"FBI: Suicide Bombers Are a Top Concern"

Thursday, July 5, 2007

FBI official: Suicide bombers remain a daily concern
By PAT MILTON
The Associated Press 


NEW YORK - Suicide bombers have not hit the United States since the 9/11
terrorist hijacking attacks, but they remain a constant concern because of
their prevalence around the globe and determination to die for their causes,
according to the FBI's chief of counterterrorism.

He does not believe America is overflowing with homegrown terrorists, but
Joseph Billy said "a significant number" of attacks have been thwarted since
airliners were turned into flying bombs on Sept. 11, 2001.

While declining to divulge the nature of the averted plots, Billy credited
intelligence that led to either fortified security around potential targets
or identification of suspected terrorists.

Authorities recently stopped homegrown plots targeting Fort Dix in New
Jersey and a jet fuel pipeline at New York's Kennedy International Airport.

Billy, the assistant director in charge of counterterrorism, gave a rare
wide-ranging interview to The Associated Press, days before the failed car
bombing in London and the airport bombing in Glasgow.

Billy stressed the need for diligence, saying people plotting against the
U.S. from within are more familiar with potential targets than foreign
terrorists and can move around more easily.

The FBI, other law and intelligence agencies continue to raise the nation's
already "vigorous vigilance," hunting individuals who may want to use
explosives to make a statement or further a cause, Billy said.

The FBI continuously scrutinizes intelligence on new devices and tactics
tested by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, wary that they could surface
in the U.S., according to Billy.

The National Joint Terrorism Task Force provides law enforcement across the
country with a high level of awareness on locations or ingredients to
monitor - awareness that is passed along to the public.

"I think it is hard to go into a Home Depot or Lowes to purchase a truckload
of fertilizer without someone calling police to report, 'This person just
bought 2,000 pounds of fertilizer and I don't think he is a farmer,' " Billy
said.

Ammonium nitrate fertilizer has been used in bombs, including the one that
destroyed the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

Billy said his biggest concern is keeping weapons of mass destruction away
from terrorists.

"They are committed to destroying our country, our way of life," he said.
"But we are just as committed to keeping it safe and secure."

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