Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continued to refer to Israel as a 'cancerous tumor' that must be removed. Powell's analysis of the overall situation was more positive than in past years. As examples of progress, he cited tightened U.N. Security Council sanctions against Afghanistan, which harbors Osama bin Laden, who is wanted in the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998. He also pointed to the trial and conviction of a Libyan intelligence officer in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and continued progress in the investigation of the bombing of the USS Cole last October in Yemen. The Cole bombing killed 17 American sailors and, according to the report, accounted for all but two of the Americans who died in terrorist incidents in 2000.
Terrorist groups are under growing pressure.
Terrorists are being brought to justice. We will not let up. The number of anti-U.S. attacks rose from 169 in 1999 to 200 in 2000, the report said, largely because of an increase in pipeline bombings in Colombia. Such attacks, although numerous, rarely result in casualties. The State Department is required by law to list nations that repeatedly provide support for terrorism.