Terrorism: A Frightening New Perspective

by Sam Perry

Terrorism: A Frightening New Perspective

by Sam Perry

Over one hundred government and industry security and counter- intelligence professionals from the United States, Canada, Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America gathered July 31 through August 3 for the Tenth Annual Symposium on Criminal Justice Issues, "Terrorism-Past, Present and Future," sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago Office of International Criminal Justice. The group met to assess a bewildering and unprecedented worldwide growth in terrorist attacks and threats. According to Richard H. Ward, executive director of OICJ and originator of the anti- terrorism conference, "Concern has never been greater in the ten years the symposium has been held." Counterterrorism experts attending the conference expressed a new fear of developing patterns which link random criminal acts to a spiraling wave of international terrorism. Peter Probst, a Defense Department specialist on international crime said, "Ten years ago, most terrorist groups were politically motivated...now you have a whole range of new groups." Chemical and biological arms expert, Kyle Olson detailed the Tokyo gassing disaster. He said that warnings of the attack were largely ignored by Japanese officials and warned that other attacks could occur soon. "It could happen anywhere in the world," Olson said, "and I think it will happen."

J. Christopher Ronay, a retired FBI agent who worked for 17 years on the UNABOM investigation, said that the Bureau has an assistant agent in charge and four squads exclusively on the UNABOM case. Ronay also said that the UIC/OICJ conference "is the first time we have addressed UNABOM and terrorism together." He detailed the UNABOMer's growing sophistication in bomb construction and the "mountains of evidence" the UNABOMer has inexplicably allowed to be uncovered. So much evidence, Ronay said, that FBI investigators have labeled UNABOM the "You Got To Be Kidding" bomber. Ronay warned that the UNABOMer has broadened the field of terrorism by his use of sophisticated technology and by his publicized social views. Ronay recalled that UNABOM's first explosive device was found on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, 17 years ago. "The UN in UNABOM stands for university," Ronay said, a grim reminder of the academicians who are UNABOM's principal targets. Counterterrorism officers listening to Ronay shared his fears that UNABOM's successes could create a new range of anti-technology copy-cat terrorists.

The conference was briefed on terrorism threats from the U.S. "Far Right." Michael Sandberg, Midwest Civil Rights Director, Anti- Defamation League, cited his organization's recent report, "Beyond the Bombing," which details some 15,000 Militia members in 40 U.S. states, backed by sophisticated weapons, training, and experience. "Militia groups are the growth area on the Far Right of the United States," Sandberg said. He outlined enhanced militia groups' communications through advanced short wave radios and personal computers, the extensive military backgrounds of many members, and their access to a range of lethal weapons, such as explosives and high-tech ordnance.

Oliver "Buck" Revell, retired FBI counterterrorism chief said, "Terrorism is a shock to the psyche more profound than most other criminal acts." He underscored the "new terrorism dimensions" being created through violent acts of small groups inspired by far right rhetoric. "The Oklahoma bombing should be a wake up call to the groups within our midst," Revell said. John O'Neill, FBI Counterterrorism Section Chief, Washington, DC, Headquarters, emphasized the polarity of some militia groups to hard-line agendas. "Oklahoma City separated the men from the boys," O'Neill said. He went on to describe FBI efforts to counter right wing shifts through special "outreach programs," designed to communicate with militia groups. Revell called attention to the strict legal guidelines under which U.S. law enforcement agencies must operate. "The FBI is not permitted to monitor any group without a criminal predicate, i.e., a crime is, will be, or has been committed," Revell said. Experts agreed that "interpretation" of guidelines also can and do change with different government administrations. Michael Sandberg summarized the "journalistic world" investigators and other counterterrorist groups must operate within. "We need to do a better job of saying where the threats to safety really reside," Sandberg said.

Experts from Argentina and Israel described profound changes in international terrorist organizations, targets, and operations. "In the 1970s and 1980s, there was always some connection with Marxism/Leninism," said Julio Cirino, Embassy Consular of Argentina. "Now there are no clear boundaries, or patterns, or even associations with others." He cited the lack of "cell structures" within Islamic Fundamentalist groups and "fluid organizational forms," without structure, with guidelines coming from "general pronouncements" by religious leaders, rather than formal commands. Yonah Alexander, George Washington University counterterrorism authority, labeled the new terrorist mode of operation "well organized dis-organization," where local operations are directed by state-sponsored intelligence services, through "tiers"' of family members and "visitors" and staged by difficult to penetrate, shifting "human resource pools." Alexander said, "Operational messages are carried all over the world by members who move with the immigrant populations. The messages describe family events and greetings, which make them indiscernible to counterterrorism officers."

William Dyson, FBI boss of Chicago's top-rated Terrorism Task Force, said combined forces all over the country are geared for upcoming U.S. special events that could be targets of terrorist attacks. He said decrees giving the FBI primary jurisdiction to investigate terrorism and Chicago's successful effort to keep their World Cup joint-force together were "good examples of government counterterrorism initiatives." Dyson cited six major U.S. events receiving top-priority counterterrorism attention: 1) Conclusion of the World Trade Center Bombing trial in New York City, where a conviction of Sheik Rahman and possible reactions are expected; 2) The Pope's visit to New York, New Jersey, and Maryland, October 4-7; 3) The 50th United Nations anniversary, where leaders from 140 nations are expected to gather in New York City; 4) The Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia; 5) The Republican Party convention in San Diego; and 6) The Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Dyson said that the latter two events will pose additional problems related to "controversial issues," which may play prominent roles at the conventions and thus dictate attention by various pro and con groups, but which will probably not be known well in advance.

J. "Barney" Flanagan, who headed Chicago's joint security efforts during the World Cup and is coordinating all security for the 1996 Democratic Convention, described the city's "Seven Committee" approach to terrorism. Flanagan said that the committees will draw on 28 public service agencies, as well as the private security sector to share information and coordinate activities. The seven committees are based upon Chicago's successful World Cup experience and include: Air, Sea, Ports, Bombs, Communication Integration, Public Defenders, and Emergency Response. Flanagan said that the Communications Committee will tie in to Chicago's new, state-of-the-art "911 Center."

Atlanta officials at the conference said that the city expects 400,000 spectators a day, making it "the largest public safety security event in U.S. history." The Korean games employed 25,000 security police, which is more than Atlanta's entire police force, according to FBI Special Agent David Maples, stationed in Atlanta, and the designated coordinator of FBI security planing for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. He told conference attendees, "Atlanta's job will be the safety of citizens and visitors, which means meshing 50 police organizations over venues stretching from Savanna, Georgia, to Florida and Birmingham, Alabama." William Kelley, Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, has spent the last four years helping the city get ready for the games. Kelley said, "The ability to integrate resources" will be key to their counterterrorism efforts. Kelley said that Atlanta has established an FBI-operated Olympic Intelligence Center (OIC) at the city's FBI headquarters to facilitate information gathering and retrieval. Kelley said that U.S. law enforcement agencies would like to "extend the cooperation and interaction legacy beyond the games." But, he said that this may not be the case. He said that, for example, Los Angeles would have to "start over" if faced with another Olympic-size challenge. As an ominous footnote to what Chicago is up against, counterterrorism officers said that the "Twenty-first Century Group" has vowed, "this convention will make '68 look like a slumber party."

Mark Zaid, Foundation to Combat International Terrorism, put current terrorist-response thinking into perspective for attendees. "Military responses to terrorist actions have not been a deterrent. Diplomatic efforts may achieve a `balance.' Legal responses have provided the only clear successes, and they have been limited," Zaid said. He called for a "comprehensive international treaty on terrorism," providing stipulations for "extradition or prosecution" and provisions for "sharing intelligence," as well as "immigration controls and compensation for victims." Zaid admitted such multi- national cooperation could be "decades away." In the interim, he said that federal and local jurisdictions should work more closely together to "monitor groups and individuals." On the international front, he suggested that intelligence services should press for "bilateral agreements" to facilitate extradition/prosecution, rather than sanctioning "snatch and grab" operations. He said governments should concentrate on "legal disruption of terrorist organizations, such as the successful U.S. `Rewards Program,'" which has paid out over $3 million to informants and is promoted in advertising and on the Internet.

The increasing availability of "weapons of mass destruction" has taken the terrorism threat to frightening new levels, according to Joel A. Carlson of Sandia National Laboratories. "In this `techno- criminal' era," Carlson said, "the U.S. has redefined such weapons to include not just poison gas, but poisonous chemical agents and substances, disease organisms, nuclear materials and by-products." Carlson said that his group works at identifying sources of weaponry, defenses, and "management of news procedures in case of attacks," which he placed on a high level of necessity. "The Chemical/Biological Handbook is essential in threat assessment and crisis management," Carlson said. The supplied number of securing a copy is 1-800-USA-NDMN. Carlson said that U.S. federal response capability to a mass destruction terrorist attack has become such a critical item that, "the FBI is now training agents to enter contaminated environments."

State Department Senior Intelligence Analyst, Dennis Pluchinsky, unofficially appearing before the group to share his personal opinions, predicted that the Former Soviet Union will "eventually replace the Middle East as the source of international state- sponsored terrorism." He described a "terrorist landscape" now developing in the FSU and called it analogous to Middle East "spill-over terrorism," a term long used by intelligence analysts working on the area. "The problems," he said, "will center in Central Asia and the North and Trans-Caucasus regions, with ethno-nationalism as the major cultural strain and Islamic terrorism as the major strain to watch." He said that Eastern Europe ethno- political conflicts are "terrorist time bombs," with "crime as FSU's number one problem and ethno-nationalism as the future."

OICJ's Don Lavey, former FBI and Interpol counterterrorism officer and conference chairman, in summation said, "The key to prevention of a terrorist event is 'intelligence.'" He cautioned that the entire intelligence community has to look at what he described as "this tendency to overclassify." Lavey said, "It is not one big, happy family. The basis of the problem is non-cooperation."

Perhaps Robert Heibel, former FBI agent from Mercyhurst College, put the terrorism/intelligence cooperation problem best. "Law enforcement agencies don't understand `intelligence,'" Heibel said. A lesson yet to be learned by U.S. corporations as well.

Heibel concluded by describing the excellent Mercyhurst College program to prepare students for careers as intelligence analysts and the positive reception the effort is receiving from law enforcement agencies and the counter-intelligence community.

The process has begun.