mr. braun, a number of years ago i worked with now vice presidented by en to get legislation passed to criminalize the operation of semisubmersibles. and now we know they have quasisubmersibles that can operate a short depth under the ocean. and it's always occurred to me that while the drug cartels use that to deliver drugs and now they are large enough to actually deliver people, that that would be a vehicle of opportunity for those who would wish to perhaps introduce, not drugs, but weapons into the united states. has that ever occurred to you? do you think that's a legitimate concern? and if, in fact there is this connection between drug cartels and terrorist groups, including hezbollah, ought that not to be a major concern to us? >> first of all, let me thank you for the legislation. it did a great deal in helping us to get a better handle on addressing that threat. and i'm not speaking from just a federal law enforcement perspective, but it helped our coast guard and navy immensely. so ag

during his time at dea, mr. braun had oversight responsibility for all operational programs and projects in afghanistan. in 2004 through 2008, the architect of the dea's significant expansion in afghanistan. also served as department of defense chief of staff for the interministry of the interior division, original authority in iraq. thank you for your service, and you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, chairman king. ranking member thompson, and other distinguished members of this committee for the opportunity to speak with you today about the growing threat of iran hezbollah and other related terrorist groups posed to our homeland. i applaud your initiative for calls this very important hearing. quite candidly, i'd rather talk about this threat today than as a future date, before a congressional oversight committee that's trying to get to the bottom of the next wave of attacks across our country where we could potentially lose hundreds, even thousands. you're going to get the perspective of a career feder

i guess part of my questioning, and maybe mr. braun or mr. swecker, who both have recommendations, do you know if the recommendations you gave us, if they're currently being carried out, or if the dea and cia and fbi and atf, for example, is refocussing on traditional threats and paying more attention to the drug trafficking? >> well, i think one thing you have to recognize, and what we talked about this morning is punated that is the convergence of criminal activity and terrorist activity. terrorists need money, and they raise money through -- mostly through criminal action these days. so we've talked about anti money laundering statutes and regulations. we have talked about technology and we talked about breaking down these silos of information. i think all of those are under way. they can always get better. whenever you have agencies, you have walls, and it's harder to share information. so anything that facilitates that sharing of information is good. the fusion centers are good. the joint terrorism task forces are good. staying on top of

during his time at dea, mr. braun had oversight responsibility for all operational programs an projects in afghanistan. in 2004 through 2008, the architect of the dea's significant expansion in afghanistan. also served as department of defense chief of staff for the interadministery of the interior division, original authority in

. >> mr. braun, regarding the qods force and as i said, the title of the hearing is iran and hezbollah, but, of course, any offshoots, any variations of that also part of the scope of the hearing. do you believe that the irgc would be able to leverage the existing hezbollah network that operates in this country to potentially conduct a terror operation? >> well, if their past track record, you know, receives any weight whatsoever, then i would say, yes. it's, you know, it's what they do. the qods force helped stand up hezbollah many years ago. where you find one, no matter where you go in the world, where you find one you most assuredly find the other. i'm told that dea agents and other investigators are routinely bumping into both these threats as they are looking or focused on criminal investigations working with underparts in austere places like the tri-border of south america. certainly in west africa and north africa. as i said, both of these groups, their modus operandi is to leverage and expl

mr. braunhad oversight responsibility for all the dea's operational programs and projects in afghanistan from 2004 through 2008. he was responsible for significant expansion and he was the chief of staff for the inter- ministry of interior coalition. you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, chairman. thank you the state which members for the opportunity to speak with you about the growing threat of iran, hezbollah, and other related terrorist groups that pose to our homeland. quite candidly, i would rather be talking about this thread today than at some future date before a congressional oversight committee that is trying to get to the bottom of the next wave of attacks across our country, where we could potentially lose hundreds, thousands. you're going to get the per -- prospective of career narcotics criminals on our borders throughout the midwest and as you said, congressman king, in iraq. iran, hezbollah, and the force -- special forces unit that is responsible for clandestine op

concern as i get to my testimony, is their ability to leverage criminal networks of the types that mr. braun has discussed. these are nonmuslim, and they're not hezbollah. they're not qods force, but by virtue of working together, they're able to do things on behalf of the group, knowingly or otherwise. and we know that hezbollah lever ands criminal associations. here, in europe, for operational purposes, in part to get around the extras strict tours that have been put in place post 9/11. >> when we talk about these networks, are they likely to be persons who are from the country that we're in? >> not the criminal -- the criminal networks? >> yes. >> not necessarily. in the charlotte case, almost all of the individuals were from lebanon, with the exception of some of the people they married, et cetera. some real and many more sham marriages. a huge fraud component. >> so dr. levitt, are you getting close to saying that we shouldn't worry about persons who are born in this country becoming a part of any of these criminal activities? >> no, not at all. anybody from any place is liable to get i

next we have mr. braun pollett. i was in moscow not long ago. mr.pollett is president and ceo of ge russia/cis. next mr. watty taylor. he is one of our guys from montana. he is a president of montana stat growth association, second-generation family rancher friend kirby, montana. thank you free much for coming to join us. next we have mr. paul williams, president and chairman of the board of the american society of composers, authors and publishers. thank you very much, mr. williams. senator hatch senses special regards. he could not be here but wanted to tell you how much he appreciates working with you at various matters and it's meant a lot to him and he deeply regrets he could not be here. >> i appreciate it. it's been very kind. >> and finally, mr. alan larson, transparency and u.s.a. i must tell you mr. larson enjoyed many with the director transparency of national russia in moscow last month. very, very impressive, intelligent lady and very compelling same story to tell why she's back in russia and didn't stay over in brussels. the thank you

it is their ability to leverage criminal networks of the types that mr. braun has discussed. they are not hezbollah, by virtue of working together, they are able to do things on behalf of the group, knowingly or otherwise, and we know that hezbollah leverages criminal associations here am i in europe, for operational purposes, in particular on the extra restrictions that have been put in place post- 9/11 ?-we mac when we talk about the networks, are they likely to be persons who are from the country? >> the criminal networks -- not necessarily. in the charlotte case, almost all the individuals were from the lebanon, with the exception of some of the people they married and sham marriages. >> are you getting close to saying that we shouldn't worry about persons who were born in this country coming -- becoming a part of any of these criminal activities? >> no, not at all. anybody from any place is liable to get involved in criminal activity. that is what makes these relationships so powerful for group like hezbollah. >> is there a reason for us to make sure that our vision is b