19 December 2001
Byliner: Amb. Taylor on Preventing Terrorism in the Tri-Border Area
(Urges law enforcement coordination between Brazil, Argentina,
Paraguay) (2400)
Following is the English-language version of a speech by Francis
Taylor, coordinator for counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of
State, on the subject of preventing terrorism in the tri-border area
of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Taylor delivered the speech in
Asunción, Paraguay, on December 19; his remarks are in the public
domain. No republication or translation restrictions.
(begin text)
Ambassador Francis X. Taylor,
Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State
Remarks at the
"Seminar on Preventing Terrorism and Organized Crime in the Tri-Border
Area"
Asunción, Paraguay
December 19, 2001
President Gonzalez Macchi, Foreign Minister Moreno Ruffinelli,
distinguished guests: thank you for the opportunity to appear before
you today to discuss the subject of terrorism.
Terrorism
On the morning of September 11, the world changed. Terrorist attacks
in my country claimed victims from more than 80 nations, including
from countries as far away as Australia and Zimbabwe. Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay lost citizens, and to their
representatives I offer my condolences.
For many countries, including ours, September 11 claimed the most
lives of any terrorist incident in their history. Great Britain, for
example, lost more citizens in the World Trade Centers than in all of
the IRA bombings combined.
The attacks may have been conceived as a blow against the United
States, but in reality they were an attack against humanity.
Last Thursday, I watched a video tape of al-Qaida leader Osama bin
Laden speaking casually, with pride and a smile on his face, of the
murders of thousands of innocent people in New York, and justifying it
in religious terms.
There can be no justification for this type of act. Those who support
groups involved in this activity are no better than the terrorists
themselves. Such support encourages even more acts like these. For
this reason, our campaign will target not just terrorist groups, but
also those who harbor them and those who fund them.
As you are aware, the United States and her allies are in the midst of
a global campaign not only against the perpetrators of those attacks
but also against terrorism itself, wherever it exists.
The Threat to the Tri-Border Area
Let me speak for a few moments about the situation that we face in
this region, and the reason we are gathered here today:
In the tri-border area that I visited for the first time yesterday we
see a busy, culturally diverse business center with an astonishing
array of goods and services available to consumers. We see evidence of
a multi-billion-dollar economic engine. We see, in the beautiful
waterfalls nearby, one of the world's notable tourist attractions.
We are worried, however, not by the things we see, but by the things
we do not see -- the darker side of the commercial trade, clandestine
networks of persons and money -- money that may act to support
terrorist organizations in the Middle East.
It is no secret that you have, living in this area, more than 15,000
persons from the Middle East. Some of these people are from, or are
descendants of persons from, countries such as Lebanon, Palestine and
Syria. I applaud the cultural diversity that has been allowed to
flourish here.
It is no secret that the majority of those persons from that area of
the world -- an area that is a cradle of religions -- follow the
Islamic faith. This is a wonderful thing. I applaud your governments
for being members of the elite group that believes in, and permits,
freedom of religion.
What is not a wonderful thing -- and this is based on information
shared with me by law enforcement and intelligence officials from your
governments -- is our shared concern that Islamic extremist
organizations such Hizballah, HAMAS, al Gamaat al Islamiyya and others
are using this vibrant area as a base from which to support terrorism.
At a minimum, there is evidence that elements of the tri-border
population are engaging in various types of organized criminal
practices. We know, from close cooperation with your law enforcement
officials, that Hizballah members in the tri-border engage in document
forgery, money laundering, contraband smuggling. We understand that
there may be reason for concern about involvement in weapons and drug
trafficking. We fear that the money generated by these illegal
business activities is being used to support acts of terrorism by the
radical elements and terrorist subgroups of these larger
organizations.
The threats I have just spoken of are perhaps distant threats to you
-- secondary funding for terrorist acts in other areas of the world.
But there is a local threat. I share the concern of your officials
that local support cells could be activated to conduct terrorist
attacks here in the region. Hizballah remains a suspect in the 1992
bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and the 1994 bombings
of the Argentine Israel Mutual Association (AMIA) community center. I
point out to you that these attacks were characterized by the same
faceless cowardice that we saw on September 11. I hope that the
perpetrators of those crimes will one day be brought to justice.
Justice
On the topic of justice, the United States and its allies are
currently waging a military campaign in Afghanistan in order to bring
al-Qaida to justice. This campaign is broadcast by news organizations,
around the clock, to all the parts of the world that receive
television and radio signals. That is to say, it is an extremely
visible war.
The non-military fight against terrorism is less visible, but may be
more important in the long run. I'd like to share with you some of the
important victories we have already won:
-- Almost 50 multilateral organizations have issued declarations of
support: the Organization of American States invoked the Rio Treaty,
which also covers collective self-defense. OAS foreign ministers,
meeting in Lima, Peru, on the day of the attacks, were the first to
condemn the attacks.
-- The United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of African
Unity, and many others have expressed their strong solidarity.
-- The coalition of countries supporting the war against terrorism has
grown to 196.
Three months and one week after the attack, members of the global
coalition remain dedicated. I count on the governments represented
here today to fight for justice, and to remain vigilant -- vigilant in
the quest for justice to redress the wrongs of the September 11
attacks, and vigilant to keep your own countries from falling victim
to senseless mass murder.
Forging the Tools to Fight Terror
I have spoken for some time now about the problem of terrorism, but
now I'd like to take a bit more of your time to talk, instead, about
the solutions to this problem. I want to talk about the tools that
nations can use to prevent terrorists from killing more innocent
people.
First, I'd like to quote my commander-in-chief, President George Bush,
from a speech he made to a joint session of the U.S. Congress in
September:
"We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of
diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law
enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of
war -- to the disruption and to the defeat of the global terror
network."
This campaign is unlike others we have fought. We are fighting the
battle equally in conferences such as this one, in small meetings
among bankers, at border crossing points, or in forensic laboratories,
or in the skies of some distant country. Our victories are being
counted in the drying up of financing, preventing illegal use of
borders and official documents, the withering of political support,
not in the conquest of foreign land.
Our efforts include gathering and sharing intelligence, rooting out
terrorist cells, assisting countries to tighten their border security,
law enforcement cooperation, and identifying and disrupting terrorist
money flows.
Sharing Intelligence
The sharing of intelligence information concerning terrorists and
planning for terrorist attacks has grown steadily over the years among
many nations of the world. Such cooperation has resulted in the arrest
of numerous terrorist suspects and the prevention of untold numbers of
attacks. But in the weeks since September 11, the increase in
intelligence sharing among nations has been phenomenal. Both the
amount and quality have vastly improved. We are heartened by this
development as yet another sign of the seriousness shown by the global
coalition in fighting terrorism.
From an intelligence standpoint, the countries represented here today
have dramatically different structures, personnel, and even languages.
We in the United States count on each of you as friends and
colleagues, but that's not enough. My hope is that the tri-border
countries can share intelligence in a more effective and timely
manner, that you can develop trust, and then coordinate your approach
to information so that would-be terrorists know that they cannot hide
their activities merely by crossing borders.
Border Security
Speaking of borders, at the request of [Paraguayan] Foreign Minister
Moreno Ruffinelli, I have brought along with me an expert in border
issues and he will soon speak to you at a technical level. However,
speaking at a broad level, I would like to commend the governments of
the tri-border for the efforts you have already made in developing a
cooperative approach -- you have, in the tri-border, one of the more
complicated border junctions in the world. Your efforts to make
further improvements to the coordination and cooperation among border
officials will reap great benefits in preventing terrorism and
organized crime.
Law Enforcement
On the topic of crime, let me speak for a just a moment about law
enforcement.
Since September 11, the FBI has mounted the largest criminal
investigation in its history, involving 7,000 agents in an operation
truly global in scope. Thousands of leads are being tracked down, and
hundreds of credible threats have been analyzed. In addition to the
hundreds of arrests and detentions here in this country, hundreds more
terrorists and suspected supporters of terrorism have been arrested or
detained in over 25 countries.
We do not pretend, however, that U.S. law enforcement officials, even
if they had unlimited resources -- which they do not -- could gain
access to all of the information they need. No. For that, we know that
you, the governments of sovereign nations everywhere, must take up the
fight as well. We know that a new police recruit in a small town in
Paraguay, Brazil or Argentina can gain access to information that even
a seasoned FBI veteran could simply not uncover.
A military effort may destroy bin Laden and most of al-Qaida, but we
recognize that the prevention of future terrorist acts is dependent
upon the vigilance and professionalism of local police and
intelligence officials.
Terrorist Funding
Last but not least, I'd like to talk about an issue near and dear to
my heart -- money. The September 11 terrorists apparently had enough
money to make their preparations many months, if not years, in
advance. We are therefore encouraging other countries to join in our
efforts to clamp down on terrorist fund-raising and money transfers.
Funding is a critical element in these large-scale terrorist
operations and in the recruiting of supporters. We need to choke it
off.
Again, at the request of Foreign Minister Moreno Ruffinelli, I have
invited another U.S. expert to speak at a technical level about
funding issues, but I would like to touch on a few broader issues and
mention some successes we have had in this area.
On September 28, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted
resolution 1373, binding on all states under international law, which
goes to the heart of how terrorism operates. It obliges all member
states to deny financing, support, and safe harbor for terrorists. It
will also expand information sharing among U.N. members to combat
international terrorism. A Security Council follow-up mechanism has
been set up to monitor compliance on a continuous basis.
This effort has already yielded results:
-- Between September 11 and December 11, the United States blocked
more than $33.7 million in assets belonging to the Taliban and the
al-Qaida network.
-- Other nations have blocked at least an additional $33.6 million.
-- As of December 11, there were 1,149 accounts under review in the
United States.
-- As of December 11, 140 other countries and jurisdictions have
joined the United States in blocking terrorist accounts, and others
have requested U.S. assistance in upgrading their legal and regulatory
structures so that they can also block effectively.
-- The coalition of countries supporting the financial war against
terrorism has grown to 196.
In addition to targeting money that goes directly to terrorist
organizations, we believe that we must target the organizations that
support terrorist organizations, including some non-governmental
organizations. We have in the United States a law, written in 1996,
that does just this. An important section in this law is worth
repeating because it may have relevance here:
"(F)oreign terrorist organizations that engage in terrorist activity
are so tainted by their criminal conduct that any contribution to such
an organization facilitates that conduct."
This is a key point. Before they make a contribution to groups
supporting terrorists, people need to understand that by doing so they
are assisting criminal conduct -- and are themselves committing a
criminal act.
Using this and other legislation as a potential model, we have urged
other countries to tighten up their own laws and regulations to curb
terrorist fund-raising and money transfers. We commend the government
of Paraguay for swiftly introducing an anti-terrorism bill to the
Congress. We hope the Congress will consider the bill and move toward
enacting it soon. Other countries, including Canada, Greece, India,
and the Philippines, have new counterterrorism laws or proposed
legislation in various stages of consideration.
Conclusion
With that, I would like to conclude my remarks for today, and to thank
you once again, Mr. President, for inviting me to your beautiful
country, and for allowing me to speak at this conference.
And let me conclude with the declaration of President Bush:
"Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our
enemies, let justice be done."
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
