Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)

Congress has shown recurring interest in the administration of the State Department's FTO list and its application to groups that the U.S. government considers to be undertaking terrorism-related activities. At various times, Members or committees have expressed the desire to add suspected terrorist groups to the FTO list, designate drug cartels as an FTO, or revise legislation to allow other entities to be considered as an FTO. The State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT) is responsible for identifying entities for designation as an FTO. Prior to doing so, the Department is obligated to demonstrate that the entity in question engages in "terrorist activity", as defined in Section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)), or "terrorism", as defined in Section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (FRAA), Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (FRAA) (22 U.S.C. 2656f(d)(2)), or retains the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism. When assessing entities for possible designation, CT looks not only at the actual terrorist attacks that a group has carried out, but also at whether the group has engaged in planning and preparations for possible future acts of terrorism or retains the capability and intent to carry out such acts. Terrorist activity, as found in the INA, specifically focuses on many types of violent activities or terrorist support efforts that could affect U.S. security interests. This definition does not address the motivations or goals of the perpetrators of the attack. However, the second aspect of these criteria for FTO designation, terrorism, as provided in the FRAA, approaches the issue from the motivations of the aggressor and the targets of the violent activity. The FRAA defines terrorism as "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents".