12 November 2002
Taylor Says Terrorism Threatens All Nations
(International cooperation needed to thwart terrorism) (7000)
The war on terrorism is about more than America's response to the
terror attacks of September 11, 2001, according to Francis Taylor, the
coordinator for counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State.
In a November 9 press briefing in Manila, the Philippines, Taylor told
reporters that the war on terrorism is "about the global threat that
terrorists present to all nations in the world and the need for all
nations in the world to build the institutions and the relationships
and the capability to take on terrorists within their country then
more broadly, regionally, and then globally."
Taylor said he is seeking to reinforce that message during his trip to
Southeast Asia and to reinforce "the need for the political commitment
that has been so strongly demonstrated in this region to continue to
fight terrorists and terrorist organizations until they are defeated."
In the global fight against terrorism, Taylor said, Southeast Asia
plays a "very important part."
Taylor noted that Jemaah Islamiya (JI), an organization affiliated
with al Qaeda; Abu Sayyaf; and al Qaeda itself operate in the region.
"JI is an organization that is focused on trying to build a broad
Islamic state encompassing Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the
southern Philippines ... through undermining the political systems
with violence," the State Department official said.
Regarding the October 12 terror bombings in Bali, Indonesia, that
killed nearly 200 people, Taylor said it does not matter whether the
terrorists were motivated by hatred of Americans or of other people.
"That kind of hate is what terrorists are all about," he said. "That's
the kind of hate we're trying to eliminate in our campaign against
terrorism."
In the Bali terror attacks, he went on, innocent people were killed
for political purposes.
Taylor said there is a clear linkage between terrorism and the
international illegal narcotics trade, as well as between terrorism
and the human-trafficking industry and other organized crime
activities.
"Many terrorists support their operations through criminal activity,"
he said, citing the case of Mohammed Hesham, who used credit card
fraud and similar activities to fund his training for a planned attack
on Los Angeles International Airport.
Taylor noted that "many of the things we're doing for counter
terrorism will also help us defeat criminal elements who exploit the
same scams between nations by moving people and resources across
borders in ways that are illegal."
"Much of the same tools that we use for counter terrorism will be very
effective for us against criminal elements, and those criminal
elements that help support terrorist activity around the world," he
continued.
Following is a transcript of Taylor's November 9 briefing with
reporters in Manila, the Philippines:
(begin transcript)
Press Briefing by Ambassador Francis X. Taylor
with the Foreign Correspondents Association in Manila
U.S. Embassy, November 9, 2002
AMB. TAYLOR: Good morning. It's my pleasure to be able to share this
morning with you, to take your questions. I'll just briefly tell you
this culminates a weeklong visit that I've had to Asia, starting in
Australia, then going to Singapore, Indonesia, and culminating here,
in the Philippines. The purpose of my visit to the region was to have
bilateral discussions with our colleagues on the global war on
terrorism, to examine the developments in the aftermath of the Bali
bombing in terms of how that investigation was pursuing and how the
United States Government might give assistance to our partners in
Indonesia as well as to other partners in the region. And then here,
to consult with our Philippine colleagues on the global war on
terrorism, to reinforce our nation's great appreciation for President
Arroyo's leadership in Southeast Asia in the global war on terrorism.
With that, I'd be happy to take your questions.
Q: Sir, I'm Jim Gomez from AP. Indonesia authorities have recently
made some arrests of suspects in the Bali bombing. From your
conversations with the Indonesian authorities, are there any
indications that the ones that they arrested have connections with
either the Jemaah Islamiya or the al-Qaeda or any extremist group
operating in the region?
AMB. TAYLOR: Well, it's my general policy not to comment on ongoing
investigations and, indeed, this is an international investigation
being led by the Government of Indonesia, quite competently and
professionally. My only comment would be that we have to let the
evidence speak for itself and let the evidence take us wherever it
leads. If it leads to JI or leads to al-Qaeda, so be it. But let's not
speculate. Let's conduct, as the Indonesians are doing with their
international partners, a very comprehensive, professional
investigation that tracks the evidence to a logical conclusion.
Q: Carlos Romero of Channel News Asia. What kind of support are you
seeking from the Philippine government and other regional Southeast
Asian governments for the U.S. campaign versus Iraq?
AMB. TAYLOR: For the U.S. campaign versus Iraq? I'm not here to
discuss Iraq. I'm here to discuss the global war on terrorism, and I'm
not seeking anything more that what the President of the Philippines,
the President of Indonesia, the leadership of Singapore, the
leadership of Australia have committed, and that is to work with us on
the global threat as well as regional threats. You know, terrorism as
a problem, people think that this global war on terrorism is all about
America and the attack on 9-11. But really, the global war on
terrorism is about the global threat that terrorists present to all
nations in the world and the need for all nations in the world to
build the institutions and the relationships and the capability to
take on terrorists within their country then more broadly, regionally,
and then globally. My visit here, as well as my visit in the other
nations of the region during this period, has been to reinforce that
message and to reinforce the need for the political commitment that
has been so strongly demonstrated in this region to continue to fight
terrorists and terrorist organizations until they are defeated.
Q: I'm Wakamatsu of the Tokyo Shimbun. You said that you are here to
talk about the war against terrorism not the attack on Iraq. So can I
understand this; these are totally different, two issues or are they
inter-related?
AMB. TAYLOR: No, what I said was that my purpose for visiting was not
to discuss requests to governments in the region for support against
Iraq. It was to focus on the global war on terrorism. Iraq is a
state-sponsored terrorist. It has been so for the last ten years. That
has not changed. We are still focused on ending Iraqi support for
terrorism. But the issue involving Iraq is more broad than just
terrorism. That issue involves Iraq's maintaining and potential use of
weapons of mass destruction. And President Bush, along with the U.N.
Security Council, has determined that as a threat to the international
community. And so the focus on Iraq is disarming Iraq. To take those
weapons of mass destruction away so they are no longer a threat to the
international community and certainly we're very pleased to note that
the U.N. Security Council has passed a resolution in that regard, that
we trust the Iraqi leadership will understand the gravity of the
situation and respond very positively and accordingly to what the
international community of nations has now demanded of them.
Q: Hata of the Asahi Shimbun: Yesterday, Mr. Pastika, the official of
the Indonesian National Police, said that the suspects in Bali
bombings said that they wanted to kill as many Americans as possible.
And they hate Americans. "They should try to find where the Americans
are gathering, that is Bali." He said that. What do you think of this?
AMB. TAYLOR: Again, I won't comment on the specifics of what is
occurring in the investigation although the Indonesian Police general
who is doing such a superb job of running this investigation certainly
has insights into that investigation that I do not. The fact is,
whether they hated Americans, or they hated Indonesians or hated
anyone, they killed two hundred innocent souls who were in the Sari
Club on the 12th of October. That kind of hate is what terrorists are
all about. That's the kind of hate we're trying to eliminate in our
campaign against terrorism. And whether they thought they were
attacking Americans or Australians or Indonesians, it doesn't matter.
Innocent people were killed for political purpose. That can no longer
be accepted in the global world that we live in, whether it's
Americans, whether it's Indonesians, whether it's Australians,
Filipinos-- it does not matter. The focus is on ending the behavior of
these people and the impact of that behavior on the safety and
security of our nations, our people, our economies and eventually, the
international system.
Q: Viswa Nathan of the New Indian Express: There have been repeated
allegations that CIA played a hand in the bombing at Bali. Recently,
this has been reported in the New York Times earlier this week. Would
you care to comment on that?
AMB. TAYLOR: Absolutely. It is absolutely ludicrous to think that the
United States Government, or any element of the United States
Government, would be involved in such a crime against innocent people.
I think you'll recall that, after 9-11, there were elements who tried
to indicate that the U.S. had somehow planned this attack against the
World Trade Center and our Pentagon. This is ludicrous. The United
States does not involve itself in this type of activity. These are
terrorists. These are people who want to use political violence
against innocent people to reach their political goals. No government,
no government would condone or be involved in such a criminal
behavior.
Q: Masaaki Kuwabata of the Kyodo News Service: According to some
newspapers, the United States intends to include the MILF in the
terrorist list. Is it true?
