[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15049-15053]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           CONDEMNING 1994 ATTACK ON ARGENTINE JEWISH CENTER

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 385) condemning the attack on the 
AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994, 
and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 385

       Whereas, on July 18, 1994, 85 people were killed and 300 
     were wounded when the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association 
     (AMIA) was bombed in Buenos Aires, Argentina;
       Whereas extensive evidence links the planning of the 
     attacks to the Government of Iran, and the execution of the 
     attacks to Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, supported by 
     Syria, sponsored by Iran, and designated by the Department of 
     State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization;
       Whereas, on October 25, 2006, the State Prosecutor of 
     Argentina, an office created by the Government of Argentina, 
     concluded that the AMIA bombing was ``decided and organized 
     by the highest leaders of the former government of . . . 
     Iran, whom, at the same time, entrusted its execution to the 
     Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah'';
       Whereas, on October 25, 2006, the State Prosecutor of 
     Argentina concluded that the AMIA bombing had been approved 
     in advance by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamene'i, Iran's 
     then-leader Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran's then-Foreign 
     Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and Iran's then-Minister of 
     Security and Intelligence Ali Fallahijan;
       Whereas, on October 25, 2006, the State Prosecutor of 
     Argentina stated that the Government of Iran uses ``terrorism 
     as a mechanism of its foreign policy'' in support of ``its 
     final aim [which] is to export its radicalized vision of 
     Islam and to eliminate the enemies of the regime'';
       Whereas, on October 25, 2006, the State Prosecutor of 
     Argentina identified Ibrahim Hussein Berro, a Lebanese 
     citizen and member of Hezbollah, as the suicide bomber who 
     primarily carried out the attack on the AMIA;
       Whereas, on November 9, 2006, Argentine Judge Rodolfo 
     Canicoba Corral, pursuant to the request of the State 
     Prosecutor of Argentina, issued an arrest warrant for Ali 
     Akbar

[[Page 15050]]

     Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former leader of Iran and the current 
     chairman of Iran's Assembly of Experts and of Iran's 
     Expediency Council, for his involvement in the AMIA bombing 
     and urged the International Criminal Police Organization 
     (INTERPOL) to issue an international arrest warrant for 
     Rafsanjani and detain him;
       Whereas, on November 9, 2006, Argentine Judge Rodolfo 
     Canicoba Corral, pursuant to the request of the State 
     Prosecutor of Argentina, also issued arrest warrants for Ali 
     Fallahijan, a former Iranian Minister of Security and 
     Intelligence, Ali Akbar Velayati, a former Iranian Foreign 
     Minister, Mohsen Rezai, a former commander of Iran's Islamic 
     Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Ahmad Vahidi, a former 
     commander of the elite Al-Quds Force of the IRGC, Hadi 
     Soleimanpour, a former Iranian ambassador to Argentina, 
     Mohsen Rabbani, a former cultural attache at the Iranian 
     Embassy in Buenos Aires, Ahmad Reza Asghari, a former 
     official at the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires, and Imad 
     Moughnieh, a leading operations chief of Hezbollah;
       Whereas, on March 5, 2007, the Executive Committee of 
     INTERPOL unanimously supported the issuance of Red Notices 
     for Hezbollah operative Imad Moughnieh and for Iranian 
     officials Ali Fallahijan, Mohsen Rezai, Ahmad Vahidi, Mohsen 
     Rabbani, and Ahmad Reza Asgari, thereby allowing arrest 
     warrants for those individuals to be circulated worldwide 
     with an eye to their arrest and extradition;
       Whereas, on November 7, 2007, the General Assembly of 
     INTERPOL upheld the Executive Committee's decision to support 
     the issuance of six Red Notices in connection to the AMIA 
     case;
       Whereas, on February 12, 2008, Hezbollah operative Imad 
     Moughnieh reportedly was killed in Syria;
       Whereas in June of 2008, the Government of Saudi Arabia 
     hosted an international Muslim conference that was reportedly 
     attended by Iranian officials Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 
     against whom an Argentine arrest warrant has been issued, and 
     Mohsen Rezai, against whom both an Argentine arrest warrant 
     and INTERPOL Red Notice have been issued;
       Whereas the Government of Saudi Arabia reportedly made no 
     attempt to detain or arrest Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani or 
     Mohsen Rezai during their time in Saudi Arabia, and the two 
     departed Saudi Arabia without incident;
       Whereas, on May 22, 2008, Argentine prosecutor Alberto 
     Nisman filed a request with Argentine judge Ariel Lijo for 
     the arrest of Carlos Saul Menem, who was president of 
     Argentina at the time of the AMIA bombing, and four other 
     former Argentine high officials in connection with the AMIA 
     case;
       Whereas Mr. Nisman claimed in his request for an arrest 
     warrant that Menem and the other four officials had attempted 
     to cover up the involvement of a Syrian-Argentine 
     businessman, Alberto Jacinto Kanoore Edul, in the AMIA 
     bombing;
       Whereas Argentine investigators have stated that prior to 
     the AMIA bombing, Mr. Kanoore Edul was in contact with at 
     least two men who have been identified as suspects in the 
     AMIA case;
       Whereas Mr. Nisman stated in an article published on May 
     29, 2008, that his request for arrest warrants against 
     Argentine nationals in the AMIA case ``does absolutely not 
     change the accusations against Hezbollah and Iran . . . To a 
     certain degree, it reinforces them, because [suspect Alberto 
     Jacinto] Kanoore Edul has many links with Islamist 
     extremists'';
       Whereas during the last two years, the Government of 
     Argentina has made significant advances in the AMIA 
     investigation and other counter-terrorism efforts including 
     the enactment, in July 2007, of counter-terrorism legislation 
     which seeks to criminalize financing, fund-raising, and money 
     laundering activities of groups linked to terrorism;
       Whereas the issuance of an Argentine arrest warrant for an 
     attache of the Iranian Embassy in Argentina in connection 
     with the AMIA case, indicates that Iran has used its 
     embassies abroad as tools and extensions of radical Islamist 
     goals and attacks;
       Whereas in recent years, Iran has greatly expanded its 
     diplomatic, political, and economic presence in the Western 
     Hemisphere, including the opening of nearly a dozen embassies 
     in Latin America; and
       Whereas according to news reports published in June 2008, 
     intelligence agencies in the United States and Canada have 
     warned of significant evidence that Hezbollah, with the 
     support of the Government of Iran, plans to launch a major 
     attack against ``Jewish targets'' outside the Middle East, 
     and that possible targeted areas include Canada and Latin 
     America: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) reiterates its strongest condemnation of the 1994 
     attack on the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA) 
     Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, honors 
     the victims of this attack, and expresses its sympathy to the 
     relatives of the victims;
       (2) applauds the Government of Argentina for increasing the 
     pace of the AMIA bombing investigation and for enacting 
     counter-terrorism legislation;
       (3) urges the Government of Argentina to continue to 
     dedicate and provide the resources necessary for its judicial 
     system and intelligence agencies to investigate all areas of 
     the AMIA case and to prosecute those responsible;
       (4) commends the General Assembly of the International 
     Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) for upholding and 
     issuing the Red Notices supported by the Executive Committee 
     of INTERPOL in March 2007;
       (5) expresses grave concern regarding the Government of 
     Saudi Arabia's failure, when given the opportunity, to detain 
     Iranian officials against whom Argentine arrest warrants or 
     INTERPOL Red Notices are pending in connection with the AMIA 
     case;
       (6) urges all nations to cooperate fully with the AMIA 
     investigation, including by making information, witnesses, 
     and suspects available for review and questioning by the 
     appropriate Argentine authorities, and by detaining and 
     extraditing to Argentina, if given the opportunity, any 
     persons against whom Argentine arrest warrants or INTERPOL 
     Red Notices are pending in connection with the AMIA case, 
     including Iranian officials and former officials, Hezbollah 
     operatives, and Islamist militants;
       (7) encourages the President to direct United States law 
     enforcement agencies to provide support and cooperation to 
     the Government of Argentina, if requested, for the purposes 
     of deepening and expanding the investigation into the AMIA 
     bombing; and
       (8) urges governments in the Western Hemisphere, who have 
     not done so already, to draft, adopt, and implement 
     legislation designating Hezbollah as a terrorist 
     organization, banning fundraising and recruitment activities, 
     and applying the harshest penalties on those providing 
     support for activities involving Hezbollah and other such 
     Islamist terrorist organizations.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Berman) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, 
and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, on July 18, 14 years ago, a devastating bomb exploded 
outside the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 
Eighty-five people were brutally killed and 300 wounded because they 
happened to be in the building at that fateful moment.
  On that day, the world suffered yet another example of the 
consequences of radical violent religious extremism, and 85 more 
victims were tragically added to the list of those whose lives have 
been taken unnecessarily.
  We recalled the shock felt in Jewish communities worldwide, and are 
reminded that as long as radical extremism exists, no religious group 
should consider itself free from persecution.
  Almost a decade and a half later, the perpetrators of the AMIA 
bombings still have not been brought to justice.
  The AMIA attack was approved in advance by Iran's supreme leader and 
by the highest officials of the Iranian government. The attack was 
orchestrated by the government of Iran and the Lebanese terrorist group 
Hezbollah.
  Since 1994, Iran has greatly expanded its diplomatic, political, and 
economic presence in the western hemisphere, represented by the opening 
of nearly a dozen embassies in Latin America.
  As the AMIA tragedy shows, Iran has made use of its embassies abroad 
as tools to perpetrate its radical Islamic goals. We cannot let our 
guard down as we face this threat of terrorism.
  This legislation recognizes that in the past few years, the 
government of Argentina has made significant advances in the AMIA 
investigation, primarily through the dedication and determination of 
Prosecutor Alberto Nisman and those who support his work.
  We celebrate, as well, that Argentina has also recently enacted 
counterterrorism legislation which seeks to criminalize the financing, 
fund-raising and money-laundering activities of groups

