In the two years that have elapsed since the August 1998 bombing of the two U.S. embassies in East Africa, the United States remains fully committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice and fighting the ongoing threat of international terrorism.

The Department of Justice has indicted or filed criminal complaints against Usama bin Ladin and 16 others for their involvement in the two bombings and terrorist crimes.

• Six of these suspects are in U.S. custody awaiting trial.
• Three are in custody in the United Kingdom pending extradition to the United States.
• Eight others remain at large.

While the effort to apprehend these terrorists is ongoing, they and others associated with Usama bin Ladin's network remain a serious international threat. Information indicates continued terrorist activity and planning for future attacks. Jordanian authorities were successful in thwarting a plot by Bin Ladin's Al Qaida organization to murder tourists several months ago during the millennial celebrations, and additional attacks were prevented elsewhere, including in the United States. We must keep up our guard.

International cooperation against terrorism has grown in the wake of the Africa bombings. We continue to increase our cooperation with other concerned states in an effort to disrupt terrorist cells, deny movement of terrorists personnel, arms, and financing.

So far this year, the United States has held formal bilateral counterterrorism discussions with India, Spain, Russia, and Canada. In June, the Department hosted a conference for Central Asian nations to discuss ways to counter the growing terrorist threat in that region.

Last October the U.N. Security Council passed resolution 1267, requiring the Taliban to turn over Usama bin Ladin to a country where he will be arrested and brought to justice. The vote was 15 to zero. This resolution imposed sanctions against the Taliban that augmented those imposed unilaterally by the United States last year. The UNSC has also specifically expressed its readiness to consider further measures to ensure that the Taliban complies with its demand. Department officials have met regularly with Taliban representatives to reiterate this message. Most recently, the U.S.-Russia Working Group on Afghanistan met at the Department last week. The two delegations called for full implementation of the resolution and discussed ways to cooperate in countering the threat of international terrorism from Afghanistan.

Prior to the UN sanctions, in July 1999, we imposed by executive order sanctions against the Taliban that froze their assets in the United States and banned all trade, excluding humanitarian assistance, until they surrender Usama Bin Laden to a jurisdiction where he can face justice. To date, approximately $250 million in assets have been frozen and fund transfers in which the Taliban have an interest amounting to $1.6 million has been frozen. These measures, combined with UNSCR 1267, are causing governments and companies to avoid doing business with the Taliban.

We are also exploring further UN measures targeted at the Taliban. These could include a travel ban on Taliban members, the closing of Taliban representative offices, and an arms embargo. We have initiated discussions on these additional measures with some members of the Security Council. These measures will further isolate and pressure the Taliban for their harboring of Bin Laden.

The Department of State is continuing to review violent groups for possible designation as Foreign Terrorist Organizations in order to isolate them and dry up their funding.

Efforts to put state sponsors of terrorism out of business also continue. Recent talks with North Korea and Sudan are intended to engage them on what they need to do to end support for terrorism. At the same time, we are constantly reviewing the behavior of some countries that tolerate terrorists within their territory for possible inclusion in the list of state sponsors.

Assisting other nations to defend against terrorist attacks remains a priority. The Department's Antiterrorism Training Assistance program offers courses to foreign law enforcement personnel in such areas as airport security, bomb detection, hostage rescue, and crisis management. To date, we have trained more than 20,000 representatives from over 100 nations.

In the Administration’s FY 2001 budget request, the State Department proposed $30 million to establish the Center for Anti-terrorism and Security Training (CAST). This center, which will be located in the Washington, D.C. area, will train foreign security services and law enforcement agencies in anti-terrorism methods to more effectively combat terrorists operating overseas. CAST is our first line of defense in protecting Americans living and traveling abroad.