News

USIS Washington File

01 May 2000

Transcript: Sheehan Cites Efforts to Thwart Terrorism in the Middle East

(U.S. official says seven on list of state sponsors of terrorism)
(6020)

The State Department's Coordinator for Counterterrorism says there was
"improved cooperation" in the Middle East "in disrupting terrorist
cells and extraditing terrorists back for trial" in calendar year
1999.

Ambassador Michael Sheehan told reporters at the State Department May
1 that such cooperation "has paid dividends in the past year," also
noting there were no terrorism-related deaths in Egypt.

At a State Department press briefing in conjunction with the release
of the "Patterns of Global Terrorism 1999" report, Sheehan also
described Turkey's arrest and trial of Kurdistan Workers' Party leader
Abdullah Ocalan as "a very positive step."

Analyzing the situation in South Asia, Sheehan said Pakistan has a
"mixed record" because Pakistani authorities cooperate on extradition
matters and provide good security for embassy facilities, but "they
have relationships both with Kashmiri groups and with the Taliban in
Afghanistan that are troubling."

The seven nations that remain on the State Department's list of states
sponsoring terrorism are: Cuba, Libya, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan
and Syria. Sheehan says the governments of those countries know what
"they need to do" to get off that list.

Following is the State Department transcript of the briefing:

(begin transcript)

AMBASSADOR SHEEHAN: Thank you. Let me just make a couple of quick
remarks before we start. Today we released the report, the Annual
Report Patterns of Global Terrorism. The report was sent to the
Congress on Friday afternoon, as required by law, and I briefed key
staff members last week. The purpose of the report is to outline
terrorist events of the previous year and the extent in which
countries cooperate with the United States.

I think it's extremely important to properly characterize the nature
of the threat, to describe the problem, and it is a complex one.
Because once we understand the problem in clear terms, it's easier to
construct an effective policy.

We had a good year in 1999. As the Secretary mentioned, it could have
been very different. I'll also mention or outline in the report two
key areas of concern in South Asia and in the Middle East. I'm (sure)
you'll ask me that in the Q&A. And, also, since I know most of your
questions will focus on the bad news, I want to just highlight a
little bit of the good news that's in the report.

First of all, in Egypt for the first time in many years, there were no
terrorism related deaths. In addition, the unilateral cease-fire
announced by Gama'at al-Islamiyya continues to hold in Egypt.

In Jordan, they continued a strong commitment to countering terrorism,
as demonstrated by its crackdown on HAMAS last August and reflected in
the - and, of course, the arrest of the al-Qaida cell that the
Secretary mentioned in December. And there were no major terrorist
attacks in Jordan in 1999.

Also, in Israel, Prime Minister Barak and others have publicly and
privately acknowledged the continuing improvement in Israeli and
Palestinian Authority cooperation on security issues.

Throughout the Middle East, I can report there is an improved
cooperation in disrupting cells and extraditing terrorists back for
trial -- and this has paid dividends in the past year.

The Secretary mentioned the arrest and trial of Ocalan, which is also,
in the long term, a very positive step.

Seven countries remain on the list -- you know them -- Cuba, Libya,
Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. I'm sure I'll get into some
of your questions on that in the Q&A.

I'd like to conclude my remarks by thanking the Assistant Secretaries
in the State Department - none of them are here - that work with me on
a daily basis to drive home the counter-terrorism policy, which I
think is extremely important and bearing fruit in protecting our
overseas. And also, particularly, the counter-terrorism community,
inter-agency community, FBI, CIA, Justice, Treasury, the Pentagon and
at the White House. That's an extraordinary team that's very focused.

We got a little bit lucky last year, but I've always believed if you
work really hard and you cooperate well that you can improve your
chances of being lucky. The threat remains very real. There is no
guarantees in this business. We continue to keep up our guard, and
hopefully this year we'll continue the trend of the past year.

Thank you, and Ill take your questions.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Sheehan. Richard Clarke of the White House
terror --

AMBASSADOR SHEEHAN:  A terrorist?  (Laughter.)

