Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda movement continues to find ways to subvert international efforts to cut off its financing, according to a U.N. report released yesterday (AFP/Getty). U.N. Sanctions Failing to Stop Financial Support for Al-Qaeda By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — Al-Qaeda continues to evade sanctions and still receives money through a variety of channels, including charities, according to a report released yesterday by the Security Council committee monitoring the sanctions against al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban (see GSN, Nov. 18). “Without a tougher and more comprehensive [Security Council] resolution — a resolution which obligates states to take the mandated measures — the role played by the United Nations in this important battle risks becoming marginalized,” the report says...Full Story

Diplomats Fine-Tune North Korean Negotiating Strategy Senior diplomats from Japan, South Korea and the United States are expected to meet in Washington this week to coordinate their strategy for upcoming talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis, Reuters reported (see GSN, Dec. 1)...Full Story

Texas Tech University Professor Found Guilty of Fraud Texas Tech University professor Robert Butler was found guilty yesterday of embezzlement and fraud charges that he faced after an incident early this year involving plague samples at Butler’s laboratory, according to the Washington Post (see GSN, Nov. 26)...Full Story

	Tuesday, December 2, 2003

U.N. Sanctions Failing to Stop Financial Support for Al-Qaeda By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — Al-Qaeda continues to evade sanctions and still receives money through a variety of channels, including charities, according to a report released yesterday by the Security Council committee monitoring the sanctions against al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban (see GSN, Nov. 18). “Without a tougher and more comprehensive [Security Council] resolution — a resolution which obligates states to take the mandated measures — the role played by the United Nations in this important battle risks becoming marginalized,” the report says. At the same time, the report says al-Qaeda must be seen as “more than just a loose network of like-minded Islamic extremist groups. Al-Qaeda also has to be seen as an ideology.” If it is not recognized as such, this “demonstrates a failure to recognize the true nature of the threat with which the international community has to deal,” according to the report. Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Ambassador Heraldo Munoz of Chile, the chairman of the Security Council sanctions committee, said, “We may have to consider a stronger resolution to strengthen the sanctions. … There are some voids we need to address.” The report recommends that a new resolution could give the committee some investigative powers (currently it can only monitor implementation of the sanctions), clarify states’ responsibilities to block al-Qaeda related assets and impose restrictions that charities “route their transactions through established banking systems.” Munoz said terrorists are still abusing charities. Charities are not easy to control, he said, but some charities on the sanctions list “continue to operate in some countries and this is a distressing fact.” Munoz is heading a delegation of council members, which departed last night, to countries where such operations still function, including Saudi Arabia and Italy. The report focuses on two charities on the sanctions list based in Saudi Arabia — the International Islamic Relief Organization and al-Haramain Charitable Foundation — which have branches in Western countries, including Liechtenstein. The report also details how shell companies and offshore businesses move money around the world. Two individuals on the sanctions list, Youssef Nada and Idris Nasreddin, operate shell companies in the Bahamas, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Liechtenstein and have not had all their assets blocked, according to the report. The council established the sanctions panel in 1999. In January, the council adopted Resolution 1455, extending the mandate of the group. The sanctions involve bans on financial transactions and travel by individuals linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban and an arms embargo against them. The individuals and entities subject to sanctions are on a list maintained by the council. This list is the main tool the committee has in measuring the effectiveness of the sanctions. Governments are showing an inability or unwillingness to freeze or seize “tangible assets such as businesses or property,” says the report. There is “reluctance on the part of many states to recognize the presence of al-Qaeda or elements of the network within their territory. There is also a reluctance to propose individuals and entities to the committee to be listed. … This contributes to the continuing resilience of al-Qaeda.” “Although the [sanctions] list has grown in numbers, it has not kept pace with these actions, or the increased intelligence and other information available,” says the report. Some 4,000 individuals have been arrested in 102 countries for links with al-Qaeda, yet the list contains only 272 names. “This is clearly a disappointing result,” said Munoz. The report says al-Qaeda is increasing its influence in other parts of the world, especially in Southeast Asia through groups such as the Jemmah Islamiya, which is blamed for the Bali bombing in October 2002. “We are worried about the extension of al-Qaeda, not only to Asia, but to other new theaters, so in that sense it has become a truly global terrorist organization,” Munoz said. Also, according to the report, “Iraq is readily accessible to followers of al-Qaeda.” Michael Chandler, the chairman of the expert group that wrote the report, said, “The image we try to paint [in the report] is the backdrop of how the movement … is evolving and that’s the message we’re trying to get over — that we are dealing with something which is not specific to al-Qaeda and bin Laden, it has now become much more diffused, much more widespread.” He added, “That’s why it’s become people who tend to follow an ideology rather than just being a much more formal structured organization like it appeared to be two years ago.” Reflecting this view, the report focuses more on the roles played by related groups and financial fronts for al-Qaeda than it does on the core leadership of the group held responsible for a series of terrorists attacks, including the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States. Only 83 states of the 191 nations submitted reports on implementation of the sanctions as required by Resolution 1455, according to the report, and some of the nonreporting countries include those of interest for possible al-Qaeda activities, including Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia, Egypt, Georgia, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan and Uzbekistan. “Certain states [had] little or no knowledge” about the sanctions committee, the report says. Chandler said “stigma” is discouraging governments from reporting to the committee. “Some people are concerned that if they appear to have al-Qaeda-related activities or connections within their borders, this may frighten away tourists and investments,” he said. The other two elements of the sanctions regime — the travel ban and arms embargo — are also not fully enforced, the report says. The report will be submitted to the council later this month. Munoz said he did not expect the council to take any action on a new resolution until next year. 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European Companies Want Chinese Technology Trade Ban Lifted European companies are pushing for the European Union to lift restrictions on technology transfers to China, Xinhua News Service reported last week (see GSN, Oct. 29). “The ban on sensitive high technology sales to China, imposed since 1989, is obsolete,” said Philippe Camus, chief executive officer of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, also known as EADS. European firms have already begun cooperating with China outside the EU regulations, he said. “EADS is to accompany the expansion of sales in China with that of industrial and technological cooperation with Chinese partners,” Camus added. On Oct. 13, Beijing asked EU officials to end the “out-of-date” ban. There is, however, no immediate movement to lift the ban, according to EU Ambassador to China Klaus Eberman. “It is a question strongly linked to human rights and public opinion,” he said last month (Xinhua News Service, Nov. 26). Back to top

