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The U.S. State Department has issued its report on global terrorism
for 2001, which was the deadliest year ever for terrorist violence because of
the September 11 attacks in the United States. It again lists seven countries
as state sponsors of terrorism.
The more than 3,500, the vast majority of them in New York and
Washington, were the most in the 22-year history of the U.S. terrorism reports.
But briefing reporters, Secretary of State Colin Powell stressed the progress
the United States and its coalition partners have made against al-Qaida and
other terrorist groups since the September attacks, and said no country can
afford to shirk its duty in the fight against them.
"Terrorists respect no limits, geographic or moral. The
front-lines are everywhere and the stakes are high. Terrorism not only kills
people, it also threatens democratic institutions, undermines economies and
destabilizes regions," Secretary Powell said. "In this global campaign against
terrorism, no country, no nation has the luxury of remaining on the sidelines,
because there are no sidelines."
The report again cited seven countries, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Iraq,
Syria, North Korea and Cuba, as state sponsors of terrorism, a list that has
not changed since 1993. It said Iran remained the "most active" terrorist
sponsor, providing aid to the Lebanese Hezbollah and to Palestinian factions
that use terror tactics against Israel.
At the same time, it acknowledged that Sudan and Libya have
taken actions that eventually could take them off the list. It noted Libyan
leader Muammar Gadafi's condemnation of the September 11 attacks and says his
government "appears to have curtailed" its support for international terrorism,
though it may have "residual contacts" with some groups.
The document says Sudan has stepped up counter-terrorism
cooperation with the United States, yet it was kept on the list because "a
number of" Egyptian, Palestinian and other terrorist groups continue to use
Sudan as a safe-haven.
In the case of Cuba, the report said President Fidel Castro has
"vacillated" over the war on terror, on the one hand signing U.N.
anti-terrorism conventions but also condemning the U.S.-led military drive in
Afghanistan as worse than the terror attacks which provoked
it.
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| Ambassador Francis X.
Taylor |
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At a State Department news conference, anti-terrorism coordinator
Francis X. Taylor said Cuba continues to shelter suspects in past terrorist
acts, and rejected the notion that listing Cuba is a matter of U.S. election
politics:
"President Castro did condemn the events of 11 September, but
has since not renounced at all terrorism as a legitimate political tool in the
revolution. He also continues to allow members of the FARC [of Colombia], ETA
[of Spain], and indeed eight Americans who were involved in terrorist
activities in the '70s and '80s in our country to remain as guests of the Cuban
government. For that reason, and the fact that it has not renounced its
commitment to terrorism, it remains on the list. It's not just for political
reasons."
Mr. Taylor said North Korea, similarly, continues to shelter
members of the Japanese Red Army terrorist group active in the
1970s.
The State Department official said an estimated 1,600 members of
al-Qaida are now in detention around the world, but also that as many as
30-thousand operatives may have been trained over the years at its camps in
Afghanistan.
Mr. Taylor said al-Qaida has not been defeated and that further
anti-U.S. attacks by the group are "very, very likely."
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