[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 23, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             CLINTON ADMINISTRATION COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 23, 1994

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of 
my colleagues correspondence I have had with the Department of State 
regarding administration counterterrorism policy. Attached in my letter 
to the Department of State of January 21, 1994, expressing concern 
about a Wall Street Journal article of January 14, 1994, by a former 
coordinator for counterterrorism which questions the Clinton 
administration's counterterrorism policy. The Department of State's 
reply of March 16, 1994, is attached, as well as a letter to Senator 
John Kerry signed by four former coordinators for counterterrorism. 
Their letter describes how the Department of State should be organized 
to deal with counterterrorism.
  The correspondence and editorial follow:
                                     Committee on Foreign Affairs,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, January 21, 1994.
     Hon. Warren Christopher,
      Secretary of State, Department of State,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: I write to ask for your comments on an 
     article which appeared in the Wall Street Journal on January 
     14, 1994. This article, written by L. Paul Bremer, a former 
     Ambassador-at-Large for Counterterrorism, raises questions 
     about this Administration's commitment to effective 
     counterterrorism policies and programs.
       Specifically, Ambassador Bremer focuses on the Department's 
     proposed reorganization which merges the Office of 
     Counterterrorism into a new Bureau for Narcotics, Terrorism, 
     and Crime, and on U.S. policy towards Syria, Libya, and Iran. 
     Ambassador Bremer's article questions the President's 
     commitment to a strong U.S. counterterrorism policy and 
     specifically alleges that the State Department's office 
     responsible for counterterrorism policy has been downgraded 
     and reduced in size by 40 percent.
       I appreciate your consideration of this matter and look 
     forward to hearing from you on this issue.
       With best regards,
           Sincerely,
                                                  Lee H. Hamilton,
                                                         Chairman.
     Enclosure.
                                  ____


             [From the Wall Street Journal, Jan. 14, 1994]

                    With Assad, Talk About Terrorism

                        (By L. Paul Bremer III)

