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HILLARY CLINTON SHOULD BE CAREFUL WHAT SHE WISHES FOR. . .

Perhaps Mrs. Clinton should have read this prior to refresh her memory before swaggering with foaming mouth and unsheathed claws onto the press microphones:

AFTER WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBING, U.S. NEEDS STRONGER ANTI-TERRORISM POLICY

by James Phillips Backgrounder Update #240 February 22, 1995

(Updating "The Changing Face of Middle Eastern Terrorism," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1005, October 6, 1994) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

" The February 7 arrest of Ramzi Yousef, suspected mastermind of the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing, has underscored the global reach of terrorist networks and the need for stepped-up international cooperation in combating terrorism. Yousef, who fled the United States only hours after the most devastating terrorist attack ever perpetrated on American soil, had been extremely active prior to his arrest. The mysterious 27-year-old was implicated in a terrorist bombing of an airliner in the Philippines in December, a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II in January, and an aborted attempt to bomb an American airliner in Thailand earlier this month.

Yousef's ability to escape arrest and cross international borders undetected repeatedly for two years indicates that he had extensive help in many different countries. His considerable financial resources, large supply of false documents, and access to safe houses, explosives, local assistance, and information about his planned targets in far-flung regions of the world suggest that he enjoyed the backing of a well-organized network, and possibly a state sponsor. Significantly, the U.S. government now is reexamining the possibility that a terrorist state was behind the World Trade Center bombing.

President Bill Clinton has hailed Yousef's arrest as an important victory in the war against terrorism. But the President deserves little credit. In fact, Yousef's arrest occurred in spite of the efforts of the Clinton Administration. For example, Yousef's arrest in Pakistan was made possible by an informant motivated by a $2 million reward offered by the U.S. government for information leading to Yousef's capture. Yet the Administration initially refused to offer a reward in the case of the World Trade Center bombing, arguing that it was an act of domestic terrorism and therefore not eligible for the International Terrorist Information Reward program. The Administration eventually relented under considerable congressional pressure and offered the reward in July 1993, almost five months after the bombing.

Yousef's apprehension and rapid extradition from Pakistan can be attributed to close coordination among the State Department, Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Central Intelligence Agency. This coordination and the close cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan were mainly a function of the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism. However, the Clinton Administration had planned to downgrade this office and fold it into a new Bureau for Narcotics, Terrorism, and Crime. In addition, the Coordinator for Counterterrorism was to be reduced in rank from the current equivalent status of an Assistant Secretary of State to the level of a Deputy Assistant Secretary. Congress temporarily blocked this reorganization scheme in April 1994 by passing an amendment to the State Department authorization bill sponsored by Representative Benjamin Gilman (R-NY).

Trying to reassert leadership on terrorism issues, the Administration introduced legislation on February 10 to bolster U.S. deterrence of terrorism and to punish those who aid and abet terrorists. The Omnibus Counterterrorism Act of 1995 will outlaw fundraising in the United States in support of terrorist activities overseas, expedite the deportation of alien terrorists, and make international terrorism committed in the U.S. a federal crime. This legislation is a long-overdue step in the right direction. But it focuses primarily on domestic and legal aspects of the war against terrorism. Ramzi Yousef's arrest is an important reminder that international efforts are a key ingredient in fighting terrorism.

The critical challenge facing U.S. counterterrorism policy is putting relentless pressure on the states that sponsor terrorism -- Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, and particularly Iran, the chief supporter of international terrorism in the world today. This is an opportune time to ratchet up the pressure because Iran and other state sponsors of terrorism are economically weak and diplomatically isolated. But the Administration has not followed through on its tough rhetoric on terrorism. It has not given up on plans to downgrade the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism, for example, and continues to woo Syria despite Syria's continued support of more than a dozen terrorist groups.

Congress has an opportunity to strengthen U.S. counterterrorism policy above and beyond the legislative proposals the Administration is pushing. To do so, Congress should:

Press the Administration to make counterterrorism a higher priority in American foreign policy. Congress should force the Administration to drop its short-sighted plan to downgrade the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism, which spearheads international efforts in combating terrorism. The Gilman amendment, which bars the Administration from downgrading the office, expires on April 30, 1995. Representative Gilman has introduced H.R. 22, a bill to preserve the office on a permanent basis and elevate the Coordinator of Counterterrorism to the status of an Ambassador at Large, as was the case in the Reagan Administration. Senator Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Congress also should press the Administration to raise the issue of terrorism in every appropriate bilateral and multilateral diplomatic contact, including the annual G-7 summits. A series of congressional hearings on new trends in international terrorism would help to highlight the threat of terrorism and the urgency of fighting it. Another vital topic for congressional hearings is investigating strategies for blocking the efforts of terrorist states such as Iran, Iraq, and Libya to obtain weapons of mass destruction. A nuclear- armed Iran or Iraq could pose the ultimate terrorist threat.

Reform immigration laws to improve internal security. Congress should pass legislation that enables the U.S. government to deny visas to foreigners because of their membership in terrorist groups. Right now, would-be terrorists are denied entry only if the government can prove that they already have committed terrorist acts or that they intend to commit such acts. These rules are too lax and should be strengthened. Moreover, tougher penalties should be imposed on the production or use of fraudulent passports and visas, including giving the government the power to seize the assets of criminals convicted of creating or using false documents for terrorism or drug smuggling. Nine of the original 35 indictable counts in the 1993 New York bombing plots involved visa or passport offenses.

Punish states that support terrorism on as many fronts as possible. The U.S. must work with its allies to raise the diplomatic, economic, political, and military costs of supporting terrorism so high that they outweigh the strategic benefits. Although the Administration has singled out Iran as the world's most dangerous state sponsor of terrorism, it has not succeeded in persuading its allies, particularly Japan and Germany, to levy economic sanctions against Tehran. In part, this is because American oil companies have become Iran's biggest customers, buying about $4.2 billion dollars of Iranian oil annually to supply their overseas markets. Although imports of Iranian oil into the U.S. are prohibited, the Clinton Administration has declined to ban U.S. companies from purchasing Iranian oil for their overseas markets. This business-as-usual approach undermines American diplomatic efforts to isolate Iran and to raise the cost of its continued support of terrorism. Congress should consider passing legislation banning American oil companies from purchasing Iranian oil and should call upon U.S. allies to do the same as long as Iran supports Hezbollah, Hamas, and other terrorist organizations.

Ensure that impending budget cuts do not undermine the war against terrorism. Congressional appropriations committees must take care to avoid weakening the organizations crucial to America's defenses against terrorism -- particularly the counterterrorism efforts of the intelligence community, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism, and the Defense Department's Special Operations Command. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control, which is responsible for implementing the U.S. government's freeze on the financial assets of terrorist groups, also should receive a high priority in budget deliberations. It also is important to reverse the decline in the budget of the Counterterrorism Research and Development program, which helps develop new means of detecting explosives, among other things. Cutting such programs not only would jeopardize the nation's security, but would be penny-wise and pound-foolish. The World Trade Center bombing, which resulted in six deaths and over 1,000 casualties, triggered over $600 million in economic losses.

Assist the governments of Lebanon and Afghanistan to restore order and expel international terrorists. Civil wars exacerbated by foreign interventions have enabled terrorist groups to operate with impunity from bases in both of these countries. Ramzi Yousef and several other terrorists involved in the World Trade Center bombing had extensive contacts with radical Afghan Islamic groups. Congress should hold hearings to determine ways in which the U.S. can assist the weak central governments in both countries to dismantle and expel terrorist groups.

The war against terrorism requires concerted international efforts which only the U.S. can lead. But the Clinton Administration does not appear willing or able to exercise the leadership necessary to mobilize the international community decisively against terrorism. This makes it all the more important that Congress take steps to combat international terrorism, which looms as one of the greatest challenges to U.S. security in the 1990s.

Eight years big on colorful symbolic rhetoric, small on hard tough action.

160 posted on 5/19/02 7:49 AM Pacific by harpo11