Chapter 20

Terrorism

Goal: To address a major security threat-Terrorism- and Security's role in countering this threat.

Objectives:

• Review the history of terrorism, focusing on fairly recent history.
• Review Security's response to terrorism.
• Discuss Security's response to the growing concern for executive protection.
• Discuss Bomb Threats in terms of how an organization should respond.

This chapter is new as far as this text is concerned. The subject of terrorism, in edition 6 of this text, took only a few pages. Now, in the 7th edition, it is an entire chapter. This is indicative of the concern that companies, and indeed, the entire population of the U.S. have about terrorism. Maybe you or a family member or a friend feel the fear that terrorists want to create. Have you or anyone you know curtailed travel because of terrorism concerns? Has your employer changed anything at work because of terrorism concerns? Remember the anthrax scare right after 9-11? As I recall, across the entire U.S. only about 7 people died. But mail was curtailed. Companies were putting mail clerks in HAZMAT suits. It was crazy. It's strange that they apparently never caught the person(s) responsible but whoever it was (probably a domestic terrorist), the culprit did sow fear.

I was in Tunisia in October 2002 and when I came back people asked, "Weren't you scared?" No, I wasn't. Did I think about it before going? Yes. Did I check things out first? Yes. Did anything happen? No. In fact, I was treated quite well. Of course, I avoided the ugly American image. No loudness, no cowboy hat, no U.S. flag shirt. But it was an uneventful trip. Would I go on vacation to Baghdad? NO! What about Medellin, Colombia? NO! We have to deal with the very real threat of terrorism but we can't stop living. Let's look at what the text tells us about terrorism.

Our text rightfully tells us that terrorism has been around for a long time. But in the past few decades it has become a tool of war. As a result of the recent bombing in the Madrid train station, the Spaniards elected a new prime minister who has announced he will pull Spanish troops out of Iraq. That act of terror worked!! Now the Filipinos are planning to pull out their small troop contingent because one of their citizens was killed. That act of terrorism worked!! Did the 9-11 attacks work? I'd say they failed. They did not stop the U.S. They slowed us a bit but we picked up and got on with life. Whatever you think about the Israeli government, they are also not slowed by terrorist attacks. Of course, their economy is hurt by the reduced tourism. I recently had to develop a security assessment and briefing for some employees going to Israel on business. The trip could not be postponed. After coordinating with the U.S. State Department, the security leaders of several U.S. businesses working in Israel, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, and the Israeli who heads up the facility the employees had to visit, I concluded that if they avoided playing tourist, avoided night clubs, public buses, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, that they could go safely. They went and returned without incident. Of course, I can't predict the future. If something had happened I probably wouldn't have a job anymore.

Our text says that terrorism is hyped. The probability of the average American being targeted by terrorists is actually very low, even though we are bombarded by news shows announcing yet another "scary" attack somewhere in the world.

Another point: while there are over 300 terrorist groups in the world, only a handful can mount a really successful attack, especially outside their own country.

Look at table 20.1 on 372. Can you find the error? Otherwise, it's a good table.

The book lists some recent developments that make terrorism a greater concern today than years ago:

The groups use more lethal weapons

They indiscriminately kill civilians

They are more suicidal

They are threatening the world with weapons of mass destruction (WMD). (This term is getting over-used.)

They are sometimes in cahoots with organized crime

Let's remember, too, that while there are concerns about international terrorism, that we have our own homegrown guys and gals. We had Timothy McVeigh. What a bastard!! We had the Freemen. We have the Aryan Nations. We have the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front. The latter has struck in Utah. (They bombed a mink ranch in Sandy a few years ago and perhaps hit BYU recently.) There's a group of guys coming out of the Utah Prisons claiming allegiance to the Soldiers of Aryan Culture. These are hard core bad asses who have no use for anyone but white Protestant Christians.

Under the general heading of terrorism, we must briefly address bomb threats. Bombs and bomb threats: in the USA, at least for now, most bomb threats turn out to be hoaxes. They are often related to labor disputes. Read pages 390-392 in our text. Remember that searches are best done by people who are familiar with the area to be searched - this way they may be best able to spot things that don't belong. If you find something, DON'T touch it, shake it, or put it in a pail of water!!! If something is found, get personnel away from the area and contact local law enforcement immediately. They may have a response capability (bomb squad) or they'll contact a military Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team.

Now that you have read the text and this lecture, what do we do about terrorism? Pages 387 and 388 list some steps that can be taken. I would add, too, that we need to keep living life. If you give in to the fear that the terrorists want to instill in you and crawl into a cave, they have won.

Assignment: Look at the checklist on page 391. Tell me why would you ask the bomb threat caller questions 1 through 6?