Salon Newsreal | The war at home?

A L S O+T O D A Y

Life of the party?
By Joshua Micah Marshall
With Livingston gone, Tom DeLay runs the party
(12/19/98)
Clinton tries to carry on...and on
By Harry Jaffe
(12/19/98)
A plague on all their houses
By Murray Waas
On Capitol Hill, partisan hard-liners have damaged the constitutional democracy they claim to hold so dear
(12/18/98)
Going through the motions
By Harry Jaffe
Patrick Kennedy and Bob Barr's offstage sparring was the only surprise of Friday's impeachment debate
(12/17/98)
The Impeachment War: What on earth is going on?
Experts, pundits and kibitzers weigh in on Washington's weirdest week
(12/17/98)
Home for Ramadan?
By Jeff Stein
Don't hold your breath: Clinton's air war isn't likely to knock out Saddam Hussein
(12/17/98)
And now, back to impeachment
By Bruce Shapiro
Republican skeptic Christopher Shays tries to explain why fence-sitting Republicans suddenly rushed to oppose the president
(12/18/98)
House of adulterers
By David Weir
Unless the GOP is able to convince voters the impeachment proceedings are based on more than disapproval of his private sexual affairs, revelations like Bob Livingston's will continue.
(12/18/98)
Rep. Bob Livingston's remarks
The text of the statement Thursday by the incoming speaker of the House
(12/18/98)

T A B L E+T A L K
Do you agree or disagree with President Clinton's decision to bomb Iraq? Join the debate in Table Talk's International Issues area

___________________
Search barnesandnoble.com for books about terrorism
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R E C E N T L Y
The few, the proud, the relieved
By Jeff Stein
President Clinton risked a revolt within the military if he pulled back from the brink with Iraq once again
(12/17/98)
Baghdad bombing: The right move, the wrong time
By Lori Leibovich
A foreign policy expert says Clinton should have struck Baghdad sooner -- and argues that U.S. sanctions should be lifted
(12/17/98)
Reaping the whirlwind
By Joshua Micah Marshall
Clinton's move against Iraq raises the stakes for both parties in the impeachment debate
(12/17/98)
The whole world is watching -- again
By Todd Gitlin
Left-wing literati turn out to block impeachment
(12/16/98)
Peace, the movie
By Daryl Lindsey
Clinton's three-day visit to the Middle East was full of symbols and photo ops, but precious little in the way of content
(12/16/98)
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The war at home?
THERE'S NOT MUCH THE U.S. CAN DO TO PREVENT AN IRAQUI TERROR ATTTACK, BESIDES WATCH AND LISTEN.

BY JEFF STEIN | As U.S. jets and missiles pounded Iraq with 300 more cruise missiles for a third straight night, top FBI counterterrorism officials were attending a Christmas party at CIA headquarters up the Potomac River from Washington.
So much for the terrorism threat.
Business as usual? Actually, no one in security was taking anything for granted, said a CIA spokesman, Tom Crispell.
"Quite the opposite ... I certainly wouldn't characterize things as business as normal." The Counterterrorism Center, based at the CIA, was humming at top speed, officials said, with extra shifts monitoring reports flowing in from operatives around the world -- in the Palestinian refugee camps, in Jihad training grounds in the Lebanese mountains, in the cells of anti-U.S. terrorists in the Sudan.
But in many cases, the best tactic the United States has is to walk softly and carry a big mike -- a wiretap on Iraqi and other hostile embassies, here and abroad, like the one on the Iraqi mission to the United Nations during Desert Shield in 1991 that led to an FBI sting and the arrest of a would-be terrorist.
The eavesdropping satellites and electronic ears of the National Security Agency, which can lock on key words flowing through the microwaves -- such as "bomb" or "blow up" -- are at work as well, plucking conversations out of the air. The reports that get the fastest attention, of course, are stamped "IOH" -- Imminence of Hostilities.
