Combating Terrorism: Federal Agencies' Efforts to Implement National
Policy and Strategy (Chapter Report, 09/26/97, GAO/NSIAD-97-254).
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed U.S. efforts to combat
terrorism, focusing on federal agencies' programs and activities to: (1)
prevent and deter terrorism; (2) respond to terrorist threats and
incidents; and (3) manage the consequences of a terrorist act,
especially involving weapons of mass destruction.
GAO noted that: (1) under sponsorship of the National Security Council
(NSC), various interagency groups have been formed to coordinate the
efforts of the more than 40 federal agencies, bureaus, and offices that
combat terrorism; (2) the intelligence community also has an Interagency
Intelligence Committee on Terrorism; (3) these interagency groups and
committees meet to coordinate policy, plan interagency activities, share
intelligence and other information, and coordinate responses to certain
crises; (4) many programs and activities have been developed or used to
carry out the three elements of the U.S. strategy for combatting
terrorism; (5) key federal efforts to prevent and deter terrorist acts
include gathering, sharing, and disseminating intelligence information
on terrorist threats and keeping foreign terrorists and materials from
entering the United States; (6) federal efforts to respond to terrorist
incidents and to manage the consequences of terrorist incidents include
designating lead agencies for crisis response, establishing interagency
quick-reaction support teams, creating special operating teams or units,
developing contingency plans, and conducting interagency or single
agency training and exercises; (7) for both crisis management and
consequence management, federal efforts include special teams and units
to deal with weapons of mass destruction, whether they are nuclear,
biological, or chemical weapons; and (8) federal agencies are also
involved in programs to assess the capabilities of state and local
jurisdictions to immediately respond to and manage the consequences of
domestic terrorist incidents involving weapons of mass destruction and
provide them training and assistance.
--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------
REPORTNUM: NSIAD-97-254
TITLE: Combating Terrorism: Federal Agencies' Efforts to Implement
National Policy and Strategy
DATE: 09/26/97
SUBJECT: Interagency relations
Terrorism
National defense operations
Federal intelligence agencies
Bombs
International cooperation
Americans abroad
Crime prevention
Law enforcement information systems
IDENTIFIER: Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
FBI Domestic Emergency Support Team
Dept. of State Foreign Emergency Support Team
Dept. of State Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program
Dept. of State TIPOFF Program
Saudi Arabia
New York (NY)
Oklahoma City (OK)
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Cover
================================================================ COVER
Report to Congressional Requesters
September 1997
COMBATING TERRORISM - FEDERAL
AGENCIES' EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT
NATIONAL POLICY AND STRATEGY
GAO/NSIAD-97-254
Combating Terrorism
(701103)
Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV
ATF - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
BC - biological or chemical
CIA - Central Intelligence Agency
DEST - Domestic Emergency Response Team
DOD - Department of Defense
DOE - Department of Energy
EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
EST - Emergency Support Team
FAA - Federal Aviation Administration
FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation
FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency
FEST - Foreign Emergency Response Team
GAO - General Accounting Office
HHS - Health and Human Services
INS - Immigration and Naturalization Service
NBC - nuclear, biological, and chemical
NSC - National Security Council
OFDA - Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
OMB - Office of Management and Budget
PDD - Presidential Decision Directive
SWAT - Special Weapons and Tactics
USAID - U.S. Agency for International Development
WMD - Weapons of Mass Destruction
Letter
=============================================================== LETTER
B-276818
September 26, 1997
The Honorable Ike Skelton
House of Representatives
The Honorable John Glenn
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Governmental Affairs
United States Senate
The threat of terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and property
both at home and abroad has been an issue of growing national
concern. As you requested, we reviewed U.S. efforts to combat
terrorism. This report provides information on national policy and
strategy to combat terrorism and federal agencies' roles and
responsibilities in implementing them. Specifically, the report
discusses agencies' programs and activities to (1) prevent and deter
terrorism; (2) respond to terrorist threats or incidents; and (3)
manage the consequences of a terrorist act, especially involving
weapons of mass destruction. The report also provides information on
interagency coordination mechanisms intended to facilitate
information sharing and enhance operational links. We plan to
discuss issues concerning the funding of federal agencies'
terrorism-related programs and activities in a separate report. Our
related work on Department of Defense programs was reported to you
separately in Combating Terrorism: Status of DOD Efforts to Protect
Its Forces Overseas (GAO/NSIAD-97-207, July 21, 1997).
We are sending copies of this report to appropriate congressional
committees, federal agencies discussed in the report, and other
interested parties. If you have any questions about this report,
please contact me at (202)-512-3504. Major contributors are listed
in appendix XIII.
Richard Davis
Director, National Security
Analysis
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
============================================================ Chapter 0
PURPOSE
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:1
The threat of terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and property
is a high-priority U.S. national security and criminal concern. The
bombings of the New York City World Trade Center, a federal building
in Oklahoma City, and a U.S. military facility in Saudi Arabia,
among others, prompted increased emphasis on the need to strengthen
the federal government's ability to effectively combat terrorism,
both at home and abroad. The terrorist attack in the Tokyo subway
system using a nerve agent raised additional concern over major U.S.
cities' preparedness for incidents involving weapons of mass
destruction--weapons using nuclear, biological, or chemical agents.
At the requests of Congressman Ike Skelton and Senator John Glenn,
Ranking Minority Member, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, GAO
reviewed U.S. efforts to combat terrorism. Specifically, GAO
identified federal agencies' programs and activities to (1) prevent
and deter terrorism; (2) respond to terrorist threats or incidents;
and (3) manage the consequences of a terrorist act, especially
involving weapons of mass destruction. GAO also identified
interagency coordination processes and groups intended to facilitate
information sharing and enhance operational links. GAO was also
asked to identify interagency processes intended to ensure efficient
allocation of funding and resources. These matters will be discussed
in a report to be issued later.
BACKGROUND
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2
U.S. policy on combating terrorism has been evolving for about 25
years. In June 1995, the President issued Presidential Decision
Directive 39
(PDD 39), the central blueprint for the U.S. counterterrorism
strategy.
PDD 39 restated standing U.S. policy and elaborated a strategy for
combating terrorism and measures to implement it. The U.S. strategy
consists of three main elements: (1) reduce vulnerabilities and
prevent and deter terrorist acts before they occur; (2) respond to
terrorist acts that do occur, including managing crises and
apprehending and punishing terrorist perpetrators; and (3) manage the
consequences of terrorist attacks. The strategy also incorporates
consideration of weapons of mass destruction across the three
elements.
In addition, Congress passed legislation stating that certain acts of
terrorism are federal crimes no matter where they are committed,
requiring or permitting sanctions on countries that support or
sponsor terrorism, delineating agency roles and responsibilities, and
authorizing and/or appropriating funds. Congress has appropriated
funds to enhance federal agencies and local capabilities to prevent,
deter, counter, and manage the consequences of terrorist attacks,
including those involving weapons of mass destruction.
RESULTS IN BRIEF
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3
Under sponsorship of the National Security Council (NSC), various
interagency groups have been formed to coordinate the efforts of the
more than 40 federal agencies, bureaus, and offices that combat
terrorism. The intelligence community also has an Interagency
Intelligence Committee on Terrorism. These interagency groups and
committees meet to coordinate policy, plan interagency activities,
share intelligence and other information, and coordinate responses to
certain crises.
Many programs and activities have been developed or used to carry out
the three elements of the U.S. strategy for combating terrorism.
Key federal efforts to prevent and deter terrorist acts include
gathering, sharing, and disseminating intelligence information on
terrorist threats and keeping foreign terrorists and materials from
entering the United States. Federal efforts to respond to terrorist
incidents and to manage the consequences of terrorist incidents
include designating lead agencies for crisis response, establishing
interagency quick-reaction support teams, creating special
operational teams or units, developing contingency plans, and
conducting interagency or single agency training and exercises. For
both crisis management and consequence management, federal efforts
include special teams and units to deal with weapons of mass
destruction, whether they are nuclear, biological, or chemical
weapons. Federal agencies are also involved in programs to assess
the capabilities of state and local jurisdictions to immediately
respond to and manage the consequences of domestic terrorist
incidents involving weapons of mass destruction and provide them
training and assistance.
GAO'S ANALYSIS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:4
FORMAL COORDINATION FOR
FEDERAL POLICY ISSUES AND
ACTIVITIES
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:4.1
More than 40 federal departments, agencies, and bureaus have some
role in combating terrorism. The NSC is the overall interagency
coordinator for U.S. policy issues on combating terrorism for
federal efforts to respond to terrorist incidents abroad or domestic
incidents with foreign involvement. The NSC sponsors an Interagency
Working Group on Counterterrorism, led by the State Department. The
working group oversees subgroups coordinating certain
terrorism-related research and development activities, exercises,
international consequence management, and transportation security.
The NSC also has a link with interagency forums to coordinate
intelligence information sharing within the intelligence community.
The Director of Central Intelligence coordinates intelligence
community issues and information sharing through a Counterterrorist
Center and an Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency also recently established a
separate Senior Interagency Coordination Group on Terrorism to deal
with interagency domestic consequence management issues.
FEDERAL EFFORTS TO REDUCE
VULNERABILITIES, PREVENT AND
DETER TERRORIST ACTS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:4.2
Under PDD 39, the Attorney General led a study to examine possible
terrorist threats to the critical U.S. infrastructures, which
include the banking and finance system, the water supply,
telecommunications, and five other infrastructures. An executive
order established a government-private sector presidential commission
to identify ways and means to protect these critical national
infrastructures from physical and cyber attack, with participation
from 10 federal agencies and the private sector.
Other federal efforts to prevent and deter terrorism include (1)
protecting and enhancing the security of personnel and buildings, (2)
disrupting terrorist activities through various programs and
approaches, (3) preventing terrorists and their materials from
entering the United States, (4) training and assisting U.S. and
foreign personnel to combat terrorism, and (5) promoting
international cooperation in fighting terrorism. Specific examples
of federal programs include: the Department of State's efforts to
protect U.S. diplomatic posts and persons overseas, the Federal
Aviation Administration's efforts to ensure the security of civilian
aviation, and the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets
Control's efforts to administer economic sanctions against state
sponsors of terrorism and foreign terrorist organizations.
MANAGING TERRORIST CRISES
AND CONDUCTING CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATIONS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:4.3
Operationally, federal efforts to combat terrorism are organized
along a lead agency concept. Regarding crisis response to terrorist
attacks, the Department of Justice, through the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), has the lead for crisis management of domestic
terrorist incidents in the United States and for forming a Domestic
Emergency Support Team. The Department of State has the lead role
for managing terrorist incidents abroad and for forming a Foreign
Emergency Support Team. Depending on the nature of the threat or
incident, numerous other agencies, including specially trained U.S.
military forces, the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group, the
Department of Energy's Nuclear Emergency Search Team, the Department
of the Treasury's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and
others, may be called upon to provide support as needed. For
example, in the event of a nuclear terrorist threat or incident, the
Department of Energy deploys one of several teams to provide expert
advice and assistance in dealing with the device. The domestic and
foreign emergency support teams are designed to rapidly deploy key
federal personnel and equipment to the scene of a terrorist incident.
The teams operate under sets of draft guidelines that detail each
agency's roles and responsibilities during an incident, including
command and control of operations. While the Foreign Emergency
Support Team has operated, trained, and exercised for 11 years, the
Domestic Emergency Support Team is newly formed and is now beginning
to organize, train, and exercise. In cases of terrorist activity
perpetrated against U.S. individuals or interests, the Attorney
General and Department of Justice leads federal efforts to pursue,
apprehend, and prosecute terrorists, generally through the
appropriate U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI. Other federal law
enforcement agencies (e.g., various Treasury Department elements),
also have investigative jurisdiction over a number of
terrorism-related areas and would work with FBI in the investigation.