[[Page 15051]]

linked to terrorism. We encourage our South American neighbor to 
continue pursuing the criminals of the AMIA bombing and through this 
legislation commit to accompany them in that pursuit.
  The resolution also commends the efforts of the General Assembly of 
INTERPOL to uphold and implement the international arrest warrants 
issued for the Hezbollah and Iranian operatives. We must continue to 
push the entire community of nations to work together to capture and 
arrest those who would harm us.
  Mr. Speaker, only by taking the investigation of the AMIA bombing to 
its ultimate conclusion, capture and punishment for those who planned 
it, can the community of nations show Iran, Hezbollah, and those who 
support terrorism that their efforts will not bear fruit.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague, my friend, the 
ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, for introducing this 
resolution, and urge all of my colleagues to support this important 
measure.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I am a coauthor also on this resolution, and 
I just want to say that this was the worst, most horrific bombing in 
the history of Argentina.
  Their state prosecutor found that this attack was organized by the 
highest leaders of the government of Iran whom at the same time 
entrusted the execution of this operation to Hezbollah.
  We have watched as Iran has empowered Hezbollah to the tune of 
hundreds of millions of dollars and sent this organization out to 
establish contacts throughout Central America and throughout Latin 
America. I would remind my colleagues that it was Mahmoud Qomati, the 
brother of the Hezbollah general who carried out the attacks on 
Lebanon, the rocket attacks in 2006. That individual was caught in our 
own country. His brother was caught in our own country, having been 
smuggled in in the trunk of a car across California and up to Detroit. 
And subsequently, he and 50 of his other associates in Hezbollah here 
in the United States were arrested and are now serving time. They were 
found to have received their training from the Iranian government. They 
had been trained in terror tactics. They had been trained in the 
ability to conduct attacks.
  You know, the state prosecutor of Argentina stated that the 
government of Iran uses terrorism as a mechanism of its foreign policy. 
As he said, its final link is to export its radicalized vision of Islam 
and to eliminate the enemies of the regime.
  Chairman Berman is right when he says there has to be justice. We 
have to capture and punish those responsible. This resolution is an 
attempt to do that. Along with Chairman Berman, one of the architects 
of this resolution, is the gentlelady from Florida.
  I ask unanimous consent to yield the control of the balance of my 
time to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) for his remarks, 
and I thank most especially our chairman of the Foreign Affairs 
Committee, also from California, Mr. Berman, who has been a joy for our 
side to work with on this and many other measures.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the author of House Concurrent 
Resolution 385 which is a bipartisan resolution condemning the 1994 
attack on AMIA, the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association, in Buenos 
Aires, Argentina. I would like to thank Chairman Berman for working 
with me in bringing this bill to the floor, and I thank the gentlewoman 
from Nevada (Ms. Berkley) who will also be speaking on this. So many on 
our committee and beyond have joined us as cosponsors of this important 
resolution.
  This Friday, Mr. Speaker, marks the 14th anniversary of the AMIA 
attack. It was the deadliest bombing in the history of Argentina. 
Eighty-five people were killed, and more than 300 wounded that day. In 
the year 2006, the government of Argentina concluded that the attack 
was ``decided and organized by the highest leaders of the former 
government of Iran who at the same time entrusted its execution to 
Hezbollah.''
  Among those found to be responsible were a former Iranian ambassador 
to Argentina; a former cultural attache at the Iranian Embassy in 
Buenos Aires; a former official at the Iranian embassy; a former 
Iranian Minister of Security and Intelligence; and Ayatollah 
Rafsanjani, Iran's leader at the time of the AMIA bombing, who 
continues to wield power at the highest level of the Iranian regime.
  In the year 2007, INTERPOL issued red notices for a Hezbollah 
operative and for five of the Iranian officials wanted by the 
government of Argentina in connection with the AMIA attack. This 
enabled arrest warrants for those individuals to be circulated 
worldwide with an eye toward their arrest and their extradition.
  Unfortunately, the government of Saudi Arabia made no attempt to 
detain or to arrest two of the Iranian officials implicated in the AMIA 
bombing during their time in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

