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U.N. Report: Fight Vs. al-Qaida Failing
November 14, 2003 11:22 PM EST UNITED NATIONS - The al-Qaida terror network has decided to use chemical or biological weapons in future attacks, and international efforts to halt the group are failing, a confidential report by a U.N. panel of experts has found. The report, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, said the only thing holding al-Qaida back from using chemical and biological weapons is its lack technical know-how. "They have already taken the decision to use chemical and bio-weapons in their forthcoming attacks," the report said. "The only restraint they are facing is the technical complexity to operate them properly and effectively." The lack of technical ability is the reason the panel of experts believes that al-Qaida is focused on trying to develop new conventional explosive devices such as bombs that can evade scanners. The report is the second by the expert group established in January by the U.N. Security Council to monitor implementation of sanctions against 272 individuals and entities linked to al-Qaida and Afghanistanâs ousted Taliban regime. The sanctions include freezing assets, a travel ban, and an arms embargo. The experts participated in a serious of international and European discussions on efforts to curb trafficking in weapons of mass destruction. They didnât cite any specific new evidence, noting only the recent discovery of several canisters of unidentified chemicals and possible residues of a "tetanus virus-carrying chemical" and a bio-terror manual in a police raid on a Jemaah Islamiyah hideout in the southern Philippines. "The risk of al-Qaida acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction also continues to grow," the report said. In the report, the expert group said the al-Qaida ideology is spreading worldwide and has found "fertile ground" in Iraq, raising the specter of new terrorist attacks. While "important progress has been made toward cutting off al-Qaida financing," the report said serious loopholes remain that enable the terrorist network to funnel money to operatives. "Al-Qaida continues to receive funds it needs from charities, deep pocket donors Sanctions are also failing because many governments refuse to add names to the sanctions list, even though some 4,000 individuals in 102 countries have been arrested or detained for their links with al-Qaida, it said. Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen reported the arrest of individuals linked to al-Qaida and the Taliban yet in most cases they didnât submit the names to be put on the sanctions list, the report said. Even when people are on the list, the experts said, they have been allowed to travel and evade sanctions. The report cited an investigation of two men on the U.N. list of terrorist financiers, Ahmed Idris Nasreddin and Youssef Nada, whose bank accounts have been frozen but whose other assets including residential or commercial property in Campione dâItalia and Lugano, Switzerland, and Milan, Italy, has not been touched. On Jan. 28, it said, Nada traveled from Campione dâItalia to Vaduz, Liechtenstein, in violation of the travel ban and applied to change the name of two of his companies that were on the sanctions list. Their case reflects the "continued serious weaknesses regarding the control of business activities and assets other than bank accounts" of individuals on the sanctions list, the report said. The expert group called on the Security Council to adopt a new resolution requiring all 191 member states to enforce sanctions. Otherwise, it said the U.N. role in fighting terrorism "risks becoming marginalized." Becoming? Becoming? Sonny-boy you ARE marginalized. Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-11-15 |
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