DATE=6/5/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=TERRORISM REPORT (L-O) NUMBER=2-263185 BYLINE=DAVID SWAN DATELINE=WASHINGTON CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: A special U-S government commission has warned of a growing menace from terrorism and has called for a more aggressive response. But some of the group's ideas are facing criticism at home and abroad. V-O- A's David Swan has details. TEXT: The commission's report, the result of a two- year study, finds the threat is becoming more deadly, while terrorist groups are harder to find and penetrate. The panel has issued some far-reaching recommendations for stopping terrorist attacks before they take place. The group says the F-B-I and C-I-A should have more freedom to investigate terrorist suspects and hire informants, including some who may have unsavory backgrounds. The report urges authorities to keep closer watch on foreign students to spot what the panel calls a small minority who may support terrorist activity. And while the U-S military normally stays out of domestic affairs, Commission Chairman L-Paul Bremer says the armed forces might be needed to handle terrorist incidents. // BREMER ACT // The question should be studied and contingency plans should be made for the possibility that the military plays a lead role, not a supporting role, in the event of a major catastrophic attack. That would involve largely, in my view, using the military's resources for communications, command and control, logistics, airplanes, trucks, helicopters, and so forth. // END ACT // The report says Syria and Iran should stay on the government's list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Commission member and former Congresswoman Jane Harman says Tehran is still a threat, despite the country's recent political changes. // HARMAN ACT // It should be applauded that Iran's domestic situation seems to be improving. But we see no evidence, and certainly I did not in my prior experience in Congress that Iran's foreign policy is changing. // END ACT // The commission also singles out friendly countries for criticism. The report says Greece has been disturbingly passive in responding to terrorism, while Pakistan's efforts have been inconsistent. The group says the president should consider labeling both states as - not cooperating fully against terrorism - which would stop them from buying American weapons or military supplies. Secretary of State Madeline Albright has said there will be no sanctions. But the Greek government has rejected the report, saying it bears no relation to reality. Some of the commission's other suggestions are drawing fire from civil libertarians and Arab- American groups. Ibrahim Hooper is a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. // HOOPER ACT // From past history we have seen that any provision similar to the monitoring of students in the United States, any of these kinds of provisions, are typically applied almost exclusively to the American-Muslim community. // END ACT // The commission tried to insulate itself against such attacks. Its members stress it was a bipartisan group, including one person who was both a civil- rights lawyer and an Arab-American. But its ideas must get through a Congress, which is already wary of expanding federal power and may not want to spend more money on what is now a 10-billion dollar a year war on terrorism. (SIGNED) NEB/DS/RAE 05-Jun-2000 14:08 PM EDT (05-Jun-2000 1808 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .