U.S./USSR/TERRORISM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01070R000201260005-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 21, 2008
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: June 25, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2008/10/21: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000201260005-4
25 June 1984
U.S./USSR/ MACNEIL: In Washington, the Reagan administration
TERRORISM continued its attacks on the Soviet Union as a source of
terrorism in the world. Yesterday, Secretary of State
Shultz denounced the Soviets for sponsoring what he called
a 'league of terror.' Today, speaking to the same
international conference on terrorism, U.N. Ambassador
Jeane Kirkpatrick again attacked the Soviet Union.
JEANE\KIRKPATRICK (U.S. ambassador to the U.N.): The
Soviet Union, Soviet theorists, began to identify the
armed road, they called it, as the way to power in the
Western Hemisphere. National liberation movement is the
name given to groups supported by the Soviet Union and
associated states seeking power by violence. Their
acceptance as legitimate by and inside the United Nations
is as good an indicator as any of the moral confusion
which has come to surround the use of violence, the choice
of violence as the method of political action, the
preferred method of political action, the instrument of
first resort.
MACNEIL: Defense Secretary Weinberger was also talking
about terrorism today. He told reporters it might be
useful to call upon the United Nations to create an
international organization to deal with terrorism. Jim?
LEHRER: The list of journalists who are experts on
terrorism is a short one. Some would say it contains only
one name, that of Claire Sterling. Ms. Sterling has been
a U.S. correspondent in Rome for 30 years. she was the
first to report authoritatively of the networks among
terrorists and the first to report the alleged Bulgarian
connection to the attempted assassination on the pope,
among other things. She's written extensively on the
subject, including two books, 'The Terror Network,' and
'The Time of Assassins.' She is in Washington attending
the Jonathan Groups Terrorism Conference. All right,
first, let's take just what's happened at the conference
thus far, quickly. Ambassador Kirkpatrick's comments
about the Soviet Union. How strong is that tie, provably?
CLAIRE\STERLING (terrorism expert): Well, I think the
evidence has been available to the Western governments for
a long time. They have been unwilling to concede this
publicly until very recently. We now have official
government reports in several countries, uh, most
specifically, one prepared by the Italian military
intelligence service, *Sismi, which was.published last
year, sent as a report to parliament last year, in which
they clearly and unconditionally stated that the Red
Brigade had been working in, uh, coordination with other
groups out of a, an institution in Paris, and that there
was a KGB liaison attached to that institution in Paris,
and that the KGB had been, had reached the point, by the
end-of the 1970s, Soviet secret service, where it could
Conbnued
Approved For Release 2008/10/21: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000201260005-4
 Approved For Release 2008/10/21: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000201260005-4
manipulate and orient the activities of the Red Brigades.
Now, this, this is based, of course, that was a summary
report, but it is based on a long accumulation of
evidence. Uh, Italy, too, has named, uh, a Soviet agent
who was serving as a liaison between right-wing and
left-wing terrorists, to provide arms for both in Italy.'
We have a similar situation in Spain, with a Basque group,.
*Etat ?ilitar, uh, and I think by now, the evidence
accumulated among the various intelligence services is so
commanding that it can't be ignored.
LEHRER: And there's no doubt in your mind about it, is
there? STERLING: No, there's no doubt. I think we
should be clear about this. I don't believe, and I have,
I don't believe anybody who studies the subject can, uh,
reasonably say that the Russians create these situations.
They exploit the situations. That is, these terrorist
groups are indigenous groups, almost always, arising,
which, which make use of, uh, whatever grievances are
presented in the context of the country, social, economic,
ethnic, whatever. But once they're there with the .
capacity to undermine, destabilize, spread confusion, they
are then given the wherewithal by the, by the Russians
directly, or through surrogates, through the weapons, the
training, the sanctuary, the intelligence gathering
process, so that they can become increasingly effective,
sophisticated, uh, with a greater power to frighten.
LEHRER: Let's go through some of the solutions or
suggestions for combating terrorism that came up at this
conference. First of all, Secretary of State Shultz says
pre-emptive strikes against terrorists are something that
should be tried. Do you agree with that? STERLING: I
don't know what it means, to tell you the truth, and it
makes me nervous. I think that pre-emped (sic),
pre-emptive intelligence is absolutely indispensable.
That is, it is far more intelligent on our part, and far
more effective, to have advanced. knowledge of what
terrorists are planning rather than go after them after
the event. And clearly, that means--it's a dirty word, but.
it has to be faced--it means that they have to be
infiltrated. That's, I think, something that's accepted
by anybody that is trying to cope with the problem
seriously. If you go on to something like a pre-emptive
strike, what does that mean? Do we go into another
country and hit a group that we think is... on what
basis? How can we be sure? I'm very nervous about the
idea, and I'd like to know a lot more before saying it's a
good one.
LEHRER: On the infiltration thing, have the,'has the U.S.
and other Western governments been very successful thus
far in infiltrating these terrorists? STERLING: Well,
there'd been a period where there was almost practically
Continued
Approved For Release 2008/10/21: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000201260005-4
 Approved For Release 2008/10/21 : CIA-RDP88-0107OR000201260005-4
no infiltration, and it was the period when the terrorist
groups working in western Europe were their most
effective. Uh, the, it, infiltration began in Italy, for
example, only in the last two or three years, and it has
been extremely effective. It has been one of the great
contributing factors to bringing the terrorist problem
under control, under restraint, in Italy.
LEHRER: Another suggestion was made by former Israeli
Prime Minister Rabin, who has called for a voluntary
international organization to specifically go after
terrorists. Uh, Secretary of Defense Weinberger said,
'Hey, the United Nations should do that. We don't need
anything like that.' What's your view? STERLING: Oh,
no, neither. (both laugh)
LEHRER: OK, neither and none of the above, huh?
STERLING: NO, I, there are, there is plenty of
institutional framework. Uh, what is lacking-is the
resolution and will to coordinate intelligence gathering
and coordinate antiterrorist strategy. If the will exists
and the resolution exists, there's no problem of
organization. I don't think anything is solved by adding
yet another one, and I don't think it should be done
through the U.N., absolutely, either...
LEHRER:. OK. STEELING: ...where the lack of will is
rather pronounced.
LEHRER: Let's go to one of your major recent stories, and
that is, the involvement of, of Bulgarian agents in the
attempted assassination of the pope. What is... Is, is
the proof there overwhelming, from your perspective?
STERLING: Well, I believe, yes, in, in my opinion, the
proof is overwhelming. There is proof, I think, very
direct, incriminating proof that the Bulgarian Embassy in
Rome was involved in the escape machinery that had been
set up for the gunman, Agca, and his accomplice, *Oral
Chelig. There is massive evidence that, uh, information.
given to the judge by Agca, in his confession, starting in
1979, has been corrabor... corroborated in astonishing
detail. There is, it is said by the state prosecutor now,
it is certain and ascertained, in his words, that the 3
million Deutchmarks which had been promised to Agca for
this operation were deposited in a German bank in
Frankfurt, uh, and four days after the deposit was made,
Agca came back from a holiday at *Palmada, Majorca, picked
up his gun in Milan and came down to Rome for the hit. I
think that the accum... the accumulated impact of the
evidence is very, very strong.
LEHRER: Motive? STERLING: The motive was, was surely
the physical elimination of this, of this Polish pope
whose tremendous power, uh, hold over the Polish people
CO:ltimai
Approved For Release 2008/10/21: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000201260005-4
 Approved For Release 2008/10/21: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000201260005-4
and over the Catholic populations of all the Soviet block
and inside the Soviet Union was such that he'd become an
alternative pole of authority to the Soviet leadership,
and this is something that is just not acceptable in, in
the Soviet structure.
LEHRER: No, no question in your mind, the Soviets knew
what was goin' on? STERLING: Well, I don't think it's
really possible to doubt, if it is established by the
evidence, and I believe it to be, judging by the state
prosecutor's report in Italy, that the Bulgarian secret
service was directly involved and the Bulgarian Embassy
was involved. I think the next step, it really is not
possible to argue plausibly that this could've been done
without the Russians'. knowledge.
LEHRER: I hear you. Claire Sterling, thank you very
much.
Approved For Release 2008/10/21: CIA-RDP88-0107OR000201260005-4