AMB. TAYLOR: We don't publicly discuss our deliberations on any group
or organization as we apply our foreign terrorist organization law. So
I won't comment specifically on the MILF. I would only say that we
support very strongly President Arroyo and the Government of the
Philippines in its efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to the MILF
activity here in the Philippines. We have supported that from the
beginning and would not want to do anything to undermine that effort.
That said, if MILF elements are involved in terrorism, they need to
understand that terrorist activity is not to be condoned. So we won't
talk about designations. We'll support the Philippine government but
we also... As President Arroyo said publicly, these negotiations are
not an opportunity for MILF or any other organization to conduct
terrorist actions against innocent people. If they do that, then
appropriate legal and other sanctions will be taken against those
individuals that do that.
Q: I'm John McLean from the BBC. Mr. Ambassador, is there any evidence
of links between Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf? And if there is,
is it convincing?
AMB. TAYLOR: There is evidence of linkage between JI, Abu Sayyaf and
al-Qaeda. When you say convincing; it certainly is convincing, in the
sense that there are known associations between the three
organizations. I'm not quite sure I understand what convincing means,
except these are relationships that we continue to examine to better
understand the nature of those relationships, and what it means in
terms of operational activity, what it means in terms of financial
support, what in means in terms of operational direction.
AMB. TAYLOR: There was one question in the back and then we'll come
back over here.
Q: I'm Wilson Lee Flores from Yazhou Zhoukan magazine. How important,
sir, is Southeast Asia in your war against terrorism? Does America
consider this the next major battlefield against terrorism? And number
two question, sir, what about East Asia? What are the terrorist
threats that you consider in East Asia? Is North Korea considered a
terrorist threat? And also the Muslim rebels in Western China?
AMB. TAYLOR: You only get two questions, so... (Laughter.) I think
from the beginning of this campaign, the media and others have tried
to make this an echeloning effort, in the sense that after
Afghanistan, what next? The fact is, we're involved in a global
simultaneous campaign against a global threat. And Southeast Asia is a
very important part of that global campaign, given what JI has done in
the region, given the operations of Abu Sayyaf, given the penetration
that we've noted of al-Qaeda in this region, as well as in
Afghanistan, as well as in the Middle East, and the Gulf. So, I don't
look at this as a campaign of echelons: when we finish one part of the
campaign, we move to the next. Indeed, we're still working very hard
against al-Qaeda and the remnants of the Taliban in the Afghan
Pakistan region, while the interim authority is taking hold, while
we're also working with our friends in Georgia against the Chechens
that are operating in the Pankisi Gorge. We're working here with the
Filipino government in Balikatan against the Abu Sayyaf in the South.
We're working with our Yemeni colleagues against al-Qaeda elements
that are operating in Yemen. This is, indeed, a global campaign. Not
one that one can echelon. And that's why one shouldn't look to what is
the next step as much as one should look at what we're doing globally
with our coalition against the threat more globally. You asked me
about terrorism in East Asia. Certainly, we have designated the East
Turkistan Islamic movement of Northwest China under the executive
order, and have gone to the U.N. to get that designated because of its
relationship to al-Qaeda. The fact that members of that organization
have trained in Afghanistan, have conducted terrorist operations in
Northwest China as well as in Central Asia as well as in Central Asia,
as well as in Afghanistan, led us to designate them under the
executive order of our President and to go to the U.N. This is a
worldwide effort, and East Asia has similar challenges to other
regions of the world. I remind you that, since 9-11, we've arrested
more than 2700 al-Qaeda members, operatives, and associates in more
than 90 countries around the world. When we started the campaign,
certainly after 11 September, we said that al-Qaeda was represented in
more than 50 countries. Well, the fact is we have expanded to almost
double that in this year, in terms of where we found al-Qaeda elements
that had to be arrested.
Q: Raissa Robles from the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong: In your
write-up on 'Patterns of Global Terrorism' last May, you said that the
U.S. has made clear that a counter-terrorist campaign cannot serve as
a substitute for addressing legitimate, social and economic
aspirations. Is the creation of a pan-Islamic state in Asia a
legitimate, social and economic aspiration? The other question is,
could you profile -- Mr. Daley said that you were the right person to
profile for us -- the Jemaah Islamiya? What we'd like to know is, is
this some kind of a loose alumni association of terrorists who trained
in Afghanistan?
AMB. TAYLOR: Wow. (Laughter) Let me take that in three truncheons, if
I can. First of all, 'Patterns of Global Terrorism' did indicate that
counter-terrorism and human rights are very much compatible, and that
counter-terrorism cannot be used as a substitute for governments not
addressing the legitimate, political concerns of its people. That
assumes that those political concerns are addressed through the
legitimate, political system of the area, and not through terrorism.
And so there's a balance that goes here, that says one has the right
to redress political grievances through a political system, and
governments have the responsibility to open that political system and
allow that to happen. And that counter-terrorism cannot be a cloud for
repression of the legitimate political dissent. You asked whether a
pan-Islamic state in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern
Philippines is a legitimate, political desire? I don't know. I think
the people of the region have to decide that. That's not for me to
say. But that has to be done through a political decision, if you
understand what I'm saying. I'm not going to say it's wrong or right
or anything. That's a decision of the people who live in that region.
That decision cannot be imposed through violence; cannot be imposed
through terrorism, which is the objective of JI: to try to impose that
vision of a broader Islamic state in those regions through violence.
That's not acceptable in the 21st century, globally connected world. I
think that answers all three of your questions. I hope it does. Did I
miss one?
Q: What about JI, could you profile...?
AMB. TAYLOR: I just did. JI is an organization that is focused on
trying to build a broad Islamic state encompassing Indonesia,
Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines, through violence,
through undermining the political systems with violence. And whether
you call it a loosely affiliated... It is an affiliated organization:
it has a vision that it is trying to implement by conducting terrorist
activities in all the countries of the region and in doing so, trying
to undermine the governments. It has associations with al-Qaeda.
Members of JI have trained in Afghanistan and have returned to this
region to conduct their view of jihad. That's what we have to take on
-- in terms of defeating their efforts to do this -- to meet their
vision using violence, using indiscriminate killings and bombings of
innocent civilians, and trying to impose upon the people in this
region a vision through violence that cannot be, and has not been,
accepted through the political process.
Q: What I am trying to understand, sir is that, at a certain point of
a people's history, their legitimate aspirations naturally break out
in violence. That's what happened when you established the United
States. And that's what happened when we tried to establish the
Philippines. I am trying to understand because, as Mr. Jim Gomez of AP
was telling me, "terrorism is a technique." That all states -- even
the U.S., uses, Israel uses ...
AMB. TAYLOR: We do? Since when?
Q: ....through your CIA, sir.
AMB. TAYLOR: I don't think so. I don't think that terrorism is a
technique that governments, legitimate governments, use. Certainly, I
take your point that many nations trace their history to a revolution,
and I'm not suggesting at all that the revolutionary history of many
countries of the world is not the history of the world. What I am
suggesting is that political change in the 21st century has to be done
in different ways than targeting innocent civilians to move along your
political agenda. And I would submit to you that true revolutionaries
do not go around cutting off the hands of children, do not go around
beheading innocent people to evoke terror among the population. Terror
is terror, and it should not be accepted as a legitimate way in which
to express one's political aspirations.
Q: Parameswaran from Agence France Presse. After your visit to the
region and discussing with officials in the region about
counter-terrorism do you think the region is prepared to face a
threat, which you feel is immense, and are they prepared with
strategies and counter-terrorism strategies that are enough to
eliminate this threat?
AMB. TAYLOR: Well, there are actually two aspects to answer your
question. Is the region committed? Absolutely, yes. Is the capacity
and capability in place in this region, or other regions around the
world, for that matter? No, not yet, but that's what the campaign is
about. In fact, so many people focus on the military aspect of this
campaign but I think the brilliance of President Bush's call was not
so much the focus on military, but on the fact that this campaign
would harness our diplomatic, military, law enforcement, financial and
military capability, and that of our allies, in a coordinated attack
against these elements that are threatening us. And much of our
campaign since 9/11 has about been about building capacity, improving
institutions, improving cooperation, and improving communication
between law enforcement and immigration, financial element of our
governments to close the seams that the terrorists operate in. Are we
satisfied that we're there? Absolutely not! We've got a lot of work to
do, but that does not mean the commitment isn't there to do that work
and to see it through until we create a system that will work in
harmony with the international system to be effective against these
people.
