[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 51 (Monday, December 24, 2001)]
[Pages 1810-1811]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Announcing Action Against the Terrorists' International 
Financial Network

December 20, 2001

    The President. Thank you all for coming. I'm honored to be joined by 
the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary 
of Treasury will stay over afterwards to answer any questions you have 
on this particular initiative that we'll be announcing today.
    This is the 100th day of our campaign against global terrorism. And 
in those 100 days, we've accomplished much. We've built a broad 
international coalition against terror, and I want to thank the 
Secretary of State for his hard work. We broke the Taliban's grip on 
Afghanistan. We took the war to the Al Qaida terrorists. We're securing 
our airways. We're defending our homeland. And we're attacking the 
terrorists' international financial network, and I want to thank the 
Secretary of the Treasury for his hard work.
    Today I'm announcing two more strikes against the financing of 
terror. We know that Al Qaida would like to obtain nuclear, chemical, 
and biological weapons. And we know that oftentimes they do not act 
alone. Al Qaida has international supporters, and some of those 
supporters hide themselves in the disguise of charity.
    Last year a former official of the Pakistani Atomic Energy 
Commission set up an organization known as the UTN. UTN claims to serve 
the hungry and needy of Afghanistan. But it was the UTN that provided 
information about nuclear weapons to Al Qaida. So today I'm adding UTN 
and three of its directors to our list of terrorist-supporting financial 
organizations and individuals. We're issuing orders to block any of 
their assets within U.S. jurisdiction and putting the world on notice 
that anyone who continues to do business with UTN and its principal 
figures will not do business with the United States.
    Since September the 11th, we've witnessed a series of terrorist 
attacks aimed at the United States and our friends around the world: 
anthrax mailings here at home; suicide bombings against Israel; and only 
last week, an armed attack on the Indian Parliament. The legislature of 
the world's largest democracy, a nation founded on the principles of 
freedom of speech, freedom of worship, was ruthlessly attacked. The 
terrorists killed eight innocent people. If their mission had succeeded, 
they would have kidnapped and killed many of India's elected 
representatives.
    Last week's attack was only the most recent terrorist assault on the 
institutions of Indian democracy. More than 30 people were killed in a 
car bombing of the State Legislative Assembly in Srinagar on October the 
1st. These attacks on India's Parliament buildings remind us that, 
whatever grievances or causes the terrorists may cite, their real target 
is democracy and freedom.
    The United States condemns these terrorist attacks against India. 
And we extend our sympathies and friendship to the families of the 
murdered.
    American power will be used against all terrorists of global reach. 
So today I'm adding another terrorist organization to the list of those 
whose assets are blocked by my Executive order. Lashkar-e-Tayyiba is an 
extremist group based in Kashmir. LET is a stateless

[[Page 1811]]

sponsor of terrorism, and it hopes to destroy relations between Pakistan 
and India and to undermine Pakistani President Musharraf. To achieve its 
purpose, LET has committed acts of terrorism inside both India and 
Pakistan. LET is a terrorist organization that presents a global threat. 
And I look forward to working with the Governments of both India and 
Pakistan in a common effort to shut it down and to bring the killers to 
justice.
    I'm optimistic about the future of our struggle against terror. I 
know we've accomplished a lot so far, and we've got a lot more to do. 
Over the past 100 days, we and our British allies and others in the 
coalition have destroyed at least 11 terrorist training camps inside 
Afghanistan, terrorist factories that produce thousands of trained 
operatives. We've also destroyed 39 Taliban command and control sites. 
Senior Al Qaida and Taliban officials have been captured or killed, and 
potential escape routes for the survivors are constantly being blocked 
to prevent the cowards from running.
    American, Australian, and German aid workers held hostage by the 
Taliban have been liberated. We've dropped some 2.5 million humanitarian 
rations to the hungry people inside Afghanistan.
    Our attack on terrorist finances is progressing. The assets of more 
than 150 known terrorists, their organizations, and their bankers have 
been frozen by the United States. One hundred forty-two countries have 
issued freezing orders of their own. The result: More than $33 million 
in terrorist assets have been blocked inside the United States; more 
than $33 million more have been blocked abroad by our partners in the 
international coalition.
    At home, we've created a new Office of Homeland Security, under my 
friend Tom Ridge, and worked with Congress to provide more than $20 
billion to safeguard our territory. New airline security legislation has 
been signed into law. Our law enforcement agencies are protecting our 
safety, while respecting the constitutional rights of our citizens. We 
listed the 22 most wanted foreign terrorists. We're reorganizing the INS 
so it can more effectively prevent the entry into the United States by 
those who want to threaten our national security.
    We arrested one of the murderers of the September 5, 1986 hijacking 
of Pan Am Flight 73, showing would-be terrorists and current terrorists 
that we have a long memory, that we're patient, that if you think you 
can hide, we'll come and find you and bring you to justice. We made the 
first indictment against the terrorists, those murderers of September 
the 11th.
    We and our coalition have done much in the past 100 days. And with 
the help of freedom-loving countries around the world, we will do much 
more to rid the world of evil and of terrorists.
    Thank you very much.
    Q. Mr. President, can you tell us where you are, sir, on your 
deliberations over John Walker, and have you ruled out a charge of 
treason?
    The President. I'm heading into the Oval Office.

Note: The President spoke at 2:47 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Bushir-ud-Din Mahmood, founder and 
director, and Abdul Majeed and S.M. Tufail, directors, Umma Tameer-e-Nau 
(UTN); and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. A reporter referred 
to John Walker, a U.S. citizen who fought for the Taliban in 
Afghanistan.