Q: Counter-terrorist from the White House, the leader I believe, said
that the 2000 rollover period was one of victory; victory had been won
in that period with various arrests in Jordan, arrests in Seattle, et
cetera.

Do you agree that that particular part of the war was won, but that --
excuse me, that part of the war, that battle, the particular battle
was won, but the war goes on? Would you agree with that statement?

A: I think that's a pretty good characterization. I would hate to say
victory in a struggle like this but, for that discrete period of time
over the millennial holiday celebration, we were able to thwart
several plots and avoid any attacks. But we know those organizations
are still at work and we're going to have to keep our efforts up
through the year.

Q: Mr. Ambassador, the concern over Pakistan is not a new one.
Although it's been listed now, the fact is that there's been enormous
support from Pakistan to the groups in Kashmir and various other
groups for several years. Why, at this point, has the Clinton
Administration not gone beyond this report and listed Pakistan with
the state sponsors included in the list of state sponsors?

A: I don't believe that Pakistan merits being designated a state
sponsor. Pakistan is a friendly country; they cooperate with us on
numerous terrorist issues, most recently with the extradition of an
individual, al-Deek, back to Jordan for that trial. They have some
issues. They've been raised at the highest levels by the President
himself when he was in Islamabad, by the Secretary and others. We
continue to work with them, but they definitely need to improve their
efforts on this issue.

Q: Ambassador Sheehan, could you talk a little bit about Libya, given
what they see as their efforts to try and improve their record? And a
lot of other countries seem to have recognized this. Great Britain is
now pretty much back to full diplomatic relations and we're the lone
holdout.

Why does Libya continue to be a problem, in your eyes?

A: The key issue for Libya is the trial of Pan Am 103, which the
Secretary said starts this week. There were UN resolutions put on
Libya in 1992 regarding the bombing of Pan Am 103, and Libya, in fact,
is not in compliance with two of those aspects of that resolution:
first, to cooperate throughout the extent of the trial - and since it
hasn't started it would be impossible to gage their full cooperation
in that trial, a trial that should have started a long, long time ago
for an event that happened December 21st of 1988; and, secondly, for
full compensation of the families. So Libya will remain on the list.
Libya must comply with the UN Security Council resolutions. If and
when they do, we'll then look at that issue and then we'll look at
other issues in the future.

But clearly - let me just say this about Libya. I believe that the
political pressure and the sanctions that were associated with the UN
resolution since '92 have helped drive Libya out of the
counter-terrorism business. Although, if you read the report, they do
not get a clear -- there are still some issues remaining -- their
links to terrorism have dramatically declined since the 1980s.

Q: Does that mean -- what you just said about Libya, that if there is
a -- if these two guys are found guilty in the trial and if
compensation is paid and if the Libyans are deemed to be cooperating,
they are going to be taken off the list? And then, conversely, what
happens if, in the trial, these two guys are found not guilty? Does
that mean that Libya's inclusion on this list depends solely on
something that it has no control over?

A: I didn't say that it would be taken off the list if they conformed
with the UN Security Council resolutions. That's an independent
judgment. And I'd rather not get into hypotheticals. I think the first
thing to do regarding Libya is see how it goes through the trial, the
compensation; let's deal with the UN Security Council resolutions
first. We'll look at those other issues in the future.

Q: Sir, on the same subject, what is contained in the classified
annex? Well, I guess we have it right there. What's contained in it?
Why has the annex to Kofi Annan's correspondence to Muammar Qadhafi
setting the terms of the trial - why has it been classified? The
family members are very upset about that because they say that this
annex guarantees that Qadhafi personally will not be held responsible
for the bombing, nor will anything be allowed to develop that would be
embarrassing to him or his regime.

And, you know, this brings us to the obvious question. These two guys
were agents. They were stooges. Qadhafi is the one who is responsible
for this bombing. What is the US Government going to do about him?