As glasses clinked and Christmas carols were sung at the CIA Friday night, U.S. counterterrorism teams were on bow-string alert all over the world, from Camp Lejeune, N.C., home of the U.S. Marines' Chemical-Biological Incident Response Force, to Quantico, Va., where the FBI's Hazardous Materials Response Unit is based. In Washington, extra security was laid on at water and power plants, the Metro system and the Pentagon.
It's not likely they'll be able to stop a determined terrorist, however. A confidential study for the secretary of defense, reported in Salon two years ago, laid out a scenario wherein secret Iraqi agents in the United States floated clouds of mustard gas over key East Coast military bases, infected Navy crews on Diego Garcia with cholera and paralyzed the Pentagon with anthrax. Two years later, one of its authors, Amoretta Hoeber, a deputy secretary of the Army in the Reagan administration, said little had been done to plug the holes in U.S. security since the report was issued.
"The universal perception [about the report] has been, 'It's a really important thing that you're pointing out -- and I hope someone else takes care of it,'" she said gloomily. U.S. officials appear to be counting on the deterrent effect of a threat to "obliterate" Baghdad if Saddam unleashed chemical or biological warfare here.
Anti-terrorism forces had been on heightened alert for the past several months, as it turns out, especially in Washington, ever since the U.S. bombings of Sudan and the camps of suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
"In the immediate aftermath of the East Africa bombings, security was heightened in the U.S., particularly in Washington, because of fears there would be a domestic retaliation," said Susan Lloyd, spokeswoman for the FBI's field office in Washington. "That's been woven into the Iraqi situation ... So there's no additional heightened state of security now, as far as the FBI is concerned."
At the Pentagon, patrols were upped and military police have been issued automatic weapons. At federal buildings all over the city, guards were giving closer scrutiny to overcoats and packages. Extra foot patrols and squad cars were deployed around the White House and Capitol building.
Standing by also are multi-agency teams that spring into action at the first inkling of a terrorist attack. The Domestic Emergency Search Teams -- DEST -- are led by the FBI and scattered around the United States. FEST, their foreign-based counterparts, coordinated by the State Department, are on alert at U.S. embassies around the world. The teams include intelligence, explosive and chem-bio specialists and sharpshooting tough guys, the "ninjas." Military special operations units had also canceled leaves at bases here and abroad.
Those teams, put in place after the Africa bombings, are on alert all the time. "We're constantly in touch with CIA, DIA [Defense Intelligence Agency], NSA and so forth, on a daily basis," said a senior FBI official, on condition of anonymity. "So it's not a case of round up the usual suspects [during the current situation]," he said. "It's a constant effort; it's ongoing all the time."
"When it comes to something like this," he added, "if there were an incident, they'd go into action automatically."
The World Trade Center and Oklahoma City bombings don't inspire confidence that terrorist plots can be aborted, especially when few individuals are involved.
"We love conspiracies," said a regional boss of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency, which investigates bombings. "Especially big conspiracies. If there were always big conspiracies, we could stop every bombing." The problem is terrorists' operating independently in smaller groups now, which makes the FBI's success in rolling up the alleged conspirators in the Africa bombings all the more impressive. Still, the arrest of those suspects came after the fact; the FBI or CIA couldn't prevent the attacks.
This week, Washington decided an ounce of caution was the best medicine: 38 U.S. embassies in Africa were closed to protect employees against possible terrorist reprisals for the American airstrikes on Iraq. At the American embassy in Ivory Coast, a spokeswoman said, "We haven't received any specific threat, but it is better to be on guard and take precautions instead of having regrets later."
In Washington, however, government employees still had to go to work, Often in and around potential targets with high symbolic value, like the White House, Capitol building and Supreme Court. The FBI, CIA, D.C. police and Pentagon could only hope for the best, listening to wiretaps, staying in close touch with their agents, opening packages and frisking visitors at the entrances to government buildings.
The threat over the next decade may come by missile," former Sen. Sam Nunn warned last year, "but it is more likely to arrive by suitcase."
SALON | Dec. 18, 1998
Jeff Stein covers national security issues for Salon in Washington.

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A L S O+T O D A Y Life of the party? By Joshua Micah Marshall With Livingston gone, Tom DeLay runs the party (12/19/98) Clinton tries to carry on...and on By Harry Jaffe (12/19/98) A plague on all their houses By Murray Waas On Capitol Hill, partisan hard-liners have damaged the constitutional democracy they claim to hold so dear (12/18/98) Going through the motions By Harry Jaffe Patrick Kennedy and Bob Barr's offstage sparring was the only surprise of Friday's impeachment debate (12/17/98) The Impeachment War: What on earth is going on? Experts, pundits and kibitzers weigh in on Washington's weirdest week (12/17/98) Home for Ramadan? By Jeff Stein Don't hold your breath: Clinton's air war isn't likely to knock out Saddam Hussein (12/17/98) And now, back to impeachment By Bruce Shapiro Republican skeptic Christopher Shays tries to explain why fence-sitting Republicans suddenly rushed to oppose the president (12/18/98) House of adulterers By David Weir Unless the GOP is able to convince voters the impeachment proceedings are based on more than disapproval of his private sexual affairs, revelations like Bob Livingston's will continue. (12/18/98) Rep. Bob Livingston's remarks The text of the statement Thursday by the incoming speaker of the House (12/18/98) T A B L E+T A L K Do you agree or disagree with President Clinton's decision to bomb Iraq? Join the debate in Table Talk's International Issues area ___________________ Search barnesandnoble.com for books about terrorism ___________________ R E C E N T L Y The few, the proud, the relieved By Jeff Stein President Clinton risked a revolt within the military if he pulled back from the brink with Iraq once again (12/17/98) Baghdad bombing: The right move, the wrong time By Lori Leibovich A foreign policy expert says Clinton should have struck Baghdad sooner -- and argues that U.S. sanctions should be lifted (12/17/98) Reaping the whirlwind By Joshua Micah Marshall Clinton's move against Iraq raises the stakes for both parties in the impeachment debate (12/17/98) The whole world is watching -- again By Todd Gitlin Left-wing literati turn out to block impeachment (12/16/98) Peace, the movie By Daryl Lindsey Clinton's three-day visit to the Middle East was full of symbols and photo ops, but precious little in the way of content (12/16/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		The war at home? THERE'S NOT MUCH THE U.S. CAN DO TO PREVENT AN IRAQUI TERROR ATTTACK, BESIDES WATCH AND LISTEN. BY JEFF STEIN \| As U.S. jets and missiles pounded Iraq with 300 more cruise missiles for a third straight night, top FBI counterterrorism officials were attending a Christmas party at CIA headquarters up the Potomac River from Washington. So much for the terrorism threat. Business as usual? Actually, no one in security was taking anything for granted, said a CIA spokesman, Tom Crispell. "Quite the opposite ... I certainly wouldn't characterize things as business as normal." The Counterterrorism Center, based at the CIA, was humming at top speed, officials said, with extra shifts monitoring reports flowing in from operatives around the world -- in the Palestinian refugee camps, in Jihad training grounds in the Lebanese mountains, in the cells of anti-U.S. terrorists in the Sudan. But in many cases, the best tactic the United States has is to walk softly and carry a big mike -- a wiretap on Iraqi and other hostile embassies, here and abroad, like the one on the Iraqi mission to the United Nations during Desert Shield in 1991 that led to an FBI sting and the arrest of a would-be terrorist. The eavesdropping satellites and electronic ears of the National Security Agency, which can lock on key words flowing through the microwaves -- such as "bomb" or "blow up" -- are at work as well, plucking conversations out of the air. The reports that get the fastest attention, of course, are stamped "IOH" -- Imminence of Hostilities. As glasses clinked and Christmas carols were sung at the CIA Friday night, U.S. counterterrorism teams were on bow-string alert all over the world, from Camp Lejeune, N.C., home of the U.S. Marines' Chemical-Biological Incident Response Force, to Quantico, Va., where the FBI's Hazardous Materials Response Unit is based. In Washington, extra security was laid on at water and power plants, the Metro system and the Pentagon. It's not likely they'll be able to stop a determined terrorist, however. A confidential study for the secretary of defense, reported in Salon two years ago, laid out a scenario wherein secret Iraqi agents in the United States floated clouds of mustard gas over key East Coast military bases, infected Navy crews on Diego Garcia with cholera and paralyzed the Pentagon with anthrax. Two years later, one of its authors, Amoretta Hoeber, a deputy secretary of the Army in the Reagan administration, said little had been done to plug the holes in U.S. security since the report was issued. "The universal perception [about the report] has been, 'It's a really important thing that you're pointing out -- and I hope someone else takes care of it,'" she said gloomily. U.S. officials appear to be counting on the deterrent effect of a threat to "obliterate" Baghdad if Saddam unleashed chemical or biological warfare here. Anti-terrorism forces had been on heightened alert for the past several months, as it turns out, especially in Washington, ever since the U.S. bombings of Sudan and the camps of suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. "In the immediate aftermath of the East Africa bombings, security was heightened in the U.S., particularly in Washington, because of fears there would be a domestic retaliation," said Susan Lloyd, spokeswoman for the FBI's field office in Washington. "That's been woven into the Iraqi situation ... So there's no additional heightened state of security now, as far as the FBI is concerned." At the Pentagon, patrols were upped and military police have been issued automatic weapons. At federal buildings all over the city, guards were giving closer scrutiny to overcoats and packages. Extra foot patrols and squad cars were deployed around the White House and Capitol building. Standing by also are multi-agency teams that spring into action at the first inkling of a terrorist attack. The Domestic Emergency Search Teams -- DEST -- are led by the FBI and scattered around the United States. FEST, their foreign-based counterparts, coordinated by the State Department, are on alert at U.S. embassies around the world. The teams include intelligence, explosive and chem-bio specialists and sharpshooting tough guys, the "ninjas." Military special operations units had also canceled leaves at bases here and abroad. Those teams, put in place after the Africa bombings, are on alert all the time. "We're constantly in touch with CIA, DIA [Defense Intelligence Agency], NSA and so forth, on a daily basis," said a senior FBI official, on condition of anonymity. "So it's not a case of round up the usual suspects [during the current situation]," he said. "It's a constant effort; it's ongoing all the time." "When it comes to something like this," he added, "if there were an incident, they'd go into action automatically." The World Trade Center and Oklahoma City bombings don't inspire confidence that terrorist plots can be aborted, especially when few individuals are involved. "We love conspiracies," said a regional boss of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency, which investigates bombings. "Especially big conspiracies. If there were always big conspiracies, we could stop every bombing." The problem is terrorists' operating independently in smaller groups now, which makes the FBI's success in rolling up the alleged conspirators in the Africa bombings all the more impressive. Still, the arrest of those suspects came after the fact; the FBI or CIA couldn't prevent the attacks. This week, Washington decided an ounce of caution was the best medicine: 38 U.S. embassies in Africa were closed to protect employees against possible terrorist reprisals for the American airstrikes on Iraq. At the American embassy in Ivory Coast, a spokeswoman said, "We haven't received any specific threat, but it is better to be on guard and take precautions instead of having regrets later." In Washington, however, government employees still had to go to work, Often in and around potential targets with high symbolic value, like the White House, Capitol building and Supreme Court. The FBI, CIA, D.C. police and Pentagon could only hope for the best, listening to wiretaps, staying in close touch with their agents, opening packages and frisking visitors at the entrances to government buildings. The threat over the next decade may come by missile," former Sen. Sam Nunn warned last year, "but it is more likely to arrive by suitcase." SALON \| Dec. 18, 1998 Jeff Stein covers national security issues for Salon in Washington. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Become a Salon member. Click here.