*EPF205 03/19/2002
Al-Qaida Still Presents Greatest Threat to U.S., CIA Head Says
(George Tenet testifies at Senate hearing March 19) (950)

By Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr.
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The al-Qaida terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden is still the most immediate and serious threat faced by the United States despite considerable success from operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere, says CIA Director George Tenet.

Appearing at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing March 19, Tenet said, "we assess that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups will continue to plan to attack this country and its interests abroad. Their modus operandi is to have multiple attack plans in the works simultaneously, and to have al-Qaida cells in place to conduct them."

This threat persists despite the fact that the United States launched its counteroffensive against al-Qaida last October, which has led to the arrest of over 1,300 extremists in more than 70 countries, he said.

Tenet and Navy Vice Admiral Thomas Wilson, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), outlined a sweeping variety of global threats and challenges facing the United States, its allies and other nations during an annual briefing for the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Wilson said September 11th brought into focus what had been a theoretical concept previously -- the asymmetric threat aimed directly at the United States homeland. "A strategic attack was carried out against U.S. territory, not by the military forces of a rival state, but by a shadowy, global network of extremists, who struck unprotected targets, using methods we did not anticipate," he said. "The terrorists were not deterred by our overwhelming military superiority; in fact, for that day at least, they made it irrelevant."

The suicide terrorist attacks of September 11th brought together several vital threats the intelligence community has long been aware of, Tenet said in prepared testimony for the committee. He emphasized the connection between terrorists and other enemies of the United States; the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) they seek to use; and the social, economic and political tensions across the globe they exploit in mobilizing their followers.

"September 11 demonstrated the dangers that arise when these threats converge -- and it reminds us that we overlook at our own peril the impact of crises in remote parts of the world," Tenet said.

While the September 11th suicide attacks suggest that al-Qaida and other terrorists will continue to use conventional weapons, there is a rising concern about their stated goal to use unconventional means, he said. "Documents recovered from al-Qaida facilities in Afghanistan show that bin Laden was pursuing a sophisticated biological weapons research program," he said.

And there is intelligence to suggest that bin Laden was attempting to acquire or develop a nuclear device as well as use what some have called a "dirty bomb," which is a conventional bomb laced with radioactive materials, he said.

Other possibilities include attacks against chemical or nuclear industrial infrastructure, and the possibility of a cyber warfare attack through electronic and computer networks, Tenet said.

Tenet said the situation in the Middle East continues to fuel terrorism and anti-U.S. sentiment worldwide. "Groups like the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and HAMAS have escalated their violence against Israel, and the intifadah has rejuvenated once-dormant groups like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine," he said.

And Tenet said the terrorist threat goes beyond Islamic extremists and the Muslim world. He cited the threat to U.S. interests in Latin America from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and he cited the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front in Turkey, which has publicly criticized the United States and its operations in Afghanistan.

"Iran continues to provide support -- including arms transfers -- to Palestinian rejectionist groups and Hizballah," Tenet said. "Tehran has also failed to move decisively against al-Qaida members who have relocated to Iran from Afghanistan."

Tenet said that the chance of nuclear war between India and Pakistan, both of whom possess nuclear weapons, is greater now than at any point since 1971. "We are deeply concerned ... that a conventional war, once begun, could escalate into nuclear confrontation," he said.

And Tenet said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein remains a threat. "He is determined to thwart U.N. sanctions, press ahead with weapons of mass destruction, and resurrect the military force he had before the Gulf War," he said.

In addition, the United States continues to monitor Iraq closely because of its involvement in terrorist activities, he said.

Tenet said that while the immediate focus may be on the danger of terrorist attacks, there must also be some focus on the conditions that allow terrorism to thrive.

"The problems that terrorists exploit -- poverty, alienation, and ethnic tensions -- will grow more acute over the next decade," Tenet said.

He said that domestic unrest and conflict in weak states is one of the contributory factors conducive to terrorism. And demographic trends indicate that the largest youth populations in the world over the next 20 years and beyond will occur in the world's poorest and most politically unstable regions -- which include parts of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, he said.

On weapons of mass destruction, Tenet said that as these programs are becoming more advanced and effective, countries of concern become more aggressive in pursuing them.

He said the primary category of WMD proliferation is in chemical and biological weapons. While the threat grows, Tenet said the greater challenge is in monitoring because of the dual use of chemical and biological agents.

Copies of Tenet and Wilson's prepared remarks can be obtained from the Senate Armed Services Committee official website at:
http://www.senate.gov/~armed_services/statemnt/2002/March/Tenet.pdf
http://www.senate.gov/~armed_services/statemnt/2002/March/Wilson.pdf.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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