[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 88 (Thursday, June 27, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    MOROCCO'S ACTIVE ROLE IN THE WAR AGAINST INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

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                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 2002

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, in the past 2 weeks, both the 
Washington Post and The New York Times have devoted page-one stories to 
the extraordinary support and cooperation Morocco has been providing 
the United States in the war against terrorism. At a time when many in 
the media and elsewhere have been questioning whether the resolve of 
U.S. allies and friends has been slackening, Morocco's actions take on 
even greater significance.
  Specifically, these stories refer to the arrests, announced on June 
10, of three Saudi nationals who are believed to be part of the al 
Qaeda network. According to the Washington Post, June 16, 2002, which 
cited senior Moroccan officials, these men ``have told interrogators 
that they escaped from Afghanistan and came to Morocco on a mission to 
use bomb-laden speedboats for suicide attacks on U.S. and British 
warships in the Strait of Gibraltar.'' Moreover, they have provided 
``what officials describe as a fuller understanding of al Qaeda's 
strategy since its expulsion from Afghanistan . . .''
  Days later, on June 19, Moroccan authorities revealed they had taken 
into custody another Saudi national--this one a senior operative who 
reputedly ran several of Osama bin Laden's training camps in 
Afghanistan, helped direct the evacuation of al Qaeda from Afghanistan, 
and, in the words of the BBC, June 19, 2002, is ``central to al Qaeda's 
international recruiting network . . .'' This individual is said to be 
a close associate of Abu Zubaydah, the suspected al Qaeda operations 
chief who was apprehended in Pakistan and who has apparently been 
giving U.S. interrogators valuable information.
  On June 26, the New York Times and the French press agency AFP 
carried stories of still more arrests by Moroccan authorities, 
including yet another five Saudi nationals and three of their local 
contacts.
  Mr. Speaker, these developments represent important breakthroughs in 
the long and difficult struggle against the forces of terror--and the 
very nature of that struggle requires that we have strong, reliable, 
consistent partners. Thankfully, Morocco is such a partner. As the New 
York Times noted, June 24, 2002, ``Morocco, the first Muslim country to 
condemn the attacks of September 11, has escaped the terrorism that 
plagues its neighbors.'' And that newspaper went on to quote a Western 
diplomat in Morocco as saying, ``The Moroccans worked hard to help nail 
these guys.''
  The Washington Post, June 16, 2002, quoted a Western diplomat as 
saying, ``The Moroccans take very seriously their 225-year old 
relationship with the United States. There is good cooperation . . . 
They're serious.'' The diplomat continued: ``The Moroccans have asked 
for nothing. Nothing. They made a decision to cooperate and they stuck 
to it.''
  Mr. Speaker, we can only hope that other friends of the United States 
will prove to be as helpful. In the meantime, let us thank Morocco for 
its ongoing support and cooperation--and let us continue to work 
closely with this friend, our oldest and most faithful ally in the 
entire Arab and Muslim world.

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