U.S. Response I:  National Guard Wants to Convert Units to WMD Duty

The U.S. National Guard announced plans Friday to convert medical and engineering units into terrorism-response teams trained to decontaminate victims of chemical or biological attacks, Newhouse News Service reported (see GSN, April 22).

Officials intend to have at least one medical and one engineering team converted to terrorism-response duties for each state.  The units may also be deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or South Korea.

“Governors will want this added capability and I think (overseas) combatant commanders will too,” said Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, the new chief of the National Guard.

Guard officials estimated it would cost $65,000 to train and equip one medical company to perform emergency triage and mass decontamination, and $15,000 to $20,000 to enable an engineering company to do urban search-and-rescue operations, according to Newhouse News Service.

Blum said the moves “are part of our effort to keep the Guard ready, relevant and reliable” (David Wood, Newhouse News Service, May 20).

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U.S. Response II:  Port Security Funds Might Be Diverted

The U.S. Homeland Security Department might redirect millions in port security funds to other efforts, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, April 3).

Operation Safe Commerce, approved by Congress almost a year ago, was intended to give $58 million to New York, Los Angeles and Seattle to track shipping containers.  Those cities are the largest of 361 U.S. seaports and take in 75 percent of cargo containers entering the country each year, according to the Associated Press.

James Loy, head of the Transportation Security Administration, said the program may be cut because of a “structural shortfall” that has resulted in “a billion-dollar hole.”

Last week, during a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) criticized Loy.

“If you are delaying the release of this money simply so that you can divert it to other causes, that is unacceptable,” Murray told Loy.  “I do not want to see any of that money diverted.  This is what Congress said it was to be spent for,” she added.

Murray also wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.

“I have no intention of watching your agency divert funds that are critically needed to ensure the security of our trade lanes in order to make up for the administration’s irresponsible actions in this area,” she wrote (Matthew Daly, Associated Press/Newsday, May 19).

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U.S. Response III:  Foreign Visitors to be Fingerprinted, Photographed

Beginning next year, millions of visitors to the United States will be fingerprinted and photographed when they enter U.S. airports and seaports in an effort to crack down on terrorism, Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson announced yesterday (see GSN, March 28).

The plan, part of the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, is scheduled to begin Jan. 1 and will apply to visitors who are already required to obtain a visa to enter the United States.  About 23 million visitors a year are expected to go through the new entry process.

The United States plans to expand the program later to include land border crossings, according to the Wall Street Journal.  The Homeland Security Department also plans to create an office to review information on suspected visa violations, Hutchinson said.

“Through this virtual border, we will know who violates our entry requirements, who overstays or violates the terms of their stay and who should be welcome again,” Hutchinson said during a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Critics, however, said the plan would create long lines and delays at airports and seaports, the Journal reported.  “For countries where visas are required, you’re already looking at an average of four-month delays in getting a visa acted upon by the U.S. government,” said Edmund Rice, president of the Coalition for Employment Through Exports.  “You’re looking at exacerbating an already difficult situation,” he added (Nicholas Kulish, Wall Street Journal, May 20).

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Threat Assessment:  Terrorists More Likely to Use Conventional Weapons, Analysts Say

Terrorists are more likely to use conventional weapons, such as car bombs, in future attacks instead of weapons of mass destruction, USA Today reported today (see GSN, March 27).

Future terrorist attacks will probably resemble the series of car bombings that killed 34 people in Saudi Arabia’s capital earlier this week, analysts said (see GSN, May 15).  Conventional weapons, such as guns and explosives, are easy to obtain and use.  In addition, U.S. officials have said it would be almost impossible to prevent terrorists from obtaining such weapons, which could cause almost as many casualties as an attack using nuclear, chemical or biological materials.

“Yes, al-Qaeda has shown an interest in chemical and biological, as well as radiological, devices,” said Amy Smithson, a terrorism analyst at the Henry L. Stimson Center.  “But those are taller technical orders.  In the case of terrorist activity, the statistics are stark:  It’s bombs, bombs, bombs, bombs,” she said.

Some analysts said the Bush administration and the media were exaggerating the threat of terrorists using weapons of mass destruction. 

For example, the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Web site has a graphic suggesting that the fallout from the detonation of a “dirty bomb” would cover an area about one-quarter the size of Texas.  Scientists who helped prepare the information included on the Web site, however, have said that the contaminated area resulting from such a blast would probably be much smaller.

While agreeing that terrorists are more likely to use conventional explosives in future attacks, U.S. officials said it is almost impossible to predict just what terrorists might do, thereby requiring preparations for even the most unlikely types of possible attacks.

“One thing we know about terrorists is there is no way to predict what will happen,” said Brian Roehrkasse, spokesman for Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge (Laura Parker, USA Today, May 16).

London Warns of Possible Future Attacks in Saudi Arabia

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has warned of a “high threat” of further terrorist attacks against Western interests in Saudi Arabia, possibly involving the use of chemical and biological weapons.  The British Foreign Office has advised all Britons to avoid nonessential travel to the region.

“There remains a high threat of further large or small-scale attacks against Western interests in Saudi Arabia,” the official warning said.  “Terrorist attacks could involve the use of chemical and biological materials,” it added (Times of India, May 16).

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U.S. Response:  Ridge Pleased With TOPOFF 2 Exercise

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said yesterday that he was pleased with the initial lessons learned from the “Top Officials 2” (TOPOFF 2) exercise — a simulation of terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction — held this week in Seattle and Chicago (see GSN, May 12).

“If we are going to make our response system stronger, we first have to identify where strengths, as well as weaknesses, exist,” Ridge said during a visit to Chicago’s 911 center for emergency communications.

A full report on the exercise, sections of which may be classified, is expected by autumn, according to the Associated Press.

“It’s information no one wants on the street and available for the bad guys,” said Homeland Security official Don Jacks.

U.S., state and local officials have said a few glitches were experienced during the exercise.  For example, in Seattle, which suffered a “dirty bomb” explosion at the start of the exercise, Mayor Greg Nickels had trouble obtaining an interpretation of the projected radiation plume, AP reported.

“There was no indication of what it meant to be inside the green or outside the green,” Nickels said.  “It was just a big green blob,” he said.

It took one hour to receive an explanation that 4,000 people lived or worked in the “exclusion zone,” where radiation levels were the highest, according to AP.  Based on that information, Nickels ordered a large section of downtown Seattle residents to “shelter in place.”  Nickels said that if the bomb had been real, he would not have wanted to take so long to issue the order (Elizabeth Gillespie, Associated Press, May 16).

In its part of the exercise, Chicago this week has coped with a mock plague attack, according to Agence France-Presse.  The city’s simulated troubles grew yesterday with a collapsed building and an airport disaster involving the collision of an emergency services helicopter with a passenger airliner.

Ridge yesterday praised Chicago’s efforts during the exercise.  “Our initial assessment is that the city has performed well,” he said (Agence France-Presse, May 16).

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U.S. Response:  Security Department Plans $700 Million Antiterror Package

The U.S. Homeland Security Department yesterday announced $700 million in security aid for cities and transportation facilities across the United States, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 27).

Under the new aid plan security officials will provide funds to 29 cities and 13 ports (Jonathan Salant, Associated Press/San Bernardino Sun, May 15).  The largest recipient will be New York City, slated to receive $200 million, the New York Daily News reported today (Meek/Saul, New York Daily News, May 15).

The department’s plan sends $42 million to Washington, $30 million to Chicago, $24 million to Houston and $19 million to Los Angeles.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has called for a new system of distributing aid that relies less on population and more on threat assessments.

“We must ensure maximum benefit is derived from every security dollar,” Ridge said (Salant, Associated Press/San Bernardino Sun).

“I think that President Bush and Tom Ridge, when it came to dividing up the pie, were very fair to New York,” said U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).  “I wish the pie had been a little bigger, but in terms of the percentage we got, no one can complain,” he added.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports the new system of distribution, according to his spokesman, Ed Skyler.

The $200 million award to New York City is a “clear declaration that, as the mayor has said, the old population-based funding formula was flawed and all future funding will be based on risk and threat analysis,” Skyler said (Meek/Saul, New York Daily News).

The city will receive $125 million to cover extra policing costs incurred because of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the New York Post reported today.  The Homeland Security Department will also send the city $30 million to install radiological sensors, $9.4 million to secure the city’s ports, $27 million to provide transit security and $2.6 million for other local transportation agencies (Brian Blomquist, New York Post, May 15).

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Al-Qaeda:  Saudi Nationals Behind Bombings, Saudi Foreign Minister Says

A group of 15 Saudi nationals is believed to have carried out a series of bombings in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said yesterday (see GSN, May 14).

“The fact that the terrorism happened is an indication of shortcomings, and we have to learn from our mistakes and seek to improve our performance in this respect,” Prince Saud said.

Those responsible for the attacks “will regret what they have done because they have turned this country into one fist aimed at putting an end to this heinous wound in the body of this nation so that it won’t return,” he said (Associated Press/Salon.com, May 15).

The people responsible for this week’s bombings are believed to be part of an al-Qaeda cell whose members fought a gun battle with Saudi authorities last week before escaping, Saudi officials said.  The cell, which has up to 60 members, was formed in Saudi Arabia after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, officials said.  It is believed to be led by Khaled Jehani, who was previously based in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, they said (Jerusalem Post, May 15).

U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Robert Jordan said Washington had unsuccessfully attempted to get security increased at Western residential compounds in Riyadh prior to the bombings.

“As soon as we learned of this particular threat information, we contacted the Saudi government,” Jordan said on CBS’ The Early Show.  “We continue to work with the Saudis on this, but they did not, as of the time of this tragic event, provide the additional security we requested,” he said.

Prince Saud yesterday denied that he had received such a request.

“Each time the American embassy or any other embassy seeks the intensification of security measures, the government fulfills this request,” he said (Associated Press/Salon.com).

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Al-Qaeda:  U.S. Officials Suspect Group Behind Bombings in Saudi Arabia

U.S. officials have said they believe al-Qaeda is responsible for a series of suicide bombings Monday night in Saudi Arabia that killed at least 21 people and injured about 200, CNN.com reported today (see GSN, May 5).

U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday he “wouldn’t be surprised” if al-Qaeda was found to be responsible for the attacks.

“I can’t say for certain it was al-Qaeda yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was," Bush said, adding, “the war on terror goes on” (CNN.com, May 14).

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell made similar allegations after visiting one of the attacked sites. 

“It certainly has all the fingerprints of an al-Qaeda operation,” Powell said.

One U.S. official noted the similarities between Monday’s attack in Saudi Arabia and the 1998 bombings of U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

“Vehicle bombs.  Near simultaneous coordinated attacks.  Multiple locations.  It certainly has the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda operation,” the official said (Warren Strobel, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 14).

An e-mail sent by an al-Qaeda commander the day before the bombings warning that the group was planning to conduct attacks in Saudi Arabia has also implicated al-Qaeda, according to the Associated Press.

In an e-mail sent to the London-based Al-Majalla magazine, an al-Qaeda operative who identified himself as Abu Mohammed Ablaj said the group had prepared “martyrdom” squads to conduct “guerrilla war” on Riyadh and the United States.

“Beside targeting the heart of America, among the strategic priorities now is to target and execute operations in the Gulf countries and allies of the United States, particularly Egypt and Jordan,” Ablaj wrote in the e-mail.  “The list of assassinations, the raid teams and the martyr operation squads are ready.  The caches of weapons, ammunition, explosives and bombs are plentiful, and the authorities cannot uncover them.  We will start by creating tensions to confuse the security services, then carry out major operations and lethal strikes,” he wrote.

A U.S. counterterrorism official said the e-mail is believed to be credible and implicates al-Qaeda as being behind the attacks (Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press/Boston Globe, May 14).

Some Saudi officials, as well as opponents of the Saudi government, have said that terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden might have personally directed the attacks.

The attacks were the result of a decision by bin Laden to target foreigners and members of the Saudi royal family in his former homeland, where support for him is high, according to Islamist opponents of the government.

“There is credible discussion in jihadi circles that this is the beginning of a new campaign, and that Osama bin Laden has given the go-ahead for a campaign in Saudi Arabia,” said Saad al-Fagui, a British-based critic of the Saudi government (Mark Huband, Financial Times, May 14).

The United States has sent an FBI team to Riyadh to aid in the investigation into the attacks, according to CNN.com.  In addition, the U.S. State Department yesterday ordered that all nonessential U.S. personnel and their family members leave Saudi Arabia. 

“We’re very concerned about additional attacks,” a U.S. official said (CNN.com).

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U.S. Response:  Anti-Terrorism Response Is Lacking, Report Says

U.S. anti-terrorism measures are inadequate and lack resources, according to a recent report by the Justice Department and the Police Executive Research Forum, USA Today reported today (see GSN, May 1).

Specifically, the report said U.S. terrorism task forces are understaffed and don’t have the capability to investigate possible terrorists.  Local and state law enforcement officials used the report to reiterate their concerns that federal officials are working on their own.

“We are more than a year past the terrorist attacks and I’m not alone when I say local law enforcement executives do not feel like they are in the game,” said Massachusetts Public Safety Secretary Edward Flynn, who co-authored the report.  Flynn said local law enforcement “often presumes that federal agencies are withholding detailed, relevant and important information.  We need to work on issues of mutual trust so that we can share what information there is while retaining necessary security and integrity.”

The FBI maintains 66 terrorism task forces to investigate terrorist threats around the country.  The task forces are directed by FBI field office chiefs but are staffed by local, state and federal law enforcement officials.  The report says that these task forces are “inadequate” to address terrorist threats to the United States.

According to the report, the lack of involvement from local police officers stems from their departments’ fears about a lack of compensation.

“The task forces are the best thing we have going,” said Chris Smecker, the highest-ranking FBI agent in North Carolina.  “There is a need for more participation at the local level.  But there should be a way for police departments to be compensated for the officers who are assigned” to the task force units, Smecker added (Kevin Johnson, USA Today, May 14).

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British Response:  United Kingdom Works to Improve Port Security

The United Kingdom has begun a program to improve security at its ports to prevent terrorists from smuggling radioactive materials into the country, the Press Association reported today (see GSN, Feb. 4).

British Customs officials have begun installing detection equipment at ports to prevent radioactive material smuggling, the PA reported.  The equipment had been previously tested in a three-month trial conducted at the British ports of Dover, Felixstowe and Portsmouth.  A Customs spokesman said that more than $160 million has been allocated to improve port security over the next three years (Press Association/London Guardian, May 14).

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