A: First, regarding the issue of the letter first, that's a UN
document, first of all. The part of the documents I believe you're
referring to go through the normal classification procedures in State
Department, and they have classification on them. But we've offered to
- I've briefed the content of that letter many times to different
people and we've offered to brief the Congress on that. But the actual
document itself is a UN document.

Q: Then, is it true what the family members are saying, who have been
briefed, that Qadhafi himself will not be held responsible and his
government would not be put in a bad light?

A: The answer to that is negative. And the Scottish trial which will
start this week, they have repeatedly made it clear that they will
take this trial wherever it goes up the line.

Q: Ambassador Sheehan, you said Pakistan is a friendly contributor
also. Sir, Pakistan is also a militarily controlled country after the
overthrow of the civilian government, number one. Number two, in your
introductory letter you said that Pakistan continues sending mixed
messages on terrorism and also terrorists are living and moving out of
Pakistan freely and also they are supporting terrorist activities in
India.

So what do you -- what does that mean?

A:  You just read it.  I don't know what I could add to that.

Q:  No, what do you mean by sending -- keep sending mixed messages?

A: They have a mixed record on it. On the one hand, they'll cooperate
with extradition, they provide good security for our embassies, we
have a good relationship with them on a broad range of security
issues. But, on the other hand, they have relationships both with
Kashmiri groups and with the Taliban in Afghanistan that are
troubling, and they need to improve their record on that score.

Q: And so how come it says a friendly country when there is no
civilian government and a military government that keeps coming and
overthrowing the elected government?

A:  I'll leave that issue to the South Asian Bureau.

Q: Are we seeing there is encouraging sign for North Korea? Is that
meaning that you could remove North Korea from the list in the near
future?

A: North Korea has been designated a state sponsor this year. As in
all seven of the state sponsors, as the Secretary said, we would like
to see all of them get out of the terrorism business. I'm not worried
really about the list. I'm worried about their involvement in
terrorism. We want all seven of them - and the 28 organizations - to
get out of the business of terrorism. That's what the policy is
designed to do.

So in the case of North Korea being one of the state sponsors, I'd
like to see them get out of the business and get off the list. It
seemed to me - and I told this to the vice foreign minister - that,
from my analysis, that North Korea did not have important links to
terrorist organizations now. Some other state sponsors - and I will
not get into them by name - have more difficult political
relationships with terrorist organizations. North Korea does not. It
seemed to me -- and I told him that -- that if they wanted to take key
steps -- and they had to take steps, there's not a free pass -- that
they were in a position to move themselves on the other side of the
ledger on terrorism and get off of the list in the future. But they've
got things to do.

Q: If you were a lawyer, would you be prepared to take the US case
against Cuba into a court on a contingency basis?

A:  Absolutely, Barry.  You ask us every year, actually.

Q:  Yes, I do, and I'll keep asking.

A:  And I'll respond to it.

Q: Because there's a political situation in this country and I have to
hear you say whether that had any impact on including Cuba, which came
in for 85 words - I counted the words. You have 85 words with which
you indict Cuba. You have no - you say nothing about them exporting
terrorism, which used to be the main complaint about Cuba under
Castro.

So, yes, every year I will try to get you to make the case why Cuba is
on the list for other than political reasons.

A: And this year, in anticipation of your question, I personally
drafted the section regarding this. And I said that some countries do
not have - are not involved directly in terrorism at the time but they
have problems in two categories: harboring of past terrorists and
continuing linkages to foreign terrorist organizations. Cuba falls in
both of those categories.

It is very important to the United States Government that a terrorist
knows that he can't conduct a terrorist act and hunker down in a
country for a certain many years and get away with it. Cuba has to
deal with the terrorists that it is harboring, and with some links to
some terrorist organizations. If they were able to do that - they know
what they need to do. They've known it for a while. They need to take
those steps.

Q: All right, a follow-up. You say some countries are not directly
involved in terrorism. Of the seven, which countries are not directly
involved in terrorism besides Cuba?

A:  I won't get into that kind of categorization.

Q:  There are only seven.  It shouldn't be that hard to do.

