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Squeezing the 'Lifeblood'
Tuesday, September 25, 2001 (5:10 AM PT)
By David Westphal / Bee Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON
President Bush took a swing at global terrorism's financial base Monday, giving the government authority to freeze the assets of Osama bin Laden and 26 other individuals and groups the president said are promoting terrorism.

Broadening federal powers, Bush also threatened to penalize banks with U.S. operations if they fail to end business dealings with terrorists.

"It puts the financial world on notice," Bush said of the new executive order. "If you do business with terrorists, if you support or sponsor them, you will not do business with the United States of America."

At the same time, administration officials acknowledged that success on the financial front, which proved largely elusive under the administration of former President Clinton, will be hard to come by.

Terrorism is bankrolled mostly through overseas institutions, they said, meaning that the cooperation of foreign banks and governments is necessary.

In some nations, the president said, laws must be changed before banks could comply.

"No one is Pollyanna-ish enough to believe that there won't be concerns or objections voiced," said David Aufhauser, general counsel for the Treasury Department. At the same time, he added, "Every dime counts."
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