Saturday January 03, 2009
Financing Terrorism
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See also: While we can clamp down on domestic sources of terrorist financing, we also need to change the behavior of states that support and sponsor terrorism. The vast bulk of terrorist assets and funding sources exist outside of the United States. We have made considerable effort to enlist support of other nations in the campaign against terrorist financing. For example, the United Nations Security Council maintains a consolidated freeze list of some 300 individuals and entities linked to al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. The European Union and other individual states maintain their own terrorism lists and blocking orders.
Another example of these efforts is the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act of 2001, which blocked investment in the two countries' economies. In 2005, these sanctions were lifted against Libya as recognition of Tripoli's renunciation of nuclear proliferation and other terrorist support efforts. The sanctions remain in place against Iran in response to Tehran's continued moves toward uranium enrichment and its ongoing support of terrorist organizations (Hizbollah, Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad).
As we all know, foreign investment is an integral part of the American economy and we cannot unnecessarily restrict that investment. Our economy is global. Foreign investment in the United States totals about $11.5 trillion and can be found in almost every business sector. Just as many American companies, including several in Idaho, have operations and investments in other countries, our foreign business counterparts make significant investments in American infrastructure and employ several hundred thousand American workers. However, as recent events have shown, refining and improving the process by which our government reviews these potential transactions has become necessary to ensure public and investor confidence in the process.
If the security of the United States is compromised by any transaction, the transaction must be stopped. Congress has undertaken steps to establish a process that meets the dual challenges of careful reviews and safeguarding legitimate foreign investment. With so many transactions being proposed, it is appropriate that improvements to the process be made.
While we can, and should, continue to deploy the non-military tools at our disposal to achieve these goals, military action may be a last resort. America's involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq has made our nation safer from terrorism. Although progress remains to be made in both countries, America has taken away the ability of terrorist organizations to operate with impunity. We have also reduced the number of countries that sponsor terror.
Terrorism continues to be a worldwide scourge. Threats to our national security and Americans must be met with the fullest and most assertive response. Using the right combinations of carrot and stick, America can and will win the war on terror.
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