12 November 2002

Taylor Says Terrorism Threatens All Nations, November 9, 2002

(International cooperation needed to thwart terrorism)

The war on terrorism is about more than America's response to the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, according to Francis Taylor, the coordinator for counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State.

In a November 9 press briefing in Manila, the Philippines, Taylor told reporters that the war on terrorism is "about the global threat that terrorists present to all nations in the world and the need for all nations in the world to build the institutions and the relationships and the capability to take on terrorists within their country then more broadly, regionally, and then globally."

Taylor said he is seeking to reinforce that message during his trip to Southeast Asia and to reinforce "the need for the political commitment that has been so strongly demonstrated in this region to continue to fight terrorists and terrorist organizations until they are defeated."

In the global fight against terrorism, Taylor said, Southeast Asia plays a "very important part."

Taylor noted that Jemaah Islamiya (JI), an organization affiliated with al Qaeda; Abu Sayyaf; and al Qaeda itself operate in the region.

"JI is an organization that is focused on trying to build a broad Islamic state encompassing Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines ... through undermining the political systems with violence," the State Department official said.

Regarding the October 12 terror bombings in Bali, Indonesia, that killed nearly 200 people, Taylor said it does not matter whether the terrorists were motivated by hatred of Americans or of other people. "That kind of hate is what terrorists are all about," he said. "That's the kind of hate we're trying to eliminate in our campaign against terrorism."

In the Bali terror attacks, he went on, innocent people were killed for political purposes.

Taylor said there is a clear linkage between terrorism and the international illegal narcotics trade, as well as between terrorism and the human-trafficking industry and other organized crime activities.

"Many terrorists support their operations through criminal activity," he said, citing the case of Mohammed Hesham, who used credit card fraud and similar activities to fund his training for a planned attack on Los Angeles International Airport.

Taylor noted that "many of the things we're doing for counter terrorism will also help us defeat criminal elements who exploit the same scams between nations by moving people and resources across borders in ways that are illegal."

"Much of the same tools that we use for counter terrorism will be very effective for us against criminal elements, and those criminal elements that help support terrorist activity around the world," he continued.

Following is a transcript of Taylor's November 9 briefing with reporters in Manila, the Philippines:
(begin transcript)

Press Briefing by Ambassador Francis X. Taylor with the Foreign Correspondents Association in Manila U.S. Embassy
November 9, 2002

AMB. TAYLOR: Good morning. It's my pleasure to be able to share this morning with you, to take your questions. I'll just briefly tell you this culminates a weeklong visit that I've had to Asia, starting in Australia, then going to Singapore, Indonesia, and culminating here, in the Philippines. The purpose of my visit to the region was to have bilateral discussions with our colleagues on the global war on terrorism, to examine the developments in the aftermath of the Bali bombing in terms of how that investigation was pursuing and how the United States Government might give assistance to our partners in Indonesia as well as to other partners in the region. And then here, to consult with our Philippine colleagues on the global war on terrorism, to reinforce our nation's great appreciation for President Arroyo's leadership in Southeast Asia in the global war on terrorism. With that, I'd be happy to take your questions.

Q: Sir, I'm Jim Gomez from AP. Indonesia authorities have recently made some arrests of suspects in the Bali bombing. From your conversations with the Indonesian authorities, are there any indications that the ones that they arrested have connections with either the Jemaah Islamiya or the al-Qaeda or any extremist group operating in the region?

AMB. TAYLOR: Well, it's my general policy not to comment on ongoing investigations and, indeed, this is an international investigation being led by the Government of Indonesia, quite competently and professionally. My only comment would be that we have to let the evidence speak for itself and let the evidence take us wherever it leads. If it leads to JI or leads to al-Qaeda, so be it. But let's not speculate. Let's conduct, as the Indonesians are doing with their international partners, a very comprehensive, professional investigation that tracks the evidence to a logical conclusion.

Q: Carlos Romero of Channel News Asia. What kind of support are you seeking from the Philippine government and other regional Southeast Asian governments for the U.S. campaign versus Iraq?

AMB. TAYLOR: For the U.S. campaign versus Iraq? I'm not here to discuss Iraq. I'm here to discuss the global war on terrorism, and I'm not seeking anything more that what the President of the Philippines, the President of Indonesia, the leadership of Singapore, the leadership of Australia have committed, and that is to work with us on the global threat as well as regional threats. You know, terrorism as a problem, people think that this global war on terrorism is all about America and the attack on 9-11. But really, the global war on terrorism is about the global threat that terrorists present to all nations in the world and the need for all nations in the world to build the institutions and the relationships and the capability to take on terrorists within their country then more broadly, regionally, and then globally. My visit here, as well as my visit in the other nations of the region during this period, has been to reinforce that message and to reinforce the need for the political commitment that has been so strongly demonstrated in this region to continue to fight terrorists and terrorist organizations until they are defeated.

Q: I'm Wakamatsu of the Tokyo Shimbun. You said that you are here to talk about the war against terrorism not the attack on Iraq. So can I understand this; these are totally different, two issues or are they inter-related?

AMB. TAYLOR: No, what I said was that my purpose for visiting was not to discuss requests to governments in the region for support against Iraq. It was to focus on the global war on terrorism. Iraq is a state-sponsored terrorist. It has been so for the last ten years. That has not changed. We are still focused on ending Iraqi support for terrorism. But the issue involving Iraq is more broad than just terrorism. That issue involves Iraq's maintaining and potential use of weapons of mass destruction. And President Bush, along with the U.N. Security Council, has determined that as a threat to the international community. And so the focus on Iraq is disarming Iraq. To take those weapons of mass destruction away so they are no longer a threat to the international community and certainly we're very pleased to note that the U.N. Security Council has passed a resolution in that regard, that we trust the Iraqi leadership will understand the gravity of the situation and respond very positively and accordingly to what the international community of nations has now demanded of them.

Q: Hata of the Asahi Shimbun: Yesterday, Mr. Pastika, the official of the Indonesian National Police, said that the suspects in Bali bombings said that they wanted to kill as many Americans as possible. And they hate Americans. "They should try to find where the Americans are gathering, that is Bali." He said that. What do you think of this?

AMB. TAYLOR: Again, I won't comment on the specifics of what is occurring in the investigation although the Indonesian Police general who is doing such a superb job of running this investigation certainly has insights into that investigation that I do not. The fact is, whether they hated Americans, or they hated Indonesians or hated anyone, they killed two hundred innocent souls who were in the Sari Club on the 12th of October. That kind of hate is what terrorists are all about. That's the kind of hate we're trying to eliminate in our campaign against terrorism. And whether they thought they were attacking Americans or Australians or Indonesians, it doesn't matter. Innocent people were killed for political purpose. That can no longer be accepted in the global world that we live in, whether it's Americans, whether it's Indonesians, whether it's Australians, Filipinos-- it does not matter. The focus is on ending the behavior of these people and the impact of that behavior on the safety and security of our nations, our people, our economies and eventually, the international system.

Q: Viswa Nathan of the New Indian Express: There have been repeated allegations that CIA played a hand in the bombing at Bali. Recently, this has been reported in the New York Times earlier this week. Would you care to comment on that?

AMB. TAYLOR: Absolutely. It is absolutely ludicrous to think that the United States Government, or any element of the United States Government, would be involved in such a crime against innocent people. I think you'll recall that, after 9-11, there were elements who tried to indicate that the U.S. had somehow planned this attack against the World Trade Center and our Pentagon. This is ludicrous. The United States does not involve itself in this type of activity. These are terrorists. These are people who want to use political violence against innocent people to reach their political goals. No government, no government would condone or be involved in such a criminal behavior.

Q: Masaaki Kuwabata of the Kyodo News Service: According to some newspapers, the United States intends to include the MILF in the terrorist list. Is it true?

AMB. TAYLOR: We don't publicly discuss our deliberations on any group or organization as we apply our foreign terrorist organization law. So I won't comment specifically on the MILF. I would only say that we support very strongly President Arroyo and the Government of the Philippines in its efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to the MILF activity here in the Philippines. We have supported that from the beginning and would not want to do anything to undermine that effort. That said, if MILF elements are involved in terrorism, they need to understand that terrorist activity is not to be condoned. So we won't talk about designations. We'll support the Philippine government but we also... As President Arroyo said publicly, these negotiations are not an opportunity for MILF or any other organization to conduct terrorist actions against innocent people. If they do that, then appropriate legal and other sanctions will be taken against those individuals that do that.

Q: I'm John McLean from the BBC. Mr. Ambassador, is there any evidence of links between Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf? And if there is, is it convincing?

AMB. TAYLOR: There is evidence of linkage between JI, Abu Sayyaf and al-Qaeda. When you say convincing; it certainly is convincing, in the sense that there are known associations between the three organizations. I'm not quite sure I understand what convincing means, except these are relationships that we continue to examine to better understand the nature of those relationships, and what it means in terms of operational activity, what it means in terms of financial support, what in means in terms of operational direction.

AMB. TAYLOR: There was one question in the back and then we'll come back over here.

Q: I'm Wilson Lee Flores from Yazhou Zhoukan magazine. How important, sir, is Southeast Asia in your war against terrorism? Does America consider this the next major battlefield against terrorism? And number two question, sir, what about East Asia? What are the terrorist threats that you consider in East Asia? Is North Korea considered a terrorist threat? And also the Muslim rebels in Western China?

AMB. TAYLOR: You only get two questions, so... (Laughter.) I think from the beginning of this campaign, the media and others have tried to make this an echeloning effort, in the sense that after Afghanistan, what next? The fact is, we're involved in a global simultaneous campaign against a global threat. And Southeast Asia is a very important part of that global campaign, given what JI has done in the region, given the operations of Abu Sayyaf, given the penetration that we've noted of al-Qaeda in this region, as well as in Afghanistan, as well as in the Middle East, and the Gulf. So, I don't look at this as a campaign of echelons: when we finish one part of the campaign, we move to the next. Indeed, we're still working very hard against al-Qaeda and the remnants of the Taliban in the Afghan Pakistan region, while the interim authority is taking hold, while we're also working with our friends in Georgia against the Chechens that are operating in the Pankisi Gorge. We're working here with the Filipino government in Balikatan against the Abu Sayyaf in the South. We're working with our Yemeni colleagues against al-Qaeda elements that are operating in Yemen. This is, indeed, a global campaign. Not one that one can echelon. And that's why one shouldn't look to what is the next step as much as one should look at what we're doing globally with our coalition against the threat more globally. You asked me about terrorism in East Asia. Certainly, we have designated the East Turkistan Islamic movement of Northwest China under the executive order, and have gone to the U.N. to get that designated because of its relationship to al-Qaeda. The fact that members of that organization have trained in Afghanistan, have conducted terrorist operations in Northwest China as well as in Central Asia as well as in Central Asia, as well as in Afghanistan, led us to designate them under the executive order of our President and to go to the U.N. This is a worldwide effort, and East Asia has similar challenges to other regions of the world. I remind you that, since 9-11, we've arrested more than 2700 al-Qaeda members, operatives, and associates in more than 90 countries around the world. When we started the campaign, certainly after 11 September, we said that al-Qaeda was represented in more than 50 countries. Well, the fact is we have expanded to almost double that in this year, in terms of where we found al-Qaeda elements that had to be arrested.

Q: Raissa Robles from the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong: In your write-up on 'Patterns of Global Terrorism' last May, you said that the U.S. has made clear that a counter-terrorist campaign cannot serve as a substitute for addressing legitimate, social and economic aspirations. Is the creation of a pan-Islamic state in Asia a legitimate, social and economic aspiration? The other question is, could you profile -- Mr. Daley said that you were the right person to profile for us -- the Jemaah Islamiya? What we'd like to know is, is this some kind of a loose alumni association of terrorists who trained in Afghanistan?

AMB. TAYLOR: Wow. (Laughter) Let me take that in three truncheons, if I can. First of all, 'Patterns of Global Terrorism' did indicate that counter-terrorism and human rights are very much compatible, and that counter-terrorism cannot be used as a substitute for governments not addressing the legitimate, political concerns of its people. That assumes that those political concerns are addressed through the legitimate, political system of the area, and not through terrorism. And so there's a balance that goes here, that says one has the right to redress political grievances through a political system, and governments have the responsibility to open that political system and allow that to happen. And that counter-terrorism cannot be a cloud for repression of the legitimate political dissent. You asked whether a pan-Islamic state in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines is a legitimate, political desire? I don't know. I think the people of the region have to decide that. That's not for me to say. But that has to be done through a political decision, if you understand what I'm saying. I'm not going to say it's wrong or right or anything. That's a decision of the people who live in that region. That decision cannot be imposed through violence; cannot be imposed through terrorism, which is the objective of JI: to try to impose that vision of a broader Islamic state in those regions through violence. That's not acceptable in the 21st century, globally connected world. I think that answers all three of your questions. I hope it does. Did I miss one?

Q: What about JI, could you profile...? AMB. TAYLOR: I just did. JI is an organization that is focused on trying to build a broad Islamic state encompassing Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines, through violence, through undermining the political systems with violence. And whether you call it a loosely affiliated... It is an affiliated organization: it has a vision that it is trying to implement by conducting terrorist activities in all the countries of the region and in doing so, trying to undermine the governments. It has associations with al-Qaeda. Members of JI have trained in Afghanistan and have returned to this region to conduct their view of jihad. That's what we have to take on -- in terms of defeating their efforts to do this -- to meet their vision using violence, using indiscriminate killings and bombings of innocent civilians, and trying to impose upon the people in this region a vision through violence that cannot be, and has not been, accepted through the political process.

Q: What I am trying to understand, sir is that, at a certain point of a people's history, their legitimate aspirations naturally break out in violence. That's what happened when you established the United States. And that's what happened when we tried to establish the Philippines. I am trying to understand because, as Mr. Jim Gomez of AP was telling me, "terrorism is a technique." That all states -- even the U.S., uses, Israel uses ...

AMB. TAYLOR: We do? Since when?

Q: ....through your CIA, sir.

AMB. TAYLOR: I don't think so. I don't think that terrorism is a technique that governments, legitimate governments, use. Certainly, I take your point that many nations trace their history to a revolution, and I'm not suggesting at all that the revolutionary history of many countries of the world is not the history of the world. What I am suggesting is that political change in the 21st century has to be done in different ways than targeting innocent civilians to move along your political agenda. And I would submit to you that true revolutionaries do not go around cutting off the hands of children, do not go around beheading innocent people to evoke terror among the population. Terror is terror, and it should not be accepted as a legitimate way in which to express one's political aspirations.

Q: Parameswaran from Agence France Presse. After your visit to the region and discussing with officials in the region about counter-terrorism do you think the region is prepared to face a threat, which you feel is immense, and are they prepared with strategies and counter-terrorism strategies that are enough to eliminate this threat?

AMB. TAYLOR: Well, there are actually two aspects to answer your question. Is the region committed? Absolutely, yes. Is the capacity and capability in place in this region, or other regions around the world, for that matter? No, not yet, but that's what the campaign is about. In fact, so many people focus on the military aspect of this campaign but I think the brilliance of President Bush's call was not so much the focus on military, but on the fact that this campaign would harness our diplomatic, military, law enforcement, financial and military capability, and that of our allies, in a coordinated attack against these elements that are threatening us. And much of our campaign since 9/11 has about been about building capacity, improving institutions, improving cooperation, and improving communication between law enforcement and immigration, financial element of our governments to close the seams that the terrorists operate in. Are we satisfied that we're there? Absolutely not! We've got a lot of work to do, but that does not mean the commitment isn't there to do that work and to see it through until we create a system that will work in harmony with the international system to be effective against these people.

Q: Just a quick follow up. Will the U.S. be implementing any new programs of counter-terrorism in the region? And based on what happened in Yemen, for instance, the covert strike on terrorists of al-Qaeda, will there be any effort by the U.S. to have such operations in Southeast Asia to destroy, for example, Abu Sayyaf or the al-Jamiah operations?

AMB. TAYLOR: As I explained earlier, the President has committed the nation, and has asked the coalition, to put all kinds of power together to take this threat on, and to use what is appropriate -- given the nature of the threat that we face -- against that threat. In Yemen, perhaps, it's a military option. In the Philippines, it may be a law enforcement option. But all those are options that are on the table, that are available to governments, available to regional coalition to fight against the threat. We will apply the right tool for the right time to get the result we are looking for, and I don't go specifically into what we might do because I don't how this threat will evolve. You know, the threat is mutating. It is looking at how we react to what they are doing, and they are changing their tactics. And we have to continue to examine their tactics, examine their plans, and react accordingly using the totality of the power capabilities that we have to do that. So we will use whatever is necessary and legal to attack this threat, to interdict it, and to eliminate it.

Q: Good morning Mr. Ambassador, I'm Gaby Tabunar of CBS News. In your earlier statements at another forum, you mentioned that of your program to deny terrorists' support, safe havens, and the sponsorship that they need to survive. By sponsorship, I take it to mean that you mean some states that encourage them, but I want to make the point of some non-governmental groups and some charitable groups around the world that support some of these -- according to reports -- that support some of these terrorists with funds. My question is, have you moved in or have you looked into the sponsorship by these groups that fund these terrorists?

AMB. TAYLOR: Absolutely, and I want to make it very clear, that charitable giving is a very, very important part of how the human community takes care of the human needs of people across the world. But the fact is that terrorist organizations have attempted to co-opted legitimate charitable operation and divert funds that have been given for one purpose, for charitable purposes. Our challenge -- and the challenge of the world financial community -- is to attentive that small cancer that may be lurking behind the scenes in a legitimate charity, cut that cancer out and not harm the more broad charitable operation of the organizations that are so very important to how we as human beings take care of human-kind around the world. It is a challenge that we are working very hard -- with the international financial community -- to get our arms around, and we are having success. The one I would use as an example is the Al Haramain charity, the Saudi charity in Bosnia which, working with the Bosnian government, we and the Saudi Government were able to shut down their activities, because we had determined that they were involved in supporting criminal and terrorist activity while also doing charitable operations. We will continue to work on that. That gets me to a broader question, of the financial war on terrorism, and much of that war will involve the world-wide implementation of financial intelligence standards that track, and allow governments to track, suspicious transactions into identify those transactions and to act against those transactions. A very, very important part of creating this international system where nations can work together to see those transactions, appropriately interdict them, but not disrupt global financial transactions, at the same time, that are so essential to our global financial system.

Q: Are there any... Can you specify or point to some European groups - some have been financing -- some entities in Europe and in Asia that are covertly working to undermine governments but in the guise of, in the thought that these are organizations that work for peace and charity?

AMB. TAYLOR: I wouldn't want to name specific organizations that we may or may not have information on. Suffice it to say, that if a group is involved in such activities, we in the coalition will uncover that activity and use the powers of our governments to end it.

Q: Michael Marker from Reuters. Two quick questions that you may or may not be able to answer: Do you have any evidence that al-Qaeda or it's allies are here in Southeast Asia might have acquired chemical weapons for possible attack in the future? And secondly, any information at all that al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiya, or other groups might be planning any sort of Christmas attacks, perhaps against Christian targets, like churches?

