Terrorism - A Personal Threat 1986

in Athens Greece if you've ever been in Athens the uh motorcycles they never stop they always Zoom right between the cars and and uh stop right up in front of the traffic you might have 15 20 of them at one time stopped up in front of all the traffic but on this particular afternoon it was about 4:20 in the afternoon uh I heard a motorcycle coming and it's slowed down and it slowed down too quickly me being the third car from the front and so I turned to watch it and they slowed down they came right next to my car and uh there I was sitting watching him and the guy in the back uh reached to his belt and pulled out a metallic object and right away I saw that it was a pistol of some kind I said oh [ __ ] this is it it sounded like a firecracker that was all it sounded like because I remember thinking as I closed my eyes I remember thinking oh listen to all these people screaming and it's nothing but a firecracker but then as my eyes opened you saw nothing but black and smoke everywhere it was like a sound from the inside of your body it's not like you hear it from the outside it's like it just engulfed the whole entire body and said 17 12 17 minutes later is when I woke up and that's when I realized that the embassy had been hit very very hard the next uh thing I can remember is a loud bang and it was like U the M80 simulator we used in combat defense training uh very loud and of course by the time I realized what I was hearing I was flying backwards scared the hell out of me is what it did you know because I saw all this Blood I was worried about my friends that were with me because I was the one that asked him out that night and all I could think of was well you went and done it now you're going to die down here instead of back home nice and quiet terrorism it's a real and personal threat what must the folks back home be thinking that's the question on the mind of every Marine in Lebanon today do they know whether I'm alive or do they think I'm dead it's an anxiety that plagues them even as they sift through the rubble trying to find the broken bodies of their buddies the blast that tore through the Battalion Landing team headquarters at a force of a onton bomb the crater will be closely examined by FBI forensics experts who arrived this morning they'll search for some firm evidence of who is behind the disaster the suicide bombing in Beirut that took so many US Marine lives was without equal making news headlines around the world World a vicious premeditated attack of such magnitude that it changed forever the way this country and many other nations view the threat of terrorism and how to deal with it but the beay massacre also focuses on the individual on your vulnerability as a single member of the Armed Forces it serves to introduce the concept of how personal a terrorist attack can really be say as the man went by he says he always remember that the guy was smiling as the shock of just what happened is wearing off bitterness and anger are rising to the surface but basically it just plain hurts when it's all compiled and we get the names I think it'll hit everybody harder but you can tell by actions that it's hurting the people now they had a lot of friends well we had a lot of friends over at the PT and you can tell on the men's actions the way that they feel about the situation former Green Beret Brian Jenkins now one of the country's top experts on terrorism has spent a lot of time studying the way it feels everyone we have interviewed has always made the point that I knew there was a problem with terrorism of course there was a concern in this particular City where I was or this particular country but I always thought that would happen to the other people that would happen to the other guy that this would not happen to me and even when it was happening to them they could not believe that it was happening to them several months before the Marine headquarters in Beirut was bombed Marine Staff Sergeant Charles light survived a bombing of the US Embassy after I woke up and realized what had happened and started hearing the sirens and started hearing the screaming voices people were pleading for help and uh I could hear children and women crying I started picking my way around and tried to find out where I was at and though I'd lived in that place for eight months I couldn't tell where I was at it was just that tore up that that Blown Away in defiance of the atrocity Embassy staff flew their flag as the search for more bodies and survivors went on at the destroyed building US Marines of the multinational Force were brought into the area as an extra security measure and to keep away the Curious Lebanese police say that more bodies were found in the rubble overnight the recovery work is going slowly there is the danger that heavy machinery being used in the clearing operation could bring down the upper floors killing anyone still trapped inside but no one is optimistic about finding survivors my information from the rescue workers on the site is that it is very unlikely that anybody will be found alive who is in the building but there are those who wait and hope the Islamic holy war a Muslim fundamentalist group is still believed to be responsible for the attack police say the group organized in Buel baraj the mainly Shiite slum suburb of