       When he meets with Syrian President Hafez Assad on Sunday 
     in Geneva. President Clinton will have a lot to talk about. 
     The temptation will be for him to concentrate on the Middle 
     East peace process. That will be Mr. Assad's preference. But 
     global terrorism should be high on Mr. Clinton's list. For 
     while there has been a relative decline in anti-American 
     terrorism, the world-wide terrorist infrastructure, supported 
     by states such as Syria, Libya and Iran, is alive and well.
       The Clinton administration has neglected the terrorist 
     threat, with our public officials paying only lip service to 
     the problem. The State Department office charged with 
     conducting counterterrorist policy has been downgraded and 
     gutted. It has lost 40% of its staff--a curious phenomenon 
     when last year's bombing of the World Trade Center 
     underscored the threat of Mideast terrorism. For many of us 
     who have been involved in the struggle against terrorism, 
     this is ominous. In the past, progress in the fight against 
     terrorism depended on vigorous, visible and courageous U.S. 
     leadership. Without such leadership now, we will soon lose 
     more American lives.
       The meeting with Mr. Assad provides Mr. Clinton an 
     opportunity to talk straight and tough to one of the most 
     visible terrorist leaders--the only one with whom we have 
     diplomatic relations. That would signal to Mr. Assad and the 
     world that the U.S. is once again serious about the fight.
       Syria continues to play congenial host to numerous radical 
     terrorist groups. More than a dozen terrorist training camps, 
     complete with shooting ranges, obstacle courses and dummy 
     houses for bombing practice, still operate freely in Lebanon 
     under the protective eye of the Syrian Army. Our government 
     knows they are there: the Syrian government knows they are 
     there. Yet despite repeated requests by previous American 
     administrations, Mr. Assad does nothing.
       Nor has Libya mended its ways. In December, Col. Moammar 
     Gadhafi hosted an international terrorist gathering attended 
     by radical Palestinian and other outlaw groups. Not since 
     Joseph Stalin's last cabinet meeting has there been such a 
     gathering of unsavory characters. Dozens of terrorist groups 
     still have large modern training camps throughout Libya. 
     Years of diplomatic efforts and flaccid economic sanctions 
     have failed to get the Libyan leader to turn over the Pan Am 
     Flight 103 bombing suspects.
       Meanwhile, under its so-called moderate president, Ali 
     Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran murders its opponents wherever 
     it can hunt them down. The government recently reconfirmed 
     its death sentence against author Salman Rushdie. Iran 
     continues to support the extremist terrorist movement 
     Hezboliah, responsible for kidnapping Americans in Lebanon, 
     and also backs radical groups in Sudan and Algeria.
       Our allies prop up and appease Iran's extremist theocracy. 
     Over the past five years, Germany's exports to Iran have 
     quintupled and Japan's have more than tripled. Two weeks ago, 
     the French government returned to Iran two Iranian terrorists 
     arrested for murdering a regime opponent in Switzerland, 
     callously breaking Paris's promise to extradite the suspects 
     to Switzerland.
       In all three cases--Syria, Libya and Iran--strong American 
     leadership against terrorist networks is urgently needed.
       Mr. Assad probably calculates that America is eager to 
     involve Syria in the peace process that it will ignore his 
     support of terrorism. But Mr. Clinton is in a stronger 
     negotiating position than previous U.S. presidents who have 
     tried to wrestle with Mr. Assad. The weakened Assad 
     government, no longer under Soviet sponsorship, needs Western 
     credits and economic assistance.
       Mr. Clinton should insist that Syria will never enjoy 
     normal relations with Washington until Damascus clearly and 
     publicly renounces terrorism. Moreover, Mr. Clinton should 
     demand that Syria begin expelling the terrorists living in 
     Syria and closing down terrorist training camps.
       The Syrian leader may assert that Damascus hasn't directly 
     engaged in terrorism for several years and that it has helped 
     restrain the activities of the groups under its control. Mr. 
     Clinton should remind him that at least two of these 
     Damascus-based groups have publicly acknowledged 
     responsibility for terrorist attacks killing Israeli 
     civilians in the past three months--the Popular Front for the 
     Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the 
     Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
       With respect to Libya, the U.S. should move to expand 
     international sanctions against Tripoli. Here, too, our 
     objectives should be bold--a formal reunification of 
     terrorism by Col. Qadhafi, the extradition of the Pan Am 
     suspects, and the expulsion of all terrorist groups from 
     Libya. We must get action, not promises, from him.
       Ninety-eight percent of Libya's foreign exchange comes from 
     oil, with Germany, Italy and Spain purchasing two-thirds of 
     it. Now would be a good time to impose a complete oil embargo 
     on Libya, since the market is in a glut. Sales lost by Libya 
     could be made up by friendly nations such as Saudi Arabia. 
     Kuwait and Venezuela.
       If a complete embargo against Libya is politically 
     unfeasible, our government should insist that the U.N. 
     Security Council impose on Libya a system similar to that 
     imposed on Iraq. All proceeds from Libyan oil sales could be 
     put into a U.N. administered escrow account, to be used to 
     pay families of terrorism victims and to repay Libyan debts.
       Concerning Iran, we must tell our Western allies that we 
     abhor their financial dealings with the murderous regime in 
     Tehran. The timing is good because Iran's economy is a 
     shambles. It cannot pay its debts and, without the support of 
     West European credit agencies, it faces default. The West 
     holds the key to the financial relief of Iran. That support 
     should not be forthcoming.
       These are hard messages and hard measures, but such 
     language is the only language terrorists understand. Our 
     experience over the past decade makes clear that without a 
     resolute push from top U.S. officials, counterterrorist 
     policies will not be effective.
                                  ____



