LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 13/07

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12,32-48. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.  Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

ListedTerrorist Organinizations in the USA
List of the Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) In the USA. August 12/07

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 12/07
Islamist hints at attacks by militants outside northern Lebanon ...International Herald Tribune - France
Sfeir for Presidential Elections on Time, Rejects Two Governments-Naharnet
Kuwait finances $46m projects in Lebanon-Middle East North Africa Financial Network
US Declares Lebanese Group Terrorists-Washington Post
Fatah al-Islam on U.S. Terror Blacklist-Naharnet
Stink of Militants' Corpses Impedes Army in Camp Fight-Naharnet
Hezbollah marks war victory' over Israel amid Lebanon crisis-Middle East Times
Palestinian fighters keep a low profile in Lebanon-Middle East Times
Iran to rebuild 5 bridges in Lebanon-PRESS TV
Sign splits Lebanese, riles Jews-Windsor Star
Hizbollah buys frontier land to attack Israel-Telegraph.co.uk
Beirut discovers depression-BBC News
Syria backs French efforts in Lebanon-PRESS TV
Syria's FM supports French efforts to end Lebanon crises-Ya Libnan
US Declares Lebanese Group Terrorists-Forbes
The US-Iran War Continues-American Thinker
Egyptian Police Arrest 40 Muslim Brotherhood Members-Naharnet

Sign splits Lebanese, riles Jews
Hezbollah leader depicted
Dalson Chen, Windsor Star
Published: Saturday, August 11, 2007
Members of the Jewish and Lebanese Christian communities in Windsor are outraged by the appearance of a billboard that appears to promote Hezbollah -- an organization the Canadian government considers terrorist.
"That organization is banned in Canada," said Harvey Kessler, executive director of the Windsor Jewish Community Centre. "How can that billboard be up in Windsor when it represents a terrorist organization which is banned under the laws of Canada?"
Located at the southwest corner of Marion Avenue and Wyandotte Street East, the billboard does not mention Hezbollah by name, but features a central image of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the controversial political and military group that represents Lebanese Shia Muslims and has clashed with Israeli troops for more than 20 years.
View Larger Image
DIVISIVE: Ghina Maawie said the men on the billboard at Marion Avenue and Wyandotte Street East represent peace. Some other groups don't agree.
Ian Willms, Windsor Star
OPPOSITE OF PEACE
Kessler said he feels Nasrallah represents "the opposite of peace."
"It should be offensive to all people living in Windsor. It should be offensive not only to the Jewish community, but to any Canadian."
Emile Nabbout, president of the Windsor branch of the Lebanese Christian political group Kataeb, said he also thinks Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, and he feels the billboard creates a misconception of the views of Windsor's Lebanese community.
"We really are not in support or in favour of that billboard and it should be removed ASAP," Nabbout said.
The image of Nasrallah is flanked by four other Lebanese political figures. "All those individuals in that picture... they are in opposition to the Lebanese government right now," Nabbout said.
"By just analyzing the picture, there is no doubt in my mind this is a Hezbollah activity," he added.
Printed in English on the left side of the billboard are the words: "Lebanese and Arab communities in Windsor city congratulate the Lebanese people for their steadfastness and endeavor to establish peace in Lebanon."
But Nabbout said that Arabic writing which appears on the right side of the billboard does not match the English translation. According to Nabbout, the Arabic writing makes a reference to fighting.
"What they mean by 'fight' is basically 'guerrilla' -- using arms and weapons," Nabbout said. "Basically, there is a very specific word... That is a definite difference between the Arabic and the English."
Contacted on Friday night, Mayor Eddie Francis said he was made aware of the billboard earlier in the day. Asked if he is concerned about its presence, Francis said: "The politics of Lebanon belong in Lebanon, not on the streets of Windsor."
Francis said he has no idea who was responsible for the billboard, but the city is now looking into whether its content violates any rules.
Kessler said he has talked to Chief Glenn Stannard of Windsor police about the billboard, as well as the mayor. He said he has made calls to councillors, the city's race and ethnocultural relations committee, RCMP and CSIS.
