Overview on State Sponsors of Terrorism

出处：按学科分类—政治、法律 BERKSHIREPUBLISHINGGROUP《PatternsofGlobalTerrorism1985-2005：U.S.DepartmentofStateReportswithSupplementaryDocumentsandStatistics》第52页（8572字）

Anna Sabasteanski

The concept of state-sponsored terrorism was first formulated in the 1970s, when countries in the Middle East, particularly Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, and Syria, supported the Palestinian resistance against the state of Israel. This support existed across the spectrum from nonviolent to violent; from political statements to financial and operational support and training for Palestinian militants, and even to active participation in militant activities.

At around the same time, another form of state-sponsored terrorism emerged as a product of the Cold War. Both the Soviet Union and the United States became involved in proxy wars fought in Africa, Asia and South America, each superpower supporting local groups more or less aligned with its geopolitical stance. Armed by their superpower sponsors, both left-and right-wing paramilitary groups often terrorized local populations during the course of various conflicts.

Both these threads are refiected in the U.S. Department of State’s reports of the time. For example, in 1985 Cuba and Nicaragua were both cited for supporting guerrilla groups internally and in the region. In the Middle East, Libya, Syria, and Iran were described as directly planning and orchestrating attacks (hijackings in particular) worldwide. As for the Soviet Union, one State Department report (Patterns of Global Terrorism 1985, 8) noted that it “continued to support various ‘national liberation movements’—such as the PLO and the African National Congress (ANC)—with the knowledge that some of those they train later commit terrorist acts.” Much of this support was through provision of arms, including items that have become perennial favorites among terrorists, including Semtex explosives and the Kalashnikov rifle.

International sanctions designed to thwart state sponsorship of terrorism had little impact compared with broader economic changes. The reduction in oil wealth (after Middle Eastern oil production began to fall in the 1970s) beginning in the 1980s reduced the ability of Middle Eastern countries to keep money fiowing to the Palestinians. Economic problems in a number of Caribbean and South American countries led state sponsors of terrorism to turn to the lucrative narcotics trade, which is now responsible for financing most of the acts of terrorism and political violence in the region.

Then in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. The subsequent chaos created safe havens for terrorists and organized crime throughout Central Asia and Eastern Europe. In many war-and poverty-plagued parts of Africa and in Afghanistan, failed and failing states also provide safe havens.

The Legislation behind the Designation

The U.S. secretary of state is responsible for designating as state sponsors of terrorism those countries that have repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism. Three laws endow the secretary of state with that power and responsibility and provide for sanctions against offending countries; those laws are the Export Administration Act (1979), the Arms Export Control Act (1994), and the Foreign Assistance Act (1961).

The Export Administration Act

Under Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act, the Department of State is responsible for issuing the licenses for the export of those defense articles and services that require them (items requiring licenses before they can be exported are all listed on the U.S. Munitions List). Certain items are classified as dual use: they have both military and nonmilitary applications. Such items require licenses not only from the Department of State but also from the Department of Commerce before they can be exported. The Export Administration Act of 1979 expired in 1994, was reauthorized, and expired again in 2001. Since then export controls have been issued under presidential executive orders. As might be expected, armsfirelated exports and sales to designated state sponsors of terrorism may be banned, and export of dual-use items may be heavily controlled. State sponsors of terrorism also face other penalties.

The Arms Export Control Act

Section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act prohibits the transfer of munitions by export, sale, lease, loan, grant, or other means to countries supporting acts of international terrorism as specfiked by the secretary of state pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act.

The Foreign Assistance Act

Section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act prohibits certain forms of aid, such as military assistance, debt relief, and other economic assistance, to countries that have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, as determined by the secretary of state.

Sanctions

Countries that have been designated as state sponsors of terrorism face sanctions that may include:

■ being banned from receiving armsfirelated exports and sales

■ having their companies prohibited from receiving U.S. Defense Department contracts above $100,000

■ having their imports of dual-use items subjected to controls; for example, notification of the U.S. Congress thirty days prior to the transaction

■ denial of dutyfree treatment for their exports to the United States

■ prohibition of economic assistance

■ denial of diplomatic immunity, which makes it possible for families of terrorist victims to file civil lawsuits in U.S. courts

■ financial restrictions; for example, the United States may be required to oppose loans by the World Bank and other international financial institutions to such states, or U.S. citizens may be prohibited from engaging in financial transactions with such states without a license from the Treasury Department, or companies and individuals that earn income in such states may be denied tax credits that they would otherwise receive

The Nations Designated as State Sponsors of Terrorism

For nearly two decades, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, North Korea, Cuba, and Sudan were the seven nations that the secretary of state repeatedly designated as state sponsors of international terrorism. Prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States was considering adding Pakistan to this list because of reports that Pakistan supported terrorist groups and elements active in Kashmir, the Taliban in Afghanistan (which harbored al-Qaeda), the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. However, in the light of Pakistan’s support for the post-September 11 U.S. war on terrorism, any thought of designating it a state sponsor of terrorism has been abandoned. Even the news that Abdul Qadeer Khan, the leader of Pakistan’s nuclear program, had sold nuclear weapons technology to North Korea, Iran, and Libya, did not lead to sanctions. The Department of State has also been monitoring the situation in Lebanon, where a variety of terrorist groups operated and trained, but Lebanon has not been added to the list of state sponsors and is not likely to be during its current period of transition following Syria’s 2005 military withdrawal.

In October 2004, following the U.S.filed invasion, Iraq was removed from the list. Libya has not been removed from the list, although in 2004 the United States lifted many sanctions after it cooperated with U.N. requirements related to the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland—a terrorist event in which it was involved—and declared that it would dismantle all of its nuclear and chemical weapons programs.

In this section, we have collated the annual reports for each country reported as a state sponsor in Patterns of Global Terrorism: Afghanistan (including the reports on Osama bin Laden), Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nicaragua, North Korea, South Yemen, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Sudan, and Syria. Also relevant is the previous section on “Sanctions” and the Congressional Research Report, “Terrorism and National Security: Issues and Trends” in the opening section on “U.S. Policies in Combating Terrorism.”