What can be done about terrorism?

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Jan, 1996 by Louis J. Freeh

Hundreds of special agents have been assigned to the FBI's Counterrorism Program and legal attaches are working with foreign law enforcement officials to combat, respectively, domestic and overseas-based threats against Americans.

The bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City brought terrorism to the nation's heartland. It also brought terrorism into countless living rooms across the nation - with images so graphic they shall not, indeed can not, be forgotten. This was another example of the immense suffering Americans have endured at the hands of terrorists:

* April, 1983: The U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, was bombed, leaving 16 dead and more than 100 injured.

* October, 1983: The U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut was bombed, resulting in 241 deaths. 9 June, 1985: TWA Flight 847 was hijacked. U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem, who was on board, was brutally murdered, his body dumped on the airport tarmac.

* February, 1988: Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins-part of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon-was kidnapped and later murdered.

* December, 1988: Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, with 270 killed.

* February, 1993: New York City's World Trade Center was bombed by Islamic extremists, leaving six dead and hundreds injured.

* March, 1995: American diplomatic personnel were murdered in a hail of machine gun fire on the streets of Karachi, Pakistan.

Terrorists also perpetrated the murder of athletes at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, bombings in Buenos Aires, Paris, and London, and poison gas attacks in Tokyo's subway system.

Although there are different types of terrorism, one common thread in all of these dreadful crimes is that the innocent suffer. Too many Americans have been victimized by terrorists, in the U.S. and other countries.

It is essential that terrorism be viewed in broad terms. Inevitably, it is fueled by extreme hatred. Those who harbor such hatred live in a world that is colored by bigotry, shaded by conspiracy, and framed by ignorance. Some claim there are plots to take control of the world's financial markets and the mass media and to surrender the U.S. to foreign military control. Others direct their ire at corporate America and evolving technology. Paranoia drives some to lash out at anyone unlike themselves.

Take the Unabomber suspect, for example. This self-described terrorist, who is responsible for murdering three persons and injuring 23 others, followed up his most recent mail bomb with a letter to The New, York Times. In it, he said that he killed a business executive in December, 1994, because Thomas Mosser worked for a company whose "business is the development of techniques for manipulating people's attitudes." In that same letter, the bomber wrote: "The people we are out to get are the scientists and engineers, especially in critical fields like computers and genetics." Among the Unabomber's stated goals is "the destruction of the worldwide industrial system." Lengthy excerpts of his manifesto were published in the Washington Post and The New York Times on Aug. 1, 1995, followed by a 35,000-word manuscript in the Post on Sept. 19, when he promised to cease the bombings if they printed both. It remains to be seen if he will keep his word.

Bold steps are needed to combat terrorists-and the FBI is taking them. For instance, we committed every necessary resource in order to resolve fully the deadly bombing in Oklahoma City, just as we did in New York City, when the World Trade Center was bombed in February, 1993. I have strengthened the FBI's Counterterrorism Program by re-assigning hundreds of special agents to investigate these offenses. However, we need more investigative tools to improve the ability of the U.S. to respond to the terrorist threat. At the same time, I recognize that these tools must be used carefully and must preserve the individual liberties and constitutional rights that are so essential in our democracy.

In this regard, I applaud the leadership that Pres. Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno have shown. They understand that - consistent with America's democratic traditions - more must be done to fight terrorists. Thus, the President has proposed specific steps to be taken - including resource and personnel enhancements. Just as in a time of war, both political parties have agreed to put aside partisan differences while considering those measures.

The FBI is not seeking broad and undefined intelligence collection abilities. Nevertheless, law enforcement agencies have to know as much as possible about those individuals and groups that are advocating deadly violence in furtherance of their causes.

I do not urge investigative activity against persons or groups exercising their legitimate constitutional rights. Nor do I suggest that we should target people who simply disagree with our government. We all are bound by the Constitution, due process considerations, and the American legal system. Each of them protects the American people and those who serve in law enforcement.