Perry Admits to Misjudging Terror Threat

By ROBIN WRIGHT

July 10, 1996 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

WASHINGTON —

Defense Secretary William J. Perry and top military commanders told a Senate committee Tuesday that they had underestimated the threat of terrorism before last month’s deadly truck-bomb attack in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and that as many as 50 other U.S. installations in the Middle East and southern Asia are at least as vulnerable.

In an often intense grilling from senators, Perry, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman John M. Shalikashvili and Gen. J. H. Binford Peay III, chief of U.S. Central Command, conceded that the military was unable to upgrade security in time to protect U.S. troops because the magnitude of the threat grew quickly in a short time.

But they said that in the months after a 200-pound bomb killed five American service members and two Indians in Riyadh in November, no U.S. or Saudi intelligence report projected that terrorists in that country were capable of detonating a bomb the size of the estimated 3,000- to 5,000-pound device believed used in the June 25 attack, which killed 19 Americans.

Intelligence after the November bombing was “fragmentary and inconclusive,” Perry told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “My assessment is that our commanders were trying to do right but, given the inconclusive nature of the intelligence, had a difficult task to know what to plan for.”

Intelligence reports outlined a wide range of possible attacks without identifying the most likely threats, he said. Such a broad assessment forced commanders to try to diversify security and protect against all possibilities.

Even so, more than 130 security measures put in place after the November bombing saved dozens and possibly hundreds of lives, officials said. But “significantly fewer” casualties would have occurred if further steps had been carried out, Perry conceded.

During two hours of heated questioning, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was particularly critical of the Clinton administration for not doing more to counter terrorism after the Riyadh attack. He said the White House war against terrorism had been limited to an international meeting last spring that produced 240 minutes of opening statements, 40 minutes of discussion and a photo opportunity but nothing of substance.

“What happened to the promised cooperation and consultation?” asked McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam who is mentioned frequently as a possible running mate for Bob Dole, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate.

Many other senators repeatedly pressed the Pentagon officials to explain why U.S. officials did not go over the heads of Saudi officials who refused to extend the security perimeter fence around the Khobar Towers compound where Americans died in last month’s bombing or to allow FBI officials access to four men convicted (and later executed) in the 1995 bombing.

Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) said he is stunned by the confusion that exists among U.S. officials two weeks after the bombing over the exact sequence of events involved in the request to extend the fence.

The Pentagon officials said the sequence is still unclear and remains under investigation.

McCain plans to introduce an amendment to the defense appropriations bill this week requiring an audit of security at all U.S. foreign military facilities.

After the session, President Clinton told reporters that he retains “full confidence” in Perry.

At the hearing, Perry provided a grim prognosis for American interests, warning that the United States and its allies face strains of terrorism that are far more complex--and are growing. “The Arabian Peninsula was long an island of relative calm in the midst of regional tensions,” he said. “That is no longer true.”

Although the probe into the June bombing is incomplete, Perry’s opening statement said the U.S. has tentatively concluded that the terrorists had extensive support from an experienced and well-financed international organization. But he refused to be specific in the public session.

Shalikashvili said that worldwide, the U.S. military faces danger at “hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds” of facilities.

Peay told the committee that more than 90 additional security measures have been put in place since last month’s bombing. The four-star general also noted that Khobar Towers had been one of the better prepared of the 10 U.S. installations in Saudi Arabia and dozens of others in the region under his command.

The key to neutralizing terrorism against U.S. interests lies in making significant improvements in intelligence about Middle East terrorist groups, Peay said.

Terrorism generally is becoming more sophisticated, with the Pentagon now on the alert for acts aimed at water and food supplies and attacks using chemical or biological weapons.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Danger Zone

Where and why American troops are vulnerable in the Middle East:

Location: Saudi Arabia

Total number of U.S. troops: 5,000

Mission: Enforce “no fly” zone over southern Iraq, protect oil supplies

Primary terrorist threat: Dissidents opposed to Saudi regime

****

Location: Kuwait

Total number of U.S. troops: 2,100

Mission: Protect Kuwait from attack, stockpile U.S. supplies

Primary terrorist threat: Islamic militants, dissidents