From: ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE
REPORT-ERRI Risk Assessment Services Friday, August 29, 1997 Vol.
3 - 241
ISLAMIC TERRORIST GROUPS OPERATING
IN THE UNITED STATES
By Steve Macko, ERRI Risk Analyst
Very few people realize it, but at this very moment, militant
Islamic groups that have been officially described as
international terrorist organizations -- such as Hezbollah,
HAMAS, Palestine Islamic Jihad and others -- are operating very
quietly within the borders of the United States, from New York
City to San Diego. What these terrorist groups do is acquire
money in the U.S. to send back to their parent organizations
overseas. They also use their U.S. addresses in order to purchase
U.S. equipment, use U.S. internet sites to communicate and U.S.
universities to meet and plan.
John O'Neill, the man who formally headed the FBI's
counterterrorism unit until 1996 and who now heads those efforts
in New York City, said, "Almost every one of these groups
has a presence in the United States today. A lot of these groups
now have the capability and the support infrastructure in the
United States to attack us here if they choose to do so."
By many Islamic militants, the United States is seen as the
"Great Satan." And the U.S. has now become a key part
of their terrorist network. In the Middle East, you have some
bitter rivalries such as Sunni vs. Shi'ite. Or Iranians vs.
Arabs. These type of individuals have now eased into America's
famed "melting pot."
This issue is a difficult one for law enforcement. Almost all of
the estimated 6 million Muslims in the United States are
law-abiding citizens. But how do you use some investigative
tactics without infringing upon the rights of innocent people?
Here is a nightmare scenario that keeps some risk analysts awake
at night:
A Hezbollah terrorist attaches a lightbulb to the rail track of a
New York City subway. Within minutes, a train passes and smashes
the light- bulb. The deadly toxin anthrax is then released into
the subway system carried away by ventilation fans and causes the
death of 100,000 people or more.
Peter Probst, a analyst at the Pentagon, said, "The death
toll would be horrific. You could cripple the country."
Probst wrote a similar scenario in his classified report
entitled: "Terror 2000." He added about the anthrax
scenario, "And you can't bury the victims. You have to burn
them. There would be funeral pyres throughout the city."
A 1996 U.S. Senate report said that a terrorist attack with
anthrax or sarin gas or a World Trade Center-type bomb that was
"dirtied" with nuclear material is almost inevitable.
Most experts say that sooner or later, it's going to happen.
U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen said about the same thing
at a terrorism conference in April. He said: "This scenario
of a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon in the hands of a
terrorist cell or rogue nation is not only plausible, it's really
quite real."
The U.S. has already seen such efforts toward these kinds of
terrorist attacks. The group of men involved in the 1993 World
Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured more than
1,000 included militants from Palestine, Sudan, Egypt and even
U.S. citizens converted to the radical Islamic fundamentalism
craziness.
That same group convicted of the World Trade Center bombing also
planned to bomb other New York City landmarks. The mysterious
Ramzi Yousef who is currently on trial for his part in the World
Trade Center case, has already been convicted of conspiring to
bomb a dozen U.S. airliners in a single day.
U.S. authorities worry about what are called "sleeper
cells" of terrorists who await orders from the crazy mullahs
in Iran or zealots who have been influenced by jailed Egyptian
"cleric" Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. Who was given a life
sentence for his part in the World Trade Center bombing. Rahman
still has his followers even though he is behind bars in a
federal prison.
It is known that U.S.-based HAMAS militants have been involved in
surveillance operations against prominent Jewish people in the
Chicago area. What could their intentions only be?
Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet says that such
terrorists "are expanding their networks, improving their
skills and sophistication and working to stage more spectacular
attacks."
Currently, the U.S. Customs Service is said to be investigating a
network of U.S.-based Islamic foundations who may be funding
Middle East terrorists. One of the foundations under
investigation is in Florida. The Customs Service is reportedly
searching for evidence in stacks of Arabic documents, encrypted
computer files and bank records that have been seized. The
foundation is believed to using the cover of a Mideast think tank
that was, at one time, affiliated with the University of South
Florida.
Counterterrorism analysts say that what is different about
Islamic extremists is the radical crazies who consider the United
States to be the "Great Satan." An enemy to Islam that
must be punished. And they are quite fanatical about it.
World renown terrorism expert Brian Jenkins of Kroll Associates
said, "The fact they are using the United States as a
launching pad, a depot and a bank is not new. What is different
is the fact it is done so with an open hostility toward the U.S.
government and U.S. society."
*Exclusive Report*
Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood
in Los Vegas ???
By Paul Copher, ERRI Counterterrorism Analyst-At-Large
While presenting a CT/AT training course to some state
investigators here in the SW, I stopped in Las Vegas with a few
former military agents that I worked with in the Middle East. A
taxi driver picked us up and we noticed his Middle Eastern name.
At first he was very closed mouth about such questions as the
spread of Islam in Nevada but after hearing that we were familiar
with the various conflicts of the region and Islam he began to
open up. By the end of the ride we had made plans to meet the
local Imam. The mosque was situated in a housing project and bore
no outside indications of its usage.
