meeting on October 4 in Washington.
No specific plans were discussed, but President Fox reiterated his government's
desire to support the U.S. in any way possible. The Government of Mexico
has taken concrete steps to assist with border security issues, including
detaining several suspicious individuals for questioning and instituting
more stringent procedures for nationals of 60 countries who solicit visas
to enter Mexico. U.S. officials at our Embassy in Mexico City have characterized
Mexican cooperation as 'extraordinary' since September 11.
Mexican National
Security Advisor Adolfo Aguilar Zinser will lead a high-level delegation
of Mexican officials to meet with Homeland Security Advisor Ridge on November
19. The Mexican delegation also has meetings scheduled with the Attorney
General, INS Commissioner, U.S. Customs Commissioner, the Under Secretary
of State for Political Affairs, and the Acting Assistant Secretary of
State for Western Hemisphere Affairs.
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In addition, border
security issues will highlight the agenda of a working-level meeting of
the U.S.-Mexico High Level Working Group on Migration to be held in Washington
on November 20.
Mr. BALLENGER. Again,
gentlemen, I would like to thank you all for testifying today. I think
it is a program thatusually when we get in this little room nobody
shows up with a TV camera, so it must have some interest to the rest of
the people of the nation. And I would just again like to thank you all,
first of all, for the service that you provide the country; but second
of all, for being willing to tell us a lot more than we probably knew
before.
And since we are
not the Senate, we are not going to leak anything out of this room. [Laughter.]
So thanks again
for being here.
Mr. STRUBLE. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Members.
[Whereupon, at 3:40
p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
Material Submitted
for the Hearing Record
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF J. CURTIS STRUBLE, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU
OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
In the aftermath
of the terrorist attacks of September 11, the countries of the Americas
have responded strongly and positively against international terrorism
and in solidarity with the United States, and have supported our efforts
to construct an international counterterrorism coalition. Indeed, the
outpouring of support, sympathy and outrage by our Western Hemisphere
neighbors has been especially gratifying to those of us who have worked
in the hemisphere for any length of time. These horrific events have underscored
the values and humanity we hold in common, reminding us that the people
of this Hemisphere hold a special feeling for the U.S.; cherish democracy
and the free exchange of ideas; and share our respect for the sanctity
of human life and our outrage at the callous, wanton cruelty of those
who would seek to destroy it all.
As Ambassador Noriega
has made clear, the political response of the hemisphere's governments
and foreign ministers in the OAS and within the Rio Treaty context has
been gratifying and vitally important as the U.S. shapes its response
to terrorism. Some countries which have experienced terrorist acts in
their own territory in the past, empathized automatically. At the same
time, the deeply-felt humanity of the responses has been particularly
poignant. In the statements and actions of leaders and individuals there
has uniformly been a sense that they not only understood our pain and
grief but that they shared in our loss. Indeed, many did literally share
our suffering. Thirty of the Hemisphere's thirty-four nations lost citizens
in the events of September 11, a tragic testimony of the degree to which
our fates are linked. Among those nations directly affected, El Salvador
counts 122 dead and missing, the Dominican Republic 42, and Ecuador 31.
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The Western Hemisphere,
perhaps more than any region in the world, has benefited from the free
flow of trade, people and ideas, and the US has been a natural focus of
that flow. What we have discovered in the past two weeks is that that
flow, in addition to creating a natural commonality of interest, has also
fostered bonds that go far deeper.
A mound of flowers
as high as the embassy gate in Ottawa; flags at half mast throughout the
hemisphere; a simple heart-rending ceremony by Ecuador's firefighters
honoring their fallen comrades in New York City; a day of remembrance
for the September 11 victims at the rebuilt AMIA Jewish Community Center
in Buenos Airesrebuilt following the 1994 terrorist attack that
killed 86 Argentines. All of these gestures speak to the shared bonds
within our hemisphere and transcend the daily press of events that often
seem to divide us. Cuba alone failed to join the hemispheric chorus of
sympathy and support, choosing instead to criticize the United States
and say we brought the attacks upon ourselves.