                                     U.S. Department of State,

                                   Washington, DC, March 16, 1994.
     Hon. Lee H. Hamilton,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter to the 
     Secretary regarding an article that appeared in the Wall 
     Street Journal which concerned the Administration's counter-
     terrorism policy. We appreciate knowing of your interest in 
     this issue.
       Contrary to Ambassador Bremer's claims in his article, this 
     Administration has not neglected the threat posed by 
     international terrorism. In fact, it remains one of the 
     Department's highest priority global issues. We have taken a 
     number of actions against state-sponsored terrorism in the 
     past year:
       The Administration added Sudan to the list of terrorist-
     supporting states last August after Sudan persisted in 
     allowing Iranian and other terrorists to use its territory as 
     a safe-haven and training ground.
       We fought for and obtained tighter mandatory UN sanction 
     resolutions against Libya because of the country's 
     involvement in the tragic bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and 
     Libya's continued refusal to abide by relevant UN security 
     council resolutions. We are vigorously enforcing these 
     sanctions. We were successful in disrupting Libya's 
     international banking network when, at our urging, the 
     government of Bahrian blocked nearly $100 million in Libyan 
     government assets.
       When it became clear that Iraq was behind the plot to 
     assassinate former President Bush, the United States used 
     military force to a send an unequivocal signal to Saddam 
     Hussein that we will not tolerate such outrageous acts of 
     terrorism.
       We were instrumental in obtaining the rendition of the 
     terrorist Mohammed Ali Rezaq and his return to the United 
     States for trial for his role in the highjacking of an 
     Egyptian airliner in which an American citizen was murdered.
       This Administration is determined that the perpetrators of 
     acts of terrorism are brought to justice. The families of the 
     victims in the Pan Am 103 bombing and other Americans 
     victimized by acts of terrorism deserve nothing less. To this 
     end, we continue to work closely with our friends and allies. 
     In addition, we continue to urge Congress to pass during this 
     session pending legislation to implement important 
     international terrorism conventions which deal with attacks 
     on civilian aviation and passenger ships.
       We also believe that the State Department's reorganization 
     plan does not downgrade our commitment to combat 
     international terrorism. On the contrary, our reorganization 
     plan is designed to strengthen the role and resources of the 
     Coordinator for Counter-terrorism. We want to provide this 
     office with the combined financial and personnel resources of 
     our counter-narcotics and international criminal functions. 
     Toward this end, we endorse a provision in the Senate's 
     version of the State Department Authorization bill which 
     would formally designate an Assistant Secretary as the 
     Coordinator for Counter-terrorism and agree that the Deputy 
     Assistant Secretary who will manage counter-terrorism on a 
     daily basis will hold the rank of Ambassador, subject to 
     Senate confirmation. (For your information, we have enclosed 
     a letter to Senator John Kerry from four previous 
     Coordinators for Counter-terrorism regarding this issue.)
       Contrary to Ambassador Bremer's assertion, there will not 
     be a forty percent reduction in the counter-terrorism 
     office's staff. There will be some consolidation of 
     functional and support staff in the proposed new Bureau of 
     Narcotics, Terrorism and Crime, but the number of officers 
     working on counter-terrorism will remain approximately the 
     same.
       In order to facilitate closer coordination, the Anti-
     Terrorism Assistance program, which has been in the Bureau of 
     Diplomatic Security, is being consolidated into the 
     reorganized counter-terrorism office. As you know, the U.S. 
     offers specialized anti-terrorism training through the ATA 
     program to certain foreign countries that face terrorism 
     threats. We also conduct an active terrorism information 
     rewards program, and manage an impressive research and 
     development program to utilize modern technology against 
     terrorist threats.
       We hope that his response addresses your concerns. If we 
     can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to 
     contact us.
           Sincerely,

                                             Wendy R. Sherman,

                                              Assistant Secretary,
                                              Legislative Affairs.
     Enclosure.
                                  ____

                                                    The Counselor,


                                          Department of State,

                                 Washington, DC, January 28, 1994.
     Hon. John F. Kerry,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and 
         International Operations, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Kerry: As former Coordinators for Counter-
     Terrorism at the Department of State, we are writing to 
     express our support for your initiative which would designate 
     the Assistant Secretary for Narcotics, Terrorism and Crime as 
     the Department's Coordinator for Counter-terrorism.
       We believe that this approach would strengthen the 
     Department's abilities to combat international terrorism. It 
     would place the Coordinator in the direct chain of command, 
     not in an adjunct office with fewer resources. The 
     Coordinator would have at least the same access to the 
     Secretary of State, senior policy makers, senior leaders in 
     our law enforcement and defense communities, and foreign 
     government officials that previous Coordinators have enjoyed. 
     Given the close ties between drug trafficking, international 
     terrorism and other international criminal issues, it will be 
     more effective to bring the Department's resources on these 
     important issues into one bureau under a single senior 
     manager. In addition, the Coordinator will have a strong 
     advocate in the Undersecretary for Global Affairs (as 
     proposed in the reorganization plan), Tim Wirth, who meets 
     with the Secretary of State every day. We believe that 
     counter-terrorism will receive more, not less, attention 
     under your proposal.
       Moreover, we have high confidence in our colleague, 
     Ambassador Robert Gelbard, who is currently Assistant 
     Secretary for International Narcotics Matters, and who would 
     become the Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism under your 
     proposal. Ambassador Gelbard is a distinguished career 
     diplomat with 27 years in the Foreign Service. He is an 
     expert in counter-terrorism and narcotics issues, and we 
     believe he will bring enormous experience and energy to 
     combatting terrorism around the world.
       The Clinton Administration has placed a high priority on 
     combatting international terrorism and the threat it poses to 
     the American people. We are convinced that designating the 
     Assistant Secretary for Narcotics, Terrorism and Crime as the 
     Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism is sound policy and will 
     strengthen the Administration's commitment to maintaining an 
     effective international counter-terrorism policy.
           Sincerely yours,
     Anthony C.E. Quainton.
     Thomas E. McNamara.
     Robert B. Oakley.
     A. Peter Burleigh.

                          ____________________