Bills
| 3.23.22

Should the Taliban be Officially Labeled a "Terrorist Organization"? (H. Con. Res. 13)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H. Con. Res. 13?

(Updated October 21, 2019)

This resolution calls for the State Department and the Administration to officially recognize the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization.

The bill requests that the Secretary of State impose any and all applicable restrictions and sanctions on the Taliban after designating them as a foreign terrorist organization.

Argument in favor

The Taliban is full of ruthless killers who harbored Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden They are the epitome of a terrorist organization, and its about time the U.S. called them what they are.

Argument opposed

This is an attempt to undermine peace talks between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban. If those negotiations fail, the country will fall back into chaos and the U.S. may need to re-intervene.

Impact

The U.S. government, diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, people in the U.S. with ties to the Taliban, the State Dept., and Secretary of State.

Cost of H. Con. Res. 13

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: In June 2014, former Press Secretary Jay Carney said the White House “regard(s) the Taliban as an enemy combatant” but stopped short of calling it a terrorist group. Shortly thereafter, the National Security Council pointed out that the Taliban is on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, but not the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations — though both trigger asset freezes.

In October 2015, when announcing that he will keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through most of 2016, President Barack Obama  say: 

“By now it should be clear to the Taliban and all who oppose Afghanistan’s progress, the only real way to achieve the full drawdown of U.S. and foreign troops from Afghanistan is through a lasting political settlement with the Afghan government, and likewise sanctuaries for the Taliban and other terrorists must end."

Of Note: Trying to clarify distinctions surrounding whether to publicly call the Taliban a terrorist organization may seem like nitpicking the finer points of U.S. foreign policy — but it does have broader implications.

The issue of the Taliban’s classification was a significant aspect of the Obama Administration’s decision to negotiate with the Taliban for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, which would have violated the U.S. policy against negotiating with terrorists. These negotiations led to the release of five Taliban detainees in exchange for Sgt. Bergdahl — who was subsequently charged with desertion.

Recently the Taliban stated that it would enter peace discussions with the Afghan government — but only if all U.S. and coalition forces leave the country. That said, violence is ongoing in the country, despite ongoing reconciliation talks.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user ResoluteSupportMedia)