Drills Testing Security at Embassies : Senate Hearing Warns Terrorists They Will Win No Concessions

The Reagan Administration is conducting simulated terrorist attacks on the most vulnerable U.S. embassies to test their ability to handle future crises, a State Department official revealed today.

Robert B. Oakley, director of the Office for Counter-Terrorism, said the program is similar in theory to military exercises, which test the ability of U.S. forces to respond to emergencies.

“A visiting team simulates a hijacking, a bombing or an assault on the embassy,” Oakley said in testimony before the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees.

“This program, which began in 1983, will test the capabilities of about two dozen of our embassies in high threat areas during 1985,” Oakley said.

Hearings on Terrorism

He testified on the third and final day of hearings on international terrorism. The two Senate committees are jointly conducting the sessions.

Oakley did not identify the embassies.

The official also used tough language in warning terrorists that the Reagan Administration “will make no concessions” in future incidents.

“We pay no ransoms, nor permit releases of prisoners, nor agree to other acts which might encourage additional terrorism,” he testified. “We make no changes in U.S. policy because of terrorists’ threats or acts.

“If U.S. personnel are taken hostage or endangered, we are prepared to consider a broad range of actions appropriate to the threat.”

Force, Economics

Oakley said the possible alternatives range from use of force to economic measures, such as controlling trade with countries that support terrorism.

In testimony at Tuesday’s terrorism hearing, which focused on the link between drug trafficking and terrorism, Republican Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato of New York said the Reagan Administration “has been totally inept” in its anti-drug effort.

D’Amato proposed that the Administration “take a real initiative” against drug traffickers that would include the State Department and the Department of Defense.

“We have not committed the kind of resources that are necessary and the spirit that is necessary to win this battle,” he said.

Robert Feldkamp, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration, told a reporter that despite D’Amato’s comments, “all the indicators we track are up”--including drug seizures, arrests and convictions.