[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 32 (Wednesday, March 16, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




URGING ADDITION OF HEZBOLLAH TO EUROPEAN UNION'S TERRORIST ORGANIZATION 
                                  LIST

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                     HON. CHARLES W. BOUSTANY, JR.

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 14, 2005

  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, four weeks ago the international community 
was rocked by the untimely death of Former Lebanese Prime Minister 
Rafik Hariri. Mr. Hariri was a progressive who worked tirelessly for 
the unification and stabilization of Lebanon, especially in the face of 
the continued presence of Syrian forces within his country's borders. 
In the days since Mr. Hariri's death, the world has watched as hosts of 
Lebanese have taken to the streets in order to stand up for an 
autonomous Lebanon. I call upon the European Union to assist this move 
toward Lebanese self rule by adding Hezbollah to its list of recognized 
terrorist organizations.
  Hezbollah was first organized in response to the Israeli invasion of 
southern Lebanon in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war. It was, and 
remains, a guerilla group sponsored first and foremost by its Shia ally 
Iran and by Syria. Its goal is to establish within Lebanon an Islamic 
republic based upon the model of its Iranian supporter. Though 
Hezbollah has claimed it means to do so only by the consent of the 
people, the violence to which the group resorted from the 1980s to the 
present day have instead revealed the group as a threat not only to the 
international community, but also to the future stability of Lebanon.
  During the final years of the civil war, Hezbollah was responsible 
for numerous destructive attacks upon both Israeli and western forces 
based in Lebanon. The most notable of these were the 1984 bombing of 
the U.S. Embassy resulting to the death of 17 Americans and the 1983 
attack of the US Marine barracks in Beirut in which 241 American 
servicemen lost their lives. The organization's fight was in no way 
limited to the borders of Lebanon. The group was heavily implicated in 
the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 from Athens to Rome in 1985 and in 
attacks of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina. Hezbollah remains the main 
suspect in a series of approximately thirty kidnappings, including 
several brutal tortures, of westerners during the 1980s and 90s.
  Despite the final withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon in 2000, 
Hezbollah's international terrorist activities continue even now. The 
organization is still active within the southern Lebanese Shab'a farm 
region. Still supported by both Iran and Syria, Hezbollah operates 
cells in Europe, Asia, Africa, and both North and South America. 
According to U.S. intelligence, today Hezbollah is the largest 
terrorist network on the globe--much larger than even Al Qaida.
  Sparked by Hariri's death, both the international and Lebanese 
communities have cried out for the removal of Syria's last troops 
within the country. While I too support this effort, I must nonetheless 
ask how will this ensure stability in Lebanon if a local terrorist 
group of this magnitude is still allowed to exist within the country's 
borders? By adding Hezbollah to its list of international terrorist 
organizations, the European Union would require its member states to 
freeze all Hezbollah assets and to seek out and arrest its members. By 
doing so, the EU will help make substantial headway in putting an end 
to the terrorist group and show its unreserved support for both the 
security and autonomy of Lebanon.

                          ____________________