A:  Ask me more specific questions.

Q: You said "some." It's an ambiguous remark and the question is: Is
Cuba directly - and by inference it isn't, by your 85 words --

A: Cuba has links to several terrorist organizations that it needs to
address.

Q:  Can I follow up on that?

A: Two in the ETA and two Colombian organizations, the FARC and the
ELN.

Q: A follow-up on Cuba? You were quoted in USA Today three weeks ago
as saying, "I have told people on Capitol Hill if you have a problem
with Cuba on human rights, get your own sanctions; don't use mine."

A: I actually said that regarding all seven of the state sponsors,
many of which have other sanctions involved with them. And what I have
tried to do with - to send signals to all seven of the state sponsors
that, for terrorism, that if you get out of the terrorism business
you'll be dropped from the terrorism list. But there's no free pass on
that, and it won't be hinged to other issues.

And I don't feel political pressure on any of the seven state sponsors
that affects my judgment in characterizing them as state sponsors. To
include Cuba, Barry.

Q: Unless I'm mistaken, you've got seven on the list. Afghanistan is
not among them. You're saying that state sponsorship is going down but
the list isn't changing. You're also saying that terrorism is
coalescing and concentrating in Afghanistan, yet Afghanistan isn't on
the list.

A: Right. And I addressed that in the report. Afghanistan is not on
the list because we don't recognize the Taliban as the government of
Afghanistan, nor does the UN. Only two or three countries recognize
Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. That's why
they're not on the list of state sponsorship. There is a series of
executive orders and UN sanctions that address that issue.

Q: If I could follow up, Afghanistan, ever since the Soviet invasion,
has been a known exporter of terrorism all over the Mid-East in
various ways. Is it your contention that terrorism is sort of
collapsing in on Afghanistan and concentrating there, or are they
still exporting it just as much as they were. So where's the increase
on their - you know, on the --

A: The way I would describe Afghanistan - it's in the report - as in
the areas of Taliban control, although the Taliban I do not believe is
hostile to the United States. In fact, they repeatedly tell me that
they want good relations with the United States, and I believe that to
be a sincere desire.

However, within the territory that they control, there are numerous
terrorist organizations that directly threaten the United States, that
directly undermine the security of the region and other parts of the
world. And that is a problem, and it is an enormous problem for the
Taliban that they have to address.

Q: Sir, I have this basic question, there is a terrorist organization
named Turkish Hizballah which is mentioned in your report only by
name. And, indeed, this organization turned out to be one of the most
violent, most bloody, terrorist organizations ever emerged in Turkey.
But, yet, we don't see this organization on your list of designated
organizations.

Do you think that it doesn't meet your criteria, or what's the point?

A:  Which one is it?

Q:  Turkish Hizballah.

A: Yes. Actually, there are several different - we are required to
report on all foreign terrorist organizations as designated by the
State Department, and all other terrorist organizations are not
designated. The designation of a foreign terrorist organization is a
very complex, precise and legal process, and we've designated 28.
There are numerous others that are under continuous review, and that's
one of them that's under review but hasn't met the legal criteria
that's done by an inter-agency team of analysts and lawyers that fit
our definition. It hasn't made it yet, but we're watching them;
they're under review.

Q: In your negotiations with the North Koreans, you've laid out a road
map for them as to what they need to do to get off the list. Could you
just summarize what the road map is for Libya to get off the list?.
And then, also, on Pakistan, could you give us a sense as to what your
greatest concern is about Pakistan and terrorism?

A: For Libya right now, the road map that I will get into at this
point is complying with the UN Security Council resolutions. Beyond
that, we will think about road maps after that. But for right now on
Libya, we are focusing on those Security Council resolutions.

On Pakistan, they have two problems. One is to their east in Kashmir
with links to certain groups such as the Harakat Mujahedin which is
mentioned in the report, and to the west with their relationship with
the Taliban and activities in Afghanistan.

Q: Ambassador, what specific steps should be taken by North Korea to
be removed from the list?

