DATE=4/17/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=TERRORISM CONFERENCE
NUMBER=5-46143
BYLINE=MICHAEL LELAND
DATELINE=OKLAHOMA CITY
CONTENT=
O
VOICED AT:

INTRO:  This Wednesday (April 19th) marks the fifth 
anniversary of the worst terrorist act committed on 
United States soil.  The bombing of the Murrah Federal 
Building in Oklahoma City left 168 people dead and 
injured 500.  This week, Oklahoma City is hosting an 
international conference on terrorism.  The meeting is 
designed to assess how terrorism has changed during 
the last 20 years and to try to predict its future 
course.  V-O-A's Michael Leland has more.


TEXT:  The conference is a follow-up to a similar 
meeting held in 1980 by the RAND Corporation, a 
California-based public policy research organization.  
It has joined with the Oklahoma-based Memorial 
Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism for this 
year's meeting on the changing nature of terrorism.

Some areas of terrorism have changed little in 20 
years, such as the continued presence of state-
sponsored activity.  Experts say changes include an 
increase in the number of terrorist groups or 
individuals who seem to be motivated by religious 
beliefs.  They cite Aum Shinrikyo in Japan as one 
example.  Another change is a greater variety of 
weapons at a terrorist's disposal.  Assistant 
Commissioner of Police at Scotland Yard in London, 
David Veness, says more attention should be paid to 
the possibility that terrorists might one day use 
computers, or chemical, biological, radiological or 
even nuclear weapons to threaten or attack.

            /// VENESS ACT ///  

      It is generally advised that the threat is low, 
      but it is important to observe that it is not 
      nil.  Inaction, therefore, is not an option.  A 
      C-B-R-N (chemical, biological, radiological, 
      nuclear) terrorist attack will predictably 
      produce a greater social impact than 
      conventional weaponry.  It is not only a crime, 
      but also a public emergency.

            /// END ACT ///

Former Swiss Defense Ministry analyst Jean Francois 
Mayer says preventing individuals or groups from 
committing terrorism can be difficult because there is 
usually no single factor that suggests a person or 
group will commit a violent act.  He urged local and 
national officials to be alert for more subtle signs 
of trouble.

            /// MAYER ACT ///

      Past cases show us that violence at a low level 
      often preceded more serious acts of violence or 
      terrorism.

            /// END ACT ///

A Senior Advisor at the RAND Corporation, Brian 
Jenkins, cautioned against expecting protection from 
all forms of terrorism.  He says one advantage 
terrorists have is the ability to attack just about 
anything, anywhere, at any time.  But, he says people 
should not begin living life as if they are always in 
danger, and need to balance individual freedoms with 
the need for safety.

            /// JENKINS ACT ///

      We may suffer casualties but we will not be 
      moved by terrorist violence or the fear it 
      creates.  The less panic, the less paranoia, the 
      less of a public demand for responses that 
      threaten our liberties.

            /// END ACT ///

Mr. Veness of Scotland Yard says the Oklahoma City 
bombing is an example of how a terrorist can catch a 
community off-guard.  But, he says, it is also an 
example of how to fight terrorism - by rebuilding what 
was destroyed, and using the attack as a starting 
point for additional research and discussion of 
terrorists' methods and motivations.  The Institute 
for the Prevention of Terrorism here in Oklahoma City 
is designed to do just that.  It will become the 
United States' leading center for terrorism research 
and education.  (Signed)

NEB/MJL/TVM/gm



17-Apr-2000 19:11 PM EDT (17-Apr-2000 2311 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.