A resolution urging the governments of Europe and the European Union to designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization and impose sanctions, and urging the President to provide information about Hizballah to the European allies of the United States and to support to the Government of Bulgaria in investigating the July 18, 2012, terrorist attack in Burgas.

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Urges European governments and the European Union (EU) to: (1) designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization so that Hizballah cannot use EU territories for fund raising, recruitment, and propaganda; and (2) impose sanctions on Hizballah for providing material support to Bashar al Assad's violent repression against the people of Syria.

Supports Bulgaria's investigation into the July 18, 2012, terrorist attack in Burgas, and urges the President to provide related diplomatic, intelligence, and law enforcement support.

Supports Bulgaria as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and urges the United States, NATO, and the EU to work with Bulgaria to safeguard its territory and citizens from terrorism.

Urges the President to: (1) provide diplomatic, intelligence, and law enforcement support to Bulgaria to investigate the Burgas terrorist attack; and (2) make available to European allies and the European public information about Hizballah's terrorist activities and material support for Bashar al Assad's campaign of violence in Syria.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 613 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 613

 Urging the governments of Europe and the European Union to designate 
Hizballah as a terrorist organization and impose sanctions, and urging 
 the President to provide information about Hizballah to the European 
    allies of the United States and to support to the Government of 
   Bulgaria in investigating the July 18, 2012, terrorist attack in 
                                Burgas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 11, 2012

   Mr. Lieberman (for himself, Mr. Casey, Mr. Risch, Mr. Cardin, Mr. 
Rubio, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Collins, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Blumenthal, 
Mr. Wicker, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Inhofe, 
 Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Tester, Mr. Roberts, 
     Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Graham, Mrs. 
    Gillibrand, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Johnson of 
 Wisconsin, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Burr, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Johanns, 
Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Coons, Mr. Brown of Massachusetts, Mr. 
 Franken, Ms. Ayotte, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Coats, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Lee, 
  Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Moran, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Pryor, Mr. 
Portman, Mr. Begich, Mr. McCain, Mr. Carper, Mr. Thune, Mr. McConnell, 
 Mr. Bennet, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Johnson of South Dakota) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Urging the governments of Europe and the European Union to designate 
Hizballah as a terrorist organization and impose sanctions, and urging 
 the President to provide information about Hizballah to the European 
    allies of the United States and to support to the Government of 
   Bulgaria in investigating the July 18, 2012, terrorist attack in 
                                Burgas.