MANAGING THE CONSEQUENCES OF
TERRORIST INCIDENTS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:4.4
Unlike crisis management of terrorist incidents, the federal
government does not have primary responsibility for consequence
management, but it supports state and local governments in domestic
incidents and host governments in international incidents. As some
federal agencies respond to a crisis and seek to bring the
perpetrators to justice, other agencies manage the consequences of an
incident. In domestic incidents, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency takes the lead to marshal and coordinate federal emergency
assistance to state and local authorities. The Federal Response
Plan, which has an annex on terrorist incidents, outlines the roles,
responsibilities, and emergency support functions of various federal
agencies for consequence management. For example, the Department of
Health and Human Services may be called upon to support a locality
with a medical response team, and the Environmental Protection Agency
may be asked to help deal with certain chemical contaminants and to
clean up a site. In international terrorist incidents, the State
Department is the lead agency, assisted by the Agency for
International Development. Other agencies may also provide support,
including the Department of Defense and other agencies that would
provide consequence management support domestically, such as the
Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection
Agency, and the Department of Energy. A series of interagency
exercises are used to test and improve consequence management
response capabilities, with recent emphasis on dealing with terrorist
incidents involving weapons of mass destruction. In response to
legislative requirements, the Department of Defense and other
agencies are preparing to provide local first responders in numerous
U.S. cities with training and assistance to manage the consequences
of weapons of mass destruction.
RECOMMENDATIONS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:5
GAO is making no recommendations in this report.
AGENCY COMMENTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:6
The Departments of State, Justice, Treasury, Health and Human
Services and Energy; FBI; Federal Emergency Management Agency; the
Central Intelligence Agency; and the Agency for International
Development reviewed a draft of this report and provided written
comments. Their comments, and GAO's responses, appear in appendixes
IV to XII. The Department of Defense also provided written comments,
but the department requested that GAO not print them due to
references to classified material. The National Security Council,
Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Transportation
also reviewed a draft of this report and discussed it with GAO staff
but did not provide written comments. In general, these agencies
stated that the report accurately portrays U.S. policy on combating
terrorism and the roles and missions of the various federal agencies
involved. For example, the Department of Defense stated that the
report "is a concise, well-written document that fully encompasses
the National process for combating terrorism." These agencies also
provided technical corrections, which GAO made as appropriate.
INTRODUCTION
============================================================ Chapter 1
As the Cold War era ended, the threat of terrorism became a
high-priority U.S. national security and criminal concern, both at
home and abroad. The federal government does not have a single
definition of terrorism, and agencies use different terms to describe
protective and deterrent programs and activities and countermeasures
against the threat of terrorist attack.\1 U.S. policy and strategy
for dealing with terrorism, along with the nature and perception of
the terrorist threat, has been evolving since the 1970s. A variety
of presidential directives, implementing guidance, executive orders,
interagency agreements, and legislation provide the complex framework
for the programs and activities to combat terrorism in more than 40
federal agencies, bureaus, and offices. Formal interagency
coordination is managed at the National Security Council (NSC), which
also sponsors a number of interagency working groups on certain
terrorism matters. For intelligence issues related to terrorism, the
Community Counterterrorism Board's Interagency Intelligence Committee
on Terrorism is the mechanism for interagency coordination among U.S.
military, regulatory, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies.
--------------------
\1 In addition, Congress has defined the term terrorism in several
federal statutes. The definitions vary somewhat depending on the
particular context.
THE THREAT OF TERRORISM AT HOME
AND ABROAD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1
While the number of terrorist incidents both worldwide and in the
United States has declined in recent years, the level of violence and
lethality of attacks has increased. The State Department reported
that the number of international terrorist incidents has fallen from
a peak of 665 in 1987 to 296 in 1996, a 25-year low.\2 Of the 296
international incidents during 1996, 73 were against U.S. persons
and facilities overseas. But casualties resulting from international
terrorist incidents during 1996 were among the highest ever
recorded--311 persons killed and 2,652 wounded.\3 Of those, 24
Americans were killed and 250 Americans were wounded. Similarly,
between 1989 and the end of 1993, there were 23 recorded acts of
terrorism in the United States, and for 1995, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) reported only one domestic terrorist incident in
the United States--the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma
City. That incident--the most destructive ever on U.S. soil--killed
168 and wounded 500 persons. Figure 1.1 shows State Department
statistics on U.S. casualties of international terrorism from 1991
through 1996, and figure 1.2 shows FBI statistics on domestic
terrorist incidents in the United States from 1980 through 1995.
Figure 1.1: U.S. Casualties
of International Terrorism
Attacks, 1991-96
(See figure in printed
edition.)
\a These are casualties from the World Trade Center bombing in New
York City.
Source: U.S. Department of State.
Figure 1.2: Terrorist
Incidents in the United States,
1980-95
(See figure in printed
edition.)
Note: As of September 1997, FBI officials said that 1996 data was
not available.
Source: FBI.
In its annual report on international terrorism, the State Department
noted a continuing trend toward more ruthless attacks on mass
civilian targets and the use of more powerful bombs.\4
State also noted that finding clear patterns in terrorism is becoming
more difficult. The FBI's most recent report discussing domestic
U.S. terrorism notes an upsurge in rhetoric from domestic right-wing
extremist groups, many members of which believe they are being
displaced by the rapidly changing U.S. culture, or hate or fear of
the federal government.\5
Also, the intelligence community has issued classified National
Intelligence Estimates on the terrorist threat.\6
In 1995 and 1996, about one-fourth of international terrorist attacks
were against U.S. targets, and historically, the United States has
not been immune from terrorist acts. However, certain key,
large-scale incidents at home and abroad since 1993 have dramatically
raised the profile of U.S. vulnerability to terrorist attack. For
example, the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New
York City raised the specter of foreign terrorism in the United
States. The April 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma
City turned attention to domestic sources of terrorist threats and
violence. The June 1996 truck bombing of a U.S. military housing
facility near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, prompted a reexamination of DOD
programs to protect its forces and installations overseas.\7 The 1995
terrorist use of a nerve agent in the Tokyo subway elevated concerns
about the greater likelihood of terrorist's use of weapons of mass
destruction (nuclear, biological, and chemical) and the need to shore
up U.S. federal and cities' capabilities to respond to and manage
such incidents.
One expert noted there are three schools of thought on the terrorist
threat: (1) some believe the threat and likelihood of terrorist
attack is very low and does not pose a serious risk ; (2) others
believe the threat and likelihood of terrorist attack is high and
could seriously disrupt the U.S. national and economic security; and
(3) still others believe assessments of the threat and vulnerability
to terrorist attack need to be accompanied by risk assessments to
rationally guide the allocation of resources and attention. The
expert further stated that such risk assessments would include
analyses of vulnerability and susceptibility to terrorist attack and
the severity of potential damage.
According to U.S. intelligence agencies, conventional explosives
continue to be the weapon of choice for terrorists. Although the
probability of their use may increase over time, chemical and
biological materials are less likely terrorist weapons because they
are more difficult to weaponize and the results are unpredictable.
Agency officials also noted that terrorist's use of nuclear weapons
is the least likely scenario, although the consequences could be
disastrous.
--------------------
\2 State Department statistics only include terrorism involving
citizens or the territory of more than one country. As a result,
these numbers do not include incidents of domestic terrorism
worldwide.
\3 The deaths of 90 people and injuries of 1,400 people in 1996 were
caused by a single truck bombing in Sri Lanka. Because the bombing
wounded some U.S., Japanese, and Dutch citizens, this was counted as
an international terrorist incident.
\4 Patterns of Global Terrorism 1996, U.S. Department of State,
April 1997.
\5 Terrorism in the United States 1995, Department of Justice,
Federal Bureau of Investigation. As of September 1997, FBI officials
told GAO that the 1996 version had not been published yet.
\6 The intelligence community includes the Office of the Director of
Central Intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National
Security Agency, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the
National Reconnaissance Office, the Defense Intelligence Agency,
other offices within the Department of Defense (DOD) for the
collection of specialized national intelligence through
reconnaissance programs, the intelligence elements of the Army, the
Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the FBI, the Department of the
Treasury, the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Intelligence and
Research of the Department of State, and such other elements of any
department or agency as may be designated by the President or jointly
by the Director of Central Intelligence and the head of the
department or agency concerned.
\7 For more information, see our recent report Combating Terrorism:
Status of DOD Efforts to Protect Its Forces Overseas
(GAO/NSIAD-97-207, June 21, 1997).
FEDERAL AGENCIES DEFINE
TERRORISM DIFFERENTLY
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2
Federal agencies use different definitions of terrorism. The State
Department uses a statutory definition of terrorism: premeditated,
politically motivated violence against noncombatant targets by
subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to
influence an audience.\8 The FBI more broadly defines terrorism as
"the unlawful use of violence, committed by a group of two or more
individuals against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a
government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in
furtherance of political or social objectives." FBI's definition of
terrorism is broader than State's definition, in that the terrorist
act can be done by a group of two or more individuals for social as
well as political objectives. Because of this broader definition,
the FBI includes in its annual reports on terrorism in the United
States acts such as bombings, arson, kidnapping, assaults, and
hijackings committed by persons who may be suspected of associating
with militia groups, animal rights groups, and others.
Federal agencies also use different terms to describe their programs
and activities for combating terrorism. For example, FBI uses
"counterterrorism" to refer to the full range of its activities
directed against terrorism, including preventive and crisis
management efforts. On the other hand, DOD uses the term
"counterterrorism" to refer to offensive measures to prevent, deter,
and respond to terrorist attack and "antiterrorism" to cover
defensive measures to reduce the vulnerability of individuals and
property to terrorist acts. For purposes of this report, we use the
term "combat terrorism" to refer to the full range of federal
programs and activities applied against terrorism, domestically and
abroad, regardless of the source or motive.
--------------------
\8 See 22 U.S.C. Sec. 2656f(d). The term noncombatant includes
military personnel who at the time of the incident are unarmed and/or
not on duty. This legislation also requires the State Department to
submit annual reports to Congress on international terrorism.
U.S. POLICY AND IMPLEMENTING
GUIDELINES ON COMBATING
TERRORISM
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3
U.S. policy to combat terrorism has been evolving since the 1970s
but became formalized in 1986 with the Reagan administration's
issuance of National Security Decision Directive 207. This directive
resulted from the findings of the 1985 Vice President's Task Force on
Terrorism, which highlighted the need for improved, centralized
interagency coordination of the federal government's significant
assets to respond to terrorist incidents. The directive was
primarily focused on crisis response to terrorist incidents abroad.
It tasked an NSC sponsored Interagency Working Group to coordinate
the national response and designated lead federal agencies to respond
to and resolve terrorist incidents overseas and domestically. The
State Department was reaffirmed as the lead agency for international
terrorism policy, procedures, and programs, and the FBI, through the
Department of Justice, was reaffirmed as the lead agency for dealing
with acts of domestic terrorism.
NATIONAL LEVEL EXECUTIVE
BRANCH POLICY AND STRATEGY
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3.1
Presidential Decision Directive 39 (PDD 39), signed in June 1995,
built upon the previous directive and elaborated a national policy, a
strategy, and an interagency coordination mechanism and management
structure to combat terrorism. It also expanded on roles,
responsibilities, and mechanisms to combat domestic terrorism. PDD
39 continues the basic U.S. policy of no concessions to terrorists,
pressure on state sponsors of terrorism, and application of the rule
of law to terrorists as criminals. It also states that the U.S.
policy is to deter, defeat, and respond vigorously to all terrorist
attacks on U.S. territory and against U.S. citizens, whether they
occur domestically, in international waters or airspace, or on
foreign territory.
The strategy consists of three main elements: (1) reduce
vulnerabilities and prevent and deter terrorist acts before they
occur; (2) respond to terrorist acts that do occur--crisis
management--and apprehend and punish terrorists; and (3) manage the
consequences of terrorist acts, including restoration of capabilities
to protect public health and safety, essential government services,
and emergency relief. The strategy incorporates the need to deal
with terrorist's use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) with
nuclear, chemical, and biological substances across the three main
elements.
PDD 39 directs agencies to undertake specific measures regarding each
element of the strategy. It also reaffirms lead agency
responsibilities for responding to domestic (FBI, through the
Department of Justice) and international (State Department) terrorist
incidents, and for managing the consequences of domestic terrorist
attacks (Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)). PDD 39 further
charges the State Department to work closely with other governments
to carry out U.S. policy to combat terrorist threats. The PDD also
states that agencies directed to participate in operations and
activities to combat terrorism shall bear the cost of their
participation, unless otherwise directed by the President. It
further directs the Director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB),
to report on the adequacy of funding for programs related to
combating terrorism and assigns OMB ongoing responsibility to ensure
that certain technology research, development, and acquisition
efforts associated with efforts to combat terrorism are adequately
funded.
On reducing vulnerabilities, PDD 39 directed the Attorney General to
identify and review the vulnerability to terrorist attack of critical
national infrastructures, such as telecommunications, transportation,
and banking and financial institutions. The Attorney General
identified eight critical infrastructures that, if attacked, could
significantly affect the national and/or economic security. This
review resulted in Executive Order 13010 on protection of the
critical infrastructure, which formed a government-private sector
commission to further review vulnerabilities and propose solutions,
as appropriate. In addition, all department and agency heads have
been directed to ensure that their personnel and facilities are
protected against terrorism. These efforts to identify
vulnerabilities and protect persons and facilities are further
discussed in chapter 2.
For crisis management, the PDD also discusses interagency,
multidisciplinary Domestic and Foreign Emergency Support Teams, DEST
and FEST. These quick-response teams are to include expertise and
capabilities that are tailored to the specific conditions of the
threat or incident, including WMD. For domestic terrorist incidents,
the Attorney General, through the FBI, is to lead the operational
response, while also performing law enforcement and investigative
efforts to pursue, apprehend, and punish the terrorist perpetrators
as criminals. The goal is to terminate terrorist attacks before the
terrorists can accomplish their objectives or to capture them, while
seeking to minimize damage and loss of life and provide emergency
assistance. For international terrorist incidents, the Secretary of
State is to lead U.S. crisis management abroad. These interagency
teams and the federal role in responding to and managing terrorist
crises are further discussed in chapter 3.
The PDD also directed FEMA to ensure the Federal Response Plan is
adequate for consequence management activities in response to
terrorist attacks against large U.S. populations, including those in
which weapons of mass destruction are involved. FEMA is also to
ensure that state's response plans and capabilities are adequate and
tested. These efforts to manage the consequences of terrorist
incidents are further discussed in chapter 4.
Appendix I contains an unclassified abstract of PDD 39.
IMPLEMENTING GUIDANCE ON
COMBATING TERRORISM
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3.2
The FBI and State Department have drafted but not finalized detailed
implementing and operational guidelines for domestic and
international crisis management of terrorist incidents. FEMA
coordinated an annex to the Federal Response Plan that deals with how
the federal government will assist state and local authorities in
managing the consequences of a terrorist attack in the United States.
In addition, key agencies such as DOD, FBI, and the State Department
have drafted or are drafting various concepts of operations and
guidelines to deal with terrorist incidents at home and abroad,
including those involving WMD. Further, numerous interagency
agreements have been formulated over the years on operational and
other matters relating to terrorism. For example, the FBI, the
Department of Energy (DOE), and DOD have an agreement defining
specific areas of responsibility and procedures for responding to
emergencies involving improvised nuclear devices within the United
States, and the Departments of Justice and Transportation have a
memorandum of understanding on notification of terrorist threats to
domestic transportation entities.
LEGISLATION ON COMBATING
TERRORISM
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3.3
While there is no single, comprehensive federal law explicitly
dealing with terrorism, Congress has passed a series of laws dealing
with various aspects of terrorism. These laws were enacted to ensure
that the perpetrators of certain terrorist acts are subject to
punishment no matter where the acts occur; require or permit
sanctions on countries supporting or sponsoring terrorism; delineate
agency roles and responsibilities; and authorize and/or appropriate
funding for agencies to carry out their responsibilities.\9 Congress
recently passed legislation with significant terrorism components,
such as the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996,\10
which includes provisions prohibiting terrorists' fund-raising and
financial transactions and other assistance to terrorists, procedures
for removing alien terrorists from the United States, and expanded
and strengthened criminal prohibitions and penalties pertaining to
terrorism. In addition, Title XIV of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997\11 (commonly called
Nunn-Lugar-Domenici) directs the Secretary of Defense to assist
federal, state, and local government agencies with training, advice,
equipment, and other actions to shore up domestic local capabilities
to respond to and manage consequences of a terrorist incident with
WMD. For example, DOD is to provide expert advice to assist federal,
state, and local agencies to develop chemical and biological defense
programs and assist the Public Health Service to organize
Metropolitan Medical Strike Teams. Appendix II provides citations of
selected legislation pertaining to terrorism.
--------------------
\9 For more information on historical and recent terrorism-related
legislation and proposals, see Terrorism: Background and Issues for
Congress, Congressional Research Service Issue Brief for Congress,
95086, Updated January 13, 1997.
\10 P.L. 104-132, April 24, 1996.
\11 P.L. 104-201, September 23, 1996.
KEY FEDERAL AGENCIES INVOLVED
IN COMBATING TERRORISM
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:4
Many intelligence, policy-making, law enforcement, defense, and
regulatory agencies are involved in implementing the national policy
to combat terrorism. Figure 1.3 is adapted from NSC's overview of
the U.S. government structure to combat terrorism and illustrates
the key federal agencies and offices with roles and missions in that
effort. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of this report further discuss the
agency roles, responsibilities, programs, and activities along the
functional lines of PDD-39's strategy for combating terrorism.
Figure 1.3: Overview of U.S.
Government Structure to Combat
Terrorism
(See figure in printed
edition.)
Source: NSC, Office of Global Issues and Multilateral Affairs.
INTERAGENCY COORDINATION THAT
OCCURS THROUGH THE NSC AND IN
THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:5
Formal interagency coordination of national policy and operational
issues to combat terrorism occurs through the NSC. The NSC's
Coordinating Sub-Group of the Deputies Committee is comprised of
representatives from State, Justice, DOD, Joint Chiefs of Staff,
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and FBI. Any single member can
call a session of the Coordinating Sub-Group. By invitation,
depending on the issue or incident, representatives from
Transportation, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Energy, and FEMA
may attend meetings of the Coordinating Sub-Group. The Coordinating
Sub-Group deals with and tries to reach consensus on terrorism policy
and operational matters and makes recommendations to the Deputies
Committee or through the National Security Advisor to the President.
As shown in figure 1.4, a standing Interagency Working Group for
Counterterrorism, a policy group chaired by State Department's
Coordinator for Counterterrorism, is to oversee the activities of
several interagency subgroups. CIA's Counterterrorist Center is
NSC's link to the Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism,
which operates under the oversight of the Community Counterterrorism
Board, which is part of the Counterterrorist Center. The Interagency
Intelligence Committee on Terrorism is to advise and assist the
Director of Central Intelligence in coordinating national
intelligence on terrorism issues and to promote effective use of
intelligence resources for this purpose. This Committee is composed
of representatives of the intelligence, law enforcement, and
regulatory communities and oversees several subcommittees. As figure
1.4 illustrates, the Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism
has seven subcommittees or groups.
Figure 1.4: National Security
Council Organization to
Coordinate Federal Efforts to
Combat Terrorism
(See figure in printed
edition.)
\a Meet as required.
Source: Agency information and documents.
We did not evaluate the operation of the groups or subcommittees or
the effectiveness of the coordination mechanisms, but we obtained
information on them and the scope of their functions. Under the
Interagency Working Group on Counterterrorism, the Exercises Subgroup
is co-chaired by State and FBI. The Subgroup's quarterly meetings
are attended by representatives from the 20 agencies that participate
in major counterterrorism exercises. The group deals with issues
relating to each agency's exercise objectives, discusses after-action
report items and lessons learned that have an impact on interagency
operations, and plans future exercises. The Technical Support
Working Group coordinates certain research and development activities
across the antiterrorism/counterterrorism community in seven
categories of terrorism-related products. The seven categories are:
(1) assault support, (2) explosive detection and disposal, (3)
investigative support and forensics, (4) personnel protection, (5)
physical security and infrastructure protection, (6) surveillance
collection and operations support, and (7) WMD countermeasures.
While the group is to coordinate and ensure against duplication of
about $30 million\12 in terrorism-related projects, it is not
responsible for oversight, coordination, or ensuring against
duplication of the full range of research and development efforts in
these fields governmentwide. Projects in the Technical Support
Working Group's purview represent a minor share of all
terrorism-related research and development being conducted across the
federal government. Recently, a Consequence Management Working Group
focused on international incidents was formed, and State Department
officials expect this standing group to be very active in the future.
The Aviation Security, Maritime Security, and Ground Transportation
Security Working Groups meet on an as-needed basis, particularly to
coordinate and establish the U.S. positions on matters to be
discussed in multilateral forums such as summits of The Eight.\13
Operationally, NSC serves as the focal point for immediate emergency
interagency coordination under the following conditions: to activate
a State Department-led FEST in the event of a terrorist incident
overseas and to establish an FBI-led DEST to respond to domestic
terrorist incidents with an international or foreign connection. In
these cases, a special NSC group feeds critical information to the
NSC Deputies Committee, which in turn makes recommendations to the
President. However, if domestic terrorism incidents involve U.S.
perpetrators, the FBI Director, in coordination with the Attorney
General, is responsible for authorizing an FBI-led DEST and the
crisis response. Such cases are not coordinated through the NSC
mechanism.
--------------------
\12 According to participants in the Technical Support Working Group,
DOD is the largest contributor of funds to the projects under the
group's purview. Planned funding for these projects increases from
$19.3 million in fiscal year 1997 to $31.5 million in 1998 and to
$41.3 million in fiscal year 2002.
\13 This group, formerly known as the "Group of Seven" Western
industrial countries (or G7), now includes Russia and is known as
"The Eight." Members other than Russia include Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND
METHODOLOGY
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:6
Our objectives were to review U.S. efforts to combat terrorism by
specifically looking at programs and activities to (1) prevent and
deter terrorism; (2) respond to terrorist threats or incidents; and
(3) manage the consequences of a terrorist act, especially involving
weapons of mass destruction. In reviewing these activities, we used
PDD-39 to scope our effort. We obtained information through
documentation and interviews of officials at the Departments of
State, Treasury, Justice, Defense, Energy, Transportation, and Health
and Human Services; the CIA; Environmental Protection Agency; and
FEMA. We also identified interagency coordination processes and
groups intended to facilitate information sharing and enhance
operational links. To ascertain the interagency coordinating
mechanisms and their scopes, we met with NSC, the Department of
State, FBI, and intelligence community officials. We also discussed
the coordinating mechanisms with participating agency officials.
We met with former government officials from the counterterrorism
community and attended congressional briefings, conferences, and
symposiums on terrorism issues. We did not evaluate the
effectiveness of the programs or activities discussed in this report.
We performed a separate review of DOD's force protection efforts and
have reported separately on these matters.\14 We also did not include
in our scope issues pertaining to information security.
Some of the information we obtained was classified and could not be
incorporated in this report. We used this information, however, to
help corroborate unclassified data we obtained and our analyses. We
did not independently verify agencies' statistical data. We
performed our work in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards between October 1996 and July 1997.
--------------------
\14 Combating Terrorism: Status of DOD Efforts to Protect Its Forces
Overseas (GAO/NSIAD-97-207, July 21, 1997).
EFFORTS TO PREVENT AND DETER
TERRORISM
============================================================ Chapter 2
One of the most important goals of U.S. national policy is to reduce
its citizens' and properties' vulnerability to terrorism, at home and
abroad, and to prevent and deter terrorist incidents. The federal
government has a number of initiatives intended to reduce the
vulnerability of its domestic and overseas facilities to accomplish
this goal. In recognition of the importance of certain national
infrastructures to the defense, economic security, and public welfare
of the United States, a presidential commission was created to
develop a national strategy to protect the nation's critical
infrastructures.
To disrupt terrorist activities before they occur and prevent
terrorists from entering the United States, the federal government
has programs to reduce the capabilities and support available to
terrorists. Federal agencies have programs to gather intelligence on
and monitor the activities of terrorists and to coordinate their
information and efforts, to impose economic sanctions and embargoes
to disrupt the ability of terrorists to raise funds, and to
scrutinize persons crossing U.S. borders for possible affiliation
with terrorist groups.
A number of U.S. agencies offer training and technical assistance in
combating terrorism for U.S. and/or foreign law enforcement and
other personnel, often as part of broader law enforcement or other
curricula. U.S. counterproliferation programs and activities are
intended to help prevent terrorists' access to WMD.
VULNERABILITY OF CRITICAL
NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO BE
ASSESSED
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:1
PDD 39 chartered an interagency group, chaired by the Attorney
General, to study the vulnerabilities of government facilities and
critical national infrastructure to terrorist threats. These threats
were divided into two categories: (1) bombings and other physical
threats to tangible property and (2) computer-based electronic
attacks on the information or communications components that control
the infrastructures. The group determined that the incapacity or
destruction of any of the following eight critical infrastructures
would have a debilitating impact on the defense or economic security
of the United States: telecommunications; transportation; electric
power systems; water supply systems; banking and financial systems;
gas and oil supplies (storage and transportation); emergency services
systems (including medical, police, fire and rescue); and continuity
of government and government operations.
The group recommended that a follow-on task force be established to
examine ways to reduce the vulnerability of these critical national
infrastructures, much of which are owned and/or operated by the
private sector. In July 1996, the President signed an executive
order\1
establishing a joint government and private sector Commission to
develop a national strategy to protect the country's critical
infrastructures from a spectrum of threats, including terrorism. The
Commission is to have representatives from 10 government agencies and
the private sector. The Commission encountered delays as the private
sector Chairman was not appointed until December 1996. As of
September 1997, Commission staff told us that 18 of the 20
commissioners had been appointed, and the Commission's deadline for
submitting its recommendations to the President had been extended to
October 1997.
The executive order recognized the need to improve coordination of
existing infrastructure protection efforts while the Commission is
conducting its analysis and the President is considering its
recommendations. As a result, the President established an
interagency Infrastructure Protection Task Force to undertake this
interim mission. The FBI chairs this Task Force, which complements
its existing mission to operate the Infrastructure Vulnerability/Key
Asset Protection Program, the origins of which date to 1985 in
response to a continuing threat of terrorism directed at U.S.
critical facilities. The program is designed to maintain information
on critical facilities throughout the United States to assist in
contingency planning should these facilities become terrorist
targets.
--------------------
\1 Executive Order 13010, Critical Infrastructure Protection, July
15, 1996.
FEDERAL AGENCIES' ROLES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES TO PROTECT
U.S. PERSONS AND FACILITIES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:2
PDD 39 directs federal agencies to ensure that the people and
facilities under their jurisdiction are protected against terrorism.
The PDD specifies certain agency roles and responsibilities for
enhancing security. In addition, various federal agencies are
involved in protective and preventive measures for major special
events, such as multilateral economic conferences.
In PDD 39, the President charged the Secretary of Transportation to
reduce vulnerabilities affecting the security of airports in the
United States; all aircraft, aviation, maritime shipping under U.S.
control\2 ; and rail, highway, mass transit, and pipeline facilities.
For example, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), through the
Department of Transportation, is charged with reducing
vulnerabilities to terrorism pertaining to civil aviation. This
includes not only U.S. airports and U.S.-flagged carriers, but also
foreign airports served by U.S. carriers and foreign-flagged
carriers with routes to the United States. For example, FAA educates
and advises commercial carriers on methods to prevent and deter
terrorism. In addition, FAA assesses the adequacy of U.S. and
foreign carriers' security programs, makes recommendations, and
provides assistance to enhance security at U.S. and foreign
airports.\3
In the aftermath of the destruction of Trans World Airlines Flight
800, President Clinton created the White House Commission on Aviation
Safety and Security, known as the Gore Commission, to examine ways to
enhance aviation security overall, including measures to protect
against terrorism. Some of the Commission's recommendations reported
to the President in February 1997 focused on terrorism. For example,
they called for (1) developing an automated passenger profiling
system, (2) increasing the frequency of passenger inspections, and
(3) increasing reliance on canine teams and equipment to detect
explosives likely to be used by terrorists.
The FAA; intelligence community; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
Firearms (ATF); Customs; and the airlines are now implementing the
Commission's recommendations. For example, by the end of fiscal year
1997, 98 additional Customs inspectors are to be stationed at 14
major U.S. airports that have heavy international passenger traffic.
Equipped with X-ray vans, radiation detectors, and other
anomaly-detection equipment, these Customs officials are expected to
increase searches of passengers, baggage, and cargo leaving the
United States. Similarly, FAA plans to procure 54 certified
explosives detection devices. In addition, both FAA and ATF are
expanding their canine programs for explosives detection.\4
PDD 39 directed the Secretary of State to reduce vulnerabilities
affecting the security of all personnel and facilities at nonmilitary
U.S. government installations abroad as well as the general safety
of American citizens abroad. As part of the State Department's
overall responsibility to directly and indirectly protect U.S.
personnel and facilities at diplomatic posts, its Bureau of
Diplomatic Security develops security construction and protection
standards. The Bureau also develops security procedures for U.S.
overseas embassies and missions and monitors their implementation.
The security standards incorporate an array of programs pertaining to
terrorism and other threats, including the use of armored vehicles,
emergency plans and exercises, and transit security. The Bureau
manages the many overseas regional security officers and has its own
intelligence unit, which assesses the threat for U.S. posts
overseas. Worldwide, about 1,400 Marine Corps security guards and
13,000 local guards provide around-the-clock security for U.S.
diplomatic missions abroad.
Also, State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security maintains relationships
and communications with U.S. corporations with operations overseas,
and in some countries, U.S. business concerns have established
forums to work with the regional security officers on security
matters, including terrorism. In addition, while the Secret Service
typically protects visiting heads of state, the Bureau of Diplomatic
Security is to protect lower-level foreign dignitaries visiting the
United States. Because these officials frequently travel together,
the two agencies coordinate their missions during these visits.
The Secretary of Defense is to reduce vulnerabilities affecting the
security of all U.S. military personnel (except those assigned to
diplomatic posts abroad, who are the responsibility of the State
Department) and facilities both abroad and within the United States.
According to PDD 39 and by directive, all DOD personnel and their
families and facilities are to be protected against terrorist acts.\5
Specific security standards are left to the discretion of the
regional military commander, recognizing that the mission, threat
level, and specific circumstances would determine the level of force
protection at each facility. In response to a Downing Assessment
Task Force\6 recommendation concerning the Khobar Towers bombing, DOD
and the State Department are reviewing their responsibilities to
protect U.S. military personnel assigned overseas.
PDD 39 also directed the Secretary of the Treasury to reduce
vulnerabilities by preventing unlawful traffic in firearms and
explosives, by protecting the President and other officials against
terrorist attack and by enforcing laws controlling the movement of
assets, and imports and exports of goods and services under
Treasury's jurisdiction.
The federal government also provides protection at special events
held within the United States and abroad. Federal agency
responsibilities to prepare for special events will vary based upon
the venue and the officials that attend. Such events may include
presidential inaugurations, political conventions, sporting events,
and international conferences. In general, primary responsibilities
for event security rest with the local authorities in domestic events
and host governments in events abroad. For domestic events, the FBI
plays a major role in crisis management planning, preparation, and
implementation, in coordination with state and local authorities and
other federal agencies. For example, DOD, DOE, FEMA, Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) sent personnel and advisors to prepare for and monitor
the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. For events abroad, the State
Department is the lead agency to coordinate federal agency assistance
for overseas events in which the United States participates, such as
the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. If the President or other
U.S. officials, as defined by statute,\7 attend the event, the
Secret Service has primary responsibilities for security planning and
implementation in the areas specifically visited by such persons,
again, in coordination with local, state, and other federal agencies
like FBI, DOD, and others. Responsibility to protect foreign
officials visiting the United States is split: the Secret Service
protects heads of state, and State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security
protects other foreign dignitaries.
--------------------
\2 The U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for domestic ships' and port
facilities' security to reduce their vulnerability to terrorist
attack and for assessing the vulnerability to terrorist attack of
foreign ports frequented by U.S. cruise ship passengers.
\3 In addition, civil aviation security liaison officers in 16
locations worldwide are the primary contact between U.S. embassies
and foreign governments on civil aviation security matters.
\4 For additional information on detection technologies, see
Terrorism and Drug Trafficking: Responsibilities for Developing
Explosives and Narcotics Detection Devices (GAO/NSIAD-97-95, Apr.
15, 1997).
\5 DOD Directive 2000.12, DOD Combating Terrorism Program, September
15, 1996.
\6 The Downing Assessment Task Force was created by Secretary of
Defense Perry to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the
June 25, 1996, bombing of Khobar Towers, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, in
which 19 U.S. personnel were killed and about 500 were wounded. The
Task Force reported its findings in an August 30, 1996, report.
\7 18 U.S.C. 3056 specifies who the Secret Service protects.
FEDERAL AGENCIES USE VARIOUS
APPROACHES TO DISRUPT TERRORIST
ACTIVITIES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3
The federal government disrupts terrorist activities in several ways.
Intelligence and law enforcement agencies collect and disseminate
information about suspected terrorists and their activities. Recent
U.S. laws make it more difficult for terrorist organizations to
raise funds in the United States, and under certain circumstances,
the government has frozen or confiscated terrorist financial assets.
In addition, the government can take covert and military action
against terrorist groups or countries that sponsor them.
FBI AND CIA GATHER
INTELLIGENCE ON TERRORIST
GROUPS AND THREATS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3.1
Intelligence is a crucial component of the federal government's
efforts to combat terrorism, and the collection and analysis of
intelligence on terrorist threats is among the highest priorities.
In accordance with
PDD 39, the FBI is the principal agency that monitors the activities
of terrorist groups operating within the United States. The CIA is
responsible for gathering intelligence overseas.
The FBI is expanding its counterterrorism programs. In addition to
hiring additional agents, in January 1996, the FBI restructured its
approach to deal with terrorism. Three sections in FBI's National
Security Division manage counterterrorism programs: one focused on
foreign threats, another focused on domestic threats in the United
States, and another focused on computer investigations and
infrastructure protection. These sections are designed to provide
real-time operational and analytical capabilities to enhance the
federal government's ability to prevent acts of terrorism in the
United States. According to the FBI, its program, among other
things, supports ongoing field investigations, formulates threat
warnings and alerts based on intelligence information, and
disseminates this information to other law enforcement agencies.
The FBI monitors domestic groups and individuals that it believes
pose a terrorist threat and collects intelligence on suspected
foreign terrorists operating within the United States. According to
Justice officials, the FBI's program focused on suspected foreign
terrorists frequently involves surveillance under the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act. To safeguard individuals' rights,
Justice Department prosecutors are not to be privy to information
obtained during the surveillance. However, if an investigation
reveals the occurrence of or plans for significant criminal
activity--terrorism-related or otherwise--this information can be
provided to federal prosecutors. For example, plots to bomb the
Holland and Lincoln tunnels and the George Washington Bridge in New
York and a federal building in New York City were detected during an
investigation initiated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act.
The Director for Central Intelligence's Counterterrorist Center at
the CIA was established in 1986 to collect, analyze, and distribute
national intelligence on terrorism, and use this information to
support U.S. efforts to penetrate, disrupt, and ultimately destroy
terrorist organizations worldwide. In addition, the Center prepares
intelligence reports on terrorist groups and countries that support
terrorism that are made available to other intelligence and law
enforcement agencies. For example, the Center issues a monthly
classified review of international terrorism developments and
provides other analysis on terrorist groups, capabilities, or
incidents as needed.
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
COOPERATION
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3.2
To enhance the processing, analyzing, and distributing of
intelligence information, more than 40 federal agencies, bureaus, and
offices have joined the Interagency Intelligence Committee on
Terrorism
(see table 2.1). Members of this Committee share information on the
activities of terrorist groups and countries that sponsor terrorism
and assess indications of terrorist threats.
Table 2-1
Members of the Interagency Intelligence
Committee on Terrorism
Advanced Research Projects Agency National Reconnaissance Office
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and National Security Agency
Firearms
Central Intelligence Agency National Security Council
Drug Enforcement Agency Office of the Secretary of Defense
Defense Intelligence Agency Office of the Vice President
Defense Information Systems Agency U.S. Special Operations Command
Defense Special Weapons Agency U.S. Army
Department of Commerce U.S. Air Force
Department of Energy U.S. Capitol Police
Department of Health and Human U.S. Coast Guard
Services
Department of Justice U.S. Customs Service
Department of State U.S. Central Command
Department of Transportation U.S. Information Agency
Department of Treasury U.S. Marshals Service
Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Marine Corps
Federal Aviation Administration U.S. Navy
Federal Emergency Management U.S. Postal Service
Agency
Federal Bureau of Investigation U.S. Supreme Court Marshal's
Office
Immigration and Naturalization U.S. Secret Service
Service
Joint Chiefs of Staff White House Communications Agency
Nuclear Regulatory Commission White House Military Office
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Agency documents.
The sharing of terrorism-related intelligence is expected to be
facilitated by agencies' detailing staff to one another's
organizations. The counterterrorism units located at the FBI and CIA
have representatives from numerous other federal agencies. For
example, more than a dozen agencies have representatives at the CIA
Counterterrorist Center. Moreover, the FBI manages standing joint
terrorism task forces to facilitate an exchange of intelligence and
coordinate activities across the law enforcement community within a
specific geographic area. Conceived in the 1980s, these task forces
are currently located in 13 metropolitan areas throughout the country
and are staffed by federal, state, and local law enforcement
officers.
The intelligence community disseminates threat warnings through
various channels. CIA's Counterterrorist Center has created a new
Threat Warning Group in the Community Counterterrorism Board. This
group analyzes threat reports, coordinates them with the intelligence
community, and distributes them to senior U.S. policymakers. In
addition, the FBI cooperates with federal, state, and local law
enforcement through its threat and warning channels. The FBI manages
the Terrorist Threat Warning System, which communicates
terrorism-related information to other law enforcement agencies. The
FBI told us it also disseminates unclassified terrorism threat and
warning information to law enforcement agencies nationwide through
its teletype National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System.
According to FBI, in 1996, 13 such messages were delivered. FBI also
transmits information to U.S. businesses on the potential for
terrorism through its Awareness of National Security Issues and
Response Program. Established in 1996, this program is a facsimile
network linking FBI field offices to more than 5,000 businesses.
U.S. SANCTIONS CAN DISRUPT
TERRORISTS' FINANCIAL
OPERATIONS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3.3
The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control
develops, administers, and, along with the Customs Service, enforces
economic sanctions and embargo programs against state sponsors of
terrorism, foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters, and
attempts to deny them access to U.S. economic and financial
markets.\8 The Office has administered economic sanctions programs
against state sponsors of terrorism beginning in 1950 when sanctions
against North Korea were declared. The Office currently administers
sanctions programs against North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya,
Sudan, and Syria. More than $3 billion in assets are blocked as a
result of these sanctions programs.\9 The Office's ability to block
in-process transactions depends largely on privately owned financial
institutions adhering to the terms of blocking orders and the ability
to impose civil penalties for failure to comply.
Recent legislation\10 expands on existing prohibitions pertaining to
financing terrorists. For example, it prohibits U.S. persons from
lending financial support to foreign terrorist organizations and
requires domestic financial institutions to freeze the funds of
designated foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters.
--------------------
\8 The Office does not have a domestic terrorism role; it focuses
exclusively on foreign-based terrorism.
\9 For more information on sanctions, see Economic Sanctions:
Effectiveness as Tools of Foreign Policy (GAO/NSIAD-92-106, Feb. 19,
1992).
\10 The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (P.L.
104-132).
COVERT AND MILITARY ACTIONS
CAN BE USED AGAINST
TERRORISTS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:3.4
Another means of preventing and deterring future terrorist activity
is to strike directly at terrorist organizations through covert
action. CIA covert action is the execution of operations to
influence events in another country in which it is deemed important
to mask the U.S. government's involvement. Congress has supported
such action in recent legislation, urging the President to "use all
necessary means, including covert action and military force, to
disrupt, dismantle, and destroy international infrastructure used by
international terrorists, including overseas terrorist training
facilities and safe havens."\11
Military action is also used to disrupt terrorist activities.
Special Operations Forces have a statutory counterterrorism mission,
which may include preemptive military attacks on terrorist targets.
The United States has also taken retaliatory military action against
state sponsors of terrorism. For example, in 1986 the United States
attacked targets in Libya in retaliation for several Libyan terrorist
actions, including the bombing of a discotheque in Germany that
killed several off-duty U.S. servicemembers. In 1993, the United
States used military force against Iraqi targets when it became clear
that Iraq was responsible for a foiled plot to assassinate former
President Bush when he visited Kuwait.
--------------------
\11 The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (P.L.
104-132), Section 324.
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ATTEMPT TO
PREVENT TERRORISTS FROM
ENTERING THE UNITED STATES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:4
The federal government leverages existing functions of the State
Department, U.S. Customs Service, and the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) to prevent terrorists and terrorist
materials from entering the United States.
First, the State Department is responsible for denying terrorists and
their supporters entry visas.\12 State Department's Bureau of
Intelligence and Research has a "TIPOFF" program to declassify
sensitive intelligence and law enforcement information and enter it
into State's Consular Lookout and Support System. The Bureau of
Consular Affairs and overseas consular officers use this information
to monitor visa applications and detect known or suspected terrorists
as they apply for visas overseas. According to State Department
statistics, since 1987, the TIPOFF program has detected 722 suspected
terrorists as they applied for visas.\13
Second, terrorists and terrorist materials might be also prevented
from entering the United States through border controls manned by the
INS and the U.S. Customs Service. Customs is responsible for
enforcing compliance on behalf of 60 different agencies with more
than 660 U.S. laws that govern goods and persons entering and
exiting the United States.\14 According to Customs officials,
programs to combat terrorism complement Customs' other missions.
Generally, Customs inspectors look for contraband, such as illegal
drugs, currency, and explosives, whether or not the contraband is
intended for terrorism. While most of Customs' inspection equipment
was developed and acquired to detect drugs, the majority of this
equipment does not detect specific substances but detects anomalies
in general. For example, X-ray machines may alert an inspector to
something unusual about an item being examined, and therefore the
possible concealment of contraband.
The State Department's TIPOFF program also assists INS and Customs by
providing intelligence and law enforcement information for their
automated Interagency Border Inspection System. This information
helps INS and Customs detect suspected terrorists as they attempt to
pass through any of 350 U.S. border entry points. According to
State Department statistics, since 1991, the TIPOFF program has
allowed INS and Customs to intercept 196 suspected terrorists from 56
countries at 44 different U.S. border points.
--------------------
\12 The Immigration and Nationality Act, as recently amended by the
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, allows the
State Department to deny a visa (i.e., exclude entry) to a foreigner
who is a known or suspected terrorist or is a representative or
member of a designated foreign terrorist organization. Congress
requires that a report be submitted each time the Department denies a
visa on terrorist grounds.
\13 For related GAO work on passports and visas, see State
Department: Efforts to Reduce Visa Fraud (GAO/T-NSIAD-97-167, May
20, 1997) and Passports and Visas: Status of Efforts to Reduce Fraud
(GAO/NSIAD-96-99, May 9, 1996).
\14 By regulation, Customs and INS evenly share responsibility for
inspecting persons at the land borders between the United States and
Mexico and Canada.
TRAINING AND ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS TO COMBAT TERRORISM
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:5
Training and technical assistance relevant to combating terrorism is
available through a variety of sources. While some of this training
covers more than antiterrorism or counterterrorism, many of the
principles and techniques, such as evidence collection and bomb site
analysis, are also applicable to terrorism investigations. Domestic
law enforcement and intelligence agency personnel receive training to
combat terrorism at the Treasury Department's Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center,\15 which offers an array of terrorism-related
courses and has a physical security and antiterrorism training
complex. Terrorism-related training is also conducted at the FBI
Academy in Virginia and the FAA Technical Center in New Jersey.
These latter two venues are used primarily by FBI and FAA personnel,
respectively. Domestic training is conducted on an agency-by-agency
basis.
Several federal agencies participate in foreign counterterrorism and
counterproliferation training and assistance programs. These
programs are designed to aid other countries to deter and manage
their terrorist threats, including making it more difficult for
terrorists to acquire and transport WMD. A major portion of this
assistance is funded and coordinated by the State Department and
delivered through its Antiterrorism Assistance Program. Since its
inception in 1983, more than 18,000 students, representing 87
countries, have received counterterrorism training through the
Antiterrorism Assistance Program. Table 2.2 indicates available
domestic and foreign counterterrorism and antiterrorism training and
assistance programs, as well as relevant counterproliferation
training programs.
Table 2.2
Terrorism-related Training and
Assistance Programs
Type
--------------------
Combatin
Sponsori g Counter-
ng terroris proliferat
agency m ion Program
-------- -------- ---------- ------------------------------------------------
State X Administers the Antiterrorism Assistance
Program. Other participants include the
Departments of Justice, Treasury, and
Transportation.
FAA X Trains federal air marshals at the FAA Technical
Center. Conducts terrorism-related training at
the FAA Academy and other locations. At the FAA
Academy or on site, trains airport managers
from countries where U.S. carriers are
establishing service.
FBI X Provides training through the International
Association of Chiefs of Police. Trains foreign
police under the National Academy Program at
the FBI Training Academy. Trains FBI officials
and agents at FBI training facilities and
trains local law enforcement personnel who will
work with the FBI at special events.
State, X The International Law Enforcement Academy in
Justice, Budapest, Hungary, is funded by the State
Treasur Department. Training programs are geared toward
y improving the investigative capabilities of
foreign law enforcement agencies. Other U.S.
participants include FBI, Secret Service,
Customs, ATF, and the Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center.
Treasury X The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
offers courses in antiterrorism contingency
planning, antiterrorism management, seaport
security/antiterrorism, and surviving hostage
situations.
ATF X Trains domestic and foreign law enforcement
officials in firearms and explosives
identification and tracing and post-blast
investigations.
Secret X Trains Secret Service, as well as local, state,
Service federal, and foreign law enforcement personnel
in special event management and physical
protection countermeasures.
Justice X Trains foreign law enforcement officers on
criminal justice matters through the
International Criminal Investigative Training
Assistance Program.
FBI and X Train and equip law enforcement officials,
DOD judges, and prosecutors from the former Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe to counter nuclear
material smuggling and trafficking and chemical
and biological weapons proliferation.
Multiple X The FBI, along with the State Department,
Department of Energy, and Customs, train
personnel from six former Soviet Union
countries on investigating and prosecuting
nuclear-related crimes.
DOD X Under the Nunn-Lugar/Cooperative Threat
Reduction Program, enhances the security of
former Soviet nuclear weapons and material
during their storage and transport.
Energy X Focuses on reducing the opportunity for
terrorists to acquire nuclear materials. A
draft memorandum of understanding being
developed between the United States and Russia
discusses U.S. assistance in the event of a
nuclear terrorist incident in Russia.
Customs X Trains customs service personnel of former
Soviet Union countries on detecting nuclear
materials.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Agency documents.
--------------------
\15 The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center is the largest law
enforcement training organization in the United States. Since its
inception in 1970, over 330,000 people have received training.
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HAS
ACTIVELY WORKED TO COMBAT
TERRORISM
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2:6
The United States has been actively trying to enlist multilateral
organizations in the fight against terrorism.\16 These efforts
include multilateral agreements and conventions, U.N. resolutions,
and international summits.
Nine key international treaties and conventions, promoted by the
United States and foreign governments, expand the legal basis for
deterring terrorists from committing acts of terrorism and bringing
them to justice. Examples of these conventions include the
Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of
Civil Aviation, International Convention Against the Taking of
Hostages, and Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the
Purpose of Detection.
The United States has also relied on the United Nations and other
multilateral organizations to promote international cooperation
against terrorism. The United Nations has adopted resolutions on
measures to eliminate international terrorism, and passed resolutions
that impose sanctions on Libya for its involvement in the destruction
of Pan Am
flight 103 and Union of Transportation Air flight 772. These
sanctions against Libya represent the first time the United Nations
has imposed sanctions on a nation solely because it supports
terrorism.
The group of industrialized countries known as The Eight has also
been an active forum for discussing terrorism. Several of the
group's summits have resulted in joint declarations that condemn
terrorism and pledge to improve member-countries' individual and
collective efforts to combat terrorism. In addition,
ministerial-level and expert-level meetings have been devoted
entirely to terrorism. Other forums that have also promoted
cooperation in combating terrorism include the 1994 Summit of the
Americas Conference in Miami, Florida, the 1996 Summit of Peacemakers
in Egypt, and a 1996 conference on counterterrorism that was held in
the Philippines.
--------------------
\16 Congress has supported such efforts for a number of years. For
example, Congress has urged the President to pursue multilateral
cooperation in counterterrorism in the Omnibus Diplomatic Security
and Antiterrorism Act of 1986 and the Antiterrorism and Effective
Death Penalty Act of 1996.
CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN TERRORIST
INCIDENTS
============================================================ Chapter 3
Crisis management includes measures to identify, acquire, and plan
the use of resources needed to anticipate, prevent, and/or resolve a
specific threat or act of terrorism. Specific crisis management
response activities emphasize prevention, crisis mitigation efforts,
and criminal prosecution of terrorists. The federal government has
the primary role to respond to acts of terrorism; state and local
governments provide assistance as required. The United States
regards terrorist attacks against its territory, citizens, or
facilities as a national security threat and a criminal act, wherever
the attack may occur. Therefore, the U.S. policy is to react
rapidly and decisively to terrorism directed at the United States,
whether it occurs domestically or internationally and whether it
involves the use of conventional weapons or WMD involving nuclear,
biological, or chemical devices. Specifically, in PDD 39, the
President stated that the objectives of U.S. policy to combat
terrorism are to protect Americans, minimize damage and loss of life,
terminate terrorist attacks, defeat or arrest terrorists, and pursue
and apprehend terrorists and bring them to trial for their crimes.
The FBI and Department of State are responsible for crisis management
and marshal the federal assets required to defeat or punish
terrorists involved with domestic and international incidents,
respectively. Rapidly deployable, trained, and equipped interagency
emergency support teams--a DEST and a FEST--assist them to manage the
crises on site. The FEST is well-developed and has operated for 11
years. The DEST concept and organization, however, is relatively
new, and its guidelines were only recently drafted. To build and
maintain a quick and effective response capability, the interagency
teams exercise crisis management scenarios.
FBI LEADS CRISIS MANAGEMENT FOR
DOMESTIC INCIDENTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:1
Since 1982, the Department of Justice, acting through the FBI, has
been responsible for responding to terrorist incidents that occur
domestically.\1 The Department of Justice and the FBI not only are to
resolve and manage a crisis caused by a terrorist incident but are
also to conduct the criminal investigation and pursue, arrest, and
prosecute the terrorists. An incident may involve U.S. citizens or
foreign individuals or groups engaging in terrorist acts or threats
on U.S. soil. When threats are communicated, particularly involving
the use of WMD, the FBI is to initiate threat credibility assessments
in accordance with its chemical/biological or nuclear incident
contingency plans. These assessments are to entail close
coordination with experts from other agencies--DOE, HHS, EPA, DOD,
and FEMA--to assess the viability of the threat from a technical,
operational, and behavioral standpoint. The FBI would direct an
operational response, if warranted, based on the assessment. The
FBI's contingency plans for crisis management of nuclear or
chemical/biological incidents call for drawing appropriate tactical,
technical, scientific, and medical resources from the federal
community to bolster the FBI's investigative and crisis management
capabilities. The FBI considers all three WMD
possibilities--nuclear, biological, and chemical--to be equally
serious. The nuclear threat is considered the least likely.
Each of the FBI's 56 field offices is developing contingency plans
for WMD incidents, identifying key facilities that might be attacked
in such incidents, and coordinating a response with local
authorities. If there is no warning of a terrorist threat or event,
the FBI is expected to provide a rapid on-scene response, typically
in coordination with local law enforcement authorities or other
federal agencies.
--------------------
\1 In aircraft hijackings, the FAA is to coordinate law enforcement
activity affecting the safety of passengers aboard aircraft within
the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States. FAA's
federal air marshals have counterterrorism responsibilities aboard an
aircraft. On the ground in U.S. territory, once the door of the
aircraft is open, the FBI is responsible for the resolution of
terrorist hijackings.
THE FBI HAS A VARIETY OF
OPERATIONAL RESPONSE
CAPABILITIES
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:1.1
In the event of a terrorist incident, the on-scene FBI commander is
to establish a command post to manage the crisis based upon the
premise of a graduated and flexible response. However, the FBI
acknowledges that the first priority in a crisis is public safety and
the preservation of life. According to FBI officials, when a threat
or incident exceeds the capabilities of a local FBI field office, the
FBI Critical Incident Response Group will deploy necessary resources
to assist that office. The Group was established in 1994 as a
separate field entity to integrate the tactical and investigative
expertise needed for terrorist and other critical incidents that
require an immediate law enforcement response. The Group has crisis
managers, hostage negotiators, behaviorists, surveillance assets and
agents, and a trained and exercised tactical team--the Hostage Rescue
Team--that can operate in a chemical or a biological environment.\2
Figure 3.1 shows the FBI's crisis management structure.
Figure 3.1: FBI Crisis
management
(See figure in printed
edition.)
Source: FBI.
The FBI has a number of tactical response assets that it can employ.
The Hostage Rescue Team, which is authorized 90 special agents, is
expected to deploy rapidly upon notice of the FBI Director's
authorization to rescue individuals who are held illegally by a
hostile force or to engage in other law enforcement activities as
directed. The FBI also has over 1,000 agents in Special Weapons and
Tactics (SWAT) teams located in its field offices, with enhanced SWAT
teams in 9 of the offices. FBI SWAT teams are capable of planning
and executing high-risk tactical operations that exceed the
capabilities of field office investigative resources. Figure 3.2
summarizes the FBI's tactical response assets.
Figure 3.2: FBI tactical
assets
(See figure in printed
edition.)
Source: FBI.
FBI case management and evidence specialists can deploy with or
otherwise support the Critical Incident Response Group shown in
figure 3.1 to investigate an incident for the arrest and prosecution
of the terrorists. FBI forensic and evidence capabilities are being
enhanced through the establishment of the Hazardous Materials
Response Unit within the Laboratory Division.\3
--------------------
\2 Among Hostage Rescue Team skills are: hostage rescue tactics,
precision shooting, advanced medical support, and tactical site
surveys. The team receives frequent specialized training to maintain
high levels of expertise and skills.
\3 Other agencies may assist the FBI in its terrorism investigations.
For example, although the FBI has a Bomb Data Center, the Treasury
Department's ATF also has significant explosives investigation
capability and can support FBI investigations of bombings. ATF is
forming critical incident management response teams to draw resources
from across the Bureau in response to critical incidents, and it has
national response teams to help gather evidence and identify the
cause and origin of an explosion or fire. ATF also has a special
response team for situations that may be violent or in which
surveillance or other nontraditional operations are required.
DOMESTIC EMERGENCY SUPPORT
TEAM DESIGNED TO SUPPORT FBI
RESPONSE
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:1.2
Based on a preliminary threat assessment, the FBI Director, through
the Attorney General, may authorize the deployment of a DEST
comprised of those agencies that can advise or provide assistance to
the FBI on-scene commander as circumstances dictate. No higher level
coordination or approvals (e.g., from the NSC Deputies Committee) are
required unless the FBI's capability to deal with an extreme crisis,
such as that potentially resulting from some types of WMD incidents
or multiple incidents, proves insufficient.
Upon the Attorney General's approval of the FBI's request for a DEST,
each agency's representatives are expected to be ready to deploy
quickly. The FBI determines the composition of the team and
communicates that to the appropriate agencies. For example, a DEST
may include nuclear, chemical, or biological experts to provide
advice or support to the FBI in dealing with a specific type of
incident involving WMD. The FBI incorporates the DEST into its
existing crisis management structure. The FBI Director designates a
DEST team leader from the FBI to advise the on-scene commander about
other federal agencies' capabilities. The team leader conducts an
initial situation assessment, develops courses of action, assesses
potential consequences, and makes recommendations to the on-scene
commander. The team leader is then to assign tasks for the
commander's selected courses of action, supervise the evaluation of
changes in the situation, and ensure information is disseminated in a
timely manner.
The FBI command post can then be converted to a Joint Operations
Center for decisions involving the interagency response to the
incident. The center would have four groups: command, operations,
consequence management, and support. The command group would include
the on-scene principals of the DEST agencies, such as the DOE, HHS,
EPA, DOD, FEMA, and any other federal, state, or local agency
officials that are critical to successful resolution of the crisis,
particularly incidents involving WMD. For example, specialized
assistance may also be requested from the Departments of
Transportation, Agriculture, Treasury, and State; the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission; and the intelligence community. The agencies
then support the FBI's response to the incident by providing the
required expertise, staffing, and equipment. The operations group
includes the following functions: intelligence, investigations,
tactical operations, technical support, surveillance, and
negotiations. The consequence management group monitors and provides
advice on dealing with destruction and mass casualties. And the
support group provides logistical, legal, media, administrative, and
liaison services. Figure 3.3 shows the structure of an FBI Joint
Operations Center.
Figure 3.3: FBI's Joint
Operations Center
(See figure in printed
edition.)
Source: FBI.
As of September 1997, a DEST had not been deployed in response to an
actual incident. However, DEST components have been deployed as a
precaution for special events, such as the 1996 Democratic National
Convention, the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, and the 1997 presidential
inauguration.
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES MAY
SUPPORT FBI IN WMD INCIDENT
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:1.3
For chemical or biological incidents, several agencies support the
FBI's crisis management efforts, including HHS, EPA, and DOD. The
HHS on-scene representative through a number of HHS entities,\4 can
provide services such as (1) threat assessment, (2) consultation, (3)
agent identification, (4) epidemiological investigation, (5) hazard
detection and reduction, (6) decontamination, (7) public health
support, (8) medical support, and (9) pharmaceutical support
operations. For example, public health and medical care response
activities coordinated through HHS include assessment, triage,
treatment, transportation, hospitalization, and mental health
services for victims of a chemical or biological incident. Through
its on-scene coordinator and response teams, the EPA can provide
technical advice and assistance, such as identification of
contaminants; sample collection and analysis; monitoring of
contaminants; and on-site safety, prevention, and decontamination
activities.\5 EPA also issues any permits required for the custody,
transportation, and transfer of chemical materials. DOD has
technical organizations and tactical units, including the Chemical,
Biological Defense Command; the U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance
Disposal group; the Defense Technical Response Group; and the U.S.
Army Technical Escort Unit; that can similarly assist the FBI on site
in dealing with chemical and biological incidents, through
identification of contaminants, sample collection and analysis,
limited decontamination, air monitoring, medical diagnosis and
treatment of casualties, and by render safe procedures for WMD
devices. DOD can also provide for the custody, transportation, and
disposal of chemical/biological materials when EPA lacks the
capability to do so.
In the event of a nuclear incident--which terrorism experts view as
the least likely of possible events--DOE would activate a nuclear
incident team to monitor the crisis and coordinate the requested
deployment of its crisis management teams for the DEST.\6
Specifically, DOE provides scientific and technical assistance
regarding (1) threat assessments; (2) search operations; (3) access
operations; (4) diagnostic and device assessments; (5) disablement
and render safe operations; (6) hazard assessments; (7) containment,
relocation, and storage of special nuclear material evidence; and (8)
post-incident cleanup.\7 In providing these types of support, DOE
emergency response teams do not enter hostile environments. In such
environments, DOD provides personnel trained to disarm and dismantle
an explosive device and any booby traps surrounding the device. Once
DOD renders the device safe for movement or transportation and the
environment is not hostile, DOE personnel can assist in further
render-safe procedures, disassembly, and final disposition of the
device. As with other types of WMD materials, DOD can provide for
the custody, transportation, and disposal of nuclear materials if DOE
is unable to do so.
Appendix III provides a profile of DOD, HHS, EPA, and DOE
capabilities for dealing with aspects of terrorist incidents
involving WMD.
--------------------
\4 These entities include the Office of Emergency Preparedness/Office
of Public Health Service, Federal Interagency Chemical/Biological
Rapid Deployment Team, Medical Management Support Unit, Medical
Response Teams and specialty teams, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry, National Institutes of Health, Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration, and Health Resources and
Services Administration.
\5 EPA provides its support through a number of local, regional, and
national entities, including federal On-Scene Coordinators supported
by contractors for sampling, monitoring, cleanup, and disposal;
National Response Team; Regional Response Teams; Office of Radiation
and Indoor Air; Center for Risk Modeling and Emergency Response;
Radiological Emergency Response Team; National Enforcement
Investigations Center; and laboratory support. National headquarters
components include the Environmental Response Team and the Office of
the Emergency Coordinator.
\6 These crisis management teams consist of the Nuclear/Radiological
Advisory Team, the Nuclear Emergency Search Team, the Joint Technical
Operations Team, and the Lincoln Gold Augmentation Team. Almost 800
contractor personnel are to be available to provide the scientific
and technical expertise in support of DOE crisis management teams.
These contractor personnel normally work in DOE facilities as weapons
designers, engineers, and physicists. In addition, to deal with
terrorist incidents occurring at DOE facilities, DOE Special Response
Teams would be the first to respond.
\7 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be included in the DEST if
the incident involves a facility it has licensed.
MILITARY FORCES COULD BE
USED IN UNUSUAL CRISIS
SITUATIONS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:1.4
If an exceptionally grave terrorist threat or incident is beyond FBI
capabilities to resolve, a military joint special operations task
force may be established to respond in accordance with contingency
plans developed by DOD. As a general principle, the Posse Comitatus
Act\8 and DOD regulations prohibit the armed forces from being
employed to enforce domestic law. The Posse Comitatus Act, however,
is subject to a number of statutory exceptions, which permit the use
of the armed forces in dealing with domestic terrorist incidents in
special situations. \9 According to Justice Department officials,
these statutory exceptions often require a request from the Attorney
General and concurrence by the Secretary of Defense. Justice
officials added that, in most instances, as a matter of policy,
approval by the President will also be sought whenever possible.
Further, Justice officials said that when military force is needed to
restore order in an act of domestic terrorism and renders ordinary
means of enforcement unworkable or hinders the ability of civilian
law enforcement authorities, the President must issue an executive
order and a proclamation. These documents are maintained in draft
form and are ready for the President's signature if needed.
If military force is required and approved, the on-scene FBI
commander passes operational control of the incident site to the
military commander. The military commander develops and submits
courses of action to the National Command Authority. If the incident
cannot be resolved peacefully, the National Command Authority may
order a military operation, including the disablement of a WMD. Once
this is accomplished, the military commander returns operational
control of the site to the FBI. To date, military action has never
been required to resolve a domestic terrorist incident. Further, FBI
officials stated that the FBI's own tactical skills to resolve a
terrorist incident are generally equal to the military's, although
technical assistance would be required in certain WMD incidents.
--------------------
\8 See 18 U.S.C. section 1385.
\9 For example, 18 U.S.C. section 1751 (i) (presidential
assassination); 18 U.S.C. section 2332e (emergencies involving
chemical WMD); 18 U.S.C. section 1116 (murder) and 18 U.S.C.
section 112(f) authorize the Attorney General to request the
assistance of military authorities for enforcement purposes when the
victim is a foreign official, official guest, or internationally
protected person.
DOMESTIC CRISIS RESPONSE
EXERCISES
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:1.5
Under PDD 39, supporting agencies are to provide trained personnel to
the DEST, and the FBI is to design and coordinate an overall DEST
exercise program. Although the FBI participated in 30 interagency
exercises from October 1994 through March 1997, the FBI had not yet
led a full-field DEST exercise. Exercises to date have included
tabletop, command post, field training, and joint readiness
exercises. These exercises involved conventional, chemical,
biological, and nuclear incident scenarios. The FBI sponsored 10 of
the exercises. Through March of 1999, 25 more exercises are
scheduled.
The October 1994 Mirage Gold field exercise involved several agencies
with nearly 1,000 participants and was designed to test the
interagency crisis management capabilities for a nuclear incident.
The exercise helped the FBI and other agencies, such as DOE, identify
needed improvements in interagency coordination and intelligence
flow, interagency coordination of forensic matters, and information
management and technical support. FBI officials said they revised
their crisis management plans accordingly and took other steps based
on the lessons learned from the exercise. For example, the Critical
Incident Response Group implemented a crisis management training
program for senior FBI officials that emphasized the Joint Operations
Center concept.
Several interagency operational opportunities have arisen while
preparing for special events. In preparing for the 1996 Summer
Olympic Games in Atlanta, the FBI conducted WMD counterterrorism
exercises, including tabletop, leadership, command post, and
full-field exercises. According to an HHS official, participation in
major events has been especially instructive. For example,
preparations for special events have helped HHS identify needed
improvements in communications equipment, the distribution system for
antidotes for WMD agents, and the surveillance system for reporting
illnesses associated with a chemical or biological attack.
Individual agencies also have internal exercises related to crisis
management. For example, DOE has exercises that focus on crisis
management of a nuclear terrorist incident and include national
policy-level exercises to test interagency coordination and command
and control procedures; bilateral exercises with the FBI and other
interagency participants; various command post, field, and joint
exercises with DOD; team-level drills to test DOE personnel's call-up
and deployment response capabilities; and frequent tabletop drills
using a nuclear incident scenario involving the development of
appropriate emergency response strategies to deal with the
incident.\10
--------------------
\10 According to DOE officials, DOE has also instituted an exercise
after-action tracking system to evaluate whether exercise objectives
were met and to identify significant deficiencies in need of
corrective action.
STATE DEPARTMENT LEADS CRISIS
MANAGEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL
INCIDENTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:2
For an international terrorist incident, the State Department is to
lead U.S. crisis management efforts. A number of contingency
arrangements are already in place to respond to a terrorist crisis.
For example each diplomatic post has an Emergency Action Committee
and an Emergency Action Plan. In addition, State's Bureau of
Diplomatic Security has advance teams that can deploy to enhance a
post's security posture if the threat level increases. In an actual
incident, crisis management would be managed at a post by the
Emergency Action Committee, led by the ambassador, and at
headquarters by a task force led by the Coordinator for
Counterterrorism. In addition, with permission from the host
country, a State-led FEST can deploy to support the ambassador at a
post. The FEST is tailored to the terrorist act and may include
personnel with expertise to deal with specific types of WMD
incidents. Other agencies may also participate in U.S. crisis
management overseas. For example, DOD, FBI, ATF, HHS, EPA, or DOE
teams could support overseas operations involving WMD. The State
Department and other agencies test their crisis management
capabilities through exercises at the interagency or individual
agency level.
STATE DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE
FOR MANAGEMENT AND
CONTINGENCY ARRANGEMENTS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:2.1
The State Department generally is the lead agency in terrorist
incidents that take place outside the United States. PDD 39
reaffirmed the State Department's lead for interagency coordination
of international terrorist incidents. State Department has a variety
of contingency arrangements and plans in case of a terrorist attack
on U.S. interests overseas. State's Emergency Planning Handbook
serves as a consolidated source of guidance for overseas posts on how
to plan for and deal with emergencies abroad. The handbook
identifies post emergency management responsibilities; discusses
emergency and crisis management mechanisms within State and with
other U.S. government agencies; highlights the kinds of information
the post will need to plan for specific emergencies; and provides
action-oriented checklists that posts may use to ensure rapid, clear,
and complete responses in emergencies.
The Emergency Planning Handbook explains post mechanisms for crisis
management, including the Emergency Action Committee and the
Emergency Action Plan. Every U.S. diplomatic post is required to
have an Emergency Action Committee. In organizing for emergency
action, the ambassador establishes the committee and designates
personnel responsible for 19 specific crisis-related functions.
Every post is also required to have an operative Emergency Action
Plan designed to provide procedures to deal with foreseeable
contingencies specific to the post. The post plan is written by
members of the post Emergency Action Committee to implement
department-level guidance (as contained in the Emergency Planning
Handbook) in conjunction with post-specific information. The post
plan translates worldwide guidance into a post-specific action plan
for dealing with a crisis.
State also maintains security response teams that can deploy in
anticipation of a crisis. The Bureau of Diplomatic Security has
Mobile Training Teams and Security Support Teams to respond to
increased threats or critical security needs at posts. These teams
can provide special training or assistance to plan or implement a
drawdown or evacuate post personnel. These teams are to provide
supplemental support to Regional Security Officers and stand ready
for immediate deployment to any post.
TASK FORCES AND FOREIGN
EMERGENCY SUPPORT TEAMS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:2.2
Headquarters-level crisis management begins in the State Department's
Operations Center, in coordination with the NSC. State's Operations
Center maintains a 24-hour global watch and crisis management support
staff. The watch is the initial point of contact for posts
experiencing emergency crises, including terrorism. In a crisis, the
Operations Center would establish a 24-hour task force to coordinate
the flow of communications and instructions between the Department,
other involved agencies, overseas posts, and foreign governments. In
a terrorist incident, this task force would be chaired by the
Coordinator for Counterterrorism and, in addition to relevant State
bureaus, may include other U.S. government agencies with action
responsibilities. Past task forces related to terrorism include
those for hijackings, the takeover of the cruise ship Achille Lauro,
the Pan Am flight 103 bombing, and the recent hostage crisis in Lima,
Peru.
In coordination with NSC, State would lead an interagency FEST to
assist the ambassador--the on-scene coordinator for the U.S.
government. The purpose of a FEST is to assist the ambassador and
host government to manage a terrorist incident. The FEST is advisory
and will not enter the host country unless requested by the
ambassador, with the host country's permission. The FEST also
provides the ambassador a single point of contact to coordinate all
U.S. government on-scene support during a terrorist incident.
Each FEST is tailored to the type of incident, the capabilities of
the host government, and the desires of the host government and the
ambassador. For example, the FEST can provide (1) guidance on
terrorist policy and incident management; (2) dedicated secure
communications to support the embassy throughout the incident; and
(3) special expertise and equipment not otherwise available,
including a professional hostage negotiations adviser. The FEST
could include experts on managing specific types of WMD incidents,
such as nuclear, biological, and chemical threats. Depending on the
situation, the size of a FEST may range from a few individuals to
more than 30 people.
OTHER AGENCIES SUPPORT STATE
DEPARTMENT
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:2.3
In addition to providing advisers on the FEST, several other
agencies, most notably DOD, support the State Department with
operational units. DOD has forces from all the military services
trained to cope with terrorist incidents. Command and control
elements for these forces exist and have participated in exercises.
State and DOD also have memorandums of understanding on the
coordination and implementation of plans for the protection of U.S.
citizens abroad in emergencies, and on the protection and evacuation
of U.S. citizens and designated aliens abroad. A pending or actual
terrorist crisis may require the evacuation of U.S. government
employees and other Americans from the affected area. Such
evacuations (known in the military as Noncombatant Evacuation
Operations) might be necessary in the face of continued terrorist
attacks, or in an attack involving WMD. DOD has considerable assets
with which to respond to all three types of WMD incidents, including
on-call rapid response teams, equipment and vaccines, medical
treatment personnel, and decontamination capabilities.
In responding to a terrorist incident overseas, other agencies also
support the State Department. For example, ATF provides immediate
response and support teams related to explosives investigations. In
WMD incidents, other agencies already discussed under domestic WMD
incidents could also participate in crisis management of an
international WMD incident. For example, DOE, EPA, and HHS special
teams could provide support in terrorist incidents involving nuclear,
chemical, or biological agents respectively.
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS
MANAGEMENT EXERCISES
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:2.4
In PDD 39, the President directed the heads of several agencies
(including State, DOD, and DOE) to ensure that their organizations'
capabilities to combat terrorism are, among other things, well
exercised. The State Department coordinates the interagency exercise
program for counterterrorism overseas. This program is coordinated
with other departments through the Interagency Working Group on
Counterterrorism's Subgroup on Exercises. The exercise program is
designed to strengthen the U.S. government's ability to deal with
terrorist attacks. Four to six full-scale interagency overseas
exercises are conducted annually. These involve the actual movement
of response teams in a scenario that simulates a realistic overseas
terrorist incident. In addition, tabletop exercises are held
periodically to practice the coordination and management of a
terrorism crisis without the expense of actually deploying special
teams of people. The scenarios and agencies differ from exercise to
exercise to develop and improve U.S. capabilities to deal with a
variety of situations. Some exercises are conducted in overseas
locations with host government participation.
DOD runs several interagency field exercises. The Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff sponsors the Eligible Receiver exercises each
year. These are no-notice interoperability exercises that involve
not only DOD forces but also representatives from State, Justice,
FBI, CIA and potentially DOE, EPA, and HHS. These exercises also
require regional commanders in chief to execute their own response
plans and test agency interoperability. In addition, the regional
commanders in chief conduct the Ellipse exercises, which involve
interagency participation.
Interagency tabletop exercises are conducted under the Interagency
Terrorism Response Awareness Program. Some of these senior-level
interagency exercises have been hosted by DOD's Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. In
these exercises, officials practice interagency coordination for
terrorist crises and special events, such as terrorists' use of WMD,
or the presidential inaugurations. These exercises, now in their
seventh iteration, have been conducted for Coordinating Sub-Group
officials at the Assistant Secretary level, and were designed to
exercise policy issues in combating terrorism.
Individual agencies also have internal terrorism exercises for
international incidents. For example, some of DOD's Ellipse
exercises are done internally, without major participation by other
agencies. These exercises require the regional commanders in chief
to exercise all levels of their response capabilities--tabletop
sessions with their staff, response forces, and interagency crisis
management cells and integration with Special Operations Forces. In
addition, DOD also runs exercises related to evacuations of U.S.
diplomatic personnel and other Americans. Some of these may include
some participation by other agencies. For example, since 1991, the
State Department has participated in the U.S. Marine Corps' special
operations capable exercise program (i.e., SOCEX) to help train
Marine Expeditionary Units in Noncombatant Evacuation Operations.
The State Department also runs internal exercises at overseas posts
to test their Emergency Action Committees and Emergency Action Plans,
and to generally prepare them for crisis management. The Department
conducts exercises designed to expose posts to issues of
decision-making, contingency planning, implementation of plans and
formulation, and interpretation and coordination of policy. These
exercises may cover a wide range of contingencies related to
terrorism, such as hostage barricades, terrorist threats, and
bombings. The State Department has been running these at-post
exercises since 1983. In addition to these Department-led exercises,
the post-level Emergency Action Committee is to prepare, execute, and
evaluate post-level crisis exercises. These exercises are designed
to test individuals' understanding of their roles under all
foreseeable crises. They seek to identify gaps or ambiguities in the
plan or in departmental guidance.
ARREST AND CRIMINAL PROSECUTION
OF TERRORISTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:3
U.S. policy for combating terrorism calls for the investigation of
terrorism-related crimes and the apprehension and prosecution of
terrorists. Arresting terrorists and bringing them to justice
entails the application of U.S. criminal statutes and, in some
cases, international treaties or agreements to obtain custody of the
terrorists overseas and deliver them to the United States for
prosecution. The Department of Justice (and the State Department
involving the extradition or rendition of terrorists overseas) leads
the federal government's efforts to apprehend terrorists for
prosecution.
As the principal investigative agency of the federal government for
terrorism matters, the FBI is to detect and investigate acts of
terrorism against U.S. persons and property, both in the United
States and abroad. The FBI's investigative authority is broad and
its counterterrorism investigations involve a variety of potential
incidents. Such incidents include domestic terrorism, bombings or
attempted bombings, hostage-taking, homicides or attempted homicides
of U.S. citizens overseas, sabotage, and extortion by threatening to
use WMD. Table 3.1 shows that, depending upon the nature of a
terrorist incident, other federal agencies may also participate in or
support terrorism investigations.\11
Table 3.1
Federal Agencies' Involvement in
Investigations Related to Terrorism
Federal agency Involvement
---------------------- ----------------------------------------------
FBI Acts as lead federal agency for all domestic
and overseas terrorism investigations.
State Department, Diplomatic lead for overseas terrorism
Bureau of Diplomatic investigations. Participates in investigations
Security of terrorist incidents against U.S. diplomatic
personnel and other persons under its
protection. State also investigates passport
and visa fraud.
Bureau of Alcohol, Investigates terrorist bombings and explosive
Tobacco, and Firearms blast scenes, both domestic and international.
Secret Service Investigates terrorist threats against
officials under its protective mission,
including the President and Vice President,
and economic crimes committed by terrorists.
Customs Service Investigates foreign and domestic cases of
terrorists and terrorist materials crossing
U.S. borders, violations of economic sanctions
and embargoes, and money laundering related to
financing designated international terrorist
organizations.
Financial Crimes Supports lead investigative agencies in
Enforcement Network determining actual or suspected terrorists'
(Treasury) financial transactions and money laundering.
Immigration and Investigates cases of terrorists crossing U.S.
Naturalization Service borders.
Environmental Supports lead investigative agency in
Protection Agency terrorist cases involving the actual or
potential release of hazardous materials.
Postal Inspection Investigates terrorist attacks involving U.S.
Service Postal Service property or functions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Agency documents.
The FBI is to arrest individuals who commit terrorist acts, and the
Department of Justice is responsible for prosecuting them. The U.S.
Attorney's office of the federal district in which a terrorist crime
occurs leads the prosecution for terrorist acts committed within the
United States. For terrorism-related crimes committed overseas, the
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, together with the
Department of Justice Criminal Division's Terrorism and Violent Crime
Section, ordinarily prosecutes the offense. When terrorist suspects
are located overseas, an indictment is usually obtained in a U.S.
court before their apprehension, if possible.
Where terrorists operate abroad, the federal government applies
extraterritorial statutes to prosecute them. PDD 39 states that, if
terrorists are wanted for violation of U.S. laws and are at large
overseas, their return for prosecution is a matter of the highest
priority and is a central issue in bilateral relations with any
country that harbors or assists terrorists. The United States has
extradition treaties with a number of countries, and since 1993, it
has obtained two terrorist suspects through extradition. The State
Department is currently working to renegotiate a number of
extradition treaties to extend their application to terrorist-related
crimes. In some instances, the United States has obtained custody
over a suspected terrorist by agreement with the asylum nation to
render the individual to the United States for trial without resort
to the formalities of an extradition treaty. Since 1993, the United
States has obtained custody over six terrorists in this manner.
Another tool for arresting and prosecuting terrorist suspects is the
State Department's Counterterrorism Rewards Program. The program
will pay up to $2 million for information that leads to the arrest or
conviction in any country of any individual involved in an act of
international terrorism or information that averts an act of
international terrorism against U.S. persons or property. Since
1991, the program has paid over $5 million in more than 20 cases.
--------------------
\11 For more information on the specific investigative authorities of
different agencies, see Federal Law Enforcement: Investigative
Authority and Personnel at 13 Agencies (GAO/GGD-96-154, Sept. 30,
1996).
MANAGING THE CONSEQUENCES OF
TERRORIST INCIDENTS
============================================================ Chapter 4
Consequence management is the preparation for and response to the
consequences of a terrorist incident. Specific consequence
management activities include measures to alleviate damage, loss of
life, or suffering; protect public health and safety; restore
essential government services; and provide emergency assistance.
Consequence management can follow crisis management, but these two
ac