                              {time}  1345

  The two departed without Saudi Arabia taking any action. The 
Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had a failure to detain these 
two individuals. That is of grave concern, and I hope that it will not 
be repeated by other governments.
  With this in mind, House Concurrent Resolution 385 urges all 
responsible nations to cooperate fully with the AMIA investigation by 
detaining and extraditing to Argentina any persons against whom 
Interpol has issued red notices for their role in the AMIA attack. 
Agents of the Iranian regime linked to the AMIA attack must once and 
for all be held responsible for their reprehensible actions.
  Furthermore, the evidenced complicity of Iranian embassy officials in 
the AMIA attack clearly demonstrates that the Iranian regime has used 
its embassies as tools of extension of its radical goals. It also 
underscores the direct threat that these actions may have toward 
America's own national security. As the Iranian regime continues to 
greatly expand its diplomatic, its political and its economic pressure 
in our own western hemisphere so close, it is essential that we remain 
mindful of the danger that this may pose to us.
  In closing, I would like to commend the government of Argentina on 
the significant advances that it has made in the investigation of the 
AMIA attack and congratulate the leadership of Argentina for the 
efforts that they have made to prevent similar extremist attacks from 
taking place in the future.
  I am going to continue to work with my colleagues and others in the 
U.S. Government to ensure that we provide any support and cooperation 
requested by the government of Argentina to deepen and expand the 
investigation into this terrible AMIA bombing.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield to the gentlelady from 
Nevada, a former member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. 
Berkley, 2 minutes.
  Ms. BERKLEY. I want to thank Chairman Berman for yielding some time, 
and my dear friend, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Congresswoman from Florida, 
for being the prime sponsor of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the victims of the July 18, 
1994, attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Argentina. I 
remember being rocked to my very core when I learned of this 
unprecedented and ruthless attack against innocent members of the 
Jewish community in Argentina when I first learned of it 14 years ago.
  This vicious attack, which killed 85 innocent people, has been linked 
strongly to Hezbollah and to the government of Iran. We know all too 
well that Iran's saber rattling has become far more alarming of late. 
Hezbollah is

[[Page 15052]]

