Sleeping Terrorist Cell in California No Surprise At All, Says Nations Top Counterterrorism Expert Elsa Lee
Terrorists can hide and go undetected a lot easier in a small city than in a larger one," said Counterterrorism Expert Elsa Lee, CEO, Advantage SCI, El Segundo, CA.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 13, 2005 -- "The sleeping terrorist cell in California is not a surprise at all," according to Elsa Lee, the nation's top counterterrorism expert.
Terrorists can go undetected in a small city more than a larger one relatively easy," said Lee, CEO and founder of Advantage SCI, in El Segundo, Calif. I learned this back in 1980 when I first became a counterintelligence agent in the US Army. I was shocked back then to learn that sleeper cells were living amongst us in the US in both small and large cities. As long as they didnt commit any crimes, they were able to enjoy life undisturbed."
Lees comments follow the FBIs arrest of a father and son, believed to have set up an al-Qaeda cell in Lodi, Calif., on terrorism-related charges. The son was reportedly trained in Pakistan, and had allegedly accepted a mission to return to the United States to kill Americans. More arrests are expected.
Lee was asked why anyone would settle in a small town (Lodi, CA) of 57,000+ people. Small cities generally dont have the level of crime and high number of crime fighters that large cities have," she explained. If you mind your own business, people tend to leave you alone and you can keep a low profile. If we had stronger public or community education programs, Im sure we would have more people capable of detecting and reporting suspicious acts, thus leading to better monitoring, tracking and arrests."
Some of these cell members have assimilated and become loyal US citizens, others were activated and called upon to serve logistical and support roles such as -- identifying potential targets, performing reconnaissance, assessing our security weaknesses, observing and reporting on our preparedness and response capabilities, and getting employment in places that enable their targeting and collection efforts," explained Lee.
Lee said terrorists generally go undetected because citizens and businesses are not trained or educated on what to look for or how recognize suspicious acts -- otherwise wed see more reports across the nation. We dont have an integrated approach to terrorism because as a nation, we still dont have government, business, and citizens working together to address terrorism. The fact that we havent witnessed a terrorist attack in this country since 9/11, tends to make people complacent about security and vigilance," Lee noted.
Hamid Hayat, 22, and his father, Umer, 47, were arrested Sunday on charges of lying to the FBI, less than a week after the younger man was first detained aboard a San Francisco-bound plane when authorities discovered he was on a "no-fly" list of suspected extremists, according to published reports.
An FBI affidavit said, Hamid Hayat, after failing a lie-detector test" admitted having spent six months in a Pakistani camp where he was trained to "kill Americans," using the images of high-ranking U.S. officials, including President Bush, as target practice. When asked where he wanted to carry out his attacks, he reportedly said he chose the United States.
As your next door neighbor, a member of a terrorist cell may not do much at home that would arouse suspicion. The only time theyre likely to come up on anyones radar is if they are on a watch list, or they get caught conducting surveillance of a potential target and acting suspicious. Additionally, Al Qaedas recruitment efforts in recent years have been effective in recruiting Americans. That being the case, we may not be expecting to see an American involved in terrorist activities and will miss the behavioral indicators," Lee said.
To prepare against any possible attack, everyone has to perform their role. Citizens must know what to look for. Businesses must have trained employees, and government needs to promote stronger awareness.
About Advantage SCI (www.AdvantageSCI.com)
Advantage SCI, LLC, Redondo Beach, CA, is a woman-minority-veteran owned company and registered contractor with California and federal government agencies including the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security. Advantage SCI provides security consulting, training, and e-learning to protect assets from sabotage, espionage, cyber attacks, and terrorism.
About Elsa Lee
After working in counterterrorism for 20 years as a US Army counterintelligence officer, Elsa Lee founded Advantage SCI and now offers advice and assistance on mitigating terrorism risks to top Forbes companies, academic institutions such as USCs Homeland Security Center and government agencies. Shes one of Americans true experts on counterterrorism having investigated and survived terrorism attacks. She has appeared on Canadian TV and radio stations, FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, and Telemundo and speaks fluent Spanish and German.
(Editors: For images and media interviews with Counterterrorism Expert Elsa Lee, please call George McQuade or Aida Mayo at 818.340.5300 or visit www.MayoCommunications.com or www.MayoPR.com.)
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