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May 20, 2002
Mueller Says Walk-in Suicide Bombers "inevitable" in United States By Pete Yost Associated Press Writer
ALEXANDRIA, VA. (AP) - Walk-in suicide bombers like those who have attacked
public places in Israel will hit the United States eventually, FBI Director
Robert Mueller said Monday.
"I think we will see that in the future, I think it's inevitable," Mueller
said in response to a question during a speech to the National Association of
District Attorneys meeting in suburban Alexandria, Va.
Mueller said the degree of fanaticism an informant must exhibit to get into
the inner circle of a terrorist group makes it difficult for law enforcement
agencies to penetrate such organizations and prevent such attacks.
"I wish I could be more optimistic," he said.
Mueller's prediction follows Vice President Dick Cheney's warning Sunday
that because no specific information is available, the United States is finding
it difficult to respond to the latest intelligence hints that al-Qaida may be
planning another attack.
Mueller said law enforcement has been somewhat successful in combating acts
of terrorism in Northern Ireland by developing sources who could provide
information about terrorist plans and by using electronic surveillance.
But he said the difficulty of getting informants inside terrorist groups
targeting the United States makes it much harder to obtain advance information.
Cheney said Sunday he sees "a real possibility" that walk-in suicide
bombers may hit the United States if those who have attacked Israel succeed in
changing the situation in the Middle East.
"Terrorism is an evil, pernicious thing, and it is one of the biggest
challenges we've ever faced as a nation," Cheney said.
At the prosecutors meeting, Mueller said the FBI now believes that "an
al-Qaida bomb maker" constructed the shoe bomb that Richard Reid had when he was
apprehended aboard a flight from Paris to the United States in December.
Mueller made the comment in describing how the FBI is increasing its
recruitment of scientific experts to help in terrorism investigations and is
"centralizing analytical capability" to coordinate evidence gathering.
Mueller also said the arrest of Abu Zubaydah, a top al-Qaida operative,
during raids in Pakistan in March was the result of a joint FBI-CIA operation.
He cited the raids as an example of how the traditional wall between the FBI and
the CIA is coming down as the two agencies battle terrorism.
AP-ES-05-20-02 1254EDT
This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA9RI0LG1D.html
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