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99–596PDF 2005

URGING THE EUROPEAN UNION TO ADD

HEZBOLLAH TO THE EUROPEAN UNION’S WIDERANGING LIST OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM AND 

NONPROLIFERATION

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON 

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON

H. Res. 101

MARCH 3, 2005

Serial No. 109–8

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations 

(II)

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman 

JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, 

Vice Chairman 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

PETER T. KING, New York 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado 

RON PAUL, Texas 

DARRELL ISSA, California 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia 

MARK GREEN, Wisconsin 

JERRY WELLER, Illinois 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

THADDEUS G. MCCOTTER, Michigan 

KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

MICHAEL MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

TOM LANTOS, California 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

BARBARA LEE, California 

JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York 

EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon 

SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California 

ADAM B. SCHIFF, California 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

ADAM SMITH, Washington 

BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota 

BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky 

DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California 

THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel 

ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM AND NONPROLIFERATION

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

PETER T. KING, New York 

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado 

DARRELL ISSA, California, Vice Chairman 

MICHAEL MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

JERRY WELLER, Illinois 

J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey 

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida 

JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York 

BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota 

DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

TOM SHEEHY, Subcommittee Staff Director 

DON MACDONALD, Democratic Professional Staff Member 

MALIK M. CHAKA, Professional Staff Member 

GREG GALVIN, Staff Associate 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP OF 

Urging the European Union to add Hezbollah to the European Union’s wideranging list of terrorist organizations ................................................................ 2

(1)

URGING THE EUROPEAN UNION TO ADD 

HEZBOLLAH TO THE EUROPEAN UNION’S 

WIDE-RANGING LIST OF TERRORIST 

ORGANIZATIONS 

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2005

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

AND NONPROLIFERATION, 

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 2:28 p.m. in room 

2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Royce (Chairman of 

the Subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. ROYCE. Pursuant to notice, we are going to call up House 

Resolution 101, Urging the European Union to add Hezbollah to 

the European Union’s wide-ranging list of terrorist organizations, 

for purposes of markup. Without objection this resolution is going 

to be considered as read and will be open for amendment at any 

point. 

[H. Res. 101 follows:]

2

1

IV

109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 101

Urging the European Union to add Hezbollah to the European Union’s

wide-ranging list of terrorist organizations.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 15, 2005

Mr. SAXTON (for himself, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. CANTOR, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. ACKERMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on

International Relations

RESOLUTION

Urging the European Union to add Hezbollah to the

European Union’s wide-ranging list of terrorist organizations.

Whereas Hezbollah is a Lebanon-based radical organization

with terrorist cells based in Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Asia, and elsewhere, receiving financial, training, weapons, and political and organizational

aid from Iran and Syria;

Whereas Hezbollah has led a 23-year global campaign of terror targeting American, German, French, British, Italian,

Israeli, Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabian, Argentinean, Thai,

Singaporean, and Russian civilians, among others;

Whereas former Director of Central Intelligence George

Tenet called Hezbollah ‘‘an organization with the capaVerDate Mar 21 2002 11:48 Apr 21, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\ITN\030305M\99596.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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•HRES 101 IH

bility and worldwide presence [equal to] al Queda, equal

if not far more [of a] capable organization . . . [t]hey’re

a notch above in many respects . . . which puts them in

a state sponsored category with a potential for lethality

that’s quite great’’;

Whereas Hezbollah has been suspected of numerous terrorist

acts against Americans, including the suicide truck bombing of the United States Embassy and Marine Barracks

in Beirut in October 1983 and the Embassy annex in

Beirut in September 1984;

Whereas the French unit of the Multinational Force in Beirut was also targeted in the October 1983 attack, in

which 241 United States soldiers and 58 French paratroopers were killed;

Whereas Hezbollah has attacked Israeli and Jewish targets in

South America in the mid-1990s, including the Israeli

Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in March 1992 and

the AMIA Jewish Cultural Center in Buenos Aires in

July 1994;

