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American Morning
Suicide Terror
Aired May 19, 2003 - 08:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Can suicide bombings ever be prevented? While no one was killed in today's blast in Gaza, that's proving to be the exception. The rash of recent attacks worldwide have been especially effective in terms of body count. The logic of suicide terrorism and lessons from Israel that America must learn is a the cover story of the new "Atlantic Monthly." Bruise Hoffman a terrorism analyst at RAND, is the article's author. He's with us live today in D.C.
Bruce, good morning to you.
It may seem like a rather broad question about whether or not Israel can stop these things. And obviously in the past, they have not been able to completely. But they have gotten better at it. How has that been possible?
BRUCE HOFFMAN, RAND TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, certainly in the Israeli case, there's been an enormous learning curve, but it's also predicated on having very good intelligence, and frankly, the deployment of the Israel Defense Forces into the West Bank.
HEMMER: Yes, and talk about the new tactics right now being used. There was a bicycle used earlier today. A bomber blew himself up on a bike in northern Gaza injuring three Israelis soldiers. In the past, we've seen British passports used. About a year ago, we first saw the first woman. How do you then counter those tactics today?
HOFFMAN: Well, a senior police officer in Jerusalem described it to me as a cat and mouse game. Every time, for instance, the government or the security force measures improve, it doesn't stop the terrorists, it merely forces them to find new ways to obviate, to overcome, to penetrate those defenses.
But by the same token, we have to understand that what the terrorists are trying to do is convey a message that their opponents or enemies are completely powerless and completely helpless, and that's not the case. Admittedly, as we've seen in Israel, it's a very difficult to stop suicide terrorism completely.
But nonetheless, even the four incidents over the past day or two, pales in comparison to when there is a situation when Israel when more than one incident a day over a prolonged period of time.
HEMMER: Other countries, not just the U.S. in specific, can they learn right now the tactics that Israel has employed and tried to initiate? HOFFMAN: Yes, I think there is at least six measures that we can learn from Israel. The first one is understanding the modus operandi of the suicide terrorist. We're not looking for a needle in a haystack. Despite the terrorist propaganda this is one person, rather than the much longer logistical tail, of quartermasters, of reconnaissance experts, and bomb makers have had. You're looking for an entire organization, that's the first thing.
Secondly, I think one has to build confidence with the communities from which the terrorists come from. This amounts to not just addressing the root causes of terrorism, but having law enforcement and security forces deal with those communities in a non- threatening way, certainly dealing with businesses. Having local businesses from which terrorists might obtain the means to construct their bombs. Fertilizer, for example, various chemicals that are used in bomb making so that businesses alert police, focusing on the places where the suicide bombers are recruited, schools, social clubs, religious institutions, knowing again from those community ties where there's a likely pool of recruits, hardening potential targets so that seats on busses or in subway cars don't become shrapnel. And then finally, really instructing law enforcement, particularly the cop on the beat, who's going to be really the first responder to a suicide incident, what to do, and to learn from the lessons from other countries -- Israel, Sri Lanka and elsewhere.
HEMMER: Bruce Hoffman, RAND terrorism analyst, fresh back from the Middle East, he writes that story for us and shares it today. Thanks, Bruce. Appreciate it.
HOFFMAN: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 19, 2003 - 08:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Can suicide bombings ever be prevented? While no one was killed in today's blast in Gaza, that's proving to be the exception. The rash of recent attacks worldwide have been especially effective in terms of body count. The logic of suicide terrorism and lessons from Israel that America must learn is a the cover story of the new "Atlantic Monthly." Bruise Hoffman a terrorism analyst at RAND, is the article's author. He's with us live today in D.C.
Bruce, good morning to you.
It may seem like a rather broad question about whether or not Israel can stop these things. And obviously in the past, they have not been able to completely. But they have gotten better at it. How has that been possible?
BRUCE HOFFMAN, RAND TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, certainly in the Israeli case, there's been an enormous learning curve, but it's also predicated on having very good intelligence, and frankly, the deployment of the Israel Defense Forces into the West Bank.
HEMMER: Yes, and talk about the new tactics right now being used. There was a bicycle used earlier today. A bomber blew himself up on a bike in northern Gaza injuring three Israelis soldiers. In the past, we've seen British passports used. About a year ago, we first saw the first woman. How do you then counter those tactics today?
HOFFMAN: Well, a senior police officer in Jerusalem described it to me as a cat and mouse game. Every time, for instance, the government or the security force measures improve, it doesn't stop the terrorists, it merely forces them to find new ways to obviate, to overcome, to penetrate those defenses.
But by the same token, we have to understand that what the terrorists are trying to do is convey a message that their opponents or enemies are completely powerless and completely helpless, and that's not the case. Admittedly, as we've seen in Israel, it's a very difficult to stop suicide terrorism completely.
But nonetheless, even the four incidents over the past day or two, pales in comparison to when there is a situation when Israel when more than one incident a day over a prolonged period of time.
HEMMER: Other countries, not just the U.S. in specific, can they learn right now the tactics that Israel has employed and tried to initiate? HOFFMAN: Yes, I think there is at least six measures that we can learn from Israel. The first one is understanding the modus operandi of the suicide terrorist. We're not looking for a needle in a haystack. Despite the terrorist propaganda this is one person, rather than the much longer logistical tail, of quartermasters, of reconnaissance experts, and bomb makers have had. You're looking for an entire organization, that's the first thing.
Secondly, I think one has to build confidence with the communities from which the terrorists come from. This amounts to not just addressing the root causes of terrorism, but having law enforcement and security forces deal with those communities in a non- threatening way, certainly dealing with businesses. Having local businesses from which terrorists might obtain the means to construct their bombs. Fertilizer, for example, various chemicals that are used in bomb making so that businesses alert police, focusing on the places where the suicide bombers are recruited, schools, social clubs, religious institutions, knowing again from those community ties where there's a likely pool of recruits, hardening potential targets so that seats on busses or in subway cars don't become shrapnel. And then finally, really instructing law enforcement, particularly the cop on the beat, who's going to be really the first responder to a suicide incident, what to do, and to learn from the lessons from other countries -- Israel, Sri Lanka and elsewhere.
HEMMER: Bruce Hoffman, RAND terrorism analyst, fresh back from the Middle East, he writes that story for us and shares it today. Thanks, Bruce. Appreciate it.
HOFFMAN: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
