DE PA RTM OF STATE Washington D C 20520 MEMORANDUM September 5 1975 To Members of and Participants in the working gup Cabinet Committee to Combat Terrorism From Robert A Fearey Chairman of the working Croup Cabinet Committee to Combat Terrorism Subject Ninetyufirst Meeting of the working Group Cabinet Committee to Combat Terrorism wednesday September 3 1975 2 30 pom Department of State Room 7516 I Preliminarv A StaEus of Kidnapping Cases in Ethiopia and Colombia Mr Foarey referred to the two ongoing kid- napping cases With regard to the two Americans kidnapped in Ethiopia we remained hopeful they would soon be re- leased probably on the Sudanese border but were disap- pointed that this had not yet happened The kidnapping in Bogota on August 6 of Sears Roebuck executive Donald Cooper was a difficult case The matter was being handled essentially by Sears in cooperation with the Colombian Government The U S had Cooperated discreetly where it could help such as handwriting analysis but had not participated or been involved in any way in'any negotiat- ing process I E O 12958 Sec 3 6 wan PORTIONS EXEMPTED ecumeeszmsunbp Wt By M mm Data 0 4 CONF AL C Retirement of General Davis Mr Fearey gaid that this was regrettably the last meeting of the Work- ing Group's most distinguished member General Davis had been a charter member of the Group and over the past nearly three years no member had surpassed equaled or perhaps even rivaled his substantive contribution to and loyal support of it Notwithstanding his key responsi- bilities in the Department of Transportation he had remained a regular and active participant Among his many contributions perhaps the most signal was the leading part he had played in the highly successful airport security program which had been instrumental in bringing the hijacking problem under control Speaking on behalf of the entire Working Group Mr Fearey offered General Davis very best wishes for a well deserved and rewarding retirement In reply General Davis said that the establish ment of USG policies on terrorism had strongly influenced what could be done to control hijacking He hoped that the U S would remain firm and reasonable in its antiaterrorism policies and programs We were far from a solution to the problem but our efforts to combat terrorism must and would go on General Davis said that he had enjoyed his associam tion with the Working Group and wished it well for the future D Secretary Kissinger's Remarks on Terrorism Mr Fearey referred to Secretary Kissinger's comments on ter- rorism in his August 11 Montreal speech and at his August 17 press conference in Vail Mr Fearey said that at Montreal the Secretary had urged the UN once again to take up and adopt the 0 8 1972 proposal of an international Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Certain Acts of International Terrorism or other similar proposals Mr Fearey said he had received a number of Washington Embassy and other queries on US intentions in light of the Secretary's remarks He had replied that the Secretary's proposal spoke for itself that he could not add to it but that clearly the Secretary had been motivated by the evident need for more effective international action against the terrorist threat and particularly by the need for more effective apprehension trial and punishment of terrorists Mr Fearey said that he did not know what USG follow-up there might be to the Secretary's proposal mas s CO IAL At Vail the Secretary had said that it is hur policy that American officials do not participate in negotiations on the release of victims of terrorists Mr Fearey said that at the moment he did not know whether the - Secretary meant that it is our policy not to negotiate with terrorists under any circumstances or only not to par- ticipate in negotiations pointing toward payment of ransom release of prisoners or other concessions to terrorist blackmail He said that action was in train to obtain clarification of the Secretary s enact meaning II The Current Status of Major Terrorist Organizations in Latin America Mr James Buchanan Office of Intelligence and Research Department of State spoke on the coordination of terrorist groups in Latin America and on terrorism in Argentina He said that over the past few years coordination among terrorist groups had been carried out through informal and formal means An example of informal coordination was the use of Chile as a stopping place by certain southern cone terrorist groups during the Allende period Movement in and out of Chile by such terrorists was easy at that time Cuba less now than in the past is a training ground for terrorists EurOpe particularly Paris provides meet- ing grounds for informal contacts by Latin American terrorists As to formal coordination of terrorist groups in the southern cone Che Guevera's effort in Bolivia was an early example His choice of Bolivia was motivated at least in part by his intention to use it as a center from which the actions of the region's liberation movements might be coordinated His attempts came to nothing The current approach to formal coordination is the Revolutionary Coordination Junta JCR It was established in February 1974 as the child of the People's Revolutionary Army ERP of Argentina The JCR's other members include the MIR of Chile the ELN of Bolivia and the Tupamaros of Uruguay The objective of the JCR is a vague socialism While the ERP thrives remaining JCR members have been broken up by national security forces Consequently the JCR has not come to much This is true despite continuing efforts at activity abroad such as the JCR magazine Che Guevera published in Lisbon and certain activities in Paris In general the national security forces of the southern cone 4 surpass the terrorists in cooperation at the international level Mr Buchanan said that the most virulent terrorism in Latin America is in Argentina Deaths from terrorism are occurring at about a one-a-day rate Terrorist groups are on both the right and the left Those on the left are dominated by the ERP and the Montoneros The ERP emerged in 1970 as a Trotskyite organization and is well-led and well financed It is thought to have between 500 and 700 combatants and remains highly effective Also on the left are the Montoneros a nationalist Peronist group with per- haps 2500 combatants and between 25 000 and 50 000 sympa thizers It is less well led and effective than the ERP but has infiltrated the Government On occasion the ERP and the Montoneros have cooperated for specific projects but ideological incompatability makes permanent cooperation unlikely The Communist Party of Argentina makes every effort to disassociate itself from violence On the right is the Argentine AntiwCommunist Alliance It is probably the umbrella organization for a number of anti leftist groups in Argentina Before his departure from Argentina it was led by Lopez Bags The is particularly brutal and violent reflecting a nasty streak in the Argentine rightest tradition going back to the 1930's A characteristic of terrorism in Argentina is that targets are carefully chosen As a rule innocent bystanders are not touched Also terrorism in Argentina is indirect in that terrorist leaders of both the right and the left though easily identifiable are not attacked In response to questions Mr Buchanan said that there were now few foreign businessmen in Argentina including Americans because of numerous kidnappings for ransom Kidnapping of foreign diplomats as in the Egan case had been for specific political impact In the Egan case the terrorists' purpose was to demonstrate their refusal to accept the Argentine Government's policy of interrogating and then killing captured terrorists and to revalidate their anti-imperialist credentials Mr Buchanan did not View a strong government drive against terrorists in Argentina as likely unless a military government assumes power Attaches DIA Programs for Protecting Defense Attached CO Against Terrorism I Mr Michael Jakub Defense Intelligence Agency described the BIA counter-terrorist program for Defense the protection of Defense Attache Office DAG personnel abroad DIA pays a proportionate share of the cost of State s protective programs at posts where DAD personnel are assigned 000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000 00 00 0000000000000000000000 0000000 0000000 0000000 0000000 0000000 0000000 00000000000000- 00000000000000 00000000000000- 000000000000000 000000000000000 000000000000000 000000000000000 000000000000000 000000000000000 000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000 0 0000000000000000000000 00000000000000 000000000 000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000 00 00000000000000000 00000000000000000000 0 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 0000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 00000000000 He said that State is primarily responsible for 0000000000000000000 00000000000000 0000 00000000000000 0000 0 0000000000000000 0 0000000000000000 000000000000000000 0 0000000000000000 000000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 0 00000000000000000000 00000000000000000000 IV Other DOD Counteererrorism Measures im w 5 may answer-w - itse ii m laser s-av 6 Asked by Mr Fearey for his views on the desirability of increased coordination among interested agencies in countereterrorism protective arrangements for overseas personnel Major Naftzinger said he believed that at over seas posts personnel of all agencies should look to the Ambassador as the focal point on counter-terrorist policy and procedures Each agency in Washington with overseas personnel should have its own modus operandi for counterw terrorism measures but these should be based on centrally coordinated policy guidelines accepted by all agencies Mr Fearey said that Major Naftzinger's position seemed in accord with his own namely that there should be close coordination on terrorism protective measures among Washington agenciestmwimgpersonnel abroad but there should be no attempt to force all agencies into the same mold General Davis expressed the view that the Ambassador should play the key role in setting the tone and providing strong leadership to the Country Team in establishing counter- terrorist policy and procedures in each country The next meeting of the Working Group will be held September 17 1975 in Room 7516 Enclosure Participants List September 3 1975 Participants NINETY-FIRST MEETING OF THE WORKING CABINET COMMITTEE TO COMBAT TERRORISM AJ my Agency Name Title i ACDA Mr Frank Martin Staff Officer AID Mr Oscar Yost Deputy Director Office of Security CIA DOA LtCol Dwight A Davis LTC Action Officer DOA Mr Carl J LeBourdais LTC Action Officer Mr Michael A Jakub Intelligence Operations Specialist Capt Charles J Bushey Intelligence Officer Mr Joseph Naftzinger Staff Assistant DOT Gen Benjamin Davis Assistant Secretary ERDA Mr A Bryan Siebert Spec Asst Dep Asst Adm Nat Sec FBI Mr V H Nasca Special Agent PPS Mr Charles Robinson Special Agent Central Office FPS Mr Walter J Burns Director Operations Svces Div INS Mr T J Brobson Asst Comm Inspections Justice Ms Janis Sposato Attorney Justice Mr Ralph K Culver Attorney MPDC Robert L Rabe Spec Operations Division NRC Mr Frank A Costaneo NRC Mr Thomas P Carter Chief Contingency Planning NSA Mt H B Sutliff Chief Executive NSC Staff Mr Gerald P Dargis Staff Officer Treasury Mr Richard Schultz Mr Paul Rundle Deputy Assistant Director 0555 Mr Bill Livingood SAIC State Mr James Buchanan Political Analyst State Mr Edward V Hickey Assistant Director SY State Mr Louis R Hague State Mr David B Ortman Chief Aviation Programs Pol Div State Mr Samuel C Keiter Dep Chief Av Prog Pol Div State Mr Robert A Fearey Chairman WOrking Group State Mr Edward W Schaefer State Mr Robert P Myers Jr State Ms Maureen Hollander This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive Suite 701 Gelman Library The George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington D C 20037 Phone 202 994-7000 Fax 202 994-7005 nsarchiv@gwu edu