BY TIMOTHY P. HENNESSEY
For a vast majority of the American population, the war on terrorism began with the tragic events of September 11, 2001. It really became a war for us when the shooting started in Afghanistan in October 2001. The American people rallied behind their soldiers, who were striking back against our aggressors. Unfortunately, for students of history, our “strike back” was long overdue.
HISTORY OF AGGRESSION
To scrutinize our history, the War on Terror in fact began in November 1979. For those who recall, the American embassy in Tehran, Iran, was attacked and seized. Hostages were taken, and American soldiers lost their lives in an attempt to rescue them. Embassies being the sovereign ground that they are, any attack on one by a foreign nation or group is considered an act of war by the United States.
As time went on after 1979, American citizens began to be kidnapped and murdered throughout the Middle East. Attacks against what should have been considered sovereign U.S. soil went on. In April 1983, a large vehicle packed with explosives was driven into the U.S. embassy compound in Beirut. Sixty-three people were killed. Half a year later, another large truck loaded with explosives crashed the main gate of the U.S. Marine headquarters in Beirut. Two hundred forty-one service members were killed. Again, in December 1983, the same thing happened at the U.S. embassy in Kuwait. In 1984, another vehicle exploded through the gates of the U.S. embassy in Beirut.
Terrorism is not exclusive to the Middle East, however. In August 1981, the Red Army exploded a bomb at the U.S. air force base in Ramstein, Germany. In April 1985, a bomb exploded in a restaurant near a U.S. air base in Madrid, Spain. In August of the same year, there was an attack on an air base in Frankfurt, Germany. The list goes on through the 1980s to include TWA Flight 840, Pan Am Flight 103, and the seajacking of the Achille Lauro.
In the early 1990s, terrorists began to bring the fight to America for the first time. In January 1993, two CIA officers were shot and killed as they entered CIA headquarters. In February 1993, a group of terrorists were arrested in New York City after they drove and parked a rented van full of explosives in the underground parking area of the World Trade Center.
The focus shifts again in 1995 to the bombing of the Air Force barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The Khobar Towers facility was vehicle bombed, resulting in numerous casualties.
THE ART OF WAR
From the times of the armies of the Roman Empire to the present day, the best way to defeat and demoralize your enemies is to bring the fight to their homes. From the Romans to the Ottomans to Napoleon, conquering armies always marched on or otherwise attacked the capital cities of their foes. In our most recent history, this was shown in the German bombings of London, the British bombings of Berlin, and the Japanese bombings of Pearl Harbor in World War II. The North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War demonstrated this when they simultaneously attacked every U.S. interest in Southern Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. To bring combat to the homefront is a part of the logical (if there is such a thing) progression of war.
Webster’s defines terrorism as “the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.” Webster’s records that this word was first used in 1795. Webster’s defines guerilla warfare as “a person who engages in irregular warfare, especially as a member of an independent unit carrying out harassment and sabotage.” Webster’s traces the first use of this term to 1809.
The interesting thing to be drawn from this is that there is little or no difference between terrorism and guerilla warfare, but terrorism has been around much longer.
THOSE WHO DO NOT LEARN FROM HISTORY…
Many nations have been dealing with terrorism for decades. Some of these nations are allies of the United States, such as England, France, and Israel. The problem is that although these nations are our allies, there has been no sharing of information on how to react to terrorist events; the information either is not available or is available and has not been shared.
In December 1997, Congress commissioned Norman Y. Mineta, International Institute for Surface Transportation Policy Studies, to publish the report “Protecting Surface Transportation Systems and Patrons from Terrorist Activities.” A copy of this report is available at www.transweb.sjsu.ede/publications/terrorism/protect.htm/. If you read this lengthy report from the perspective of a public safety professional, you will become angry and feel left out.
Page seven of this report outlines some interesting points of view that were presented to Congress. The middle of paragraph one begins by describing the past attacks on American soil I have already mentioned here. Toward the middle, the following is stated: “These incidents indicate that the terrorist threat in the United States is real, although there is no consensus on the nature and magnitude of that threat. The United States has not experienced ongoing terrorist campaigns like those waged by the Irish Republican Army in the United Kingdom or by various Palestinian extremist groups in Israel. Incidents here have been isolated and statistically rare but sometimes of great consequence.”
On examining that paragraph, you find that the history of attacks against U.S. interests, homebound or abroad, have been ignored, as I pointed out in the beginning of this article. I am not familiar with the standard used for statistics in 1997, when this document was published; however, a history of aggression from the 1970s until then can hardly be called rare.
The document (and the government) apparently goes on to contradict itself on the very same page (7) when it states: “New York was included (in the study) because of the size and complexity of its transportation system and the various incidents and threats that have affected it, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the subsequent plot to blow up bridges and tunnels, and the 1996 explosion at the Battery Park subway station. As these case studies were being completed, police discovered a terrorist plot to carry out suicide bombings on the city’s subways.”
Imagine that, “terrorist attacks, threats are statistically rare,” but while they are writing this document they begin to gather information about suicide plots. Remember, this was in 1997. And, the most telling statement of the document is the following: “Since the threat of terrorism is murky and security measures are costly, it is hard to justify the expenditures before an attack. Security against terrorism therefore tends to be reactive.”
Thus, we have the central issue that faces all of us who wear a badge of any type. Needed monies are spent except where they are needed, and we are understaffed and underequipped. I will expand on this shortly.
Although this document is amazing in its foreshadowing and captures the spirit of the government, which is not to adequately prepare itself, it offers some excellent insight. The document’s main purpose was to examine past terrorist attacks in America, France, Israel, and England and to determine which corrective actions to take to prevent future attacks. It is an excellent reference source for public safety commanders.
It is interesting to note that the document details France’s history of terrorism (page 14): “During the war in Algeria in the late 1950s and early 1960s, both those fighting for Algeria’s independence and those determined to keep Algeria French carried their terrorist campaigns to the French mainland. From the late 1960s on, terrorists representing various countries and groups in the Middle East seized hostages, carried out assassinations, and set off bombs in the French capital. In all, between 1970 and 1995, the date of the St. Michael bombing, terrorists had attacked surface transportations systems in France no less than 22 times.”
During these trying times for France, France began initiating security measures similar to those our nation took after 9-11. However, the French started taking these precautions early in the ’80s. They continue to do so and keep a high state of alert. France has also long since established methods of response to terrorism acts.
Finally, page 80 of this document provides key observations by Brian M. Jenkins, based on history from 1920 to 1997:
- Terrorist attacks on transportation systems have increased over the past 25 years.
- Bombing (not counting bomb threats) is the most common tactic, and bombing is the deadliest form of attack in the industrialized nations.
- Israel has had the most attacks on surface transportation.
- India and Pakistan head the list of countries in which most incidents with fatalities and deaths have occurred.
- Terrorist attacks on public transportation are often intended to kill; 35 percent involve fatalities; more than two-thirds of the attacks are clearly intended to kill.
- Although slaughter is not the primary goal of terrorism, large-scale deaths are becoming an acceptable way of spreading fear, as confirmed by the fact that 80 percent of the attacks on surface transportation involve multiple fatalities and 30 percent of these involve 10 or more.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY
The bottom line to all of the above is to set the stage for the following statement: We are no better off today as emergency responders than we were in 1997 when the present administration looked at the problem. The elected governments of the past have ignored our history and the potential for disaster. More than 20 years worth of governments set the stage for 9-11 to occur.
As the current administration continues to cut and slash promised funds for emergency responders, we are setting the stage for the next development in the war on terrorism. It is my fear that the next development will be our streets, our buses, our trains, and our restaurants. Although it appears that we are winning the War on Terrorism, there are groups out there wishing to harm us against whom we have yet to take action. I fear that suicide attacks and homemade weapons of mass destruction incidents, such as the ricin plot in England, will soon occur.
Instead of those who defend the homeland every day focusing on ways to make our national budget work for national defense, they are cutting budgets; closing fire stations; and laying off firefighters, police officers, and medical personnel. Hospital staffing is another resource that is inadequate at best and dangerous at worst.
The time has come to end the political warfare among us and to end the budget territory contests. Not too long ago, Americans truly believed that we were all in this together. However, we have short-term memories. You don’t see as many flags waving any more, and you no longer see the increased security presence unless you get an intelligence hint. The troops have been pulled out of the airports, and the increased police and fire presence has been removed until we get a hot tip. Two things: One, there was no hot tip prior to 9-11; two, France still has its beefed-up posture and has kept it that way for more than a decade. Notice it hasn’t been struck lately.
Regardless of France’s lack of support for our nation on the world stage, it and other nations have something to offer: the knowledge gained through the experience of mitigating terrorist attacks and their aftermath.
The time has come for the American fire service to stop depending on the government for information regarding our training. I have been a firefighter since 1995. The information I presented here was never given to me or posted on a bulletin board, and there were no municipal- or command-level meetings. I had to go looking for it. I have taken all the courses offered by FEMA and Texas A & M regarding response to terrorism; although they offer good insight, they really don’t give you the answers you need.
I would like to see the national fire leadership such the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, and others take on fact-finding missions to nations who deal with terrorism every day—liaison with fire authorities in France, England, Israel, Pakistan, and so on to find out what has been working for them and the threats they have faced and continue to face. They should bring that information home and present it to Congress and Secretary of Homeland Defense Tom Ridge in a clear and concise manner that will make our nation stop hitting the snooze button.
We have the greatest military in the world. Why shouldn’t our domestic defenders be as well equipped? Something usually has to happen before our military is sent to deal with it. Unfortunately, it seems the new trend is that we as emergency responders will have to deal with these attacks first.
Author’s note: While this article was under review for publication, terrorism once again struck American and western interests. On May 11, 2003, at approximately 2300 hours local time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, three separate but simultaneous suicide bombings occurred. These bombings took place at residential compounds in which Americans and other westerners who provide contract services to the Saudis live. One of these compounds was Camp Vinnell. During my year as a contract firefighter in Saudi Arabia, this is where my brother firefighters and I lived; we were Vinnell employees. The shift of firefighters not on duty at the Eskan Village Army Base were at home in their beds at Vinnell when the attack occurred. Even though many of them were wounded in the initial blasts, they first rescued themselves and then poured themselves out into the madness. Chief John Neville, our fire chief in Saudi, reported to me that while explosions were still occurring and while they were under attack by small arms fire, Vinnell employees/Eskan Village firefighters pressed on to rescue the wounded, provide aid, and recover the dead.
Because they are civilian military contractors, there most likely will be no medals or formal award ceremonies. In light of this, I dedicate this article to those men, who are some of the finest I have known, have had the honor to work with and supervise, and call friends.
TIMOTHY P. HENNESSEY is a member of the Waterford (CT) Fire Department and a registered civil, criminal, and fire investigator with Glenn Investigations in East Lyme, Connecticut. He is a former captain of the Eskan Village Army Base (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) Fire and Emergency Services, which served the U.S. 3rd Army, ARCENT-SA, and was responsible for weapons of mass destruction and haz-mat preparedness and operations. Hennessey is a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) and the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI).
