[House Document 107-163]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-163
PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE TALIBAN
IN AFGHANISTAN
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
A SIX-MONTH PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO
THE TALIBAN THAT WAS DECLARED IN EXECUTIVE ORDER 13129 OF JULY 4, 1999,
PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. 1641(c) AND 50 U.S.C. 1703(c)
January 23, 2002.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations
and ordered to be printed
The White House,
Washington, January 3, 2002.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: As required by section 401(c) of the
National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section 204(c)
of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50
U.S.C. 1703(c), I transmit herewith a 6-month periodic report
on the national emergency with respect to the Taliban that was
declared in Executive Order 13129 of July 4, 1999.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush.
Periodic Report on the National Emergency With Respect to the Taliban
in Afghanistan
I hereby report to the Congress on developments over the
course of the past six months concerning the national emergency
with respect to the actions and policies of the Taliban in
Afghanistan that was declared in Executive Order 13129 of July
4, 1999. This report, based upon information provided by
relevant sources, is submitted pursuant to section 401(c) of
the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section
204(c) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50
U.S.C. 1703(c), (``IEEPA'').
1. During the past six months, the Department of the
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') issued
three licenses to authorize certain payments in connection with
over flights of Taliban-controlled territory, to unblock funds
in which there was determined to be no interest of the Taliban,
and to import agricultural products produced in an area of
Afghanistan not controlled by the Taliban.
OFAC continues to emphasize to the international banking
community in the United States the importance of identifying
and blocking payments made by or on behalf of the Taliban and
has worked closely with the banks to assure the effectiveness
of interdiction software systems used to identify such
payments. As of November 2, 2001, 26 transactions totaling
approximately $26.6 million were blocked during this period.
The total value of assets blocked under the program, as of
December 11, 2001, total approximately $258 million. Under the
Taliban (Afghanistan) Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR Part 545,
(the ``Regulations''), transactions in violation of the
sanctions where there is no blockable interest of the Taliban
must be returned to remitters (i.e., ``rejected''). During the
reporting period, 16 transactions were rejected by U.S. banks
causing a disruption of nearly $270,000 in financial dealings
involving the territory of Afghanistan controlled by the
Taliban.
Various other enforcement actions and investigations are
being aggressively pursued. Reports of new violations are being
scrutinized. Since the last report, OFAC has collected one
civil penalty settlement in the amount of $8,000 for violations
of the sanctions. Two additional cases are undergoing penalty
action for violations of the Regulations and IEEPA.
2. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the
six-month period from July 4, 2001, through January 3, 2002,
that are directly attributable to the exercise of powers and
authorities conferred by the declaration of the national
emergency with respect to the Taliban in Afghanistan, are
estimated at approximately $775,000. Personnel costs were
largely centered in the Department of the Treasury
(particularly in the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the
Office of the General Counsel, and the U.S. Customs Service),
the Department of State, and components of the Department of
Justice.
3. The military and political situation in Afghanistan
remains fluid and unresolved, and to the extent the Taliban
remains active, it continues to pose a significant threat to
the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
By the same token, shifting alliances and the uncertain
loyalties of many parties to the conflict make it impossible to
predict with certainty the ability of the region to remain
completely free of Taliban control. The Taliban openly supports
terrorism and is unremittingly hostile to the United States,
the United Nations and the peace and security of the civilized
world.
Since my last report, the United Nations Security Council
adopted Resolution 1363 on July 30, 2001, confirming that the
``situation in Afghanistan constitutes a threat to the
international peace and security in the region'' and directing
the establishment of a mechanism to monitor implementation of
sanctions measures imposed on the Taliban, Usama bin Laden, the
al-Qaida organization, and their associates by resolutions 1267
(1999) and 1333 (2000). In addition, following the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001, the United Nations Security
Council in Resolution 1368 of September 12, 2001, called on all
States to work together urgently to bring to justice the
perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of those attacks,
stressing that those responsible for aiding, supporting or
harboring the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors will be
held accountable. In its Resolution 1373 of September 28, the
Council reaffirmed the need for all States to combat terrorism
by all means, in accordance with the UN Charter, and required
Member States to impose additional measures, inter alia, to
prevent and suppress financing of terrorist acts, to deny safe
haven to anyone who finances, plans, supports, or commits
terrorist acts or provides safe havens, and to bring any such
persons to justice under domestic laws and regulations.
Despite its current military and political weakness, the
Taliban continues to exist in certain areas in Afghanistan.
Given its ability to harbor terrorists, including members of
the al-Qaida organization and their associates and to engage in
active hostility against the United States, the Taliban
continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the
national security and foreign policy of the United States. The
maintenance of sanctions measures targeting the Taliban thus
demonstrates the resolve of the United States Government to
maintain and indeed intensify its struggle to put an end to the
Taliban's support for terrorism.