[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 103 (Thursday, September 7, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7349-H7351]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CALLING ON CONGRESS TO STRIKE LANGUAGE IN TRADE BILL IN REGARD TO SUDAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I am appalled and outraged that language was 
included in a recent bill that unanimously passed the House that will 
lift the embargo on gum arabic from Sudan.
  Language was included in H.R. 4868, the Miscellaneous Trade and 
Corrections Act of 2000, which does not even mention the word or 
country of Sudan or gum arabic. Yet the passing of this language is a 
significant foreign policy issue for the U.S. The language was known 
about by very few Members of the House. This is very cryptic language 
that was used to describe a major foreign policy issue for the U.S., 
whether to lift significant sanctions against one of the worst regimes 
in the world.
  The regime in Khartoum harbors gobs of terrorists. Abu Nidal, Hamas, 
and all of the terrorists who are doing so much to disrupt the Middle 
East have training camps in Sudan. Virtually every major terrorist 
group in the world passes through Khartoum, many under the tutelage and 
sponsorship of the government of Sudan. The government of Sudan was 
implicated and behind the assassination attempt on Egyptian President 
Hosni Mubarak. The government of Sudan condones slavery. Slavery exists 
in the 21st century. Yet the Congress voted to help a country that has 
slavery. Over 2 million people have died because of the war conducted 
and generated by the northern-led government.
  The government of Sudan indiscriminately and repeatedly bombs and 
kills innocent civilians. They are killing hundreds of Catholics in 
Bishop Max Gassis' diocese in the Nuba Mountains. Just over the past 
few weeks, the Sudanese regime has shut down a U.N. humanitarian relief 
Operation Lifeline Sudan that feeds millions of people in southern 
Sudan, by repeatedly bombing and attacking and killing workers and 
planes.
  Chinese troops are now supposedly present in Sudan, most likely 
guarding the precious oil fields that are now generating hard cash for 
the government.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, every Member should know that we have just learned 
that Osama bin Laden, a terrorist who killed American citizens and 
bombed two of our embassies, one of the most wanted international 
terrorists, is reportedly a major investor in Gum Arabic Company 
Limited. This company is a Khartoum-based firm that has a virtual 
monopoly over this issue. The new book out called The New Jackals by 
Simon Reeve says the following:

       Perhaps most crucially, bin Laden cannily invested in Gum 
     Arabic Company Limited, a Khartoum-based firm which has a 
     virtual monopoly over most of Sudan's exports of gum arabic, 
     which in turn comprises about 80 percent of the world's 
     supply. Gum arabic comes from the sap of the Sudanese acacia 
     tree, a colorless, tasteless gum that makes newspaper ink 
     stick to printing presses, keeps ingredients in drinks from 
     settling at the bottom of a can, and forms a film around 
     sweets and medical pills, keeping them fresh. It is a crucial 
     ingredient in dozens of western products.

  Then he goes on to say that bin Laden is believed to have secured an 
effective monopoly over the entire Sudanese output that this Congress 
has voted to help.
  Even now the State Department in Washington and analysts at the CIA 
remain unsure whether bin Laden is still profiting from his investment. 
Thirty percent of the shares in Gum Arabic Company Limited are held by 
the Sudanese government, who tried to assassinate Mubarak who did not 
support American troops in Desert Storm and Desert Shield.
  Then he goes on to say and end that it is still possible that every 
time someone buys an American soft drink, they are helping fill Osama 
bin Laden's coffers, his coffers whereby he can go out and kill 
American men and women and children. I have a description of Osama bin 
Laden as described by the Anti-Defamation League which I will include 
for the Record.
  Gum arabic is an important Sudanese primary export. The 
administration has prohibited and put it on a list of sanctions, a 
comprehensive list of sanctions against the government of Sudan. The 
executive order was issued as a direct consequence of the Sudanese 
regime's sponsorship of international terrorism, its effort to 
destabilize neighboring countries, and its abysmal human rights record, 
including the denial of religious freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, why would the Congress, why would the House pass a bill 
without telling anyone what was in the bill and every Member that voted 
for that bill did this and did not know to

[[Page H7350]]

lift the sanctions on Sudan also in the gum arabic area that is 
controlled perhaps by Osama bin Laden, who has bombed two American 
embassies, who we have watches out for with regard to the Canadian 
border over New Year's Eve and many other times? Why would the Congress 
do that? I am concerned that this money will help Osama bin Laden 
continue his terrorism.
  I call on the Congress to strike this provision and do as the 
administration requested, whereby they can have the opportunity to deal 
with this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit the following material on Osama bin Laden.

