[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1856]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                TALIBAN

  (Mr. McKINLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. McKINLEY. Mr. Speaker, on January 28, the White House refused to 
recognize the Taliban as a terrorist group, calling them an ``armed 
insurgency'' instead. What part of terrorism don't they understand?
  Under Federal law, a ``terrorist organization'' must meet three 
criteria: be foreign, be engaged in terrorist activity and 
intimidation, and threaten the security of the United States of 
America.
  The Department of the Treasury and the National Counterterrorism 
Center define the Taliban as a ``terrorist organization,'' but the 
White House refuses to do so. Common sense says, if we can't call our 
enemy what they are, then how can we fight them?
  Mr. Speaker, my resolution is simple. It urges the administration to 
publicly recognize the Taliban as a terrorist organization. We could 
use a little straight talk around here.
  I ask for your support of House Concurrent Resolution 13.

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