Upon entering we were politely searched for weapons or recording
devices then led into a front room. The first thing that I noted
was a map of Nellis AFB with certain areas marked such as the
motor pool, gas/fuel storage, and weapons/ammo dump. A large
photo of Sheik Rahman was displayed as was the Ayatollah
Khomeni's poster size likeness. After a few minutes of over
hearing Arabic remarks in the next room, our best Arabic
speaker/agent called out we were not "on the job" and
were not being properly treated as "guests".
Tea was brought out and a young Shiia stereotype (several days
beard, sweater under a sport coat in summer, buttoned up collar
with no tie) sat down. As we ate goat cheese and pita bread with
olives and cucumbers, the man produced a gold leaf bound copy of
the Koran and asked what we wanted. We said that all of us were
formerly in the ME and two of our group had extensive duty in
Egypt,Iran, and Lebanon. A few more men joined this odd scene
with more food and a bottle of wine. The wine trick was familiar
to us and we all turned our glasses upside down refusing the wine
in this alleged semi mosque or Koranic school. In fact, our
Egyptian born ex USAF Capt criticized the men for offering us an
alcoholic drink in such surroundings. Apparently we passed the
test by accepting only tea and snacks (with the correct hand).
The individuals said that all were Egyptians with a few
Palestinian born members thrown in and were in this country
seeking political asylum, although none had met with a INS board
and were employed as limo and taxi drivers. While being polite,
the men still believed us to be "secret police" for
some US agency. The far interior of the room was divided by a
nice tribal rug. Behind this was a small area for prayers and
many martyr photos of suicide bombers and Egyptian/Lebanese
clerics. I noted HAMAS and HEZBULLAH logos on the photos. This
was verified by the self appointed religious leader/teacher that
the others called Imam and another much older man called Sidi
Massoud-probably an older family member or the real group leader.
This man was called phonetically, by the group,
"Zabagna" which was translated to mean a watchman or
guard. It was he who called us by a very quaint, out of use,
Ottoman Turkish term of "noble foreigners".
The men, now numbering 7 (the seating was set up for a norm of 14
for prayers) began asking us if we had any new news from Rahman
and what we currently knew of the purges of pro-Islamic military
members in the various ME nations. I commented on the Turkish
purge which seemed to satisfy them that we were students of ME
politics. Our opinions were of interest to them as if they were
taking a poll. I was asked about the medallion I wore (and take
on every airplane trip) which was an inscribed gift from the
PFLP-GC after my unit had tried to stop the Lebanese militia
forces from entering the PLO refugee camps in Beirut. On these
trips I also carry a Koran just in case even though I am in the
US. Although the Moslem Brotherhood is not too friendly with the
PLO itself, they did seem to accept the more rejectionist PFLP-GC
as some remote relation to them.
The group said that they were studying the American way of life
and found it repulsive in Las Vegas due to the life style. They
also commented on the remarks about Moslems that their fares made
when working their taxi jobs. I said many Americans think all
Moslems are hostile but there are good and bad in both countries.
I also said that US students should study geography and other
cultures more than they currently do. The Imam replied that this
was true of the Middle Eastern students as well.
As I became familiar with the photos and posters I noted a heavy
cardboard stock poster of the design of an RPG 7 and AK 47. A map
of Las Vegas was also marked just like the map of Nellis AFB. One
man saw me looking and told me that they were studying the lay
out of the city and areas for their taxi/limo jobs. Numerous
photos of the men and their families (?) were displayed showing
that a few were in camo uniforms carrying weapons. I pointed out
a Rumanian AKM with its distinctive fore grip in one photo and
this seemed to impress the group. Another photo was of a group of
men at the Lake Powell region of Northern AZ with the large dam
behind them. I was told that this reminded them of Lake Nasser
and they take tours of the site often on their free days.
After about 1 1/2 hour we all got up, retrieved our shoes, and
said goodbye-May Peace and Blessings be upon you. We received the
correct blessing on leaving the home. The next day we met with a
Vegas police officer and asked about the Moslem presence in the
town. He replied that the only "Mohamadins" (a term I
had not heard in years and only by tourists in the ME) were in
Vegas to "drink, gamble, meet women and live it up".
Although this incident shows that at least one
group/cell/association is in Las Vegas, the intelligence of its
existance is not being circulated to the law enforcement
community. In a place that contains high level "Great
Satan" targets with little security (not to inconvenience
the guests) plus military facilities that grant access to these
individuals when driving taxis, I would hope that the rest of the
town and military police would have knowledge of the potential
threat. The fellow briefers and I had done facility vulnerability
surveys in Iran, Lebanon, and Turkey. Our thoughts on securing a
hotel/casino would conflict with the whole areas life style. A
bio/chem weapon in a casino would inflict severe damage. An
explosive of a great size could cause a massive lateral
detonation far exceeding the damage at the World Trade Center.
(c) Copyright, EmergencyNet NEWS Service, 1997. All Rights
Reserved. Redistribution without permission is prohibited by law.
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Terrorism/Intelligence/Military and National Security issues.
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