A: In North Korea, I won't get into all the specifics. But one of the
issues is the harboring of five Japanese Red Army terrorists from a
1970 hijacking. They have some other issues involving links to certain
terrorist organizations that are low level in nature but are still
significant, and they are going to have to address them.

Q: The government of Colombia has started a demilitarized zone for the
ELN to begin conversations with the second largest guerrilla group in
Colombia, even though they still haven't released all those that were
kidnapped in the hijacked plane last year. I wonder if you could
evaluate if this could help, perhaps, to reduce or actually might help
to increase the terrorist attacks by the ELN in Colombia?

A: We support the government of - elected government of Colombia's
efforts to try to proceed with a peace process down in Colombia. And I
don't think I am, from this podium, going to comment on the
Colombians' policies regarding that.

Q: May I follow up? The paramilitary groups, you told us last year
that you were considering, but it seems that you still haven't decided
to put the paramilitary groups on the list.

A: They are under active - very active - review. And I would expect,
over the next few months, I will have an answer for you on the
right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia. Again, it is a legal
process and one that was very meticulous.

Q:  Does that mean that it could be included in next year's list?

A:  Paramilitary groups in Colombia?

Q:  Yes.

A: We normally, first of all, for state sponsorship or the designation
of foreign terrorist organizations, you can do it at any time during
the year. And they are - that particular group is under review right
now. If we come up with a case, if we can make the case from our legal
definition, they will be designated any time during the year.

Q: Ambassador, I have two quick questions about Pakistan. One, the
report cites continued incidents of incursions from Pakistan into
Kashmir. And I wonder just if you can comment on how serious you find
those incursions for peace in the region, what the US can do about
stopping those?

And, second, there was a gathering of Islamic clerics last week in
Pakistan and I wonder if that group and their call for jihad is at all
reflected in your assessment of the terrorist situation there? Thanks.

A: The answer to the first question, in terms of incursions across the
line of control, that is really an issue more for the South Asian
Bureau. What I am concerned about in Pakistan is the links of the
government of Pakistan to some of those Kashmiri groups and their
involvement in terrorism, such as the HUM, the Harakat Mujahedin.

Now, what was the second question?

Q: The group of clerics that met last week called for a jihad to free
Pakistan - Kashmir, and if that is it all part of the concern about
terrorism, that particular group?

A: It is a concern, yes. I wouldn't say that particular incident. And,
besides, that's 2000. We're really talking about 1999 here. But that's
-

Q: The emergence of fundamentalist religious leaders is a concern of -

A: It is actually not an issue of terrorism, actually. We concern
ourselves with terrorist acts, criminal acts.

Q: The government of Pakistan and a lot of people in Pakistan believe
that the Kashmiris are -- they are freedom fighters, especially if
they are targeting Indian soldiers. How do you consider attacks on
Indian soldiers by some of these groups? Do you consider that
terrorism or is that not terrorism?

A: Our definition of terrorism by the legislation is very explicit.
But in general terms, in a war, if military forces are attacking each
other, it's not terrorism. But if an armed terrorist organization
attacks civilian targets, that's terrorism. So that's generally the
breakdown.

Or if you attack -- it's also -- there is a footnote in the report
that includes a terrorist attack if you attack military people in
barracks, such as the Khobar bombings or the Marine barracks in 1982.
Those are terrorist acts. Each case is taken on a case-by-case basis.

Q: So, for example, if the United States were to drop - what do you
call them? - cruise missiles on people that were in barracks or in
tents, as it may be, would that be terrorism? Could that be terrorism?

A:  No.

Q: Following the Ahmed Ressam case, you were mentioning in your report
that there were some Afghan alumni linked with Usama bin Laden that
have been arrested in Canada, some are in Canada. Do you think that
they are in Canada to specifically get into the US, and which kind of
threat do you think they represent to the United States?

A: Well, clearly, this one individual was trying to smuggle explosives
into the United States. I wouldn't speculate on the rest of those
cells now under investigation. But, clearly, we are concerned with
that, as is the Canadian Government, and we've stepped up our
cooperation to prevent future acts like that.