"I understand that everyone is looking at strategies under the Canadian law to get it down. Because it is not appropriate," Kessler said.
Nabbout said members of the Lebanese Christian community have made calls to local MPs Joe Comartin and Brian Masse about the issue.
But Sam Ali, a 39-year-old Lebanese-born Windsor resident, said he supports the billboard's message, and he believes many in the city's Lebanese population feel the same way.
According to Ali, the accusations that Hezbollah is terrorist are untrue. "Hezbollah is freedom fighting. Whoever calls them terrorist is a liar," he said.
Ali, a Muslim, said Nasrallah has done good things, helping people with hospitals and medicine. "When Nasrallah speaks in Lebanon, a million and a half or two million people go into the street to listen."
Fellow Lebanese native and Muslim Ghina Maawie said she doesn't understand why anyone would be offended by the billboard. "When I saw it, I felt so happy and so proud of it," she said. "In Canada, we have freedom of speech."
Maawie also dismissed the criticisms of Hezbollah. "For anyone to defend Lebanon, they call them terrorist. All we did is defend our country."
© The Windsor Star 2007

Hizbollah buys frontier land to attack Israel
By Charles Levinson in Chbail, Lebanon, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:35am BST 12/08/2007
Hizbollah is buying up large tracts of land owned by Christians and other non-Shias in southern Lebanon as the militant group rebuilds its defences in preparation for a new war with Israel, The Sunday Telegraph has been told.
Hizbollah is buying land beyond the reach of the UN
The land grab is thought to be driven by the Iranian-backed guerrillas' efforts to rearm themselves and fortify the strategically important ravines north of the Litani River, just north of the front line in last year's 34-day conflict with its Jewish neighbour.
Here, Hizbollah has been free to press forward without harassment from the 13,000 United Nations peacekeepers and 20,000 Lebanese army troops who were deployed south of the Litani as part of the ceasefire agreement that ended the conflict.
Just south of the Litani, the UN is conducting hundreds of patrols each day in a bid to keep Hizbollah weapons out of the area, but the peacekeepers' mandate ends at the river.The Lebanese army, meanwhile, is about 50 per cent Shia and seems to be turning a blind eye to Hizbollah activities north of the river.
In these rugged gorges, the group appears to be readying for round two with Israel, and many fear it is not far off after the inconclusive end to last year's war and reports of -Hizbollah rearming. The area's forested wadis, or valleys, make ideal terrain for Hizbollah's brand of guerrilla warfare and, just 10 miles from the border, are within rocket range of Israeli cities. The Shia encroachment into a mixed area of Christians, Shias and Druze Muslims threatens to disrupt Lebanon's delicate sectarian balance, which is already teetering after three years of political tumult.
"Christians and Druze are selling land and moving out, while the Shia are moving in. There is an extraordinary demo-graphic shift taking place," said Edmund Rizk, a Christian MP for the area until 1992. On a scenic, sparsely populated ridge, the farming village of Chbail was once Christian. Today, the land belongs to a wealthy Shia businessman with alleged ties to Hizbollah. Its new residents are recent Shia transplants from the Hizbollah-controlled south.
Entry to the village is forbidden to outsiders - not by the Lebanese army that technically holds sway here, but by the chabab, the plain-clothed, bearded youths who act as look-outs in Hizbollah territory."The village is closed for security reasons," said a youth who had recently moved from a Hizbollah-controlled area near the regional capital, Tyre.
Like many neighbouring hamlets, Chbail has steadily decayed ever since civil war broke out in 1975. Fleeing first Palestinian guerrillas, then invading Israeli soldiers, and finally Hizbollah, villagers steadily migrated to seek better lives in Beirut or overseas.
While The Sunday Telegraph was at Chbail's outskirts, a rust-coloured Volvo station wagon rolled in, piled high with wooden building beams. A dozen or so other young men with dirt-caked fingernails came and went freely. On the wadis' western edge, a metal sign strung across an unmarked dirt track erased any doubt about what, or rather who, now lies beyond. "Entry forbidden. Hizbollah area," the sign read in Arabic. The closure was manned by a pair of teenage gunmen in olive green fatigues, armed with walkie-talkies and AK47s.
The buy-up of land in Chbail and half a dozen Druze and Christian villages is said to be the work of a wealthy Shia businessman, Ali Tajeddine, who made his fortune trading diamonds in Sierra Leone before returning to Lebanon and starting a successful construction company. Squat and bearded, Mr Tajeddine keeps a Hizbollah charity box in the waiting room of his Tyre office. He is believed to be a major player in Hizbollah's massive reconstruction programme called Jihad al Bina, or the Building Jihad. During an interview, Mr Tajeddine fidgeted nervously as he denied any connection with Hizbollah. He said his projects at Chbail represent just a fraction of the dozens of developments he is building throughout Lebanon. But his distinctive arc of land-buys around Hizbollah's new stronghold has triggered alarm among the district's Christian and Druze leaders, who say he is using Iranian funds to buy land from destitute villagers at up to four times the going rate. Druze sheikhs have responded by forbidding the sale of land to Shias and wealthy Christians have been asked to buy property in the area to stem the Shia tide.
In Chbail and two neighbouring Christian villages, Mr Tajeddine has already bought 200-300 acres of land, according to the mayor, Kamil Fares. "There are new people coming," he said. "Shias have moved into apartments belonging to Ali Tajeddine. But we're poor. What can we do?"
In the Druze village of Al Sreiri, the mayor, Hafed Kiwane, told a similar story. "We have nothing here, so it was good to see money coming into the area, but now we fear there are suspicious motives," he said.
Among the Hizbollah settlements is the fledgling village of Ahmediyya, where a billboard in Hebrew warns Israeli invaders: "Do not enter!"
Dozens of housing units have been built here in the past year. A supermarket is open for business, and 10 Shia families have moved in so far. Among them is project foreman Mohammad Atwa, 51. As two men photographed The Sunday Telegraph's car, he said: "The rockets of the resistance showed us there was someone to defend us."Critics fear that Ahmediyya will further stretch the Shia reach to the north-east, as part of a grand scheme to create a strip of Shia-controlled land connecting the south to Hizbollah's other power centre in Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley.
"It is part of Hizbollah's plan to create a state within a state," said Walid Jumblatt, a Druze leader. He also pointed to the four-lane road being built to connect the Hizbollah stronghold of Nabatieh in the south to the western Bekaa.
Banners openly proclaim the source of the road's funding: "510km of new roads paid for by the Iranian Organization for Sharing in the Building of Lebanon".

Stink of Militants' Corpses Impedes Army in Camp Fight
The stink of rotting Fatah al-Islam corpses littering the battered refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared has hindered the ability of Lebanese troops in their fight against the Islamists, army and medical sources said.
An officer on the ground who requested anonymity told AFP that the decomposing bodies clutter the devastated Nahr Al-Bared camp had made the air there unbreathable. A hospital source said several soldiers had been admitted due to severe vomiting.
However, the army continued shelling of Islamist positions on Saturday though sustained casualties during mine-clearing operations on the ground, military sources added. Two helicopters flew over the camp but did not open fire as they had on previous days, while the army blew up several buildings on the periphery of the small area of the camp still controlled by the Islamists, an AFP correspondent reported. "The army is continuing to make slow progress in demining the area while limiting its losses. A certain number of soldiers have been killed or wounded by mines left by the armed men," a military spokesman said.
"Several buildings have been destroyed by various means to clear mines and booby-trapped vehicles," the spokesman added.
More than 200 people, including 136 soldiers, have been killed since the conflict erupted on May 20. Most of the camp's estimated 30,000 residents have fled since the battles began, but about 60 women and children related to Fatah al-Islam fighters remain inside. The army has accused the Islamists of using them as human shields.
The conflict has had severe repercussions across Lebanon, not least nationwide power cuts as the Deir Ammar power station remains out of action after being struck by rockets launched by the Islamists on August 2.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 12 Aug 07, 07:39

Army Turns Down Fatah al-Islam Offer of Surrender
The Lebanese army on Sunday rejected a conditional offer of surrender by Fatah al-Islam militants holed up in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared, a mediator told AFP.
"The Islamists' spokesman Chahine Chahine made known an offer to give themselves up to a Palestinian committee, but this was rejected by the military," said Mohammed Hajj, a spokesman for clerics trying to broker an and to the deadly fighting at Nahr al-Bared.
"The army is demanding their unconditional surrender, that they hand over their weapons, and the disbandment of Fatah al-Islam," the militant group that has been fighting since May 20, Hajj added. A military spokesman confirmed this to AFP.
"Fatah al-Islam is in no position to demand conditions," he said. "They have no other option but to give themselves up to the army and be brought to justice.
"However we are ready to guarantee that their families will be able to leave peacefully. Let them suggest a mechanism for this and it will go ahead," the spokesman added. No more than an estimated 60 of the camp's 30,000-strong registered population remains inside Nahr al-Bared, and these are thought to be the wives and children of Islamist fighters. Soldiers continued bombarding the camp on Sunday with intermittent artillery fire, targeting underground Fatah al-Islam positions, an AFP reporter said. The state-run National News Agency said troops on Sunday also discovered a tunnel that seemed to be inhabited by Fatah al-Islam leaders in the camp.
Two rockets launched from inside Nahr al-Bared on Sunday morning hit the Akkar Plain four kilometres (two and a half miles) away, without causing casualties or damage. On August 2 rockets fired from the camp hit the Deir Ammar electricity-generating station, one of the most important in Lebanon. It is still out of action, and has meant power cuts across the country. Helicopter gunships overflew the camp on Sunday without opening fire, after launching strikes on Islamist positions on Thursday and Friday. More than 200 people -- among them 136 soldiers -- have been killed since the fighting began nearly 12 weeks ago. This toll does not include the bodies of militants that still have to be retrieved from inside the camp.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 12 Aug 07, 17:35

US Declares Lebanese Group Terrorists
By MATTHEW LEE
The Associated Press
Sunday, August 12, 2007; 3:01 AM
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has blacklisted as a "foreign terrorist organization" a Lebanese Islamist group blamed for major fighting at a refugee camp, the Associated Press has learned. The State Department is expected to announce the designation against al-Qaida-inspired Fatah al-Islam, which is suspected of having links with Syria, on Monday. The designation imposes financial and travel restrictions on the group and its members, officials said Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the designation is not yet public. The officials said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed off on the decision to place the radical group on the international terror list on Friday. The sanctions took effect with her signature.
The U.S. designation of Fatah al-Islam will bring to 43 the number of groups on the blacklist, which already includes many of the world's most notorious terrorist organizations.
The designation freezes the assets of the group in U.S. jurisdictions, bars its members from U.S. soil and makes it illegal for U.S. citizens or those subject to U.S. laws to provide it with "material support or resources."
The action against the Lebanese group comes as the Bush administration is stepping up efforts to distance Lebanon from Syrian influence and sporadic fighting between Lebanese troops and Fatah Islam militants.
It comes as Washington steps up efforts to free Lebanon from Syrian influence and amid serious clashes between Lebanese troops and Fatah Islam militants at the Nahr el-Bared camp that have killed at least 136 people since they erupted in May.
There was no immediate comment from Lebanese officials. Fatah Islam militants, who spoke to journalists by mobile phone from inside the Nahr el-Bared camp in the early days of the fighting, can no longer be reached. The fighting is the worst internal violence in Lebanon since its 1975-90 civil war and has dragged on despite the Lebanese army besieging the camp to uproot the group. The army has refused to halt its offensive until the militants completely surrender, but the gunmen have vowed to fight to the death. On Wednesday, Fatah Islam said in a statement posted to a Web site that its No. 2 commander, Abu Hureira, had been killed in the clashes and celebrated the "martyrdom of a noble a noble brother," vowing to avenge his death. The whereabouts Fatah Islam leader, Shaker Youssef Absi, are unknown.
Fuad Saniora, Lebanon's Western-backed prime minister, has said there are connections between Syria and Fatah Islam, which was formed last year but grew to prominence with the fighting. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied the charge.
The United States has in recent months boosted its attempts to support Saniora and his government as they face a continuing political crisis with pro-Syrian elements, including Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, the head of state.
On Thursday, Rice held talks with Lebanon's most senior diplomat in Washington, a Saniora appointee whom Lahoud has refused to accredit as the country's official envoy to the United States. Rice's meeting at the State Department with Antoine Chedid, whose formal title is Charge d'Affaires, effectively recognized him as the country's ambassador and was intended as a diplomatic slight to Lahoud, officials said.
Chedid's predecessor in Washington, a pro-Lahoud diplomat who carried the title of ambassador, left the United States in late July after the State Department waged a behind-the-scenes campaign to have him replaced. On August 1, President Bush signed an executive order allowing the Treasury Department to block the assets of anyone deemed to be destabilizing efforts to promote Lebanese security and sovereignty, a move seen as targeting Lahoud and his supporters as well as Syrian officials. ___
***On the Net:
State Department's Foreign Terrorist Organization designation list:
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm


Hezbollah marks war victory' over Israel amid Lebanon crisis
Nayla Razzouk-AFP
August 12, 2007
BEIRUT -- Lebanon's Shiite group Hezbollah celebrates this week the anniversary of its "divine victory" in its war with Israel, as the country remains paralyzed by deep political and economic crises.
"This is a great Lebanese national anniversary," said Hussein Rahhal, a spokesman for the militant group that held out against the Israeli army for 34 days in July and August 2006.
The blistering war that cost more than 1,200 lives in Lebanon and 160 in Israel, broke out when Hezbollah guerrillas staged a raid into Israel, capturing two soldiers in a bid to secure a prisoner swap.
Israel retaliated with a ferocious air, sea, and land assault that left Lebanon's infrastructure in tatters and destroyed thousands of homes until a UN-brokered ceasefire came into effect August 14.
"This victory proved that Lebanon can defend itself, and it greatly affected the Zionist entity which has since changed its top military leaders," Rahhal said.
One of Israel's stated aims in the war was to eliminate Hezbollah's capacity to fire rockets, thousands of which were launched at the Jewish state during the conflict.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which halted the war, calls for the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon.
But Hezbollah said it would not give up its weapons as long as there was a weak Lebanese state incapable of defending itself from Israel.
"We have an enemy that is always ready to carry out aggression," Rahhal said, boasting that "we are always ready to confront any renewed attacks."
He said the capability of his guerrilla group to hold out against the Jewish state's mighty army "has proven that Israel is incapable of winning any battle in Lebanon or elsewhere in the region."
Apart from Hezbollah's celebration, no official events to mark the ceasefire are planned across the country, which has been in the throes of a political and economic crisis over the past year.
The army, meanwhile, is engaged in a deadly showdown with Islamist militants at a Palestinian refugee camp.
Social affairs minister Nayla Moawad said that the "resistance has surely broken the myth of Israel's military might, but we cannot speak of a victory, whether divine or other, when Lebanon suffered so much destruction.
"The war has aggravated the political and economic crises, and has triggered a wave of emigration among vital forces in Lebanon," she said.
Beirut's political scene has witnessed sharp political disputes since the war, with parliament paralyzed for nearly nine months, because of a deadlock between the Western-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition supported by regional allies Syria and Iran.
And the Lebanese remain nervous after a string of attacks targeting prominent anti-Syrian figures. There is also fear the turmoil could worsen in the run-up to a September deadline for electing a new president.
The economic fallout from the war has been enormous.
Tourists and foreign investors have stayed away from Lebanon for a second straight year, and the economy of the country - which has a public debt of $41 billion - shrank by 5 percent.
Material damage from the war stands at an estimated $3.6 billion, not counting lost revenues.
Much of the battered infrastructure has been restored, as billions of dollars in foreign aid has flowed in, but the rebuilding of homes has been slow.
In Beirut's Shiite southern suburbs, where massive destruction is still apparent a year later, Hezbollah is putting on a brave face. It has organized an elaborate sound-and-light exhibit showcasing war booty to highlight Israel's "crushing defeat."
And Hezbollah's charismatic leader Hassan Nasrallah, a hero for many Arabs, but public enemy No. 1 for Israel, is due to make a televised speech before a large rally in the suburbs to mark the anniversary Tuesday.

US Department of State
Office of Counterterrorism
Washington, DC
October 11, 2005
Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)
Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) are foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business.
Identification
The Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the State Department (S/CT) continually monitors the activities of terrorist groups active around the world to identify potential targets for designation. When reviewing potential targets, S/CT looks not only at the actual terrorist attacks that a group has carried out, but also at whether the group has engaged in planning and preparations for possible future acts of terrorism or retains the capability and intent to carry out such acts.
Designation
Once a target is identified, S/CT prepares a detailed "administrative record," which is a compilation of information, typically including both classified and open sources information, demonstrating that the statutory criteria for designation have been satisfied. If the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, decides to make the designation, Congress is notified of the Secretary’s intent to designate the organization and given seven days to review the designation, as the INA requires. Upon the expiration of the seven-day waiting period and in the absence of Congressional action to block the designation, notice of the designation is published in the Federal Register, at which point the designation takes effect. By law an organization designated as an FTO may seek judicial review of the designation in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit not later than 30 days after the designation is published in the Federal Register.
Until recently the INA provided that FTOs must be redesignated every two years or the designation would lapse. Under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA), however, the redesignation requirement was replaced by certain review and revocation procedures. IRTPA provides thatan FTO may file a petition for revocation 2 years after its designation date (or in the case of redesignated FTOs, its most recent redesignation date) or 2 years after the determination date on its most recent petition for revocation. In order to provide a basis for revocation, the petitioning FTO must provide evidence that the circumstances forming the basis for the designation are sufficiently different as to warrant revocation.If no such review has been conducted during a five year period with respect to a designation, then the Secretary of State is required to review the designation to determine whether revocation would be appropriate. In addition, the Secretary of State may at any time revoke a designation upon a finding that the circumstances forming the basis for the designation have changed in such a manner as to warrant revocation, or that the national security of the United States warrants a revocation. The same procedural requirements apply to revocations made by the Secretary of State as apply to designations. A designation may be revoked by an Act of Congress, or set aside by a Court order.
Legal Criteria for Designation under Section 219 of the INA as amended
It must be a foreign organization.
The organization must engage in terrorist activity, as defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B)),* or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d)(2)),** or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism.
The organization’s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.
Legal Ramifications of Designation
It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide "material support or resources" to a designated FTO. (The term "material support or resources" is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(1) as " any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who maybe or include oneself), and transportation, except medicine or religious materials.” 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(2) provides that for these purposes “the term ‘training’ means instruction or teaching designed to impart a specific skill, as opposed to general knowledge.” 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(3) further provides that for these purposes the term ‘expert advice or assistance’ means advice or assistance derived from scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge.’’
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances, removable from the United States (see 8 U.S.C. §§ 1182 (a)(3)(B)(i)(IV)-(V), 1227 (a)(1)(A)).
Any U.S. financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which a designated FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Other Effects of Designation
Supports our efforts to curb terrorism financing and to encourage other nations to do the same.
Stigmatizes and isolates designated terrorist organizations internationally.
Deters donations or contributions to and economic transactions with named organizations.
Heightens public awareness and knowledge of terrorist organizations.
Signals to other governments our concern about named organizations.
Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
Abu Sayyaf Group
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
Ansar al-Islam
Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
Asbat al-Ansar
Aum Shinrikyo
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA)
Continuity Irish Republican Army
Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group)
HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement)
Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM)
Hizballah (Party of God)
Islamic Jihad Group
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed)
Jemaah Islamiya organization (JI)
al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad)
Kahane Chai (Kach)
Kongra-Gel (KGK, formerly Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, KADEK)
Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous)
Lashkar i Jhangvi
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM)
Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
National Liberation Army (ELN)
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLF)
PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC)
al-Qa’ida
Real IRA
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
Revolutionary Nuclei (formerly ELA)
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)
Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL)
Tanzim Qa'idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR) (al-Qaida in Iraq) (formerly Jama'at al-Tawhid wa'al-Jihad, JTJ, al-Zarqawi Network)
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)
* Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the INA defines "terrorist activity" to mean: "any activity which is unlawful under the laws of the place where it is committed (or which, if committed in the United States, would be unlawful under the laws of the United States or any State) and which involves any of the following:
(I) The highjacking or sabotage of any conveyance (including an aircraft, vessel, or vehicle).
(II) The seizing or detaining, and threatening to kill, injure, or continue to detain, another individual in order to compel a third person (including a governmental organization) to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition for the release of the individual seized or detained.
(III) A violent attack upon an internationally protected person (as defined in section 1116(b)(4) of title 18, United States Code) or upon the liberty of such a person.
(IV) An assassination.
(V) The use of any--
(a) biological agent, chemical agent, or nuclear weapon or device, or
(b) explosive, firearm, or other weapon or dangerous device (other than for mere personal monetary gain), with intent to endanger, directly or indirectly, the safety of one or more individuals or to cause substantial damage to property.
(VI) A threat, attempt, or conspiracy to do any of the foregoing."
Other pertinent portions of section 212(a)(3)(B) are set forth below:
(iv) Engage in Terrorist Activity Defined
As used in this chapter [chapter 8 of the INA], the term ‘engage in terrorist activity’ means in an individual capacity or as a member of an organization–
to commit or to incite to commit, under circumstances indicating an intention to cause death or serious bodily injury, a terrorist activity;
to prepare or plan a terrorist activity;
to gather information on potential targets for terrorist activity;
to solicit funds or other things of value for–
(aa) a terrorist activity;
(bb) a terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(I) or (vi)(II); or
(cc) a terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(III), unless the solicitor can demonstrate that he did not know, and should not reasonably have known, that the solicitation would further the organization’s terrorist activity;
to solicit any individual–
(aa) to engage in conduce otherwise described in this clause;
(bb) for membership in terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(I) or
(vi)(II); or
(cc) for membership in a terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(III), unless the solicitor can demonstrate that he did not know, and should not reasonably have known, that the solicitation would further the organization’s terrorist activity; or
to commit an act that the actor knows, or reasonably should know, affords material support, including a safe house, transportation, communications, funds, transfer of funds or other material financial benefit, false documentation or identification, weapons (including chemical, biological, or radiological weapons), explosives, or training–
(aa) for the commission of a terrorist activity;
(bb) to any individual who the actor knows, or reasonably should know, has committed or plans to commit a terrorist activity;
(cc) to a terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(I) or (vi)(II); or
(dd) to a terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(III), unless the actor can demonstrate that he did not know, and should not reasonably have known, that the act would further the organization’s terrorist activity.
This clause shall not apply to any material support the alien afforded to an organization or individual that has committed terrorist activity, if the Secretary of State, after consultation with the Attorney General, or the Attorney General, after consultation with the Secretary of State, concludes in his sole unreviewable discretion, that that this clause should not apply."
"(v) Representative Defined
As used in this paragraph, the term ‘representative’ includes an officer, official, or spokesman of an organization, and any person who directs, counsels, commands, or induces an organization or its members to engage in terrorist activity.
Terrorist Organization Defined
As used in clause (i)(VI) and clause (iv), the term ‘terrorist organization’ means an organization--
designated under section 219 [8 U.S.C. § 1189];
otherwise designated, upon publication in the Federal Register, by the Secretary of State in consultation with or upon the request of the Attorney General, as a terrorist organization, after finding that the organization engages in the activities described in subclause (I), (II), or (III) of clause (iv), or that the organization provides material support to further terrorist activity; or
that is a group of two or more individuals, whether organized or not, which engages in the activities described in subclause (I), (II), or (III) of clause (iv).
** Section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 defines "terrorism" as "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents."