AMB. TAYLOR: To the first question, there is no specific information indicating al-Qaeda or other groups currently possess those types of weapons in this region. However, we do know that al-Qaeda has made very extensive efforts to gain access to chemical and biological weapons and so one has to assess, in a worse case scenario, that they will continue those efforts. Our job is to thwart them, and we are working very hard to do that. With regard to the question of whether... We have no specific information indicating plans by any terrorist groups to specifically target the Christian holiday season or Christmas. That said, I don't put anything or I don't give them credit for not planning the most dastardly thing they could plan and we have to plan accordingly and react accordingly, with our security systems. We cannot take for granted that these people will not try to attack us in anyway that they deem possible. Indeed, as we harden facilities, as governments harden facilities, they will be looking for soft targets like Bali a nightclub -- where hundreds of innocent people were enjoying themselves -- as potential targets. We understand that challenge and are continuing to adjust our tactics to ensure -- to the extent we can -- we will identify those efforts and thwart them before they happen.

Q: Mr. Ambassador I asked this question a few days ago of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Daley, and he suggested I ask you. (Laughter) Since the designation of the Abu Sayyaf group as a foreign terrorist organization, have any of the Abu Sayyaf financial assets been detected or frozen or seized anywhere in the world?

AMB. TAYLOR: I don't know the specific answer to that question, so I couldn't answer that specifically about Abu Sayyaf, or any other organization, except to say that, in the course of the last year, we have frozen collectively around the world in excess of $125 million dollars in assets associated with terrorism. But specifically I haven't looked at it that closely.

Q: Wakamatsu of the Tokyo Shimbun: We came to know about the activities of Jemaah Islamiya in Malaysia and Indonesia and other places, so would you kindly tell us about their activities in Thailand, in southern Thailand?

AMB. TAYLOR: The activities of those organizations in southern Thailand?

Q: Jemaah Islamiya or some affiliated organization.

AMB. TAYLOR: I guess my comment about their activities in southern Thailand is that there are indications that JI would want to have or draw from potential membership among the Muslim people of Southern Thailand. But to be specific about JI activity, I am not aware of specific activity ongoing in southern Thailand right now. But the way these people operate is very simple: they seek out communities and try to infiltrate those communities to create a followership in those communities. I would think the Muslim community of southern Thailand is one of those communities, just like the Muslim communities of many countries around the world that these elements have targeted and want to create a foothold in.

Q: You answered the question about direct links with JI, Abu Sayyaf, and al-Qaeda. Have you seen any evidence if there are direct links between the MILFand al-Qaeda? MILF has been denying this for a long time saying the U.S. has been enforcing it...(sic) Do you see any evidence?

AMB. TAYLOR: I'm not sure what they have been saying. There are certainly linkages individuals not, perhaps, organizational links between members of MILF and Abu Sayyaf, and I think as we get further into our investigation of their JI activities in this region, Abu Sayyaf activities in this region, we will find other linkages that are, perhaps, not organizational linkages, but individual linkages between these people.

Q: And just an update on the military assistance between the U.S. and the Philippines? Is there any Balikatan, a new, big campaign between military and military assistance here in the Philippines?

AMB. TAYLOR: Well, our Government is in consultation with the Philippine government on future military activities in this region, and it would be inappropriate for me at this point to comment further on that.

Q: How do you assess the growing Islamic fundamentalism in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation? Is the U.S. Government satisfied with the Megawati Government and it's crackdown on the extremists, or should they do more? What do you think the Government of Megawati should be doing?

AMB. TAYLOR: President Megawati has committed her government to the rule of law and to, not crackdown but to investigate and, where appropriate, to arrest and prosecute the individuals involved in illegal activity in Indonesia. I think the quality and professionalism of the Bali bombing is clear indication of her government's commitment to thoroughly investigate these matters and to bring those who are responsible to justice. She has arrested Abu Bakar Bashir, and is in the process of conducting an investigation into his activities, which we hope, in the course of that investigation, will develop facts to indicate whether or not he is, indeed, involved in these activities. If he is involved, that he will be appropriately prosecuted. I'm not going to characterize the Indonesian response except that we believe that President Megawati and her government are committed and are doing the right things to take on the threats to her government and her people and they will be successful, and we will give them all the help we can give them.

The first part of your question had to do with Islamic fundamentalism. You know, I make a real distinction between Islamic fundamentalism or fundamental Christian people who practice their religion in a fundamental way. That's their right to decide how to practice their religion. So I don't make any value judgments about people being fundamental in their religion, but what I do make judgments about are people who take their beliefs and try to impose those beliefs on others using violence. And I believe the work that is now ongoing in Indonesia will help eliminate those elements from the body politic and allow the people of Indonesia to have a political system that is free of violence and free of the threat from radical violence, which is important, by the way, in any democracy.

Q: Globally, sir, what do you think, in brief, is happening to Islam? Why is there a sudden upsurge of violence all over? All of the alleged suspects are Muslims, and there is a belief in some sects in Islam that there is going to be a war, and a defender would rise from their ranks?

AMB. TAYLOR: You get in real trouble when you start characterizing a religion as broad and as great as Islam. And I think the travesty and the tragedy of all this is that a very small element of people have attempted to hijack one of the greatest religions of the world to their very narrow, radical vision of utopia. What I'm buoyed by, is the fact that most people who are Islamic do not buy it. That this isn't their philosophy. Islam is a religion of peace its meaning is peace, and that we in the world -- to include the Islamic world -- will defeat these individuals that have attempted to hijack this religion for purposes that are very inconsistent with the basic tenants of Islam, indeed, the basic tenants of any religion as great as Islam. There are people and that they will be successful and we will give them all the help that we can give them. The first part of your question had to do with Islamic fundamentalists. You know, I make a real distinction between Islamic fundamentalists or fundamental Christian. People who practice their religion in a fundamental way. That's their right to decide how to practice their religion, and so I don't make any value judgments about people being fundamental in their religion. But what I do make judgments about are people who take their beliefs and try to impose those beliefs on others using violence. And I believe that the work that is now ongoing in Indonesia will help eliminate those elements from the body politic and how the people of Indonesia to have a political system that's free of violence and free of the threat of violence from radical elements which is important by the way in any democracy.

Q: Mr. Ambassador, is there a link between terrorism and drugs in the global effort?

AMB. TAYLOR: There is clearly a linkage between terrorism and the international illegal narcotics industry, between the trafficking in people industry, between other organized criminal activities. Indeed, many terrorists support their operations through criminal activity. The one that comes to mind initially is Mohammed Hesham, who was involved in the planned attack against the Los Angeles International Airport during the millennium, who funded his training and activity leading up his planned attack by conducting credit card fraud and other sorts of things. So, there is a linkage. And, indeed, many of the things we're doing for counter terrorism will also help us defeat criminal elements who exploit the same scams between nations by moving people and resources across borders in ways that are illegal. So, much of the same tools that we use for counter terrorism will be very effective for us against criminal elements, and those criminal elements that help support terrorist activity around the world.

Q: I want to ask you a question, which is on the lips of people around the world, and you being the Coordinator for Counter Terrorism in the State Department, I think you will be able to answer this, at least explain to us what is being done. Is Osama bin Laden alive? (Laughter)

AMB. TAYLOR: I think my President explained that in a way that I can't beat, "If he is alive, we will get him. If he's not alive, we got him." (Laughter) We don't know, quite honestly, but if he is alive we will get him. If he's not alive, we've brought justice to him.

Q: How is this being established? I mean, I'm sure this is a very critical question and you need a really solid answer to make sure that this is behind us. But, what is being done, you know, although there maybe things that may not be shared with the outside world, but how would you let the public know, in terms of what's being done?

AMB. TAYLOR: We're focused on a comprehensive campaign against al-Qaeda. And that campaign involves identifying and arresting its leadership. It involves destroying its training infrastructure as we've accomplished in Afghanistan. It involves a worldwide law enforcement dragnet to identify, arrest, and prosecute al-Qaeda members that may be operating in other places around the world. But this campaign won't end when we arrest Osama bin Laden. It will end when al-Qaeda is no longer an effective terrorist organization, and that is broader than just arresting Bin Laden. That means identifying and disrupting all the al-Qaeda cells around the world. That means not allowing them another sanctuary with which to build the kind of infrastructure that we saw in Afghanistan. And that also means arresting or bringing to justice Bin Laden's al wahiri colleague, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and the myriad of other al-Qaeda leaders who are still at large that we will find and bring to justice.

