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Bremer said CIA should pay murderers for information { June 4 2000 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/06/05/curbing.terrorism.02/index.htmlhttp://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/06/05/curbing.terrorism.02/index.html
U.S. panel says more must be done to combat terrorism
June 4, 2000
Web posted at: 1:50 p.m. EDT (1750 GMT)
WASHINGTON -- The United States must take a harder line on terrorism with better monitoring of international students at home and by imposing restrictions on nations that don't cooperate fully with anti-terrorism efforts, a congressional commission recommends.
The National Commission on Terrorism, created after the 1998 terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, also casts a critical eye on the Central Intelligence Agency, saying bureaucratic rules impair its ability to work with prospective informants.
"The threat from terrorism is deadly and becoming more deadly, and the U.S. government therefore needs a policy which is aggressive," said L. Paul Bremer III, the panel chairman and a former U.S. State Department ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism. "We think (the CIA's) become overly cautious, a bit too risk-averse."
The 64-page report, to be released Monday, already is raising objections. In general, it calls for greater governmental controls.
"In the process of guaranteeing security, we cannot run roughshod over the basic rights of the Constitution, which is the centerpiece of what the country is about," James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, told the Washington Post.
Stiffer measures needed at home
Prepared by 10 private experts and former government officials, the report says the United States needs to keep closer tabs on international students at American universities.
It recommends expanding a regional pilot program that tracks student studies. The program records such things as their study plans, noting when they make significant changes in their majors.
The commission also says the military should lead the response to any major terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Currently, agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Federal Emergency Management Agency are designated to step in if terrorism occurs at home.
It also recommends that Congress pass stricter laws to control the production and transport of components that can be used to make biological weapons.
CIA rules hamper success
The blue-ribbon panel also says the CIA is not aggressive enough about recruiting informants inside terrorist groups. The problem, the group says, is excessive rules imposed on the agency in 1995.
The rules require that potential CIA informants be screened for criminal convictions or human rights violations. Bremer thinks the background process puts the government at risk of losing valuable information on terrorists.
The rules were imposed after a paid CIA informant in Guatemala, Col. Roberto Alpirez, was found to have been involved in the killings of an American and a Guatemalan who is married to an American, Jennifer Harbury.
Bremer said the CIA should be allowed to pay human rights violators or murderers for information.
"Put yourself in the place of a case officer working in a CIA station abroad," he said, "and some guy is in touch and wants to work for you from a terrorist group. You pretty much need to give him an answer fast. He's putting his life on the line. You can't wait two months or three months or however long it takes to go through this bureaucratic jungle gym."
The report annoys CIA authorities, who believe they have had considerable success against terrorism lately, although most of it is secret.
CIA spokesman Bill Harlow said the agency doesn't need to change the way it screens informants.
"The bottom line is we have never, never turned down an opportunity to deal with someone, even someone with an unsavory background, if we thought that person could be helpful in our effort to combat terrorism," Harlow said.
Nations said to be terrorist-friendly
Commission members also say the United States needs to take a firmer hand with some countries, including some who are American allies.
For example, the report suggests that Pakistan and Greece should be designated as nations "not cooperating fully" with anti-terrorism efforts. Such a classification blocks a nation from buying U.S. military equipment.
The panel believes Greece has been "disturbingly passive" in its response to terrorism. Pakistan, meanwhile, has provided safe haven for groups engaging in terrorism, the commission says.
Also, Greek and Pakistani citizens should not enjoy privileges that allow visitors from friendly countries to travel here without visas, the panel says.
Harsher measures also should be taken against Afghanistan, the report states.
Afghanistan should be classified as a "state sponsor of terrorism," a category now reserved for seven nations, according to the panel. Afghanistan now is considered a non-cooperative country.
The other countries identified by the United States as terrorism sponsors are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan, North Korea and Cuba.
National Security Correspondent David Ensor, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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