Diplomats Fine-Tune North Korean Negotiating Strategy Senior diplomats from Japan, South Korea and the United States are expected to meet in Washington this week to coordinate their strategy for upcoming talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis, Reuters reported (see GSN, Dec. 1). U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly is scheduled to meet Thursday with Mitoji Yabunaka, the director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanic Affairs Buruea. South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck will also attend. A spokesman for South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said that details of the North Korea talks have not yet been finalized. “The date for multilateral talks is not fixed yet as we need an agreement from the North, but the three diplomats are likely to fine-tune other details at a meeting this week,” the spokesman said (Reuters/CNN.com, Dec. 2). Chinese officials confirmed that the date was not yet arranged. “So far preparations for the next round of six-party talks is ongoing, as for a specific date it has not been finalized,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. The six-nation forum also includes Russia. “As I said earlier, if all the preparations can be conducted smoothly, then the next round of six-party talks can be convened within this year,” Liu added (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Dec. 2). Back to top       Pakistan Suggests Removing Troops From Kashmir Line of Control Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf yesterday suggested that he would order Pakistani troops away from the Line of Control separating the disputed province of Kashmir if India were to do the same (see GSN, Nov. 25). The disputed Kashmir region has long been feared to be a potential flashpoint between the two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals. During an appearance on a BBC radio program, Musharraf said that Pakistan was ready to remove its 50,000 troops from the Line of Control “tomorrow” if India were to do the same with the 700,000 troops it has deployed on its side.  “Let them remove their 700,000 and we will remove our 50,000. Is this acceptable to them?” Musharraf said (CNN.com, Dec. 1). Back to top       Russian Ballistic Missile Submarine Completes Test The Russian ballistic missile submarine Dmitriy Donskoi has recently completed a six-day trial off northern Russia, ITAR-Tass reported today (see GSN, Aug. 7). The submarine is now set to undergo further work at the Sevmash naval yard and is expected to enter into service next year (ITAR-Tass/BBC Monitoring, Dec. 2). Back to top