Whereas Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for kidnappings

of United States and Israeli civilians and French, British, German, and Russian diplomats, among others;

Whereas even after the adherence of Israel to United Nations

Security Council Resolution 425 (1978) by withdrawing

from Lebanon, Hezbollah has continued to carry out attacks against Israel and its citizens;

Whereas Hezbollah has expanded its operations in the West

Bank and Gaza Strip, providing training, financing and

weapons to Palestinian terrorist organizations on the European Union terrorist list, including the Al Aqsa MarVerDate Mar 21 2002 11:48 Apr 21, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\ITN\030305M\99596.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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tyrs Brigade, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and

the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine;

Whereas in 2004 Hezbollah instigated, financed, or played a

role in implementing nearly 80 percent of Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israeli targets, resulting in over 20

percent of Israeli casualties in terrorist attacks for that

year;

Whereas the European Union agreed by consensus to classify

Hamas, another Palestinian terrorist organization, as a

terrorist organization for purposes of prohibiting funding

from the European Union to Hamas;

Whereas the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty

Restoration Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–175) urges the

Government of Lebanon to assert the sovereignty of the

Lebanese state over all of its territory and to evict all terrorist and foreign forces from southern Lebanon, including Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards;

Whereas, although the European Union has included Imad

Fayiz Mughniyah, a key operations and intelligence officer of Hezbollah, on its terrorist list, it has not included

his organization on the list;

Whereas the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada,

and Australia have all classified Hezbollah as a terrorist

organization and the United Kingdom has placed the

Hezbollah External Security Organization on its terrorist

list;

Whereas leaders of Hezbollah have made statements denouncing any distinction between its ‘‘political and military’’

operations, such as Hezbollah’s representative in the Lebanese Parliament, Mohammad Raad, who stated in 2001

that ‘‘Hezbollah is a military resistance party, and it is


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•HRES 101 IH

our task to fight the occupation of our land. . . . There

is no separation between politics and resistance.’’;

Whereas in a book recently published by the deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, entitled ‘‘Hezbollah -- the Approach, the Experience, the Future’’, Qassem writes ‘‘Hezbollah is a jihad organization

whose aim, first and foremost, is jihad against the Zionist enemy, while the political, pure and sensible effort can

serve as a prop and a means of support for jihad’’;

Whereas United Nations Security Council resolution 1559

(2004), jointly sponsored by the United States and

France, calls upon all remaining foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon and for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias,

among other things;

Whereas in December 2004 the Department of State placed

Al-Manar, Hezbollah’s satellite television network, on the

Terrorist Exclusion List, and in December 2004 the

French Council of State banned the broadcasting of AlManar in France

Whereas France, Germany, and Great Britain, with the support of the High Representative of the European Union,

have created a working group with Iran to discuss regional security concerns, including the influence of terror

stemming from Hezbollah and other extremist organizations; and

Whereas cooperation between the United States and the European Union regarding combating international terrorism is essential to the promotion of global security and

peace: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—


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•HRES 101 IH

1 (1) urges the European Union to classify

2 Hezbollah as a terrorist organization for purposes of

3 prohibiting funding from the European Union to

4 Hezbollah and recognizing it as a threat to inter5 national security;

6 (2) condemns the continuous terrorist attacks

7 perpetrated by Hezbollah; and

8 (3) condemns Hezbollah’s continuous support of

9 Palestinian terrorist organizations on the European

10 Union terrorist list, such as the Al Aqsa Martyrs

11 Brigade, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and

12 the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

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Mr. ROYCE. I am going to recognize myself for an opening statement, and then I will go to Mr. Sherman for any statement he 

might want to make. 

Last month this Subcommittee met jointly with the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia to hold a hearing 

on Iran: A Quarter Century of State-Sponsored Terror. Appropriately, there was a large focus on Iranian governmental sponsorship of the Hezbollah terrorist organization. 

A few years ago, Deputy Secretary of State Armitage said, 

‘‘Hezbollah may be the A team of terrorists, and maybe al-Qaeda 

is actually the B team.’’ Our former Director of Central Intelligence 

shared this assessment in 2003, calling Hezbollah a notch above alQaeda organizationally in part of its deadly ties with Iran. 

Before September 11, Hezbollah was responsible for killing more 

Americans than any other terrorist organization, including alQaeda. Of course, after 9/11, al-Qaeda holds that record. 

To combat the grave threat posed by Hezbollah, the United 

States will need to employ a variety of tools. Importantly, we will 

need the help of our allies. This resolution encourages the European Union to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and to 

recognize that organization as a threat to international security. 

I would also like to recognize our Ranking Member, Mr. Sherman 

from California, from Sherman Oaks, the best named city, as you 

say, in California, for purposes of any statement he might want to 

make. Brad? 

Mr. SHERMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this resolution. I thank you for bringing it up before our 

Subcommittee. It is high time that our friends in Europe join us 

in proscribing Hezbollah, which is, after all, responsible for the 

deaths of more Americans than any terrorist organization other 

than al-Qaeda. 

We heard 2 weeks ago in our joint hearing on Iran how 

Hezbollah is really the A team of terrorism. Quite often, know-how 

and assistance has flowed from Hezbollah to al-Qaeda and to other 

terrorist groups. There is a tendency not only in Europe, but the 

United States, to compartmentalize organizations in a way that 

makes no sense; to say, ‘‘Oh, that is the political wing or that is 

the press spokesman or that is the fundraiser for the terrorist organization, and hence they are not involved in terrorism.’’ This is, of 

course, absurd. 

Terrorist organizations are just political organizations which use 

abhorrent methods. Some have central committees, conventions, 

press offices, propaganda operations. They run newspapers, radio 

and television stations. Some, like Hezbollah, participate in parliamentary democracy. Some have lobbyists. That does not mean 

they are not terrorist organizations. 

We passed legislation last year, originating in this Subcommittee, which recognized this basic fact. Terrorists have aliases. 

They have front groups, and sometimes they run legitimate operations. Hezbollah may run a daycare center. Nazi Germany had 

hospitals, but just because a terrorist organization is engaged in 

some non-violent or even beneficial activity does not mean that it 

and all of its constituent parts are not one terrorist organization. 

8

This is particularly important because Hezbollah and her patron 

State, Iran, are expert at using front business groups and aliases 

to conduct operations and gather intelligence. 

Now, I mention all this in connection with Al Manar Television, 

which is Hezbollah’s television station. It has a bureau here in 

Washington. It is a critical component of Hezbollah. We must examine why this Administration fails to take any legal action 

against the employees of Hezbollah working here in our Nation’s 

capital. 

A number of us joined Gary Ackerman and wrote the Administration, urging that it add Al Manar to the State Department and 

Treasury lists as an alias or affiliate of Hezbollah and to take all 

appropriate legal action not only to prevent this terrorist organization from conducting operations openly here in Washington, DC, 

but to make sure that the full force—well, the letter does not go 

one step further, but it should have, and that is to urge that the 

full force of our criminal law be applied to anyone who aids, participates or is an employee of a terrorist organization, even if they can 

say, ‘‘Well, I am not in the terrorist department of the terrorist organization.’’

This is not contrary to the First Amendment. There is no difference between Al Manar and a hypothetical al-Qaeda newspaper. 

Neither are legitimate press operations. 

I thank Congressmen Wexler and Saxton for this resolution and 

for their work on this issue. I urge this Committee to pass this resolution and to further press Europeans at every stage and in every 

joint legislative meeting to add Hezbollah to their terrorist list. 

This is particularly important as Lebanon struggles to free itself 

from Syrian occupation. 

