t7 b4 pat mcdonnell-sent docs fdr- entire contents- cover letter and chp 8 of pan am 103 report 325

8/14/2019 T7 B4 Pat McDonnell-Sent Docs Fdr- Entire Contents- Cover Letter and Chp 8 of Pan Am 103 Report 325

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October 9, 2003

For: Bill Johnstone and John RaidtHi,You may have already read the report of the Pan Am 103 PresidentialCommission, which in my opinion was excellent. In the event you have not,I've attached a copy of Chapter 8 entitled "National Will". I believe it'srelevant to some of the points I was trying to make during our meeting.Regards,Pat McDonnell


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Chapter 8

National Will

The free world has been lurching from ter-rorist attack to terrorist attac k, attem pting toagree on how to respond to each event. Thisapproach will not work.Several facts about terrorism have been dra-matically made clear:

Terrorism is a deadly weapon of theweak and the cowardly. Terrorism lever-ages violence against innocent victims . AsLenin put it: "The purpose of terrorism isto terrorize."Terrorism is cheap, especially in termsof the political results it may achieve. Oneact of terrorism can cause changes in thepolicies of major nations.Unchecked, terrorism creates a shift inth e balance of power toward those nationsthat sanction terrorism and use it as an in-strument of foreign policy.Historically, terrorism consisted of isolat-ed acts of individu als or sma ll group s of fa-natics. Over recent decades, however, ter-rorism increasingly is s tate-sponsored.Terrorism is a form of surrogate wa rfare.Conventional warfare is too difficult, to ocostly and, indeed, impossible fo r some na-tions to conduct . Terrorism offers an alter-native.Acts of state-sponsored terrorism againsta nation's citizens are acts of aggressionagainst that nat ion. In today's world, th eprincipal targets are the values and inter-ests of democratic nations.

A consensus m ust be reached am ong law-abiding nations that terrorism is an act of ag-

gression which can and must be deterred.Those outlaw nationsproperly labelled "theleague of terror" fo r harboring and sponsoringterrorismshould be held accountable fo r their"crime."

The Com mission believes strongly that thet ime is now for the United States to take amore active leadership role in the fight againstinternational terrorism. The American publicmu s t be prepared to exercise it s national willand support U.S. Governm ent action to in-crease dramatically the cost to terrorists andtheir patrons. Elected leaders, in turn, must beprepared to act on this national will as a foun-dation for taking more aggressive actionagainst both terrorists and their state sponsors.Once America clearly adopts this consistent,aggressive policy, terrorist groups shouldquickly get the message that terrorist, acts willnot be condoned. They must understand that ifthey pursue terrorist actions against the UnftedStates, this country will act to protect its inter-est to th e fullest extent allowed by domesticand international law.

Air travelers are particularly vulnerable toterrorist violence. It is estimated that over onebillion passengers used commercial airlines totravel throughout the world in 1989. Yet ahandful of terrorist groups, willing to committheir cowa rdly and despicable crimes, have thecapacity to plunge th e world's passengers intoa hostage-like grip of fear.

Significantly, the wave of hijackings of the1960s an d 1970s stopped when nations refusedto give refuge to hijackers. In the 1980s, terror-ists turned to bombs to attack passenger air-

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In-Flight Explosive SabotageIncidentsPeriod1949-19581959-19681969-19781979-1988Source: .

NumberofIncidents8

111812

PersonsKilled97

254624849

AverageNumberKilled12233470

Criminal Acts Against Civi l A viation 1988

l ines, resu lting in 1,030 deaths and 112 in juriesin th e last five years alone.The materials necessary to make bombs fromplastic explosives like semtex are readily avail-able to terrorists. Czechoslovakian PresidentVaclav Havel said recently that his country ,under th e previous regime, exported to Libya1000 tons of semtex, an amount Havel sa id issufficient for the world terroris t community tomake bombs for 150 years.Every airport , every departure, every passen-ger and every suitcase, mail bag or cargo con-tainer, presents a possible opportuni ty for aterrorist to introduce small but deadly amountsof explosives that are effectively invisible to X-ray and other de tec t ion equ ipment curren t ly inuse a t a irports .The secu rity of U.S. civil aviation has beenincreased. The Commission bel ieves this secu-rity will cont inue to improve, especially if therecommenda t ions of this Commission are car-ried out. In real i ty , howev er, there will neverbe 100 per cent securi ty against every terroristt echnique.The more secur i ty measures are imposed , themore fun dam enta l f reedoms a re res t ric ted .Searching bags and screening passengers con-s t i tute in t rus ions upon privacy. Flighf delays orcancel lat ions for securi ty reasons l imi t th e free-dom of travel . Moreover, th e cost of securi typrocedures to the pub l ic is incalculable , both in11 4

te rms of higher fares and t ime spen t in check-Jin procedures.E v en if aviation security improves d ramat ica l-ly , th e terroris t will simply tu rn to other targetareas where people congregate. Securing gov-ernment ta rge ts , like embassies , has had theironic effect of directing terroris t a t tacks tomore vulne rable and m ore c ivi lian targets . Wi t han in f in i te number of civilian targets, it willnever be possible to defend against all terroristattacks . Perhaps most imp ortan tly , no s ta te hastaken a reta l ia tory action in response to an air-craft bombing.W hile the world av iation system again movesto make this terroris t tactic more difficult,through better detection equipment, t ighterscreening, im proved tra ining practices andbetter access controls, we must squarely facethe reality tha t even the com binatio n of all ofthese improvements cannot guarantee civilaviation securi ty .

DEATHS AND INJURIESDue to Explosives Onboard Aircraft

1977-1989350

300

250

200

150

100

50

Year1977197819799835611982138319841965!9B619861989

DeathscaD32i;;?0

3.1023

287278

Injuries

i2

11

I L1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

Year

Incidentswhere the explosion aboard theaircraft occurred during a hijacking are notreflected in these summariesSource: Federa l Aviation Ad ministration

Deaths Injuries

There is , however , an al ternative: addressingthe prob lem of in te rna t iona l terrorism at itssource.The current s tra tegic policy of the Uni tedStates on counterterrorism consis ts of four ele-ments :Firs t , ma k e no concessions of anykind to terroris ts . Do not pay r a n so m,


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release convicted terrorists, or changepolicies to accommodate terrorist de-mands .Second, make state sponsors of ter-rorism pay a price fo r their actions.This m ay entail the use of militaryforce as was used in 1986 in thebombing raids of Libya. It might alsoinclude sanctions of a political, eco-nomic or diplom atic nature.Third, work with friends and alliesto identify, track and apprehend , pros-ecute and punish terrorists. This pro-gram is designed to bring terrorists tojustice, to disrupt their operations, andto destroy their netwo rks.Fourth, provide training in antiter-rorism techniques to law enforcement

officials around th e world .The Comm ission recommends strongly that apolicy of "zero tolerance" tow ards terrorist at-tacks be adopted through a heightened empha-sis on the second element of U.S. counterter-rorism policyto make state sponsors of ter-rorism pay a price fo r their actions.Pursuing terrorists and responding swiftlyand proportionately to their acts against hu-manity must become U.S. policy in deed as wellas in word. What is required is effective action,

not simply strong rhetoric.To date, the United States has too oftentreated terrorism only as a law enforcementproblem. The Commission recognizes thattaking a law enforcement approach to terroristattacks has many advantages, including: th elawful gathering of evidence; th e confrontationof the accusers in an open court of law with al lthe evidence made public; the assurance of adefense attorney; and the opportunity topresent evidence in support of the defense. Ifsuccessful, a law enforcement approach also re -sults in the pun i shmen t of those individualswho were directly responsible for the acts per-petrated.However, a law enforcement approach is, byits very nature, reactive. It is also an extremelyt ime-consuming process requiring proof ofguilt beyond a reasonable doubt. I t may be hin-dered by an inabili ty to gather evidence or bydifficulties in arrest ing or extradi t ing the ac-cused. Most impor t an t ly ,a law enforcement ap-

proach will rarely resul t in the prosecution ofmore than a few individual members of any ter-rorist group, and it is neither designed for, norcan it be effectively used against th e state spon-sors of terrorism.While a law enforcement approach mustalways be a part of our response to terrorism,this Commission finds unacceptable th e idea ofholding ourselves in all cases to a criminalstandard of proof before w e act. The UnitedStates must be ready to view some terrorist at-tacks as a matter of national securi ty, an dindeed, in some cases should be prepared totreat the act for what it is, as an act of aggres-sion against th e United States. It may well bethat the perpetrators of a terrorist act may beidentified quickly through intelligence oper-ations and techniques.

A swift response could be directed againstthe terrorist group responsible and/or its statesponsor. In this context, the Commission rec-ommends planning, training and equipping fordirect preemptive or retaliatory military actionsagainst known terrorist hideouts in countriesthat sanction them.

Where such direct strikes are unwise or inap-propriate, the Commission recommends use ofmiddle-level options, including covert oper-ations to preempt, disrupt or respond to ter-rorist actions. The Commission recognizes themany reasons, historical and otherwise, why theUnited States Government must proceed withcaution in the use of covert operations. Cer-tainly such tactics must not be used to circum -vent basic democratic values. Terrorists, how-ever, have relied upon th e adherence by othersto these values to permit them to attack thou-sands of innocent victims with impu nity.

Major steps have been taken in the last fe wyears by the United States and her allies to im-prove international cooperation in the fightagainst terrorism. Major democratic powershave begun to recognize that an effective coun-terterrorism policy requires mutua l cooperationand support. In 1978 the United States and itsfellow members of th e Economic Summit(U.K. , Canad a, Japan , F rance, Italy, and WestGermany) agreed to cut off air service to andfrom a country that does not extradite or pros-ecute a terrorist fo r hijacking. The VeniceAnnex , agreed up on in Ju ne 1987, expanded

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upon th e Bonn Declaration to include halting /ai r service in cases of sabotage. 'Despite this strong rhetoric, countries in thepast too often have chosen to act solely in theirow n self-interest rather than recognizing andacting in support of the combined interests of

the international community. However, as ter-rorism's ugly hand affects more and morecountries (citizens of 21 countries were on PanAm 103), prospects grow for a more unifiedinternat ional response to terrorism.

Recent events in the Soviet Union and East-ern Europe also present new opportunities tofoster wider cooperation on terrorism. Discus-sions were reportedly held with th e Soviets onthe issue of terrorism at the Malta Summit in1989. The Soviets have taken a more construc-tive approach recently by condemning specificterrorist acts, but there is still much room forimprovement. Because terrorism is not only anassault on democratic principles but an actagainst all humanity, the United States and herallies should continue to urge the Soviet Unionto exercise its leadership to ensure that con- >crete and effective steps are taken to minimizeif not to eradicate the threat of terrorismworldwide.

Many of these steps can be taken with thehelp and support of our U.S. allies. Such a bi-lateral or multilateral approach should be en-couraged. With other like-thinking nations, theUnited States should work to elevate the ac-ceptable standards of international behavior,and treat as outlaws states sponsoring terror-ism. But, th e United States itself must standready to act.

To continue as a world leader conducting aneffective foreign policy and influencing events,the United States must remain engaged. State-sponsored terrorism must be faced and mustbe deterredwith methods that are consistentwith th e nature of the threat and the U.S.system and values. Otherwise, terrorism willforce a change in the world balance of powerfundamental ly adverse to U.S. interests.

The United States has vital interests. It needsonly th e will to defend them against those fe wstates living outside an acceptable standard ofinternational behavior.116

INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST INCIDENTS1980-1989, BY TYPE OF VICTIM

1980

1981 K

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

50 100 150 200Number o f Incidents

250 300

|Military [^ j Government Business |_ |Diplomat Other ISource: Patterns olGlobal Terrorism1989

RecommendationsIn the view of this Commission, the UnitedStates must: First, heighten emphasis on the secondelement of U.S. counterterrorism policy,that state sponsors should be made to pay

a price for their actions. Second, refuse to allow terrorist attacks toalter U.S. political and economic policies. Third, improve human intelligence-gather-

ing on terrorism, in cooperation with othernations. Fourth, work with other nations to treat asout laws state sponsors of terrorismisolat-

ing them politically, economically, andmilitarily. Fifth, develop through the Congress and

the people a clear understanding thatstate-sponsored terrorism threatens U.S.values and interests, and that active meas-ures are needed, overt and covert, tocounter more effectively th e terroristthreat.


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Six th , ensure n ow t h a t a ll U.S. Govern-ment resources are prepared fo r act iveme a s u r e s p r e e mp t i v e o r re ta l ia tory, d irec tor cover taga ins t a series of ta rgets in

coun t r ies we l l -known to have engaged ins ta te-sponsored terror ism.Nat iona l wi l land th e mora l courage to usei tis th e u l t ima te means to defeat ter ror ism.

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t7 b4 pat mcdonnell-sent docs fdr- entire contents- cover letter and chp 8 of pan am 103 report 325

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