Posted on 11/02/2001 1:05:16 PM PST by veronica
U.S. adds Hamas and Hezbollah to list of terrorist groups
By Reuters
WASHINGTON - The United States on Friday added 22 groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, to the list of "terrorist" groups under tight financial controls introduced after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
The main pro-Israeli lobbying organization in the United States applauded the decision, saying it showed the Bush administration intended to combat all forms of terrorism.
Six groups - Al-Qaida and five allegedly associated groups - came under the new rules in September. Al-Qaida, 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-Qaida organization.
It also meets demands from Israeli leaders and U.S. lawmakers that the tighter restrictions apply to the groups which attack Israelis, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
"We applaud the Bush administration for its decision to aggressively go after all forms of terrorism," said Rebecca Needler, spokeswoman for the pro-Israeli American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
"This new list clearly shows that there is no distinction between terrorism against Americans and terrorism against Israelis," added an AIPAC official who asked not to be named.
Uniform set of rules
"It brings all foreign terrorist organizations under one uniform set of rules," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a daily briefing.
"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 under the September rules the United States can exclude from the U.S. market and block the assets of foreign banks which do not comply with its requests.
After President George W. Bush tightened up the system on Sept. 24, pro-Israeli groups complained that he had not included Hamas and Hezbollah. 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-Qaida 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-Qaida, 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.
uh oh. look out, piaps.
How can we HELP THEM TO SEE THIS AS A NECESSITY? Flood the FAX machines? Make calls?
1. Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
2. Abu Sayyaf Group
3. Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
4. Aum Shinrikyo
5. Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
6. Gama'a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group)
7. HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement)
8. Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM)
9. Hizballah (Party of God)
10. Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
11. al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad) 12. Kahane Chai (Kach)
13. Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
14. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
15. Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
16. National Liberation Army (ELN)
17. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) 18. Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
19. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
20. PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC)
21. al-Qa'ida
22. Real IRA
23. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
24. Revolutionary Nuclei (formerly ELA)
25. Revolutionary Organization 17 November
26. Revolutionary People's Liberation Army/Front (DHKP/C)
27. Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL)
28. United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)
They have been on the list since September 23rd.
Here is what this new order does:
"Although the United States Government has already blocked any assets in this country directly linked to these groups, designation under E.O. 13224 provides the authority to act against individuals and organizations that associate with the named terrorist groups."
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