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[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.

                                
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