Whereas the Department of State has designated Hizballah as a foreign terrorist 
        organization since October 1997;
Whereas the United States Government designated Hizballah a specially designated 
        terrorist organization in January 1995 and a ``Specially Designated 
        Global Terrorist'' pursuant to Executive Order 13224 (66 Fed. Reg. 
        49079) in October 2001;
Whereas Hizballah was established in 1982 through the direct sponsorship and 
        support of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force 
        and continues to receive training, weapons, and explosives, as well as 
        political, diplomatic, monetary, and organizational aid, from Iran;
Whereas Hizballah has been implicated in multiple acts of terrorism over the 
        past 30 years, including the bombings in Lebanon in 1983 of the United 
        States Embassy, the United States Marine barracks, and the French Army 
        barracks, the airline hijackings and the kidnapping of European, 
        American, and other Western hostages in the 1980s and 1990s, and support 
        of the Khobar Towers attack in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans in 
        1996;
Whereas, according to the 2011 Country Reports on Terrorism issued by the 
        Department of State, ``Since at least 2004, Hizballah has provided 
        training to select Iraqi Shia militants, including on the construction 
        and use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that can penetrate 
        heavily-armored vehicles.'';
Whereas, in 2007, a senior Hizballah operative, Ali Mussa Daqduq, was captured 
        in Iraq with detailed documents that discussed tactics to attack Iraqi 
        and coalition forces, and has been directly implicated in a terrorist 
        attack that resulted in the murder of 5 members of the United States 
        Armed Forces;
Whereas Hizballah has been implicated in the terrorist attacks in Buenos Aires, 
        Argentina, on the Israeli Embassy in 1992 and the Argentine Israelite 
        Mutual Association in 1994;
Whereas Hizballah has been implicated in acts of terrorism and extrajudicial 
        violence in Lebanon, including the assassination of political opponents;
Whereas, in June 2011, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, an international 
        tribunal for the prosecution of those responsible for the February 14, 
        2005, assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, 
        issued arrest warrants against 4 senior Hizballah members, including its 
        top military commander, Mustafa Badr al-Din, identified as the primary 
        suspect in the assassination;
Whereas, according to the 2011 Country Reports on Terrorism issued by the 
        Department of State, Hizballah is ``the likely perpetrator'' of 2 bomb 
        attacks that wounded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) 
        peacekeepers in Lebanon during 2011;
Whereas, according to the October 18, 2012, report of the Secretary-General of 
        the United Nations to the United Nations Security Council on the 
        implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559 (2004) (in this 
        preamble referred to as the ``October 18 Report''), ``The maintenance by 
        Hizbullah of sizeable sophisticated military capabilities outside the 
        control of the Government of Lebanon . . . creates an atmosphere of 
        intimidation in the country[,] . . . puts Lebanon in violation of its 
        obligations under Resolution 1559 (2004)[,] and constitutes a threat to 
        regional peace and stability.'';
Whereas John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and 
        Counterterrorism, stated on October 26, 2012, that Hizballah's ``social 
        and political activities must not obscure [its] true nature or prevent 
        us from seeing it for what it is--an international terrorist 
        organization actively supported by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards 
        Corps - Quds Force'';
Whereas David Cohen, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial 
        Intelligence, stated on August 10, 2012, ``Before al Qaeda's attack on 
        the U.S. on September 11, 2001, Hizballah was responsible for killing 
        more Americans in terrorist attacks than any other terrorist group.'';
Whereas, according to a September 13, 2012, Department of the Treasury press 
        release, ``The last year has witnessed Hizballah's most aggressive 
        terrorist plotting outside the Middle East since the 1990s.'';
Whereas, since 2011, Hizballah has been implicated in thwarted terrorist plots 
        in Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Thailand, and elsewhere;
Whereas, on July 18, 2012, a suicide bomber attacked a bus in Burgas, Bulgaria, 
        murdering 5 Israeli tourists and the Bulgarian bus driver in a terrorist 
        attack that, according to Mr. Brennan, ``bore the hallmarks of a 
        Hizballah attack'';
Whereas Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated of the Burgas 
        terrorist attack, ``We have unquestionable, fully substantiated evidence 
        that this was done by Hizballah backed by Iran.'';
Whereas Bulgaria is a member of the European Union and a member of the North 
        Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO);
Whereas, according to the October 18 Report, ``There have been credible reports 
        suggesting involvement by Hizbullah and other Lebanese political forces 
        in support of the parties in the conflict in Syria. . . . Such militant 
        activities by Hizbullah in Syria contradict and undermine the 
        disassociation policy of the Government of Lebanon, of which Hizbullah 
        is a coalition member.'';
Whereas, on October 26, 2012, Mr. Brennan stated, ``We have seen Hizballah 
        training militants in Yemen and Syria, where it continues to provide 
        material support to the regime of Bashar al Assad, in part to preserve 
        its weapon supply lines.'';
Whereas, on August 10, 2012, the Department of the Treasury designated Hizballah 
        pursuant to Executive Order 13582 (76 Fed. Reg. 52209), which targets 
        those responsible for human rights abuses in Syria, for providing 
        support to the Government of Syria;
Whereas, according to the Department of the Treasury, since early 2011, 
        Hizballah ``has provided training, advice and extensive logistical 
        support to the Government of Syria's increasingly ruthless effort to 
        fight against the opposition'' and has ``directly trained Syrian 
        government personnel inside Syria and has facilitated the training of 
        Syrian forces by Iran's terrorism arm, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards 
        Corps - Qods Force'';
Whereas, on September 13, 2012, the Department of the Treasury designated the 
        Secretary-General of Hizballah, Hasan Nasrallah, for overseeing 
        ``Hizballah's efforts to help the Syrian regime's violent crackdown on 
        the Syrian civilian population'';
Whereas, on October 26, 2012, Mr. Brennan stated, ``Even in Europe, many 
        countries . . . have not yet designated Hizballah as a terrorist 
        organization. Nor has the European Union. Let me be clear: failure to 
        designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization makes it harder to 
        defend our countries and protect our citizens. As a result, for example, 
        countries that have arrested Hizballah suspects for plotting in Europe 
        have been unable to prosecute them on terrorism charges.''; and
Whereas, on October 26, 2012, Mr. Brennan called on the European Union to 
        designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization, saying, ``European 
        nations are our most sophisticated and important counterterrorism 
        partners, and together we must make it clear that we will not tolerate 
        Hizballah's criminal and terrorist activities.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) urges the governments of Europe and the European Union 
        to designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization so that 
        Hizballah cannot use the territories of the European Union for 
        fundraising, recruitment, financing, logistical support, 
        training, and propaganda;
            (2) urges the governments of Europe and the European Union 
        to impose sanctions on Hizballah for providing material support 
        to Bashar al Assad's ongoing campaign of violent repression 
        against the people of Syria;
            (3) expresses support for the Government of Bulgaria as it 
        conducts an investigation into the July 18, 2012, terrorist 
        attack in Burgas, and expresses hope that the investigation can 
        be successfully concluded and that the perpetrators can be 
        identified as quickly as possible;
            (4) urges the President to provide all necessary 
        diplomatic, intelligence, and law enforcement support to the 
        Government of Bulgaria to investigate the July 18, 2012, 
        terrorist attack in Burgas;
            (5) reaffirms support for the Government of Bulgaria by the 
        United States as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization (NATO), and urges the United States, NATO, and the 
        European Union to work with the Government of Bulgaria to 
        safeguard its territory and citizens from the threat of 
        terrorism; and
            (6) urges the President to make available to European 
        allies and the European public information about Hizballah's 
        terrorist activities and material support to Bashar al Assad's 
        campaign of violence in Syria.
                                 <all>