AFF/TERRORISM/GENERAL

TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS ARE CHANGING IN NATURE

STATE TERRORISM IS GIVING WAY TO INDEPENDENT TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS

Peter Grier Staff writer The Christian Science Monitor February 16, 2001, SECTION: USA; Pg. 1 HEADLINE: A terrorist version of NATO? //VT2002acsln

But bin Laden's network appears to represent the coming thing in the age of modern terrorism. The sponsorship of terror groups by geographical states such as Syria and Libya appears to be on the decline. Their place is being taken by virtual states such as Al Qaeda, which have little physical infrastructure to attack and less in the way of safe harbors against which economic sanctions can be effective.

TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS MAY LINK TOGETHER INTO A GLOBAL TERRORIST WARSAW PACT

Peter Grier Staff writer The Christian Science Monitor February 16, 2001, SECTION: USA; Pg. 1 HEADLINE: A terrorist version of NATO? //VT2002acsln

And officials remain worried that bin Laden's network will link with other networks to become a terrorist Warsaw Pact. A recent CIA study of the world of 2015 concluded that while it is not the most likely future, it is possible that "the trend towards more diverse, free-wheeling transnational terrorist networks [will lead] to the formation of an international terrorist coalition with diverse anti-Western objectives and access to Weapons of Mass Destruction."

TERRORISM TODAY IS DOMINATED BY INDEPENDENT GROUPS, NOT SUPPORT BY CERTAIN NATIONS, MAKING THEM HARDER TO COMBAT

JAMES RISEN February 8, 2001, The New York Times SECTION: Section A; Page 11; HEADLINE: C.I.A. Chief Sees Russia Trying to Revive Its Challenge to U.S. //VT2002acsln

On other topics, Mr. Tenet reaffirmed the Central Intelligence Agency's belief that the nature and structure of anti-American terrorism had radically changed over the last few years and was now dominated by independent and decentralized groups like that of Osama bin Laden. The United States has said Mr. bin Laden and his group, al-Qaeda, were behind the bombings of two American Embassies in East Africa in 1998, as well as other anti-American terrorist attacks.

But the decentralized command structure of Mr. bin Laden's organization makes it far more difficult to investigate. Al-Qaeda, Mr. Tenet noted, "is continuing to place emphasis on developing surrogates to carry out attacks in an effort to avoid detection, blame and retaliation. As a result, it is often difficult to attribute terrorist incidents to his group."

That problem has frustrated United Sates officials who are investigating the bombing of the destroyer Cole while it was in port in Yemen, with the loss of 17 lives.