Q: Sir, you said that the United States will use anything necessary and legal to attack the terrorist threat. Can you tell us if the recent attack in Yemen against suspected al-Qaeda terrorists fall under that category? The legal and necessary method?

AMB. TAYLOR: The short answer is yes, both legal and the appropriate tool, given the circumstances.

Q: The purpose of the war against terrorism is good, and then this is the way to make the political process smooth. It sounds as if everything is good and the world leaders express support for that, but the more the campaign goes on, there is somewhat a backlash. Moderate Islam becomes somewhat radicalized. Maybe we can see it in some pass in Indonesia, then some moderate Islamic country becomes the much hardened Islamic, political parties emerge like Turkey? How does it happen? Then some atmosphere of the anti-US feeling is emerging. So, I just wonder if there's something wrong here?

AMB. TAYLOR: Well, there is several premises to your question there that I don't support. First of all, the political will of the world, to include the Islamic world, in this campaign against terror has not diminished. I just completed a very extensive visit to the Middle East, and consultations with many of our partners in the region. Al-Qaeda remains as much as a threat to the countries of the Middle East and the Muslim world as it is to America, as it is to any country around the world, and I sense no loss of commitment in the campaign against terror and against al-Qaeda. Now, you know, there are lots of opinions in the world. Indeed, you cite the new government in Turkey. That's a decision, a democratic decision of the Turkish people and we should jump for joy that the Turkish people live in a democracy where they can make that decision. I don't take away from that decision that the Turkish people suddenly don't support the global campaign against terrorism. They have made a political decision in terms of a direction that they want to take. Is the entire world behind or does the entire world totally understand the global war against terrorism? No, I don't think so. Part of our challenge is to continue to tell the truth about this campaign, about what its focus is, about what its focus is not. Our adversaries would have the world believe that this is a campaign against Islam, this is a campaign against Arabs, and this is a campaign against people from a certain area in the world. The fact is, it's a campaign against people who would take four fully loaded airplanes and fly them into office buildings and kill innocent human beings to impose their vision of political correctness on the world. It's a campaign against people who would put a bomb in front of a discotheque in the center of a world reknowned resort area and kill innocent human beings for political reasons. There is no religious justification. No political justification that can support that. That's what this campaign is about, and I would submit to you that the world continues to strongly support our effort to end that kind of activity. Now, 180 countries have joined the coalition. On any given day, would you think 180 countries are going to agree on a direction? Absolutely not. But that doesn't change the commitment to the coalition. Perhaps tactics perhaps approach, perhaps degree, but in any coalition like in any marriage, or in any family, you're going to have disagreement. But that doesn't change the essence of the focus and the commitment to this campaign to the end.

Q: Sir, at the root of the dispute is the Israeli-Arab, conflict which has been going on for years. What is America doing to solve that problem as a part of your anti-terrorism campaign?

AMB. TAYLOR: I would first question the premise that, at the root of terrorism, is the Israeli-Arab campaign. Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda never thought about the Palestinians until after 9-11 and they were looking for some justification that they thought would resonate within the Islamic community. Certainly, one the major challenges that our world faces is trying to resolve the situation between Arabs and the Israelis in the Middle East. And President Bush has stated his vision for the resolution of that conflict, and that it is two states living side-by-side with secure borders, a Palestinian state and Israel. That is our vision. That is the direction that we are working with both sides, and it is our belief that the United States of America is the country that can help both sides come to an agreement to reach the vision that President Bush has stated. It's difficult. It's something that we work every day from the State Department and from the White House. It's not going to be easy to get there, but our firm commitment to solve this situation, given the President's vision, will not change and not alter.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you very much.

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