DATE=8/14/98 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-41153 TITLE=BOMBING / INVESTIGATION BYLINE=WILLIAM EAGLE DATELINE=WASHINGTON EDITOR= CONTENT= NOT VOICED: INTRO: IN EAST AFRICA, THE SITES OF THE BOMB BLASTS AT TWO AMERICAN EMBASSIES MAY PROVIDE LEADS TO THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BOMBINGS. THE U-S FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, OR F-B-I, HAS REPORTEDLY SENT BOMB TECHNICIANS, INVESTIGATORS, LABORATORY PERSONNEL AND LANGUAGE SPECIALISTS TO KENYA AND TANZANIA TO SIFT FOR CLUES. SOME OF THE F-B-I AGENTS ARE SAID TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE INVESTIGATION OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING IN 1995. FROM WASHINGTON, WILLIAM EAGLE TELLS US ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THE INVESTIGATORS ARE LOOKING FOR. TEXT: THIS WEEK INVESTIGATORS TURNED THE SITE OF THE NAIROBI BOMBING INTO A CRIME LAB TO EXPLORE -- AS ONE NEWS AGENCY PUT IT -- "THE ARCHEOLOGY OF TERROR." WHILE BACKHOES AND CRANES DUG THROUGH THE RUBBLE FOR SURVIVORS, CRIME SOLVERS WITH RAKES AND SHOVELS SCOURED THE WRECKAGE FOR CLUES. FORENSIC EXPERTS USED COTTON BALLS TO SEARCH FOR POSSIBLE EVIDENCE ON FENCES, WALLS AND METAL FRAGMENTS. A BULLDOZER UNCOVERED THE REMAINS OF WHAT IS BELIEVED TO BE THE PICK-UP TRUCK THAT CARRIED THE BOMB. IN THE PAINSTAKING SEARCH, EVEN THE SHRAPNEL FROM THE BODY OF A VICTIM CAN REPORTEDLY HELP INVESTIGATORS FIND THE CULPRITS OF THE BOMB. (OPT) NEW REPORTS SAY THE F-B-I CONTINGENT INCLUDES SO-CALLED "EVIDENCE RESPONSE TEAMS" THAT WILL COLLECT AND IDENTIFY THE EVIDENCE AND "RAPID START TEAMS" THAT WILL STORE AND ANALYZE ALL INFORMATION NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE INVESTIGATION. THE FBI'S LEAD INVESTIGATOR, SPECIAL AGENT SHEILA HORAN, SAYS THE AMERICAN AGENTS ARE FULLY COOPERATING WITH THE KENYAN POLICE. EACH U-S AGENT IS TEAMED WITH A KENYAN COUNTERPART. (END OPT) FORENSIC EXPERTS SAY THE INVESTIGATORS ARE LOOKING FOR THE SO-CALLED "FINGERPRINTS" TERRORISTS LEAVE BEHIND: LIKE A RELIANCE ON CERTAIN EXPLOSIVES, DETONATING DEVICES, OR WIRING FOR THE BOMB. NOT ALL THE INVESTIGATORS ARE AMERICAN. MAJOR GENERAL ZEEV LIVNE [PRON. ZEE-EV' LIHV'-NEH] HEADED A RESCUE MISSION TO BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA -- AFTER THE 1992 BOMBING OF A JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER. HE'S CURRENTLY AT THE ISRAELI EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON -- AS THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT'S DEFENSE AND ARMED FORCES ATTACHE TO THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. MAJOR LIVNE EXPLAINS THE INITIAL TASKS OF THE INVESTIGATORS: /// LIVNE ACT // I BELIEVE THE FIRST CLUE SHOULD BE THE LOCATION OF THE EXPLOSION. IN THE CASE OF BUENOS AIRES, IT WAS A CAR