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DATE=4/17/2000 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT TITLE=TERRORISM CONFERENCE NUMBER=5-46143 BYLINE=MICHAEL LELAND DATELINE=OKLAHOMA CITY CONTENT= O VOICED AT: INTRO: This Wednesday (April 19th) marks the fifth anniversary of the worst terrorist act committed on United States soil. The bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City left 168 people dead and injured 500. This week, Oklahoma City is hosting an international conference on terrorism. The meeting is designed to assess how terrorism has changed during the last 20 years and to try to predict its future course. V-O-A's Michael Leland has more. TEXT: The conference is a follow-up to a similar meeting held in 1980 by the RAND Corporation, a California-based public policy research organization. It has joined with the Oklahoma-based Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism for this year's meeting on the changing nature of terrorism. Some areas of terrorism have changed little in 20 years, such as the continued presence of state- sponsored activity. Experts say changes include an increase in the number of terrorist groups or individuals who seem to be motivated by religious beliefs. They cite Aum Shinrikyo in Japan as one example. Another change is a greater variety of weapons at a terrorist's disposal. Assistant Commissioner of Police at Scotland Yard in London, David Veness, says more attention should be paid to the possibility that terrorists might one day use computers, or chemical, biological, radiological or even nuclear weapons to threaten or attack. /// VENESS ACT /// It is generally advised that the threat is low, but it is important to observe that it is not nil. Inaction, therefore, is not an option. A C-B-R-N (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) terrorist attack will predictably produce a greater social impact than conventional weaponry. It is not only a crime, but also a public emergency. /// END ACT /// Former Swiss Defense Ministry analyst Jean Francois Mayer says preventing individuals or groups from committing terrorism can be difficult because there is usually no single factor that suggests a person or group will commit a violent act. He urged local and national officials to be alert for more subtle signs of trouble. /// MAYER ACT /// Past cases show us that violence at a low level often preceded more serious acts of violence or terrorism. /// END ACT /// A Senior Advisor at the RAND Corporation, Brian Jenkins, cautioned against expecting protection from all forms of terrorism. He says one advantage terrorists have is the ability to attack just about anything, anywhere, at any time. But, he says people should not begin living life as if they are always in danger, and need to balance individual freedoms with the need for safety. /// JENKINS ACT /// We may suffer casualties but we will not be moved by terrorist violence or the fear it creates. The less panic, the less paranoia, the less of a public demand for responses that threaten our liberties. /// END ACT /// Mr. Veness of Scotland Yard says the Oklahoma City bombing is an example of how a terrorist can catch a community off-guard. But, he says, it is also an example of how to fight terrorism - by rebuilding what was destroyed, and using the attack as a starting point for additional research and discussion of terrorists' methods and motivations. The Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism here in Oklahoma City is designed to do just that. It will become the United States' leading center for terrorism research and education. (Signed) NEB/MJL/TVM/gm 17-Apr-2000 19:11 PM EDT (17-Apr-2000 2311 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .