19 March 2002
Al-Qaida Still Presents Greatest Threat to U.S., CIA Head Says
(George Tenet testifies at Senate hearing March 19) (970)
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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