gaining strength in Lebanon and anti-Israel, anti-Jewish groups have 
threatened Jewish targets all over the globe.
  It is therefore vital we do everything we can to bring the 
perpetrators of this attack to justice. With this resolution, we 
applaud Argentina's efforts and urge our own President to provide law 
enforcement support to the government of Argentina. We also call on the 
Saudi regime to stop turning a blind eye to this growing threat and 
choose to help, rather than hinder, those who are fighting terrorists 
in their Middle East neighborhood.
  Lastly, and perhaps most important, we ask all the nations of the 
western hemisphere to stand together in calling Hezbollah what it truly 
and really is, a terrorist organization, and not just a political 
party.
  I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I urge support for this 
resolution.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in condemning the 
attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 
in July of 1994. Those responsible for the destruction and loss of 
human life that resulted from this attack must be held accountable. I 
believe that anyone who acts to destroy innocent life, regardless of 
their position in society or the country they are from should be 
subject to international scrutiny for their actions, and that includes 
our own officials.
  In the past I have voted in favor of similar resolutions that 
condemned the attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center and sought to 
hold accountable those responsible for this deplorable and heinous act. 
Accordingly, today I once again support all aspects of this resolution 
that calls for justice on behalf of the 85 people murdered and 300 
wounded.
  However, H. Con. Res. 385 is not without problems in its current 
form. First, the final ``Whereas'' clause of the resolution contains 
information that is speculative rather than factual. The resolution 
appears to draw this clause from an ABC News report from June 19, 2008, 
which provides no hard evidence to support the stated claims. Second, 
the resolution claims in the penultimate ``Whereas'' clause that Iran 
``in recent years'' has opened ``nearly a dozen embassies in Latin 
America.'' In recent years, Iran has opened two embassies in Latin 
America, one in Colombia in 2007 and one in Nicaragua in 2007. These 
events brought the total of Iranian embassies in Latin America to 
eight. According to experts at the Congressional Research Service, CRS, 
the other six Iranian Embassies in Latin America have been around for a 
long time and include those in Cuba, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, 
Mexico, and Venezuela.
  As such, I do not agree with the decision by the U.S. House of 
Representatives to treat this resolution as noncontroversial. The bill 
could unwittingly place this Congress in the position of promoting an 
attack on the country of Iran through its attempt to draw parallels 
between Iran and those responsible for the attack on the AMIA Jewish 
Community Center. Instead of using speculative and factually inaccurate 
information which is clearly included in this bill, the resolution 
should be redrafted and kept to readily ascertainable facts about the 
unconscionable attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in 1994.
  This body must not allow an attack on innocent people be used as a 
pretext for an attack on more innocent people. Indeed, we have done 
this once with disastrous results. I believe this House is better 
served by demanding sensible and responsible diplomatic foreign policy 
initiatives. This body should demand that the administration engage 
Iran immediately in high-level diplomatic negotiations without 
preconditions. By neglecting this duty and employing tactics that 
maintain an ongoing condemnation of Iran, without opening diplomatic 
channels, this body is systematically destroying every available route 
to restoring peace and security in the Middle East, which could have 
devastating consequences for Israel, as well as our troops in Iraq.
  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, as one who is most consistently opposed to war 
and violence, I join my colleagues in condemning the brutal and 
unjustified attack on a Jewish community center in Argentina 14 years 
ago. I do not support this resolution, however, as it misuses a tragedy 
14 years ago in a foreign country to push for U.S. war against Iran 
today.
  Although this resolution clearly blames Iran and Hezbollah for the 
bombing, in fact the investigation is ongoing and far from conclusive. 
In an article titled ``U.S. uses probe to pressure Iran,'' the Wall 
Street Journal earlier this year suggested that renewed U.S. interest 
in this 14-year-old case is more related to politics than a genuine 
desire for justice. Reported the Journal,

       As tensions between the U.S. and Iran persist, Washington 
     and its allies are using an investigation into a 1994 
     terrorist attack in Argentina to maintain pressure on the 
     Iranian regime.
       Behind the scenes, Bush administration officials are 
     encouraging the probe, which centers on the bombing of a 
     Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. One U.S. goal is to 
     cause legal problems for some of Iran's political leaders. 
     Administration officials also hope to use the matter to 
     highlight Iran's alleged role in financing and supporting 
     terrorism around the world.

  Those pushing for a U.S. attack on Iran are using this tragic event 
to foment fear in the United States that Iran and Hezbollah are 
perpetrating terrorist acts in the Western Hemisphere. This is another 
in an ongoing series of resolutions we see on the House floor pushing 
us toward war against Iran. I have no doubt that we will see another 
similar resolution on the floor next week, and the week after, and so 
on until we find ourselves making another tragic mistake as we did in 
2002 with H.J. Res. 114 giving the President the authority to attack 
Iraq.
  I urge my colleagues to resist this push to war with Iran before it 
is too late.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 385, 
which condemns the attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos 
Aires, Argentina, in July 1994.
  I led an official congressional delegation to Buenos Aires in 
February and visited the leaders of the Argentine Jewish community. I 
saw the site of the devastating July 18, 1994, bombing of the Argentine 
Jewish Mutual Association. I will never forget the sadness I felt 
laying a wreath of flowers on the memorial to the 85 victims of the 
terrorist attack and will always keep in the forefront of my mind the 
need to bring to justice the perpetrators of that horrible crime.
  Mr. Speaker, overwhelming evidence links the attacks to the 
government of Iran, and the execution of the bombings to Hezbollah, a 
terrorist organization based in Lebanon. The state prosecutor of 
Argentina announced this conclusion on October 25, 2006, stating that 
the AMIA bombing was ``decided and organized by the highest leaders of 
the former government of Iran, whom, at the same time, entrusted its 
execution to the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.'' He specifically 
alleged that the attack was approved by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali 
Khamene'i and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former leader of Iran and 
the current chairman of Iran's Assembly of Experts and Iran's 
Expediency Council.
  On November 9, 2006, an Argentine judge issued an arrest warrant for 
Rafsanjani and others for their involvement in the AMIA bombing. One 
year later, the General Assembly of INTERPOL issued six Red Notices, 
circulating the Argentine warrants in an effort to extradite the 
indicted Iranians.
  One of the perpetrators of the AMIA bombing was Hezbollah operative 
Imad Moughnieh. Moughnieh was not only responsible for the act of 
terror in Buenos Aires, he also carried out the dastardly attack on the 
U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983. This brutal terrorist was 
reportedly killed in Syria on February 12, 2008. While I do not know 
who carried out the attack on Moughnieh, it seems that justice has been 
done.
  It is unconscionable that the entire leadership of the government of 
Iran was involved with the terror campaign in Argentina. We must not 
let the world's lead sponsor of international terror continue to get 
away with its criminal deeds.
  I stand with the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de 
Kirchner, and the government of Argentina, which has stepped up the 
pace of the AMIA investigation. The United States must continue to work 
with Argentina and provide any help it needs as it seeks to bring the 
terrorists to justice.
  I stand with the peace-loving Jewish community of Argentina which, 
despite the horror which befell them 14 years ago, remains vital and 
strong. Their survival is a testament to the human spirit which will 
not succumb to the reprehensible designs of an evil few.
  And I stand with the freedom-loving peoples around the world who know 
the horrors of terrorism and will not rest until the perpetrators have 
been apprehended and convicted in a court of law.
  Again, I strongly support H. Con. Res. 385, a resolution of which I 
am a cosponsor, and urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the resolution, 
condemning the attack on the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association 
(AMIA), and I would like to thank my friend from Florida, the Ranking 
Member on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-
Lehtinen for sponsoring this meaningful resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, on July 18th, 1994, a huge explosion rocked the city of 
Buenos Aires--

[[Page 15053]]

marking the second murderous attack against Israeli and Jewish targets 
in Argentina, which is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin 
America. The first occurred 2 years prior and was aimed at the Israeli 
Embassy. The second was the bombing of the Argentine Jewish Mutual 
Association--where 85 people were murdered and hundreds more wounded.
  It has been 14 years since the Jewish Mutual Association was 
attacked. Yet, the culprits have not been brought to justice. Part of 
the reason is there is extensive evidence linking the planning of the 
attacks to the Government of Iran and the execution of that attack to 
Hezbollah, an umbrella organization of radical Islamic Shiite groups 
with strong links to Iran and Syria. Iran and Hezbollah have a history 
of supporting and sponsoring terror, and they have been unwilling to 
cooperate with investigators.
  I have denounced their actions, particularly Iran for being the 
engine behind these attacks by financing, training, and arming 
terrorist organizations like Hezbollah. And, the time has come for all 
nations to fully cooperate with the AMIA investigation.
  Too many lives have been lost. Too many families have been ripped 
apart. Too many have suffered.
  It is time for the world to join together to move peace forward in 
the Middle East, to end violence against the Jewish community at-large, 
and to foster respect and understanding for all people throughout the 
world.
  I believe we can start by bringing the perpetrators of the attacks on 
Argentina to justice. By punishing those who caused death, harm and 
conflict in Argentina, we will set a clear signal to the world that 
killing will not advance their cause.
  Thanks again to Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen for sponsoring this 
resolution. It is important for the Argentinean government to know that 
we support their efforts to bring the perpetrators of this horrific 
crime to justice. And again, my deepest condolences and sympathy to the 
people of Argentina and Israel for the grave loss of life and vast 
destruction caused by this attack.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, 
and we yield back the balance of our time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 385.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________