Guess Which Terrorist Group Has Murdered Americans But Isn't On The Terrorist List

Pop quiz!

What is foreign, engages in terrorist activity, and threatens the security of the US or its citizens?

If you answered--the Taliban, you're wrong (and possibly will not qualify for that job in the State Department that you've always wanted).

From The Daily Caller:

Earlier this summer, a group of congressional Democrats sent a letter to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton urging her to begin the process of categorizing the Taliban as a terrorist group. In June, Sens. Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand of New York and Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez of New Jersey proposed legislation that would immediately add the Taliban to the terrorist list.

Yet the State Department’s report (due on April 30 but released last week), did not include the Taliban with groups such as al-Qaida, Hamas and the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA).

Remember, this is the group that trained the failed Times Square bomber and claimed responsibility for the deaths of six American medical missionaries in Afghanistan.

On the one hand, the Taliban seems to be an idea candidate for the terrorism list. According to Fred Gedrich, a foreign policy analyst and former State Department employee, "They have killed more Americans and conducted more terror attacks on innocent civilians during the past 12 months than any other terror group."

On the other hand, there are other groups on the terrorist list whose qualifications don't match the Taliban--like the Mujahadin-E Khalq (MEK), an Islamist organization that wants to overthrow the Iranian regime. Not a single US citizen has been harmed by the MEK since the 1970s, and yet it was designated a terrorist organization during the Clinton administration in hopes of pursuing better relations with Iran.

So, why isn't the Taliban on the list?
Here is the State Department's answer:

We’re considering the question of designating the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and are following the necessary procedures to establish a clear evidentiary basis to support any FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization) designation.

There you have it.

Technorati Tag: Taliban and State Department and Terrorism.