Terrorism rises as economy worsens, officials say

John Cotter, Tennessee Homeland Security regional advisor, tells local officials about the different kinds of domestic terrorism.
(T-G Photo by Mary Reeves)

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According to Tony Weaver of the FBI and James Cotter of the Tennessee Homeland Security Office, economic downturns can mean terrorist upswings, especially on the domestic front.

Both men addressed local law enforcement and elected officials Thursday night at a special EMA meeting about post-9/11 counterterrorism tactics.

"It ebbs and flows with the economy," said Weaver. "When the economy goes down, the militias and Klan seem to be more active. When everybody's got a job, got 'em a bass boat, they're happy."

Cotter agreed.

"That's when we start seeing an increase in right wing activity," he said. "It's predominately white supremacists. We also see it from black supremacists, black separationists, but it's predominately by the skinheads, Aryan Nation, the Nazis."

Both men stressed the importance of respecting the First Amendment and the rights of those groups to speak on their beliefs.

"It's not against the law to belong to the KKK," said Cotter. "You can spew that hate all day long, but when you take it to the next level... when there's criminal activity, that's when we start investigating."

Citizen input

One facet of counterterrorism that is increasing in importance is citizen input, said both men. Everyday people who have been more aware of unusual or suspicious activity and called the police have prevented more than one terrorist attack in recent years.

One such incident was in Nashville in 2002 when a white supremacist was spotted aiming a semiautomatic weapon at children at a Jewish preschool, said Cotter. A citizen called the police. The suspect left, but those everyday people who had been watching also took down his license number and he was arrested after a car chase -- and no one was killed.

He named several other cases in which civilian reports led to arrests and prevented attacks, including the capture of the "Unibomber" Ted Kaczynski, and the capture of the "Fort Dix Six," a group of men who planed to bomb the New Jersey military base in 2006.

The plan unravelled when the men took their photographs -- taken as they "trained" for their assault -- to be developed. The man working on their photographs was suspicious and notified authorities.

"They were out in a rural area -- just like this," said Scott Johnson, EMA director for Bedford County, as he introduced Weaver. "We don't need to be paranoid -- but we need to be prudent."

What to look for

The agents listed things people watch for. They included:

* Surveillance

* Elicitation (seeking information)

* Testing security

* Acquiring supplies

* Suspicious behavior

* Trial runs

* Deploying assets -- carrying out the mission.

"If it gets to that point," said Cotter, "we've missed the first six signs."

To report suspicious people or incidents, call the toll free number at 1-877-250-2333.

"You don't have to leave your name," said Cotter. "It would help us if you did, but you don't have to."

Cotter said the callers will reach live people, not answering machines or services, and that every single report is reviewed and analyzed every day.

Networking

One reason citizen input is more effective now than before 9/11 is because of networking between the law enforcement agencies. The FBI agent outlined the FBI's counterterrorism program, detailing how it now dovetails with other security agencies such as the CIA, NSA, DoD and especially local law enforcement.

"I now have federal security clearance and discuss security issues with them," said Johnson. "That didn't happen in the old days."

"The old days," of course, were those before Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists commandeered airplanes that crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, and the failed attempt that was retaken by passengers and crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Since then, said Weaver, counterterrorism has become the FBI's top priority, and all of the country's law enforcement and security agencies are working together.

"We really focus on intelligence now," said Weaver. "More so than before 9/11."

He said the Joint Terrorism Task Force involves representatives from all sorts of agencies, and while the JTTF existed in some "hot spots" prior to the deadly attacks, "now, every office has one."

"We work cases jointly, that way, everybody knows what's going on," he added.

A database, a consolidated terrorist watch list, has been established than can be accessed by all the agencies, sharing information and alerting everyone to potential threats. The National Counterterrorism Center combines the FBI's and CIA's counterterrorism departments, allowing them to unite resources and information.

One such sharing network is Infragard, an FBI program that offers an information sharing system with both public and private sectors.

"Anybody can apply for membership," said Cotter.

Foreign threats

But citizens shouldn't let the rise in domestic terrorist activity make them forget the threat on and from foreign entities, Cotter said.

"Anything they do over there can happen here," he said. "And will."

Both men stressed the need to not blanket all Muslims with the terrorist label.

"I think there are few things people can take out of context from the Quran," said Weaver. "But you can do the same with the Bible."

"You can spin things around," said Cotter, who has been studying the Quran to try and better understand the culture. "It says in one place, 'You shall not commit suicide.' But they can turn that around. In another place, it says you can do what you have to do if you are attacked."

Cotter reminded those attending the meeting that the percentage of Muslims who are participating in jihad against America is very small -- and that many of the right wing domestic terrorists call themselves "Christian." He said the Department of Homeland Security was starting a new outreach program and it would launch in Bedford County with the agency building a relationship with the Somalians living here.

When asked if it would make any difference to the Muslim terrorists if Osama bin Laden were captured or killed, Weaver said he didn't think so.

"He would just be a martyr then," he said. "Besides, there are so many factions now. The only thing they all have in common is they all hate us."