    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [October 15, 1999]
    [Page 1802]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on United Nations Security Council Action Against
    International Terrorism and the Taliban
    October 15, 1999

        I applaud the U.N. Security Council for taking a strong stand
    against international terrorism today and demanding that the Taliban
    stop harboring Usama bin Ladin. The Security
    Council's resolution, which passed by a unanimous vote, will result in
    economic sanctions being placed on the Taliban if they do not deliver
    bin Ladin within 30 days to a country where he can be brought to
    justice.
        The Security Council's action demonstrates the international
    community's understanding of the threat posed by bin Ladin and his network of terrorists. Despite the condemnation
    of scores of countries after the 1998 bombing of our Embassies in Kenya
    and Tanzania, the Taliban has continued to allow bin Ladin and his
    network to operate training camps, make threats against the United
    States and others, and plan terrorist operations from their bases in
    Afghanistan. Now the international community has spoken with one voice.
    The sanctions the U.N. has chosen parallel the unilateral ones that the
    United States placed on the Taliban in July and will result in the
    restriction of landing rights of airlines owned, leased, or operated by
    or on behalf of the Taliban, the freezing of Taliban accounts around the
    world, and the prohibition of investment in any undertaking owned or
    controlled by the Taliban.
        The international community has sent a clear message. The choice
    between cooperation and isolation lies with the Taliban.