Texas Tech University Professor Found Guilty of Fraud Texas Tech University professor Robert Butler was found guilty yesterday of embezzlement and fraud charges that he faced after an incident early this year involving plague samples at Butler’s laboratory, according to the Washington Post (see GSN, Nov. 26). In January, Butler reported that 30 vials of plague samples were missing and presumed stolen from his university laboratory. Butler later signed a statement, however, saying that he had destroyed the vials and had misled FBI agents. Yesterday, Butler was convicted on 47 out of 69 counts, most relating to illegal exports of plague samples and multiple counts of fraud related to university research contracts, the Post reported. The jury acquitted Butler, however, of lying to the FBI, of illegally importing and transporting plague samples and of filing false tax returns. Butler is expected to remain under house arrest until a sentencing hearing next month (Lee Hockstader, Washington Post, Dec. 2). Butler’s attorney Jonathan Turley has said that Butler will file an appeal. “The entire controversy that led to this case was thrown out by the jury,” Turley said. “The Justice Department justified this massive investigation and massive prosecution based on plague charges and false statements that the jury rejected,” he said (Charles Piller, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 2). Back to top       Brentwood Postal Facility in Washington to Reopen Friday By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The Brentwood mail processing facility here, which became tainted with anthrax during the 2001 anthrax attacks and was subsequently decontaminated, is set to reopen Friday, a U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman told Global Security Newswire today (see GSN, Nov. 13). Administrative employees are scheduled to return to the facility Friday, the spokeswoman said, adding that the building has been renamed in honor of the two employees who were killed by anthrax. The facility was initially set to reopen by the end of last month, but the move was delayed because of the Thanksgiving holiday, said Deborah Yackley. She also said that the facility’s return to full operation was expected within the “next few months.”  Employees who worked at the Brentwood Road facility prior to the anthrax attacks were given the option of either returning to work at the facility once it was successfully decontaminated or being transferred to another site. Yackley said that “a small percentage” of the 2,000 facility employees have opted not to return. “We’re being very understanding about the issue,” she said. Modified operating procedures at the facility will require fewer personnel than was needed prior to the anthrax attacks, Yackley said. While the Brentwood Road facility previously handled mail both to and from Washington, it will now handle outgoing mail only, she said. In addition, progress is also being made in decontaminating a mail facility in Hamilton, N.J., that was also affected by the anthrax attacks, Yackley said (see GSN, Oct. 28). She said the facility had been treated with chlorine dioxide to kill any lingering anthrax spores and that Postal Service officials were now awaiting the results of thousands of test strips placed inside the facility to determine if the effort had been successful. Back to top       U.S.-Held Briton Admits to Planning Anthrax Attack on British Parliament A British citizen currently being held at a U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has said that he was involved in an al-Qaeda plot to attack the British House of Commons with anthrax, the London Independent reported Saturday (see GSN, June 3). Moazzam Begg has admitted to being involved in a plot to obtain an unmanned aircraft for use in spraying anthrax over the House of Commons, according to Begg’s attorney Clive Stafford Smith. Smith, who called the alledged plot “laughable,” said Begg had been forced to confess by U.S. interrogators (Severin Carrell, London Independent, Nov. 30). Back to top       Prosecutors Finish Presenting Case in Anthrax Hoax Trial Federal prosecutors yesterday ended their case against Clayton Lee Waagner, who is on trial for sending hundreds of anthrax hoax letters to U.S. abortion providers in the aftermath of the 2001 anthrax attacks, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer (see GSN, Oct. 18, 2002). Waagner, who is representing himself, has told the jury that there is no evidence that he mailed the anthrax hoax letters. He has said that he took credit for the hoaxes to help other antiabortion activists, the Inquirer reported. The jury is expected to begin their deliberations tomorrow (Joseph Slobodzian, Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 2). Back to top

OPCW Plans to Address Protecting Chemical Weapons Stockpiles The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, responsible for implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention, will focus more on protecting chemical weapons stockpiles from terrorists, the organization’s head of special projects said last week (see GSN, Nov. 27). “In keeping with its mandate, the OPCW wants to play a more active role in the prevention of terrorists’ access to chemical weapons, and if necessary, the prevention of a chemical hazard,” said Sergei Batsanov. Batsanov said the effort could lead to the enlargement of the organization and an increase in inspections of chemical facilities (Interfax News Service, Nov. 27).   Back to top

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