Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Lindsey Graham
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Congressman Mike Waltz (FL-6) today introduced resolutions in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives urging the Secretary of State to designate the Afghan Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The resolution also calls for the freezing of all assets of the Government of Afghanistan held in the United States and urges the United States Government to utilize its influence and authority to prohibit the distribution of funds to the Afghan Taliban by other countries and international institutions and organizations.
“This resolution is one of the most important things Congress can do regarding the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban,” said Senator Graham. “Designating the Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization will make it harder for countries to provide them aid and recognition. We would be sending a strong signal that America does not do business with terrorist groups and their sympathizers. The Taliban are radical jihadists in every sense of the word and use terror as their tactic.”
“We must be clear-eyed about the threat we face in Afghanistan and that begins with recognizing the reality on the ground – the Taliban are terrorists,” said Congressman Waltz. “The Biden Administration has misled the American public by attempting to normalize the Taliban as a transitional government but the Taliban continue to engage in terrorist activity, harbor other terrorist groups, commit human rights atrocities, deny women their basic civil liberties, and overthrew a democratically elected government. If this Administration wants to regain any credibility by the disaster they’ve created in Afghanistan, they must take the step to officially designate the Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
The Graham-Waltz resolution:
- Stands with the Afghan people who are now living under the brutal Afghan Taliban regime.
- Calls upon the Secretary of State to designate the Afghan Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
- Declares that the takeover of Afghanistan by the Afghan Taliban should be designated as a coup d’etat.
- States that the United States Government must deny the Afghan Taliban regime access to funds held by the United States Government and work to ensure other countries do the same.
- Calls upon the United States Government to use all authority and influence to encourage international institutions and organizations to deny the Afghan Taliban regime access to funds held within the jurisdiction of those institutions and organizations.
The full text of the Senate resolution can be found here.
#####