U.N. troops keep south Lebanon calm year after war
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
BEIRUT (Reuters) - If you want yoga lessons, herbal medicine for a sick cow or help clearing cluster bombs in south Lebanon, try United Nations troops -- who have also kept the peace between Israel and Hezbollah for the past year. The south has been notably calm since fighting stopped on August 14, two days after the U.N. Security Council mandated an expanded, tougher UNIFIL force to oversee an Israeli withdrawal and help newly deployed Lebanese troops secure the area.
Hezbollah guerrillas, who fired thousands of rockets into Israel during the 34-day conflict, now have no visible armed presence in the UNIFIL zone south of the Litani River. Israeli warplanes still violate Lebanese airspace almost daily, but few shots have been fired in anger apart from a brief clash between Israeli and Lebanese troops on February 7 and two rockets that hit Israel June 17. Hezbollah denied firing them. "The outcome of the first year is very positive," UNIFIL's
commander, Major General Claudio Graziano, told Reuters. "There's still a lot to be done. It's a young mission."
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah has challenged UNIFIL, which now has 11,500 troops and a 2,000-strong naval force from 30-odd nations. But a car bomb that killed six Spanish peacekeepers on June 24 was a bloody reminder of dangers faced by the force.
The attack, whose perpetrators remain unidentified, prompted U.N. troops to step up their protective measures and underlined their need to foster good relations with the local populace. Hence the yoga and veterinary services offered by UNIFIL's Indian battalion, as well as the work of Chinese demining teams and other medical, humanitarian and reconstruction efforts.
NO PEACE, NO WAR
Twelve months after the war, which killed about 1,200 people in Lebanon and 158 Israelis, there is still no formal ceasefire.
Moreover, U.N. mediation has yet to win either the release of two Israeli soldiers whose capture by Hezbollah sparked the conflict, or freedom for Lebanese prisoners held in Israel.But both sides say they support the U.N. peacekeepers. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the situation in south Lebanon had improved drastically with UNIFIL's help. "The fact that the Lebanese (army) forces have, for the first time in decades, been exercising Lebanese sovereignty over territory that was previously an Iranian-inspired mini-state is an important achievement," he added.Regev accused Iran and Syria of continuing to arm Hezbollah in violation of U.N. resolution 1701 which ended the war, saying the Security Council should consider action against them.
"We are concerned about the flow of illicit military equipment across the Litani southwards and concerned that urban areas in the south are not sufficiently monitored and patrolled and have become areas where Hezbollah and other jihadist groups have been able to rebuild their military machine," he said.
That is not UNIFIL's view.
Graziano said his forces had found no "terror or military activity", except for two bombings against UNIFIL and the rocket attack, though there might still be weapons caches in the area. "At this moment Hezbollah is really respectful of 1701," the Italian general declared.
Hezbollah denies any military activity or weapons smuggling south of the Litani, but says it has replenished its arsenal.
"We understand that UNIFIL's role is to protect Lebanon's sovereignty. We agree to this, no more and no less," said Ali Fayyad, head of a Hezbollah think-tank in Beirut. He complained that the U.N. force had been unable to prevent Israeli overflights or obtain from Israel maps of minefields or data on cluster bomb strikes that could save lives in the south. "Resolution 1701 has achieved a ceasefire in practice, but has not stopped Israeli hostilities against Lebanon," Fayyad said, referring also to continued Israeli occupation of the disputed Shebaa Farms area claimed by Beirut.
"MANAGING THE CONFLICT"
Lebanon's Western-backed government has asked the Security Council to renew UNIFIL's mandate when it expires on August 31.
"The peacekeeping task will remain easy as long as the belligerents want it," said former UNIFIL adviser Timur Goksel.
"UNIFIL is managing the conflict, not solving it. The potential for a flare-up is still there, but I don't think the parties are in a mood to start anything now," he added.
Israel proved unable to disarm Hezbollah last year and the task is beyond the mandate of UNIFIL, which says a political solution is needed. For now, the group's armed power remains one of many issues dividing rival factions in Lebanon.
Hezbollah, along with its Shi'ite and Christian allies, is locked in a nine-month-old dispute with the government. Failure to resolve this before a looming presidential electi
(c) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1269112007
Last updated: 12-Aug-07 09:24 BST