4 May 2001
Source: http://usinfo.state.gov)

US Department of State
International Information Programs

Washington File
_________________________________

03 May 2001

Defense Department Report, May 3: Shelton on Terrorism
(Says U.S. force protection program must be dynamic) (490)

JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF CHAIRMAN SHELTON SAYS TERRORISTS ARE ADAPTIVE

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Henry "Hugh" Shelton told members of
the Senate Armed Services Committee May 3 that "terrorists are
adaptive adversaries who constantly look for ways to strike where
their victims are most vulnerable."

"While we can never fully eliminate the possibility that terrorists
will strike against us, we are doing our utmost to ensure the security
of our forces so that they can carry out their important missions at
minimum risk," he said. Shelton was testifying on the lessons learned
following the October 12, 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off the coast
of Yemen that killed 17 Navy sailors and wounded 42 others.

"Our goal is not only to reduce the exposure of our in-transit ships
and planes -- a shortcoming exposed by the bombing of the USS Cole --
but to ensure our anti-terrorism/force protection program remains
dynamic," he told the senators, "thus reducing our vulnerability to
terrorists." Shelton pointed out that the Cole Commission Report that
investigated the bombing of the U.S. Navy ship produced 30 findings
and 53 recommendations, which the Department of Defense "is now
aggressively implementing."

The commission's recommendations included better coordination across
the full spectrum of U.S. government agencies and developing better
security capabilities for host nations to assist in protecting U.S.
military forces when they are nearby.

Shelton said the United States is also working closely with its
allies, including NATO. For example, he said, "We are currently
supporting the efforts of NATO's High Level Steering Group to enhance
Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection for NATO forces, including our DOD
personnel assigned to NATO."

Shelton also said the U.S. military is using a six-month study of the
best anti-terrorist practices used by Israel and the United Kingdom as
a measure for comparison and basis for future initiatives that will
allow the regional commanders-in-chief to shape the environment in
which U.S. forces are operating and to better protect them.

He said the U.S. military must anticipate "the potential use of
weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the future" by terrorists. As a
result, Shelton said, WMD experts have been added to Vulnerability
Assessment Teams "to better prepare today for terrorist use of WMD
tomorrow."

Since U.S. adversaries "can't compete with the United States
militarily," he said, "they try to find and exploit perceived
weaknesses, striking at us using what we call 'asymmetric means' to
achieve their goals," such as the U.S. embassy attacks in Africa in
1998. The chairman said considerable anti-terrorism/force protection
progress has been made, but the focus must now be on reducing existing
vulnerabilities, particularly at air and seaports.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)