[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 325 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 325

Commemorating the 9th anniversary of the attack on the Argentine Jewish 
     Mutual Aid Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and 
 highlighting the attack as characteristic of the threat to the United 
States from radical Islamic organizations operating from Latin America.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 18, 2003

Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself, Mr. Ballenger, Mr. Menendez, Ms. 
 Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Ackerman, and Mr. Crowley) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Commemorating the 9th anniversary of the attack on the Argentine Jewish 
     Mutual Aid Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and 
 highlighting the attack as characteristic of the threat to the United 
States from radical Islamic organizations operating from Latin America.

Whereas on July 18, 1994, 85 innocent people were killed and 300 were wounded 
        when the AMIA Jewish Community Center was bombed in Buenos Aires, 
        Argentina;
Whereas the attacks against the Jewish community in Argentina show the same 
        cowardice that the United States saw on September 11, 2001;
Whereas failure to duly punish the culprits of these acts serves to reward 
        terrorists and help spread terrorism throughout the Western Hemisphere;
Whereas under President Nestor Kirchner's order, 14 current and former members 
        of the intelligence agency will be relieved of their responsibility to 
        retain ``State secrecy'' in the case, and will be free to testify on the 
        ongoing criminal trial for the first time;
Whereas substantial evidence attributes the attack on July 18, 1994, to the 
        terrorist group Hizballah, based in Lebanon and sponsored by Iran;
Whereas the Argentine judge hearing the AMIA case has issued international 
        arrest warrants for four Iranian government officials believed to have 
        been involved in planning or carrying out the attack against the AMIA;
Whereas those indicted include Imad Mugniyeh, who reportedly works for Iran's 
        Ministry of Information and Security (MOIS) and lives in Iran; Mohsen 
        Rabbani, a cultural attache at the Iranian Embassy in Argentina; Barat 
        Ali Balesh-Abadi, an Iranian Diplomat; Ali Akbar Parvaresh, a former 
        education minister; and Ali Fallahian, the former MOIS minister;
Whereas evidence indicates that the tri-border region where Argentina, Paraguay, 
        and Brazil meet was used to channel resources for the purpose of 
        carrying out the AMIA attack by terrorists linked with Iran;
Whereas on March 17, 1992, terrorists bombed the Embassy of Israel in Buenos 
        Aires, Argentina, killing 29 persons and injuring more than 200 others, 
        and the Government of Argentina has not yet brought anyone to justice 
        for that act of terrorism;
Whereas according to the 2003 Patterns of Global Terrorism, the tri-border 
        region has long been depicted as a regional nucleus for fundraising 
        activities, arms and drug trafficking, contraband smuggling, document 
        and currency fraud, money laundering, and the manufacture and movement 
        of pirated goods by terrorists linked with Iran;
Whereas the State Department's report Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001 
        identifies Lebanese-based terrorist organization Hizballah, as well as 
        other terrorist groups, in the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil, and 
        Paraguay, ``where terrorists raise millions of dollars annually via 
        criminal enterprises.'';
Whereas such report states that ``[t]here is evidence of the presence of 
        Hizballah members or sympathizers in other areas of Latin America as 
        well: In northern Chile, especially around Iquique; in Maicao, Colombia, 
        near the border with Venezuela; on Margarita Island in Venezuela; and in 
        Panama's Colon Free Trade Zone'';
Whereas agents from Argentina's intelligence agency have reported to the United 
        States that operatives from al-Qaida were based in the Tri-Border 
        region, and the agents noted that suspected terrorists had passed 
        through the area, among them was a member of Gammaa al-Islamiya, a 
        terrorist cell tied to al-Qaida;
Whereas United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage testified on 
        September 19, 2002, before a joint hearing on Iraq of the Permanent 
        Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the 
        Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate that Hizballah now has a 
        capacity similar to al-Qaida to attack the United States and that 
        Hizballah is present in South America;
Whereas the State Department's annual report, Patterns of Global Terrorism 2003, 
        notes that while Latin America has not been the focal point in the war 
        on terrorism, countries in the region have struggled with domestic 
        terrorism for decades and international terrorist groups have at times 
        used the region as a battleground to advance their causes;
Whereas police in Asuncion, Paraguay, have arrested a relative of Assad Barakat, 
        the Chief of Hizballah in South America, with almost five pounds of 
        cocaine hidden in an electric piano that he allegedly intended to 
        smuggle into Syria;
Whereas the Caribbean is a strategic paradise for terrorist organizations, given 
        its established web for drugs, arms contraband, and money laundering;
Whereas the Department of State includes Cuba in its list of seven states 
        sponsoring terrorism and Cuba maintains close relations with countries 
        that sponsor terrorism and has given safe haven to members of European 
        terrorist groups;
Whereas terrorist organizations may be involved in money laundering as a means 
        of hiding their financial assets and in light of that information, as of 
        June 2003, several nations in the region--Guatemala, St. Vincent, and 
        the Grenadines--were identified by the Financial Action Task Force 
        (FATF) as non-cooperative countries in the fight against money 
        laundering;
Whereas much of the Western Hemisphere, from Canada to Tierra del Fuego, is 
        ideal for international terrorist groups to establish bases due to the 
        ill equipped and poorly trained security agencies across the region;
Whereas according to the Department of State's March 2003 International 
        Narcotics Control Strategy Report, 14 nations in South America and the 
        Caribbean are jurisdictions of primary concern to the United States 
        because of their vulnerability to money laundering, while many nations 
        in the region are characterized as jurisdictions of concern;
Whereas the fight against terrorism must remain a top priority. Nowhere is this 
        more true than in America's back yard;
Whereas according to Mr. Miguel Toma, who directs the Argentine equivalent to 
        the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), ``there is a direct correlation 
        between terrorism here [in South America] and the United States'';
Whereas Mr. Toma has met with United States intelligence officials to discuss 
        the possibility of a new terrorist offensive launched from Latin 
        America;
Whereas al-Qaida's desire to bring the battle to the United States would make 
        the proximity of Latin America all the more appealing;
Whereas cooperation is indispensable for success in the war on terrorism;
Whereas it is in the best interest of the region to live up to the Declaration 
        by the Organization of American States on September 21, 2001, 
        ``Individually and collectively, we will deny terrorist groups the 
        capacity to operate in this Hemisphere. This American family stands 
        United;''; and
Whereas it is the long standing policy of the United States to stand firm 
        against terrorist attacks wherever and whenever they occur and to work 
        with its allies to ensure that justice is done: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reiterates its condemnation of the attack on the AMIA 
        Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina on July 18, 
        1994, and honors the victims of this heinous act;
            (2) strongly urges the Government of Argentina to further 
        fulfill its international obligations and its promise to the 
        Argentine people by pursuing the local and international 
        connections to this act of terrorism, wherever it may lead, and 
        to properly punish all those who are involved;
            (3) welcomes Argentine President Nestor Kirchner's 
        political will to pursue the investigation of the bombing of 
        the AMIA Jewish Community Center to its ultimate conclusions;
            (4) calls on the President of the United States to raise 
        this issue in bilateral discussions with Argentine officials 
        and to underscore the United States concern regarding the past 
        delay in the resolution of this case;
            (5) recommends that the President of the United States 
        create more mechanisms for intra-regional information sharing 
        and, where needed, joint counter-terrorism operations;
            (6) strongly encourages the President of the United States 
        to provide democratic governments in South America and Central 
        America with the necessary financial resources as well as 
        equipment and training for intelligence and security forces;
            (7) encourages the President of the United States to 
        execute his commitment vis-a-vis the Western Hemisphere to 
        ``direct every resource at our command--every means of 
        diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law 
        enforcement; every financial influence, and every necessary 
        weapon of war--to the disruption and to the defeat of the 
        global terror network'';
            (8) recommends that the United States Representative to the 
        Organization of American States seek support from the countries 
        comprising the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism to 
        assist, if needed, in the investigation of this terrorist 
        attack;
            (9) desires a lasting, warm relationship between the United 
        States and Argentina built on mutual abhorrence of terrorism 
        and commitments to peace, stability, and democracy in the 
        Western Hemisphere;
            (10) calls on all governments in the Western Hemisphere to 
        pursue an anti-terrorism campaign based on unity of purpose, 
        dedication of resources, constant vigilance, and cooperation;
            (11) calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to favorably 
        respond to the Argentine arrest warrant for five Iranian 
        citizens believed to be responsible for the 1994 attack on the 
        AMIA; and
            (12) calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease any and 
        all assistance to terrorist organizations, and to renounce to 
        any and all involvement with terrorism.
    Sec. 2. The Secretary of the House of Representatives shall 
transmit a copy of this resolution to the President, the United States 
Senate, the United States Permanent Representative to the United 
Nations, and the United States Permanent Representative to the 
Organization of American States.
                                 <all>