I also urge the Bush Administration, as I have earlier in this 

statement, to take all legal action against Al Manar and other 

Hezbollah fronts in the United States and the individuals who are 

employees/supporters of Hezbollah in its front organizations. 

Mr. Chairman, I thank you. 

Mr. ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Sherman. 

Mr. Saxton is the author of this particular measure, but an original co-sponsor is Mr. Wexler, who is with us, and so we will allow 

Mr. Wexler to make any statement he might want to make at this 

time. 

Mr. WEXLER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I join in 

with the Chairman and Mr. Sherman in urging the European 

Union to add Hezbollah to its terrorist list, as well as you did, Mr. 

Chairman, acknowledging the authorship of Congressman Saxton 

and Congressman Engel, in the principal parts of this resolution. 

For 23 years, Hezbollah had led a global campaign of terror 

aided by Syria and Iran that has targeted American, Israeli, European, South American, Asian and Arab citizens alike. 

Since its inception in 1982, Hezbollah has carried out the bombings of the American Embassy in Lebanon, the Israeli Embassy in 

Argentina, the United States and French Marine bases in Beruit, 

the hijacking of two Kuwaiti airliners, numerous attacks on Israel 

and the kidnapping and murder of dozens of westerners in Lebanon. 

9

For the past two decades, Hezbollah has also had a presence in 

Europe where its operatives have planned and carried out 

kidnappings and attacks. In past years, Hezbollah has increasingly 

supported groups designated by the EU as terrorist organizations, 

including the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. 

Moreover, EU member states such as France and Germany have 

taken recent legal action against Hezbollah, including the German 

deportation of Hezbollah agents and the French banning of 

Hezbollah television, Al Manar. 

The EU has also included several officials affiliated with 

Hezbollah on its terrorist list, thereby precluding the transfer of 

funds to these individuals from EU member states. It defies logic 

that the EU would take such action and at the same time omit 

Hezbollah from its terrorist list. 

In fact, an EU representative recently affirmed that the Palestinian officials are increasingly concerned about the enhanced presence of Hezbollah in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians fear that Hezbollah will undermine a negotiated cease-fire and 

target Abu Mazen, who has faced severe criticism for Hezbollah in 

addition to assassination threats. 

A Palestinian official recently cited an intercepted e-mail and 

bank transaction indicating that Hezbollah has increased its payments to Palestinian terrorists from $20,000 to $100,000 per attack. Failing to add Hezbollah to its terrorist list, the EU may be 

enabling the transaction of such funds. 

In past years, EU states have sought to distinguish between the 

political and military wings of Hezbollah. However, Hezbollah officials themselves do not believe this distinction, proving the futility 

of such claims. 

This was reiterated by Muhammad Raad, one of Hezbollah’s representatives in the Lebanese Parliament, who stated that, 

‘‘Hezbollah is a military resistance party, and it is our task to fight 

the occupation of our land. There is no separation between politics 

and resistance.’’

Hezbollah does not discriminate in the targeting of innocent civilians, and the EU should not discriminate in the categorizing of terror. As such, the EU must join the ranks of America, Canada, 

Israel and Australia in imposing a financial block on Hezbollah and 

adding them to its terrorist list. 

Thank you very much for your courtesy, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. ROYCE. I thank the gentleman from Florida. 

Is there any other further discussion on this measure? 

[No response.] 

Mr. ROYCE. If not, are there any amendments? 

[No response.] 

Mr. ROYCE. Hearing no amendments, the question occurs on the 

motion to report the resolution, House Resolution 101, favorably. 

All in favor say aye. 

[Chorus of ayes.] 

Mr. ROYCE. All opposed, no. 

[No response.] 

Mr. ROYCE. The motion is approved, and the resolution is reported favorably. 

10

The staff is directed to make any technical and conforming 

amendments. 

That completes our work on the markup. We are now going to 

move to our hearing. 

[Whereupon, at 2:39 p.m. the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

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