                            Osama bin Laden

       Osama Bin Laden is a 41 year-old ``businessman'' and son of 
     one of Saudi Arabia's wealthiest families, who has been 
     linked to a number of Islamic extremist groups and 
     individuals with vehement anti-American and anti-Israel 
     ideologies. He is a mysterious figure whose exact involvement 
     with terrorists and terrorist incidents remains elusive. Yet 
     his name has surrounded many of the world's most deadly 
     terrorist operations and he is named by the United States 
     State Department as having financial and operational 
     connections with terrorism. Most recently Bin Laden formed 
     the ``International Islamic Front for Jihad against America 
     and Israel.''
       In 1994 when Bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia after 
     having spent the two previous years in Khartoum, Sudan 
     allegedly financing such militant Islamic causes as terrorist 
     training camps, he was stripped of his citizenship by Saudi 
     authorities who cited his opposition to the Saudi King and 
     leadership (who enjoy warm relations with the U.S. and the 
     western world). In 1996 it was reported that Bin Laden had 
     relocated to Afghanistan, where he had financed and organized 
     training camps for young Muslim extremists during the Afghan 
     War of the 1980's.
       Bin Laden has been thought to finance, inspire or directly 
     organize various terrorist attacks. In one way or another his 
     name has been linked to the killings of Western tourists by 
     militant Islamic groups in Egypt, bombings in France by 
     Islamic extremist Algerians, the maintenance of a safe-house 
     in Pakistan for Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, the convicted mastermind 
     of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and sheltering Sheikh 
     Omar Abd Al-Rahman (the Blind Sheikh), who was also convicted 
     in the World Trade Center bombing. He has also been linked to 
     the 1992 bombings of a hotel in Yemen, which killed two 
     Australians, but was supposedly targeted against American 
     soldiers stationed there; the 1995 detonation of a car bomb 
     in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the 1995 truck bomb in Dhahran, 
     Saudi Arabia that killed 19 U.S. servicemen; and the 1995 
     assassination attempt on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
       Osama Bin Laden has made no secret of his anti-American, 
     anti-Western and anti-Israel sentiments. In fact, he has been 
     outspoken on these topics, issuing theological rulings 
     calling for Muslims to attack Americans and threatening 
     terrorism against related targets:


                 Osama Bin Laden's Threats of Terrorism

       August 1998--The ``International Islamic Front for Jihad 
     against America and Israel,'' a group sponsored by Bin Laden, 
     issues a warning in the London-based newspaper al-Hayat that, 
     ``strikes will continue from everywhere'' against the United 
     States. (CNN Interactive, 8/20/98)
       May 1998--Bin Laden announces the formation of an 
     ``International Islamic Front for Jihad against America and 
     Israel,'' according to The News, an Islamabad, Pakistan 
     daily. (The International Policy Institute for Counter-
     Terrorism web site, www.ict.org.il)
       March 1998--Bin Laden faxes messages to the U.S. Embassy in 
     Islamabad and U.S. consulates in Peshawar, Lahore, and 
     Karachi threatening to attack U.S. facilities and citizens. 
     (The International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism web 
     site, www.ict.org.il)
       February 1998--Bin Laden uses a fatwa, religious decree, to 
     call for the liberation of Muslim holy places in Saudi Arabia 
     and Israel, as well as the death of Americans and their 
     allies. The decree says, ``These crimes and sins committed by 
     the Americans are a clear declaration of war on God, his 
     messenger and Muslims.'' (The Washington Post, 2/25/98)
       May 1997--During an interview with CNN, Bin Laden reaffirms 
     his call for a holy war against Americans. ``We have focused 
     our declaration of jihad on the U.S. soldiers inside Arabia . 
     . . The U.S. government has committed acts that are extremely 
     unjust, hideous and criminal through its support of the 
     Israeli occupation of Palestine.'' (Reuters, 5/11/97)
       February 1997--Bin Laden threatens holy war against the 
     U.S. in an interview on the British documentary program, 
     Dispatches. ``This war will not only be between the people of 
     the two sacred mosques and the Americans, but it will be 
     between the Islamic world and the Americans and their allies 
     because this war is a new crusade led by America against the 
     Islamic nations.'' (Reuters, 2/20/97)
       November 1996--Bin Laden issues an ultimatum to the U.S. 
     and Western countries with troops stationed in Arab countries 
     and declares a holy war against the ``enemy.'' Had we wanted 
     to carry out small operations after our threat statement, we 
     would have been able to . . . We thought that the two 
     bombings in Riyadh and Dhahran would be enough (sic.) a 
     signal to the wise U.S. decision-makers to avoid the real 
     confrontation with the Islamic nation, but it seems they did 
     not understand it.'' (The Washington Times, 11/28/96)
       November 1996--Bin Laden warns U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia 
     to expect more ``effective, qualitative'' attacks and advises 
     Western forces to speed their ``departure'' from the Middle 
     East. (UPI, 11/27/96)
       August 1996--Bin Laden says to the London-based al-Quds al-
     Arabi newspaper that the Saudis have a ``legitimate right'' 
     to attack the 5,000 American military personnel stationed in 
     Saudi Arabia. ``The presence of the American crusader armed 
     forces in the countries of the Islamic Gulf is the greatest 
     danger and the biggest harm that threatens the world's 
     largest oil reserves . . . The infidels must be thrown out of 
     the Arabian Peninsula.'' (The Washington Post, 8/31/96)
       August 1996--In an interview with The Independent, a London 
     daily, Bin Laden calls the June 1995 truck bomb in Dhahran, 
     Saudi Arabia ``the beginning of war between Muslims and the 
     United States.'' (New York Daily News, 8/11/96)
       July 1996--Bin Laden warns that the terrorist who bombed 
     American soldiers in Saudi Arabia will also attack British 
     and French military personnel. He said ``[the bomb in 
     Dhahran] was the result of American behavior against Muslims, 
     its support of Jews in Palestine, and the massacre of Muslims 
     in Palestine and Lebanon.'' (New York Times, 7/11/96)

   The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the Future of 
                               Terrorism


a portrayal of the life and crimes of Ramzi Yousef Ahmed, the terrorist 
           who bombed the New York World Trade Center in 1998

                            (By Simon Reeve)

       On 26 February 1993 a massive bomb devastated New York's 
     World Trade Center, creating more hospital casualties than 
     any event in American history since the Civil War. Ramzi 
     Yousef, the young British-educated terrorist who masterminded 
     the attack, had been seeking to topple the twin towers and 
     cause tens of thousands of fatalities.
       An intensive FBI investigation into the crime quickly 
     developed into a man-hunt that took top FBI agents across the 
     globe. But even with the FBI on his trail, Yousef continued 
     with his campaign of terror. He bombed an aeroplane and an 
     Iranian shrine.
       He tried to kill Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani Prime 
     Minister, and planned to assassinate the Pope, President 
     Clinton and simultaneously destroy 11 airliners over the 
     Pacific Ocean using tiny undetectable bombs. He also plotted 
     an attack on the CIA headquarters with a plan loaded with 
     chemical weapons. His pursuers dubbed Yousef ``an evil 
     genius''.
       During their huge investigation FBI agents discovered that 
     Yousef was funded and sent on some of his attacks by Osama 
     bin Laden, a mysterious Saudi millionaire. By the mid-1990's 
     they realized bin Laden had become the most influential 
     sponsor of terrorism in the world, and agents now conclude 
     that since the early 1990s a small group of terrorists 
     supported by bin Laden have dominated international 
     terrorism.
       These ``Afghan Arabs'' helped defeat the Soviets in 
     Afghanistan before killing thousands of people in campaigns 
     against governments in the West, Africa, the Middle East and 
     Asia. When bin Laden's followers attacked American embassies 
     in Kenya and Tanzania on 7 August 1998, killing 224 people, 
     the U.S. finally launched cruise missile strikes in an 
     attempt to destroy his secret organization.
       Drawing on unpublished reports, interrogation files, 
     interviews with senior FBI agents who hunted Yousef, 
     intelligence sources and government figures including Benazir 
     Bhutto, Simon Reeve gives a harrowing account of Yousef's 
     bombings, offers a revealing insight into his background, and 
     details the FBI's man-hunt to catch him.
       Reeve explains how Yousef was one of bin Laden's first 
     operatives and documents bin Laden's life and emergence as 
     the leader of a potent terrorist organisation, giving 
     fascinating insights into the man President Clinton has 
     called ``the pre-eminent organizer and financier of 
     international terrorism in the world today''.
       Highly detailed and yet immensely readable, The New Jackals 
     sheds new light on two of the world's most notorious 
     terrorists. Reeve warns that Yousef and bin Laden are just 
     the first of a new breed of terrorist, men with no 
     restrictions on mass killing. He also offers evidence that 
     bin Laden's organization may already have chemical and 
     nuclear weapons and explains why the world could soon face 
     attacks by terrorists with weapons of mass destruction.
       Simon Reeve is a journalist and writer. He worked for The 
     Sunday Times for five years before leaving to finish co-
     writing The Millennium Bomb, published in 1996. He has since 
     contributed to books on corruption, organized crime and 
     terrorism, and has written investigative feature articles for 
     publications ranging from Time magazine to Esquire. He lives 
     in London.

[[Page H7351]]

       During research for The New Jackals Reeve has eaten ice 
     cream sorbet with Benazir Bhutto, spent hours sitting in a 
     stairwell on a London housing estate waiting for a former 
     Lebanese smuggler, met American intelligence officials in a 
     suburban burger bar and a Chinese restaurant, and been 
     followed by agents from two different countries during 
     meetings with a renegade spy.
       Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the ``Afghan Arabs'' have 
     ``dominated international terrorism as it relates to the 
     United States and Europe [in the 1990s]. At the international 
     level the only terrorist apparatus that the United States has 
     had to deal with over the past several years has been Osama 
     bin Laden and before that Ramzi Yousef.'' Oliver ``Buck'' 
     Revell, former Deputy Director of the FBI.
       ``Ramzi Yousef is an evil genius.'' Senior Pakistani 
     intelligence officer.
       ``Yousef was a pretty unique person. He liked the bar 
     scene, he liked women, he liked moving around. Yousef was 
     very good. He was well trained, very clever. He'll certainly 
     be ranked right up there with the all-timers. Even to this 
     day, he is a very shadowy figure that we really don't know 
     that much about, even after all that's been done and all 
     that's been investigated on him.'' Neil Herman, the FBI 
     Supervisory Special Agent who led the New York Joint 
     Terrorist Task Force during the hunt for Yousef.
       ``Yes, I am a terrorist, and I'm proud of it.'' Ramzi 
     Yousef.
       ``In the past, we were fighting terrorists with an 
     organisational structure and some attainable goal like land 
     or the release of political prisoners. But Ramzi Yousef is 
     the new breed, who are more difficult and hazardous. They 
     want nothing less than the overthrow of the West, and since 
     that's not going to happen, they just want to punish--the 
     more casualties the better.'' Oliver ``Buck'' Revell, former 
     Deputy Director of the FBI.
       ``He's a cold-blooded terrorist. He doesn't care who he 
     kills. He may be the most dangerous man in the world.'' 
     Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao of the Philippines National 
     Defense Police describing Yousef.
       ``One man said to me `remember there will only be those who 
     believe and those who will die. There will only be the dead 
     and the believers'.'' Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister 
     of Pakistan.
       ``If Russia can be destroyed, the United States can also be 
     beheaded.'' Osama bin Laden.
       ``In my personal view [Osama bin Laden' is very much 
     interested in obtaining weapons of mass destruction and he 
     has the money to pay for them. It's certainly a credible 
     threat.'' Peter Probst, Pentagon terrorism expert.
       ``We don't consider it a crime if we tried to have nuclear, 
     chemical, biological weapons. If I have indeed acquired these 
     weapons, then I thank God for enabling me to do so.'' Osama 
     bin Laden.
       ``Terrorism is changing. We expect biological attacks in 
     the future.'' Marvin Cetron, author of the Pentagon's secret 
     Terror 2000 investigation.
                                  ____


                   ``The New Jackals'' by Simon Reeve


                                al qaeda

       Perhaps most crucially, bin Laden cannily invested in Gum 
     Arabic Company Limited, a Khartoum-based firm which has a 
     virtual monopoly over most of Sudan's exports of gum Arabic, 
     which in turn comprises around 80 per cent of the world's 
     supply. Gum Arabic comes from the sap of the Sudanese acacia 
     tree. A colourless, tasteless gum, it makes newspaper ink 
     stick to printing presses, keeps ingredients in drinks from 
     settling at the bottom of a can, and forms a film around 
     sweets and medical pills, keeping them fresh. It is a crucial 
     ingredient in dozens of products Western consumers use every 
     day, and within two years in arriving in Sudan, bin Laden is 
     believed to have secured an effective monopoly over the 
     entire Sudanese output.
       Even now the State Department in Washington and analysts at 
     the CIA remain unsure whether bin Laden is still profiting 
     from his investment. Thirty per cent of the shares in Gum 
     Arabic Company Limited are held by the Sudanese government, 
     who may or may not be siphoning profits into bin Laden 
     accounts. The other 70 per cent is held by individual 
     shareholders and banks, any or all of whom may be acting as 
     fronts for bin Laden. It is still possible that every time 
     someone buys an American soft drink they are helping to fill 
     Osama bin Laden's coffers.
                                  ____

                                                  August 11, 2000.
     Hon. Frank R. Wolf,
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Wolf: Thank you for your recent letter 
     expressing your concern about Section 1439 of H.R. 4868. The 
     humanitarian situation in Sudan is a tragic one, and every 
     effort should be made to bring an end to the unnecessary 
     suffering of the Sudanese people.
       The Administration agrees with you that the sanctions on 
     the government of Sudan's exportation of gum arabic should 
     not be lifted. The government of Sudan has not made progress 
     in rectifying the human rights abuses for which those 
     sanctions were imposed, and we should not consider 
     permanently lifting sanctions until satisfactory progress has 
     been made.
       The crisis in the Sudan is an important issue to me. I 
     recently shared my concerns with Secretary General Annan, and 
     requested that he and his staff continue to work to ensure 
     that humanitarian organizations like Operation Lifeline Sudan 
     are able to effectively carry out their desperately-needed 
     work.
       I share your hope for and commitment to an end to this 
     humanitarian disaster.
           Sincerely,
     Richard C. Holbrooke.  

                          ____________________