Q: Ambassador Sheehan, perhaps you can shed some light on the thinking
behind the designation of terrorist groups if you could explain why
none of the Northern Irish groups have been designated?

A: When we first did the foreign terrorist organizations, the
designation, there had been a peace process just put in place between
the IRA and the authorities in Northern Ireland. We were asked by both
sides not to designate, both by the Irish and the British sides, not
to designate the IRA or those other groups because the cease-fire was
in place and holding.

At this time, other groups, splinter groups or other groups on both
sides of that equation, can be under review for designation as a
terrorist organization, but none have been done so at this time.

Q:  (Inaudible.)

A:  I won't comment right now.

Q: On the terms of this designation and non-designation, there are, by
my count, 46 that are identified.

A:  Right.

Q:  Only 28 of those, you're saying, are actually designated?

A:  Correct.

Q: Has any group ever been taken -- the difference between this one
and last year's, I was going through. I found one -

A: Two. Two, the DFLP and a Chilean group were taken off the list last
year.

Q: And is there a reason why, for the last year, the United States has
been running around - well, not running around but has agreed with the
Russians that there are terrorism problems emanating from Chechnya and
why there are no Chechen groups that are even identified in this
year's report?

A: They are under review as well. It's a new organization. New
organizations, it takes a while. It is a very technical process.

Q: But you did manage to get the Islamic Movement to Uzbekistan on
here.

A:  They're not designated yet.

Q: Right, well, but they're mentioned. They're mentioned while the
Chechen groups are not.

A:  That's correct.

Q: Can you talk about Iran and the political attempt, on the one hand,
to try and moderate relations and open them up again and, on the other
hand, you've named them, they're still on the list and you talk about
their export of helping other people, helping groups undermine the
peace process?

A: We're concerned about the government of Iran and specifically with
two of the organizations that are mentioned by name in the report, the
Revolutionary Guards and their intelligence service, that are involved
in actively supporting groups that are opposed to the Middle East
Peace Process, and particularly Hizballah, HAMAS and the Palestinian
Islamic Jihad. Those organizations remain actively committed to
disrupting the peace process through those organizations.

On the other hand, we recognize, as Secretary Albright laid out in her
speech, that there are other dramatic changes happening within Iran
and we are trying a policy that fits, to respond to those conditions
in Iran.

Q: On Pakistan, could you explain the distinction between "government
links" to these terrorist groups and why they are not considered a
state sponsor?

And, as far as Libya and Cuba are concerned, even though you've noted
that they are limiting their direct involvement, that they are
curtailing terrorist activities and they're still on the list, are you
afraid this sends the wrong message to actual state sponsors that
efforts to get out of the terrorism business will not bear fruit?

A:  Who was the first one you asked about?

Q: Pakistan, the distinction between government links to FTOs and then
why aren't they considered a state sponsor if they have these links?

A: When we look at the designation of a state sponsor, we look at the
entirety of the country's record on counter-terrorism. And in the case
of Pakistan, although we have some problems and issues with them, they
were not designated a state sponsor. They do have problems, as I
alluded to before, and we are pressing them to move forward on that.

Regarding the other countries, they need to take the specific steps
that - they know what they need to do in order to get off the list.
And I would, as I said, I want all seven of them to move from the
terrorism side of the ledger over to the - out of the business and off
the list.

Q: If I could just follow up, isn't there a way to kind of show that
they've made progress, that they're kind of on their way to getting
off of the list?

A: I think that's laid out in the report pretty well, that it's pretty
clear, if you read some of the state sponsors, that their involvement
is fairly minimal. But there are clear steps that they have to take.
And that's what I'm trying to signal right now from this podium, as
the Secretary did in her opening remarks. They know where we are and
they know what they need to do.

Q: The Turkish Government believes one of the supporters of Turkish
Hizballah is Iran. But there is nothing about that in your report. So
what is your comment? Do you believe or not Iran supports Turkish
Hizballah?