Q: Just a quick follow up. Will the U.S. be implementing any new
programs of counter-terrorism in the region? And based on what
happened in Yemen, for instance, the covert strike on terrorists of
al-Qaeda, will there be any effort by the U.S. to have such operations
in Southeast Asia to destroy, for example, Abu Sayyaf or the al-Jamiah
operations?
AMB. TAYLOR: As I explained earlier, the President has committed the
nation, and has asked the coalition, to put all kinds of power
together to take this threat on, and to use what is appropriate --
given the nature of the threat that we face -- against that threat. In
Yemen, perhaps, it's a military option. In the Philippines, it may be
a law enforcement option. But all those are options that are on the
table, that are available to governments, available to regional
coalition to fight against the threat. We will apply the right tool
for the right time to get the result we are looking for, and I don't
go specifically into what we might do because I don't how this threat
will evolve. You know, the threat is mutating. It is looking at how we
react to what they are doing, and they are changing their tactics. And
we have to continue to examine their tactics, examine their plans, and
react accordingly using the totality of the power capabilities that we
have to do that. So we will use whatever is necessary and legal to
attack this threat, to interdict it, and to eliminate it.
Q: Good morning Mr. Ambassador, I'm Gaby Tabunar of CBS News. In your
earlier statements at another forum, you mentioned that of your
program to deny terrorists' support, safe havens, and the sponsorship
that they need to survive. By sponsorship, I take it to mean that you
mean some states that encourage them, but I want to make the point of
some non-governmental groups and some charitable groups around the
world that support some of these -- according to reports -- that
support some of these terrorists with funds. My question is, have you
moved in or have you looked into the sponsorship by these groups that
fund these terrorists?
AMB. TAYLOR: Absolutely, and I want to make it very clear, that
charitable giving is a very, very important part of how the human
community takes care of the human needs of people across the world.
But the fact is that terrorist organizations have attempted to
co-opted legitimate charitable operation and divert funds that have
been given for one purpose, for charitable purposes. Our challenge --
and the challenge of the world financial community -- is to attentive
that small cancer that may be lurking behind the scenes in a
legitimate charity, cut that cancer out and not harm the more broad
charitable operation of the organizations that are so very important
to how we as human beings take care of human-kind around the world. It
is a challenge that we are working very hard -- with the international
financial community -- to get our arms around, and we are having
success. The one I would use as an example is the Al Haramain charity,
the Saudi charity in Bosnia which, working with the Bosnian
government, we and the Saudi Government were able to shut down their
activities, because we had determined that they were involved in
supporting criminal and terrorist activity while also doing charitable
operations. We will continue to work on that. That gets me to a
broader question, of the financial war on terrorism, and much of that
war will involve the world-wide implementation of financial
intelligence standards that track, and allow governments to track,
suspicious transactions into identify those transactions and to act
against those transactions. A very, very important part of creating
this international system where nations can work together to see those
transactions, appropriately interdict them, but not disrupt global
financial transactions, at the same time, that are so essential to our
global financial system.
Q: Are there any... Can you specify or point to some European groups -
some have been financing -- some entities in Europe and in Asia that
are covertly working to undermine governments but in the guise of, in
the thought that these are organizations that work for peace and
charity?
AMB. TAYLOR: I wouldn't want to name specific organizations that we
may or may not have information on. Suffice it to say, that if a group
is involved in such activities, we in the coalition will uncover that
activity and use the powers of our governments to end it.
Q: Michael Marker from Reuters. Two quick questions that you may or
may not be able to answer: Do you have any evidence that al-Qaeda or
it's allies are here in Southeast Asia might have acquired chemical
weapons for possible attack in the future? And secondly, any
information at all that al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiya, or other groups
might be planning any sort of Christmas attacks, perhaps against
Christian targets, like churches?
