OKLAHOMA CITY: AFTER THE BOMBING : PERSONALITY IN THE NEWS : FBI Picks Terrorism Expert to Head Investigation

The FBI on Thursday named an experienced bomb specialist and expert on terrorism to head its investigation of last month’s Oklahoma City bombing, restructuring its operation to gear up for a longer-term investigation.

The new leader of the Oklahoma City team is Danny A. Defenbaugh, a 25-year FBI veteran who has had extensive experience in terrorism-related activities and has headed more than 150 bombing inquiries all over the world.

The agency said Special Agent Weldon Kennedy, who has led the Oklahoma City operation since the bombing on April 19, will return to his permanent post as head of the FBI’s Phoenix office, where he will continue to serve as field commander for the investigation.

Defenbaugh, 43, who has served in the FBI’s Mobile, Ala., office since 1993, has been involved in investigations of terrorism in 20 countries--including the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the hijacking of an Egyptian airliner in 1985.

An FBI-certified bomb technician, Defenbaugh is known as a meticulous investigator and indefatigable detective who can motivate others and deal effectively with other agencies.

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“He has lots of street experience and can drive a lot of special agents,” said William Baker, who recently retired as assistant director of the FBI and head of its criminal investigative division.

The FBI said in a statement that the Oklahoma City team will be restructured along the lines of the task force that handled the 1989 mail bombings in the South, with a special task force set up to handle the case in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies.

Defenbaugh, who was promoted to the rank of inspector while on assignment in the Mobile office, will be designated as inspector-in-charge of the operation.

“An assignment like this takes someone who has the ability to slice right through the bureaucratic maze and get the job done,” Baker said.

The decision to restructure the Oklahoma City operation reflects a judgment by top FBI officials that the investigation is likely to be a long one.

Besides his assignments in Mobile and in several foreign countries, Defenbaugh also served in Miami, where he supervised the FBI’s “major case squad,” which was responsible for investigating all major violent crimes, bombings and incidents of terrorism in the area.

He later was the supervisor of the South Florida violent-crimes task force.

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Defenbaugh also has served as supervisor of the FBI’s laboratory and explosives unit in Washington and at the agency’s field office in Chicago.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in the administration of justice from the American University in Washington. He also holds a master’s degree in forensic science from George Washington University.