Posted on 11/02/2001 11:06:40 AM PST by Dog Gone
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday added 22 ''foreign terrorist organizations'' to the list of groups under tighter financial restrictions introduced after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Six groups -- al Qaeda and five allegedly associated groups -- came under the new rules in September. Al Qaeda, led by Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, is the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on the United States.
The addition standardizes the rules for all 28 groups on Washington's list of ``foreign terrorist organizations'' and suggests that the United States still wants to extend its campaign against terrorism beyond the al Qaeda organization.
It also meets demands from Israeli leaders and U.S. lawmakers that the tighter restrictions apply to groups which attack Israelis, such as Hamas, Hizbollah, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The 22 groups are all those which are on the State Department's list of ``foreign terrorist organizations'' but which were not included in the new procedures.
``It brings all foreign terrorist organizations under one uniform set of rules,'' State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a daily briefing.
CLOSE DOWN BANK BRANCHES
``The new executive order (in September) gave us more authority to act against individuals, against organizations that are associated with these terrorist groups, and against banks that facilitate the flow of funds for them,'' he added.
Designation as a ``terrorist organization'' already led to the freezing of assets but experts say that under the September rules the United States can close down the U.S. branches of foreign banks which not comply with its requests.
After President Bush tightened up the system on Sept. 24, pro-Israeli groups complained that he had not included Hamas and Hizbollah.
They said the United States, to muster Arab support for its campaign against Osama bin Laden, appeared to be distinguishing between attacks on Americans and attacks on Israelis.
The addition of the 22 groups could also be a minor victory for the view that the United States should fight ``terrorism'' on a broad front, not concentrate solely on bin Laden.
``The president has made clear that Al Qaeda is the first organization that we're going after, but it's not the only terrorist organization,'' Boucher said.
Other groups among the 22 include eight Arab organizations, three Colombian groups, the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA) and the Basque group ETA.
The original six groups associated with bin Laden were al Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, the Armed Islamic Group in Algeria, the Harakat ul-Mujahidin in Pakistan and Kashmir, Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Yeah, or what if they just grind off their bayonet lugs?
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