Sanctions have never stopped anything.
Bruce http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1108535834261040.xml U.N. team: Sanctions won't stop al Qaeda Wednesday, February 16, 2005 BY LEYLA LINTON Associated Press UNITED NATIONS -- A U.N. team investigating compliance with sanctions against al Qaeda and the Taliban predicted yesterday that brutal attacks by Osama bin Laden's followers will escalate as they still have easy access to bombmaking materials and money. Terror attacks sponsored by al Qaeda and weapons of mass destruction are among the chief threats confronting the world, according to the team's report to a U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Al Qaeda remains capable of mounting "devastating attacks" and sanctions are having only a limited effect on the group, which is still keen to acquire chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, a U.N. report said. It is only "a matter of time" before a successful attack occurs, the report said. U.N. sanctions require all 191 U.N. member states to impose a travel ban and arms embargo against a list of those linked to Osama bin Laden's terror network and the former Afghan rulers and to freeze their financial assets. The list includes more than 430 individuals and groups. The semiannual report, which will be considered by the full Security Council at a later stage, painted a grim picture of a terror group determined to spread its influence, constantly evolving to evade detection. "The biggest fear we all have is terrorists getting hold of the means to cause a mass attack," said Richard Barrett, the team's coordinator. "Al Qaeda is a phenomenon that observes no borders. It is even harder to track now than it was a year or two ago when it had a more coherent structure and leadership." He added that he did not think al Qaeda was likely to obtain an entire bomb, but rather components of weapons of mass destruction, for example, toxic or radioactive material. Despite steps taken by U.N. member states to impose military-style weapon embargoes, attacks with small arms and explosives have continued, the team said. It said measures should be taken to counter the threat of portable anti-aircraft missile systems and materials that can be turned into explosives. Financial sanctions, such as an assets freeze, may be the most effective way to stop large-scale terrorist operations, and many countries had implemented banking reforms to stop terror groups from moving money around, the report said. "But there are many unofficial ways available to circumvent these restrictions," it added. The team also said a travel ban imposed on people listed as being members of the Taliban and al Qaeda or their associates should be tightened and it called on the United Nations to work with Interpol on problem areas like forged travel documents. No member state reported a violation of the ban for the three years the sanctions had been in force, but it was "difficult to believe" no al Qaeda or Taliban member had crossed a national border, the report said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