BOMB, SIMILAR TO WHAT HAPPENED IN NAIROBI, AND WE FOUND THE CRATER. IT WAS ON THE SIDEWALK VERY CLOSE TO THE WALL OF THE BUILDING. THEN YOU START LOOKING FOR PIECES OF THE [VEHICLE] -- WHAT WAS THE [MODEL].....THE COLOR AND NUMBER ON THE ENGINE. YOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT CAR WAS USED FOR THIS ACT AND TRY TO CHECK WHERE IT CAME FROM. ALSO, IF IT WAS A SUICIDE BOMBER, YOU CAN FIND PIECES OF THE BODY IN THE CRATER OR ATTACHED TO PIECES OF THE CAR. AND FROM THE D-N-A CHECK YOU CAN FIND SOME CLUES INDICATING WHERE [THE DRIVER] CAME FROM. // END ACT // (OPT) THE WASHINGTON POST NEWSPAPER REPORTED FRIDAY THAT INVESTIGATORS IN DAR ES SALAAM HAD FOUND THREE BATTERED PARTS OF THE WATER TRUCK BELIEVED TO HAVE CARRIED THE BOMB TO THE EMBASSY IN TANZANIA: A RADIATOR BELT, AN OIL GASKET, AND HALF OF A REDUCTION GEAR. (END OPT) BRIAN JENKINS IS A POLITICAL RISK ANALYST IN LOS ANGELES. HE SAYS THE BOMB LIKELY LEFT A CHEMICAL COATING ON MUCH OF THE WRECKAGE. // JENKINS ACT // IF YOU THINK OF IT IN A VERY SIMPLE WAY, IF YOU ARE PUTTING NEW WOOD INTO YOUR FIREPLACE AND YOU DO SOMETHING WRONG AND HAVE A PUFF OF SOOT IN YOUR FACE -- THAT BLACK SMEAR YOU CAN CHEMICALLY ANALYZE THAT AND TELL WHAT IT IS. IT'S THE SAME THING WITH A BOMB: BY TAKING A SAMPLE OF THAT RESIDUE ON THE SURFACES THAT WERE EXPOSED TO THE EXPLOSION, YOU CAN ANALYZE THAT CHEMICAL RESIDUE, AND THEREBY DETERMINE WHAT CHEMICALS WERE INVOLVED IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOMB ITSELF. // END ACT // BRIAN JENKINS SAYS THE SIZE OF THE CRATER CAN INDIRECTLY HELP INVESTIGATORS DETERMINE IF THE BOMB WAS MADE LOCALLY OR OVERSEAS. TERRORISM EXPERTS SAY THE NAIROBI BLAST COULD HAVE INCLUDED UP TO 500 TONS OF EXPLOSIVE. THE AMERICAN TELEVISION NETWORK, A-B-C NEWS, REPORTED FRIDAY THAT TRACES OF AMMONIUM NITRATE AND FUEL HAVE BEEN FOUND AT THE EMBASSY SITES IN NAIROBI AND DAR ES SALAAM. OTHER NEWS REPORTS SAY INVESTIGATORS ARE LOOKING INTO THE POSSIBLE USE OF A CZECH-MADE PLASTIC EXPLOSIVE CALLED SEMTEX. INVESTIGATORS SAY PART OF THE ANSWER MAY COME FROM EXAMINING THE WAY THE BLAST DISTORTED THE BUILDINGS AROUND IT. // JENKINS ACT // THERE ARE EXPLOSIVES THAT ARE HIGH VELOCITY --- THEY EXPAND VERY RAPIDLY. [IN CONTRAST] OTHERS HAVE MORE PUSHING POWER BUT ARE LOWER VELOCITY. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE ARE EXPLOSIVES THAT ARE LIKE A KARATE CHOP THAT CAN BREAK SOMETHING. [IN CONTRAST] THERE ARE EXPLOSIVES THAT ARE LIKE A LINE-BACKER IN A FOOTBALL GAME -- A PUSHING FORCE. GENERALLY, COMMERCIAL EXPLOSIVES WILL BE PUSHING -- AND THE DAMAGE WE SEE WITH THAT IS HEAVING: THINGS BEHIND PUSHED ABOUT. BUT WHEN YOU SEE HIGH EXPLOSIVES, YOU ARE LOOKING AT THINGS THAT CAN RIP METAL -- INSTEAD OF SIMPLY PUSHING THINGS ABOUT. THAT IS ANOTHER CLUE AS TO THE TYPE OF EXPLOSIVES USED. IT WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT CLUE IF WE WERE TO DETERMINE THAT SEMTEX OR C-4 OR ANOTHER MILITARY GRADE HIGH EXPLOSIVES WERE USED INSTEAD OF SOMETHING LIKE NITRITE FERTILIZERS, DIESEL FUEL OR COMMERCIAL DYNAMITE -- THINGS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN OBTAINED LOCALLY. (OPT) AS FOR LARGE QUANTITIES OF SEMTEX, THESE DO NOT EXIST IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES AND WOULD HAVE BEEN SMUGGLED IN. THIS IS HOW WE WOULD KNOW IF WE ARE DEALING WITH A SOPHISTICATED EXTERNAL ORGANIZATION THAT SECRETLY SMUGGLED IN A LARGE QUANTITY OF EXPLOSIVES TO BUILD A BOMB -- OR [ BUILD ONE FROM LOCALLY AVAILABLE EXPLOSIVES]. THAT WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT CLUE IN INVESTIGATION. (END OPT) // END ACT // // OPT // MR. JENKINS SAYS IT'S LIKELY EVERY BIT OF DEBRIS WILL BE SEARCHED. WITH LUCK, HE SAYS, INVESTIGATORS MAY EVEN FIND PIECES OF THE BOMB, LIKE THE DETONATOR AND SWITCHES. // OPT: JENKINS ACT // IN THE BOMBING OF THE PAN AM AIRLINER [OVER LOCKERBIE, SCOTLAND] IN 1988 [INVESTIGATORS] SEARCHED HUNDREDS OF SQUARE MILES FOR DEBRIS OVER THE SCOTTISH COUNTRYSIDE. THEY COLLECTED ALL OF THIS, ANALYZED IT VERY CAREFULLY AND FOUND A FRAGMENT OF A CHIP -- A LITTLE PIECE OF CIRCUITRY. THEY TRACED IT TO A MANUFACTURER IN SWITZERLAND, AND ON BASIS OF INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE MANUFACTURER, WERE ABLE TO TRACE THE SALE OF THAT: IT WAS A SPECIALIZED ITEM TO LIBYA, AND THAT PROVIDED ONE OF THE KEY PIECES OF FORENSIC EVIDENCE IN THE CHARGES NOW AGAINST LIBYAN OFFICIALS. // END ACT // // END OPT // BESIDES THE SEARCH THROUGH RUBBLE, INVESTIGATORS WILL LIKELY INTERVIEW WITNESSES -- INCLUDING CAR RENTAL AGENCIES AND AIRLINE OFFICIALS. THE INVESTIGATION WILL ALSO LIKELY INCLUDE AN EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AMONG INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS FROM FRIENDLY COUNTRIES IN EAST AFRICA. HOWEVER, ANALYSTS WARN THAT EVEN IF A LOCAL ACCOMPLICE IS IDENTIFIED, INVESTIGATORS MAY STILL NOT BE ABLE TO TRACE THE BOMB TO ITS POINT OF ORIGIN. FOR EXAMPLE, THEY SAY SOPHISTICATED TERRORIST GROUPS HAVE MANY LINKS: THOSE WHO BUILD -- OR DELIVER -- THE BOMB MAY NOT KNOW EACH OTHER, OR THE PERSONS PAYING FOR THEIR EFFORTS. MEANWHILE, AS THE SIFTING GOES ON, AMERICAN OFFICIALS HAVE UNDERLINED THEIR DETERMINATION TO FIND THE CULPRITS, AND TO CONTINUE U-S LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD: SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT TOLD THE PRESS THAT TERROR CAN TURN A BUILDING INTO RUBBLE, BUT IT CAN NOT CHANGE THE DETERMINATION OF THE UNITED STATES TO LEAD .... OR BUILD A WORLD WHERE THERE IS MORE HOPE, PROSPERITY, FREEDOM, AND PEACE. (SIGNED) NEB/WE/KL 14-Aug-98 3:51 PM EDT (1951 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .