Spy Conference: INTERPOL Agent Defines Modern Terrorism, Says It Is Changing
INTERPOL agent Grajales (right) with Spy event founder Bernie Reeves. Photo: Telegram.
By The Raleigh Telegram
RALEIGH – At the Raleigh Spy
Conference, director for INTERPOL’s Puerto Rico operations Rico Albert
Grajales talked about the modern terrorist, including famous villains
such as Carlos the Jackal and how terrorism has changed over the years
to become a global phenomenon.
Since the unique event was launched in
2003 by Bernie Reeves of Raleigh, the Raleigh Spy Conference has
assembled current and past members of the intelligence community
including speakers from the CIA, KGB, FBI, NSA, Naval Intelligence,
INTERPOL, and other agencies from around the world.
Speaking to members of the audience at
the conference at the North Carolina Museum of History on August 23rd,
Grajales first introduced INTERPOL and its role in modern day law
enforcement. He said that the group is now operating in 190 different
countries around the world, with a command and coordination center that
operates 24 hours a day.
“Today, we are an intelligence network
for all of the law enforcement communities,” he said. The group not only
responds to crime and terrorist activities, but can also coordinate
efforts and provide information among law enforcement groups during
times of natural disasters and large international events like the 2012
London Olympic games.
There is a special unit for terrorism called the Terrorism Task Force, he said.
“Our role is to make everybody responsible…in the work against terrorism,” said Grajales.
WHAT IS TERRORISM?
What is terrorism? That seemingly
simple question has lots of answers, said Grajales. He says there are
some 110 definitions of terrorism around the world and everyone from the
United Nations to the Federal Bureau of Investigation has their own
definition.
“Terrorism has been around since the beginning of mankind,” he said. “Even animals use it.”
Quoting Sun Tzu, who wrote the famous
book on how to vanquish your enemies, Grajales said that the goal of
terrorism is to “kill one, terrify a thousand.”
CLASSIC VS. MODERN TERRORISTS
Grajales said that for him, “classic
terrorism” is “perpetrating torture, intimidation, humiliation,
abduction, or assassination” to reach a certain political goal.
“The classical terrorist is a strong believer in his creed,” he said. “They will die for it because they believe in it.”
However, Grajales says there is a big
difference between the classical terrorist and the new breed of
terrorist around the world.
“The modern terrorist is something else,” he said.
In terms of modern terrorism, Grajales says that the goal is to make a worldwide impact.
“It’s based on classical terrorism but
more ambitious,” said Grajales. “It creates a reaction around the world
that is unforgettable,”
As an example, he related the beheading of Nick Byrd by terrorists in a video that was put out on the Internet.
“That created an impact,” he said. “Their mission was accomplished…did it create fear for a moment in each of you? Yes.”
In addition, modern terrorists are
often after goals that are not in line with a creed – it can be ego,
power, profit, anarchy, or other motives that have nothing to do with a
political ideal.
“They [can] break their traditions to reach their goal,” he said. “They put their creed behind in second or third place.”
Often in modern day terrorism
investigations, Grajales said that they find international terrorism
mixing with international criminal organizations.
“Their goals are overlapping,” he said, with criminal operations funding the terrorism efforts.
As an example, he talked about FARC
which is a group operating in Columbia in South America. The group
originally started out with political goals, but they are now in the
drug business, said Grajales.
“Where’s the creed?” he asked.
CARLOS THE JACKAL
Grajales said in his mind, the first
terrorist that fit the modern mold was Carlos the Jackal, a noted
bomber, hijacker, and all around terrorist, who has killed innocent
people and worked around the world.
Grajales said that he believed that
Carlos was the target of other children growing up because his father
was involved in the communist party growing up in Venezuela.
“Being bullied sometimes creates a monster,” he said.
Carlos himself joined the communist
party and moved to London where he went to college. There he became a
Muslim and was active in identifying supporters of Israel.
He didn’t eschew the finer things in life due to his religion, said Grajales.
“He loved wine, he loved women, he loved music,” he said. “He was charming.”
From 1971-1975, he led several bombings
and attacks in Great Britain and in France against several targets that
killed at least 11 people.
“He basically attacked anything and everything that was pro-US or pro-Israel,” said Grajales.
He didn’t exactly follow the plans that were in place either, said Grajales.
Instead of killing one hostage like he was supposed to, he asked for and received $20 million in ransom instead, said Grajales.
“He didn’t follow the rules because he had no creed,” he said.
After bouncing around to several
different countries around the world, Carlos was eventually brought back
to France where he is currently serving a life sentence for his crimes,
said Grajales.
PABLO ESCOBAR
One of the deadliest terrorists in the
world is sometimes considered a crime boss more than a terrorist, but
his actions defined him as such, says Grajales. He was speaking about
drug lord Pablo Escobar, who Grajales described as a “narcoterrorist”
and who people called “El Patron,” or the boss.
Escobar was behind political
assassinations, bombings, shootings, the downing of an airliner, and
more during his reign of terror until his death at the hands of police
in 1993, said Grajales.
In Columbia, he was behind the killing
of over 1000 police officers, over 200 judges, journalists, the attorney
general, Presidential candidates, the minister of justice, and 110
people on an airplane, not including other civilians, said Grajales.
“He did everything,” he said. “Everyone was intimidated by Pablo Escobar.”
Escobar ran his own intelligence operations to try and keep his businesses profitable and one step ahead of the law.
“He had former intelligence officers working for him,” said Grajales.
Escobar operated out in the open – he gave to charities and he was even elected to the Columbian congress in 1982.
Those he could not bribe or corrupt, he
simply had killed which meant that his reputation was enhanced, making
others more pliable.
“He discovered fear was good for business,” said Grajales.
In the end, Escobar turned himself in,
fearing extradition to the United States and convinced officials to let
him live in a luxurious “jail” that he actually built himself.
Not surprisingly, he escaped and was gunned down in a shootout with police in 1993.
Grajales says that Escobar is a modern
terrorist in the fact that he was not motivated by political
considerations but by power, money, and most of all, ego.
OSAMA BIN LADEN
Osama Bin Laden is probably one of the most well known terrorists as he was the mastermind behind the 9-11 attacks.
The United States initially supported
Bin Laden, as he was in Afghanistan with Al-Quaida fighting the Soviet
Union in the 1970′s.
“We created that monster, too,” said Grajales about Bin Laden.
Before 9-11 took place, Grajales said
after the lesser known bombing inside of a van underneath the World
Trade Center, he was watching a TV show on the Discovery Channel about
how the Twin Towers could be brought down.
“When I was watching that documentary, I
was hoping nobody was watching and was going to do something stupid,”
he said. “We have to be careful what we say and what we do.”
Al Quaida was very good at “blending
in” with their surroundings and the terrorists undergoing flight
training in the United States did a good job of not attracting a lot of
attention.
The Al-Quaida effort and Bin Laden were
examples of modern terrorists in that their goal was to create a
world-wide impact that was not limited to just a geographic area.
“When 9-11 came…he not only attacked
the United States, he attacked the world completely,” said Grajales.
“They attacked the [world-wide] economy and the trust between states.”
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AGENT
Whatever the reasons behind a
terrorist’s actions, with the stakes ever higher, it is more important
now than ever to stop terrorism, says Grajales. The main line of defense
is our own intelligence community.
“It’s fun to criticize, but it’s more
important to support the intelligence community,” said Grajales.
“Surrender is not an option.”
“Terrorism is the worst kind of virus,”
said Grajales, adding that intelligence agencies like the Central
Intelligence Agency are out there on the front lines battling terrorism
without a lot of publicity.
“They are good shadow warriors, good
human beings out there protecting you and me,” he said. “When they
sacrifice themselves, the only thing they get is a star on a wall.” ::
Article Posted: Wednesday, September 12th, 2012.
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