'Only a matter of time before terrorists use weapons of
mass destruction'
By Con Coughlin
(Filed: 17/01/2006)
Biological weapons pose a far more serious long-term terrorist
threat to the West than nuclear weapons, according to Washington's
leading counter-terrorism expert.
And Henry "Hank" Crumpton, the newly-appointed head of
counter-terrorism at the US State Department, believes that it is
simply a matter of time before international terrorist groups such
as al-Qa'eda acquire weapons of mass destruction and use them in
attacks.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Crumpton,
who previously spent 20 years working for the Central Intelligence
Agency, warned yesterday that the "war on terror" was likely to
last for decades.
"This threat has changed the way we will fight wars in the future,"
he said.
"We are talking about micro targets such as al-Qa'eda which, when
combined with WMD, have a macro impact. I rate the probability of
terror groups using WMD [to attack Western targets] as very high.
It is simply a question of time.
"And it is not just the nuclear threat that bothers me. I think, if
anything, the biological threat is going to grow.
"As catastrophic as a nuclear attack would be, it would be
self-contained. But if you look at a worst-case scenario for a
biological attack, it would be difficult to determine whether or
not it was a terrorist attack, and it would be far more difficult
to contain."
After the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, Mr
Crumpton, who was then a senior CIA officer, played a leading role
in the campaign to overthrow the Taliban and destroy al-Qa'eda's
operational infrastructure in Afghanistan, which relied heavily on
covert operations.
After the war, allied forces found that al-Qa'eda had been working
on anthrax programmes that it intended to use on western
targets.
"They had hired a very experienced biologist to work on this. They
were very serious about it and there is no reason to believe they
have given up on their interest."
The fear that terrorist groups might be able to acquire WMD from
rogue states such as Iran or Syria explains Washington's
determination to confront Iran over its nuclear programme.
"If we look at the threat posed by Iran, they have links with
Hizbollah [the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim militia], which is a
terrorist organisation with global reach, and they are actively
pursuing WMD. And the leadership has made a conscious decision to
defy international treaties. I am deeply troubled by this."
As for taking action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear
weapons, Mr Crumpton insisted that "every option is on the table" -
including military action.
"I would not rule out anything because of the particularly grave
threat that we are facing," he said.
In a distinguished career with the CIA, during which he won four of
the agency's highest awards, Mr Crumpton was a key figure in its
covert operations against al-Qa'eda pre-September 11.
Referred to simply as "Henry" in the 9/11 Commission Report, Mr
Crumpton tried to persuade the CIA to do more in Afghanistan to
hunt down Osama bin Laden before the attacks, but two key proposals
to tackle al-Qa'eda were turned down.
After the September 11 attacks, in which he lost many close
friends, he was initially overwhelmed by sorrow.
"But that sorrow was soon replaced by anger, anger that al-Qa'eda
could do this to innocent people - and the anger lasted for more
than a year."
Mr Crumpton stresses the coalition's achievements in disrupting bin
Laden's network. In his view, al-Qa'eda's infrastructure has been
so badly damaged that it is now struggling to control the groups
that would like to support it.
"They can't communicate with their supporters unless the odd
courier breaks through. They can't get access to money and things
like that. We have made life very difficult for them."
But despite the initial success achieved during the Afghan war in
2001, he expressed disappointment with the support Washington had
received from its European allies since hostilities ended. "The job
was not finished and it is not finished now." Bin Laden, who
escaped to Pakistan, was "in all probability" still alive, he
said.
The regime of President Assad in Syria also seriously threatens
western security, he says. "The regime continues to support terror
organisations. And we know that the Baathist leadership fled to
Damascus taking with them money and terrorist expertise, and we
cannot rule out the fact that some of that expertise related to
WMD."