AMB. TAYLOR: To the first question, there is no specific information
indicating al-Qaeda or other groups currently possess those types of
weapons in this region. However, we do know that al-Qaeda has made
very extensive efforts to gain access to chemical and biological
weapons and so one has to assess, in a worse case scenario, that they
will continue those efforts. Our job is to thwart them, and we are
working very hard to do that. With regard to the question of
whether... We have no specific information indicating plans by any
terrorist groups to specifically target the Christian holiday season
or Christmas. That said, I don't put anything or I don't give them
credit for not planning the most dastardly thing they could plan and
we have to plan accordingly and react accordingly, with our security
systems. We cannot take for granted that these people will not try to
attack us in anyway that they deem possible. Indeed, as we harden
facilities, as governments harden facilities, they will be looking for
soft targets like Bali a nightclub -- where hundreds of innocent
people were enjoying themselves -- as potential targets. We understand
that challenge and are continuing to adjust our tactics to ensure --
to the extent we can -- we will identify those efforts and thwart them
before they happen.
Q: Mr. Ambassador I asked this question a few days ago of Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State Daley, and he suggested I ask you.
(Laughter) Since the designation of the Abu Sayyaf group as a foreign
terrorist organization, have any of the Abu Sayyaf financial assets
been detected or frozen or seized anywhere in the world?
AMB. TAYLOR: I don't know the specific answer to that question, so I
couldn't answer that specifically about Abu Sayyaf, or any other
organization, except to say that, in the course of the last year, we
have frozen collectively around the world in excess of $125 million
dollars in assets associated with terrorism. But specifically I
haven't looked at it that closely.
Q: Wakamatsu of the Tokyo Shimbun: We came to know about the
activities of Jemaah Islamiya in Malaysia and Indonesia and other
places, so would you kindly tell us about their activities in
Thailand, in southern Thailand?
AMB. TAYLOR: The activities of those organizations in southern
Thailand?
Q: Jemaah Islamiya or some affiliated organization.
AMB. TAYLOR: I guess my comment about their activities in southern
Thailand is that there are indications that JI would want to have or
draw from potential membership among the Muslim people of Southern
Thailand. But to be specific about JI activity, I am not aware of
specific activity ongoing in southern Thailand right now. But the way
these people operate is very simple: they seek out communities and try
to infiltrate those communities to create a followership in those
communities. I would think the Muslim community of southern Thailand
is one of those communities, just like the Muslim communities of many
countries around the world that these elements have targeted and want
to create a foothold in.
Q: You answered the question about direct links with JI, Abu Sayyaf,
and al-Qaeda. Have you seen any evidence if there are direct links
between the MILFand al-Qaeda? MILF has been denying this for a long
time saying the U.S. has been enforcing it...(sic) Do you see any
evidence?
AMB. TAYLOR: I'm not sure what they have been saying. There are
certainly linkages individuals not, perhaps, organizational links
between members of MILF and Abu Sayyaf, and I think as we get further
into our investigation of their JI activities in this region, Abu
Sayyaf activities in this region, we will find other linkages that
are, perhaps, not organizational linkages, but individual linkages
between these people.
Q: And just an update on the military assistance between the U.S. and
the Philippines? Is there any Balikatan, a new, big campaign between
military and military assistance here in the Philippines?
AMB. TAYLOR: Well, our Government is in consultation with the
Philippine government on future military activities in this region,
and it would be inappropriate for me at this point to comment further
on that.
Q: How do you assess the growing Islamic fundamentalism in Indonesia,
the world's largest Muslim nation? Is the U.S. Government satisfied
with the Megawati Government and it's crackdown on the extremists, or
should they do more? What do you think the Government of Megawati
should be doing?
AMB. TAYLOR: President Megawati has committed her government to the
rule of law and to, not crackdown but to investigate and, where
appropriate, to arrest and prosecute the individuals involved in
illegal activity in Indonesia. I think the quality and professionalism
of the Bali bombing is clear indication of her government's commitment
to thoroughly investigate these matters and to bring those who are
responsible to justice. She has arrested Abu Bakar Bashir, and is in
the process of conducting an investigation into his activities, which
we hope, in the course of that investigation, will develop facts to
indicate whether or not he is, indeed, involved in these activities.
If he is involved, that he will be appropriately prosecuted. I'm not
going to characterize the Indonesian response except that we believe
that President Megawati and her government are committed and are doing
the right things to take on the threats to her government and her
people and they will be successful, and we will give them all the help
we can give them.
The first part of your question had to do with Islamic fundamentalism.
You know, I make a real distinction between Islamic fundamentalism or
fundamental Christian people who practice their religion in a
fundamental way. That's their right to decide how to practice their
religion. So I don't make any value judgments about people being
fundamental in their religion, but what I do make judgments about are
people who take their beliefs and try to impose those beliefs on
others using violence. And I believe the work that is now ongoing in
Indonesia will help eliminate those elements from the body politic and
allow the people of Indonesia to have a political system that is free
of violence and free of the threat from radical violence, which is
important, by the way, in any democracy.
Q: Globally, sir, what do you think, in brief, is happening to Islam?
Why is there a sudden upsurge of violence all over? All of the alleged
suspects are Muslims, and there is a belief in some sects in Islam
that there is going to be a war, and a defender would rise from their
ranks?
AMB. TAYLOR: You get in real trouble when you start characterizing a
religion as broad and as great as Islam. And I think the travesty and
the tragedy of all this is that a very small element of people have
attempted to hijack one of the greatest religions of the world to
their very narrow, radical vision of utopia. What I'm buoyed by, is
the fact that most people who are Islamic do not buy it. That this
isn't their philosophy. Islam is a religion of peace its meaning is
peace, and that we in the world -- to include the Islamic world --
will defeat these individuals that have attempted to hijack this
religion for purposes that are very inconsistent with the basic
tenants of Islam, indeed, the basic tenants of any religion as great
as Islam. There are people and that they will be successful and we
will give them all the help that we can give them. The first part of
your question had to do with Islamic fundamentalists. You know, I make
a real distinction between Islamic fundamentalists or fundamental
Christian. People who practice their religion in a fundamental way.
That's their right to decide how to practice their religion, and so I
don't make any value judgments about people being fundamental in their
religion. But what I do make judgments about are people who take their
beliefs and try to impose those beliefs on others using violence. And
I believe that the work that is now ongoing in Indonesia will help
eliminate those elements from the body politic and how the people of
Indonesia to have a political system that's free of violence and free
of the threat of violence from radical elements which is important by
the way in any democracy.
Q: Mr. Ambassador, is there a link between terrorism and drugs in the
global effort?
AMB. TAYLOR: There is clearly a linkage between terrorism and the
international illegal narcotics industry, between the trafficking in
people industry, between other organized criminal activities. Indeed,
many terrorists support their operations through criminal activity.
The one that comes to mind initially is Mohammed Hesham, who was
involved in the planned attack against the Los Angeles International
Airport during the millennium, who funded his training and activity
leading up his planned attack by conducting credit card fraud and
other sorts of things. So, there is a linkage. And, indeed, many of
the things we're doing for counter terrorism will also help us defeat
criminal elements who exploit the same scams between nations by moving
people and resources across borders in ways that are illegal. So, much
of the same tools that we use for counter terrorism will be very
effective for us against criminal elements, and those criminal
elements that help support terrorist activity around the world.
Q: I want to ask you a question, which is on the lips of people around
the world, and you being the Coordinator for Counter Terrorism in the
State Department, I think you will be able to answer this, at least
explain to us what is being done. Is Osama bin Laden alive? (Laughter)
AMB. TAYLOR: I think my President explained that in a way that I can't
beat, "If he is alive, we will get him. If he's not alive, we got
him." (Laughter) We don't know, quite honestly, but if he is alive we
will get him. If he's not alive, we've brought justice to him.
Q: How is this being established? I mean, I'm sure this is a very
critical question and you need a really solid answer to make sure that
this is behind us. But, what is being done, you know, although there
maybe things that may not be shared with the outside world, but how
would you let the public know, in terms of what's being done?
AMB. TAYLOR: We're focused on a comprehensive campaign against
al-Qaeda. And that campaign involves identifying and arresting its
leadership. It involves destroying its training infrastructure as
we've accomplished in Afghanistan. It involves a worldwide law
enforcement dragnet to identify, arrest, and prosecute al-Qaeda
members that may be operating in other places around the world. But
this campaign won't end when we arrest Osama bin Laden. It will end
when al-Qaeda is no longer an effective terrorist organization, and
that is broader than just arresting Bin Laden. That means identifying
and disrupting all the al-Qaeda cells around the world. That means not
allowing them another sanctuary with which to build the kind of
infrastructure that we saw in Afghanistan. And that also means
arresting or bringing to justice Bin Laden's al wahiri colleague,
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and the myriad of other al-Qaeda leaders who
are still at large that we will find and bring to justice.