In the days immediately
following the attack, there was a sense among our neighbors in the hemisphere
that they could not offer help, condolences and support fast enough to
mollify their own feelings of sympathy and outrage. Offers of rescue assistance,
medical teams, plasma and military support flowed in so quickly that managing
them and responding was difficult. President De la Rua offered Argentina's
world-class military peacekeepers to lessen such commitments by our armed
forces at a time we need to husband our strength. Expressions of sentiment
followed as quickly: a flood of letters from presidents and prime ministers;
100,000 people at a memorial service on Parliament Hill in Ottawa; a group
of school children with a wreath and a handmade card in La Paz. In Jamaica,
tossing protocol concerns aside, both the Governor-General and the Prime
Minister paid unprecedented calls upon the embassy in Kingston to offer
their condolences and to express their support. The people of Canada opened
their homes to welcome the hundreds of air travelers whose flights were
diverted on that tragic day. In Brasilia, the President and Foreign Minister
spent an hour at our Embassy mingling with staff to provide encouragement
in a dark hour.
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The governments
of Bolivia and Ecuador held memorial services attended by Presidents Quiroga
and Noboa. The government of Paraguay declared a 48-hour period of mourning.
Several countries cancelled national day ceremonies. In Rio de Janeiro
the memorial service at the local Anglican Church was attended by the
religious leader of the Islamic Center in Sao Paulo, who flew to Rio simply
to attend the ceremony and to demonstrate ''. . . our solidarity with
the American people, declaring our vehement repudiation of all types of
terrorism, perfidy and extremism.'' President Fox of Mexico met with President
Bush on October 4 to reaffirm Mexican support for the United States. President
Toledo of Peru made an unplanned visit to the OAS Special General Assembly
on the morning of September 11 to express Peru's outrage at the terrorist
attacks and express solidarity with the assembled foreign ministers of
the hemisphere.
Moreover, these
expressions of solidarity and sympathy are being matched by concrete actions
by the nations of the Hemisphere, underlining the President's statement
that the campaign against terrorism has to be global and that every country
in the world has a role to play. Countries from the Bahamas to Argentina
to Canada have taken concrete steps to freeze accounts linked to Osama
bin Ladin and his associates as called for in UN Security Council Resolutions
1333 and 1373. Governments have beefed up security measures: Panama enhancing
security to assure the protection of the Panama Canal and Venezuela providing
additional protection for our diplomatic residences and schools used by
Americans in Caracas. We are in close contact with authorities from Argentina,
Brazil, and Paraguay to share intelligence about possible terrorist activities
in the tri-border area of those countries. The countries of Central America
are looking at ways to improve border security and improve the sharing
of information about migrants. Colombia is offering to share with its
regional neighbors its technical expertise in areas such as money laundering
gained in close partnership with the U.S. in the past. More needs to be
done to monitor and suppress money laundering and alien smuggling, criminal
activities that also provide resources and logistic support for terrorist.
We are urging all the countries of the hemisphere to sign and ratify the
12 international conventions that deal with counterterrorism and to implement
fully the terms of UNSC 1333 and 1373 with respect to blocking terrorists'
access to funds.
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Events in Washington,
at the extraordinary convocation of OAS foreign ministers on September
21, were an important measure of our support within the hemisphere. The
invocation of the Rio Treaty that same day and the expressions of solidarity
were critical as we energize world condemnation of terrorism. However,
the real measures of the tragedy of September 11, and the degree to which
those events have drawn the hemisphere together, have played out in churches,
squares and plazas throughout the hemisphere as the Americas grieved the
loss of 6,000 of their fellows. And our hemispheric commitment to confront
terrorism will be demonstrated by the concrete measures we take as sovereign
governments and as a community of governments to arm ourselves against
this worldwide threat.
As of January 4,
2002, this document was also available online at http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa75633.000/hfa75633_0f.htm