SPEAKERS       CONTENTS       INSERTS    
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99–596PDF
2005
URGING THE EUROPEAN UNION TO ADD
HEZBOLLAH TO THE EUROPEAN UNION'S WIDE-
RANGING LIST OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM AND NONPROLIFERATION

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON
H. Res. 101
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MARCH 3, 2005

Serial No. 109–8

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/internationalrelations

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman

JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey,
  Vice Chairman
DAN BURTON, Indiana
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
PETER T. KING, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
RON PAUL, Texas
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DARRELL ISSA, California
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
MARK GREEN, Wisconsin
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
MIKE PENCE, Indiana
THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida
JOE WILSON, South Carolina
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina
CONNIE MACK, Florida
JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
MICHAEL McCAUL, Texas
TED POE, Texas

TOM LANTOS, California
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
BRAD SHERMAN, California
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
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ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
BARBARA LEE, California
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
DIANE E. WATSON, California
ADAM SMITH, Washington
BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota
BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky
DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California

THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel
ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director

Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman

PETER T. KING, New York
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
DARRELL ISSA, California, Vice Chairman
MICHAEL McCAUL, Texas
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TED POE, Texas
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina

BRAD SHERMAN, California
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota
DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California
DIANE E. WATSON, California

TOM SHEEHY, Subcommittee Staff Director
DON MACDONALD, Democratic Professional Staff Member
MALIK M. CHAKA, Professional Staff Member
GREG GALVIN, Staff Associate

C O N T E N T S

MARKUP OF

    Urging the European Union to add Hezbollah to the European Union's wide-ranging list of terrorist organizations

URGING THE EUROPEAN UNION TO ADD
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HEZBOLLAH TO THE EUROPEAN UNION'S
WIDE-RANGING LIST OF TERRORIST
ORGANIZATIONS

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2005

House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on International Terrorism
and Nonproliferation,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC.

    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 2:28 p.m. in room 2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Royce (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.

    Mr. ROYCE. Pursuant to notice, we are going to call up House Resolution 101, Urging the European Union to add Hezbollah to the European Union's wide-ranging list of terrorist organizations, for purposes of markup. Without objection this resolution is going to be considered as read and will be open for amendment at any point.

    [H. Res. 101 follows:]

      
      
  
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    Mr. ROYCE. I am going to recognize myself for an opening statement, and then I will go to Mr. Sherman for any statement he might want to make.

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    Last month this Subcommittee met jointly with the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia to hold a hearing on Iran: A Quarter Century of State-Sponsored Terror. Appropriately, there was a large focus on Iranian governmental sponsorship of the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

    A few years ago, Deputy Secretary of State Armitage said, ''Hezbollah may be the A team of terrorists, and maybe al-Qaeda is actually the B team.'' Our former Director of Central Intelligence shared this assessment in 2003, calling Hezbollah a notch above al-Qaeda organizationally in part of its deadly ties with Iran.

    Before September 11, Hezbollah was responsible for killing more Americans than any other terrorist organization, including al-Qaeda. Of course, after 9/11, al-Qaeda holds that record.

    To combat the grave threat posed by Hezbollah, the United States will need to employ a variety of tools. Importantly, we will need the help of our allies. This resolution encourages the European Union to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and to recognize that organization as a threat to international security.

    I would also like to recognize our Ranking Member, Mr. Sherman from California, from Sherman Oaks, the best named city, as you say, in California, for purposes of any statement he might want to make. Brad?

    Mr. SHERMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this resolution. I thank you for bringing it up before our Subcommittee. It is high time that our friends in Europe join us in proscribing Hezbollah, which is, after all, responsible for the deaths of more Americans than any terrorist organization other than al-Qaeda.
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    We heard 2 weeks ago in our joint hearing on Iran how Hezbollah is really the A team of terrorism. Quite often, know-how and assistance has flowed from Hezbollah to al-Qaeda and to other terrorist groups. There is a tendency not only in Europe, but the United States, to compartmentalize organizations in a way that makes no sense; to say, ''Oh, that is the political wing or that is the press spokesman or that is the fundraiser for the terrorist organization, and hence they are not involved in terrorism.'' This is, of course, absurd.

    Terrorist organizations are just political organizations which use abhorrent methods. Some have central committees, conventions, press offices, propaganda operations. They run newspapers, radio and television stations. Some, like Hezbollah, participate in parliamentary democracy. Some have lobbyists. That does not mean they are not terrorist organizations.

    We passed legislation last year, originating in this Subcommittee, which recognized this basic fact. Terrorists have aliases. They have front groups, and sometimes they run legitimate operations. Hezbollah may run a daycare center. Nazi Germany had hospitals, but just because a terrorist organization is engaged in some non-violent or even beneficial activity does not mean that it and all of its constituent parts are not one terrorist organization.

    This is particularly important because Hezbollah and her patron State, Iran, are expert at using front business groups and aliases to conduct operations and gather intelligence.

    Now, I mention all this in connection with Al Manar Television, which is Hezbollah's television station. It has a bureau here in Washington. It is a critical component of Hezbollah. We must examine why this Administration fails to take any legal action against the employees of Hezbollah working here in our Nation's capital.
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    A number of us joined Gary Ackerman and wrote the Administration, urging that it add Al Manar to the State Department and Treasury lists as an alias or affiliate of Hezbollah and to take all appropriate legal action not only to prevent this terrorist organization from conducting operations openly here in Washington, DC, but to make sure that the full force—well, the letter does not go one step further, but it should have, and that is to urge that the full force of our criminal law be applied to anyone who aids, participates or is an employee of a terrorist organization, even if they can say, ''Well, I am not in the terrorist department of the terrorist organization.''

    This is not contrary to the First Amendment. There is no difference between Al Manar and a hypothetical al-Qaeda newspaper. Neither are legitimate press operations.

    I thank Congressmen Wexler and Saxton for this resolution and for their work on this issue. I urge this Committee to pass this resolution and to further press Europeans at every stage and in every joint legislative meeting to add Hezbollah to their terrorist list. This is particularly important as Lebanon struggles to free itself from Syrian occupation.

    I also urge the Bush Administration, as I have earlier in this statement, to take all legal action against Al Manar and other Hezbollah fronts in the United States and the individuals who are employees/supporters of Hezbollah in its front organizations.

    Mr. Chairman, I thank you.

    Mr. ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Sherman.
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    Mr. Saxton is the author of this particular measure, but an original co-sponsor is Mr. Wexler, who is with us, and so we will allow Mr. Wexler to make any statement he might want to make at this time.

    Mr. WEXLER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I join in with the Chairman and Mr. Sherman in urging the European Union to add Hezbollah to its terrorist list, as well as you did, Mr. Chairman, acknowledging the authorship of Congressman Saxton and Congressman Engel, in the principal parts of this resolution.

    For 23 years, Hezbollah had led a global campaign of terror aided by Syria and Iran that has targeted American, Israeli, European, South American, Asian and Arab citizens alike.

    Since its inception in 1982, Hezbollah has carried out the bombings of the American Embassy in Lebanon, the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, the United States and French Marine bases in Beruit, the hijacking of two Kuwaiti airliners, numerous attacks on Israel and the kidnapping and murder of dozens of westerners in Lebanon.

    For the past two decades, Hezbollah has also had a presence in Europe where its operatives have planned and carried out kidnappings and attacks. In past years, Hezbollah has increasingly supported groups designated by the EU as terrorist organizations, including the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

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    Moreover, EU member states such as France and Germany have taken recent legal action against Hezbollah, including the German deportation of Hezbollah agents and the French banning of Hezbollah television, Al Manar.

    The EU has also included several officials affiliated with Hezbollah on its terrorist list, thereby precluding the transfer of funds to these individuals from EU member states. It defies logic that the EU would take such action and at the same time omit Hezbollah from its terrorist list.

    In fact, an EU representative recently affirmed that the Palestinian officials are increasingly concerned about the enhanced presence of Hezbollah in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians fear that Hezbollah will undermine a negotiated cease-fire and target Abu Mazen, who has faced severe criticism for Hezbollah in addition to assassination threats.

    A Palestinian official recently cited an intercepted e-mail and bank transaction indicating that Hezbollah has increased its payments to Palestinian terrorists from $20,000 to $100,000 per attack. Failing to add Hezbollah to its terrorist list, the EU may be enabling the transaction of such funds.

    In past years, EU states have sought to distinguish between the political and military wings of Hezbollah. However, Hezbollah officials themselves do not believe this distinction, proving the futility of such claims.

    This was reiterated by Muhammad Raad, one of Hezbollah's representatives in the Lebanese Parliament, who stated that, ''Hezbollah is a military resistance party, and it is our task to fight the occupation of our land. There is no separation between politics and resistance.''
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    Hezbollah does not discriminate in the targeting of innocent civilians, and the EU should not discriminate in the categorizing of terror. As such, the EU must join the ranks of America, Canada, Israel and Australia in imposing a financial block on Hezbollah and adding them to its terrorist list.

    Thank you very much for your courtesy, Mr. Chairman.

    Mr. ROYCE. I thank the gentleman from Florida.

    Is there any other further discussion on this measure?

    [No response.]

    Mr. ROYCE. If not, are there any amendments?

    [No response.]

    Mr. ROYCE. Hearing no amendments, the question occurs on the motion to report the resolution, House Resolution 101, favorably. All in favor say aye.

    [Chorus of ayes.]

    Mr. ROYCE. All opposed, no.

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    [No response.]

    Mr. ROYCE. The motion is approved, and the resolution is reported favorably.

    The staff is directed to make any technical and conforming amendments.

    That completes our work on the markup. We are now going to move to our hearing.

    [Whereupon, at 2:39 p.m. the Subcommittee was adjourned.]