Q: Sir, you said that the United States will use anything necessary
and legal to attack the terrorist threat. Can you tell us if the
recent attack in Yemen against suspected al-Qaeda terrorists fall
under that category? The legal and necessary method?
AMB. TAYLOR: The short answer is yes, both legal and the appropriate
tool, given the circumstances.
Q: The purpose of the war against terrorism is good, and then this is
the way to make the political process smooth. It sounds as if
everything is good and the world leaders express support for that, but
the more the campaign goes on, there is somewhat a backlash. Moderate
Islam becomes somewhat radicalized. Maybe we can see it in some pass
in Indonesia, then some moderate Islamic country becomes the much
hardened Islamic, political parties emerge like Turkey? How does it
happen? Then some atmosphere of the anti-US feeling is emerging. So, I
just wonder if there's something wrong here?
AMB. TAYLOR: Well, there is several premises to your question there
that I don't support. First of all, the political will of the world,
to include the Islamic world, in this campaign against terror has not
diminished. I just completed a very extensive visit to the Middle
East, and consultations with many of our partners in the region.
Al-Qaeda remains as much as a threat to the countries of the Middle
East and the Muslim world as it is to America, as it is to any country
around the world, and I sense no loss of commitment in the campaign
against terror and against al-Qaeda. Now, you know, there are lots of
opinions in the world. Indeed, you cite the new government in Turkey.
That's a decision, a democratic decision of the Turkish people and we
should jump for joy that the Turkish people live in a democracy where
they can make that decision. I don't take away from that decision that
the Turkish people suddenly don't support the global campaign against
terrorism. They have made a political decision in terms of a direction
that they want to take. Is the entire world behind or does the entire
world totally understand the global war against terrorism? No, I don't
think so. Part of our challenge is to continue to tell the truth about
this campaign, about what its focus is, about what its focus is not.
Our adversaries would have the world believe that this is a campaign
against Islam, this is a campaign against Arabs, and this is a
campaign against people from a certain area in the world. The fact is,
it's a campaign against people who would take four fully loaded
airplanes and fly them into office buildings and kill innocent human
beings to impose their vision of political correctness on the world.
It's a campaign against people who would put a bomb in front of a
discotheque in the center of a world reknowned resort area and kill
innocent human beings for political reasons. There is no religious
justification. No political justification that can support that.
That's what this campaign is about, and I would submit to you that the
world continues to strongly support our effort to end that kind of
activity. Now, 180 countries have joined the coalition. On any given
day, would you think 180 countries are going to agree on a direction?
Absolutely not. But that doesn't change the commitment to the
coalition. Perhaps tactics perhaps approach, perhaps degree, but in
any coalition like in any marriage, or in any family, you're going to
have disagreement. But that doesn't change the essence of the focus
and the commitment to this campaign to the end.
Q: Sir, at the root of the dispute is the Israeli-Arab, conflict which
has been going on for years. What is America doing to solve that
problem as a part of your anti-terrorism campaign?
AMB. TAYLOR: I would first question the premise that, at the root of
terrorism, is the Israeli-Arab campaign. Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda
never thought about the Palestinians until after 9-11 and they were
looking for some justification that they thought would resonate within
the Islamic community. Certainly, one the major challenges that our
world faces is trying to resolve the situation between Arabs and the
Israelis in the Middle East. And President Bush has stated his vision
for the resolution of that conflict, and that it is two states living
side-by-side with secure borders, a Palestinian state and Israel. That
is our vision. That is the direction that we are working with both
sides, and it is our belief that the United States of America is the
country that can help both sides come to an agreement to reach the
vision that President Bush has stated. It's difficult. It's something
that we work every day from the State Department and from the White
House. It's not going to be easy to get there, but our firm commitment
to solve this situation, given the President's vision, will not change
and not alter.
Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you very much.
(end transcript)
(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
|
|
|