A: If it's not in the report, I probably won't comment at this point.

Q: I noticed that out of the seven states that sponsor terrorism,
according to your report, President Clinton met only with one head of
these states, which is President Assad of Syria, and shook hands with
him this year.

Could you be more specific what the United States wants Syria to do,
besides going down the road of a peace agreement with Israel, to do?
You dealt very generally with Syria in your report. Could you be more
specific what Syria has to do?

A: I think it is fairly specific what Syria needs to do in the report,
and it has to do with the movement and the activity of these terrorist
groups that are mentioned in Damascus and other areas of Syrian
control in Lebanon. They know they need to have that activity ceased.

Q: Your report on Greece is very harsh this year. You criticize the
Greek Government for lack of leadership on counter-terrorism. And can
you be more elaborative on this? What do you expect from the Greek
Government?

And my second question is, if you have anything to report on the
bilateral agreement with Greece and why this thing doesn't go forward?

A: I think the report is pretty clear, that there were 20 incidents in
Greece last year directed at the US Government and other interests.
Dating back many years to 1975, five Americans have lost their lives
in Greece. There have been no arrests, no convictions, no jail time
for any terrorists involved in those or any other incidents.

They know what they need to do as well in terms of improving their
commitment on these terrorist issues. We've had very detailed
conversations with them at a range of different levels and I think it
is fairly well covered in the report.

Q: A follow-up, if I can? The Prime Minister of Greece and the Foreign
Minister in many statements describe this as one of the biggest
priorities of the Greek Government, the counter-terrorism issue. And
you still criticize them for a lack of leadership. Why is that?

A: Well, those statements are a first - a good first step. But we
really need them to take clear action regarding arrests, trials,
prosecutions, some of the restructuring of the police organizations
that we have suggested that they do.

Q: Two things. Can you tell us, have you identified any of the targets
that Ressam and his backers were planning to attack?

A:  We haven't.  You would have to direct that to the bureau.

Q: And, secondly, have any of these terrorist organizations, do any of
them currently possess weapons of mass destruction?

A: Right now, we know that there are some that are seeking to acquire
weapons of mass destruction. And some, such as Aum Shinrikyo, have
used it in the past. Although, fortunately only 12 were killed in that
attack in the Tokyo subway with sarin gas.

Others are trying to acquire, but we don't -- I couldn't comment now
whether any of them have a capability to deliver serious weapons of
mass destruction. I believe not, but we are very concerned about them
trying to acquire that capability.

Q: Ambassador, you said that you had seen a shift this year in
terrorism going from not as much state sponsorship to more
individuality and to a shift to South Asia. Is there anything that you
are going to do to respond to this, a difference in tactics, a
difference in resources?

A: I think this shift has been going on, actually, for quite a while.
I just speak more explicitly about it this year. And, yes, it does
mean you have to shift your strategy. If you have an organization that
is clearly linked to a state sponsor and is more hierarchical in
nature, it calls for certain kinds of responses. Primarily, you put
the heat right on that state sponsor.

And I think in Libya, that was the case in the mid-'80s, where they
had direct contact with groups such as Abu Nidal organization, where
you could put the pressure on government to drive them out of that
support and they have expelled Abu Nidal out of Libya. If you have
organizations that have less direct links to state sponsorship, the
organizations try to find what I refer to as swamps. They try to find
a way to operate, move and plan and raise money and train their people
in areas outside of government control. They try to slip through the
cracks.

What it requires is much more intense cooperation across a wide range
of relationships with member states. Some of them have a strong will
and capability; others do not. It is our job to try to improve the
will and the capability of those key member states where this
phenomena is occurring, in order to get them to take the proper steps
to address that issue of these non-state actors in their territory.
And that is primarily an issue of political will and then, right
behind that, giving them some capability - training, equipment and
otherwise.

Thank you very much.

(end transcript)

The 1999 version of the State Department report on terrorism is
available on the Web at:
http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1999report/1999index.html

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)