Beirut the Islamic holy war follows the teachings of Ayatollah h and has claimed responsibility for earlier attacks on Italian French and US Marine units of the multinational Force Embassy officials say the bomb at the embassy was a suicide mission to Sergeant light it was like reliving the horrors of War all over again it was almost as if they had just transported me right back in the middle of Vietnam because I it it just just that quick I started uh reacting the same as I did when I was in combat and not that I wasn't worried I was worried not scared but like I say when the place is on fire and there's debris falling all around you and you see parts of people laying everywhere uh it it it tends to upset you large-scale terrorist attacks and the individual human stories that go with them aren't limited to the Middle East look anywhere that US military personnel are stationed the terrorist struck at midnight they moved along the flight line setting two time bombs in each of the Air National Guard fighter jets by light of day investigators found eight of the planes were totally destroyed two were severely damaged the price tag has put at$ 45 million a leftist group claims responsibility for the bombing their immediate Target of criticism the renewal of the military draft registration but officials see this as the latest incident in a long list of political violence here in Puerto Rico and the guard Commander says it was a very professional one at that they've done a good job yes sir police figure that they set the bombs around midnight when the Guard ship changes so they had a good tab on what was going on here the terrorists involved are the same ones connected with the ambush of a US Navy bus here in Puerto Rico a year ago two seamen were killed 10 wounded in this attack on the National Guard base no one was hurt but officials say that was nothing but luck sometimes luck is what it takes to survive a well-planned terrorist attack as navy boiler technician third class Randall Keat found out well the ship pulled into San Juan Puerto Rico because it was supposed to be a really good Liberty port and we were down there anyway and one night I asked a few friends you know let's go out and get a couple beers you know enjoy our last night Liberty and as we were walking across a bridge right by the yacht club car came around the corner late model Dan I remember that after it stopped and I looked at it and it pulled alongside the curb and opened up on us with gunfire from one automatic weapon as far as I could tell and a pistol and I didn't even realize I'd been shot just felt like someone had hit me really hard in the stomach and I told Larry to go head back to the ship get some help and he did and Tony he was luckier than Tim or me because I had to have stuff removed from me my intestines and had my arm broke out of the deal and Tim lost his life because of it the three Marines were on their way to the US Embassy early this morning when their truck suddenly exploded all three were injured as was their Costa Rican driver Costa Rican officials here don't know what caused the explosion but they believe it was a homemade bomb or a grenade the explosion was so powerful it blew out the back window of the car driving in front of the Marine's truck Costa Rican officials have no suspects but they believe it was done by a well organized extremist group extremists don't have boundaries terrorists can travel anywhere for any cause in London a letter bomb blew up in a Navy noncoms hands and he survived still the incident shows how difficult it is to counteract terrorist tactics they often use disguises including official and official looking uniforms they count on speed and surprise hoping their victim won't be alert enough to anticipate the attack or Escape it they're Innovative learning from their mistakes and capable of ingenious planning and they often have better weapons than the authorities the blast was apparently caused by a time bomb placed next to a pillar inside the bar the force of the explosion shattered windows and many of the nearly 80 victims had pieces of Glass and Metal embedded in their bodies 13 of the 59 injured Americans have been flown to an American Army hospital in West Germany a US spokesman here said they were suffering from Burns and puncture wounds two or three of them are in critical condition but there were no deaths reported Greek and American investigators sifting through the wreckage have found traces of a clock and some wire which a Greek police Source said indicated the device was homemade the 1500 American Service Personnel based here have been told to avoid the area while the investigation is going on the bar is one of several dozen in a Seaside Resort frequented by off-duty American military people from the near nearby Helen con Airbase one of those people was Air Force chief Master Sergeant Robert AG there was a not a lot of panic that I would consider panic but there was uh a lot of screaming and yelling there were there were an awful lot of married couples or at least couples in the bar and uh there were husbands trying to find wives and and uh boyfriends trying to find girlfriends and that kind of thing everybody was going towards the door of the bar there was quite a jam up at the at the door to go out on the street I don't never been in that place before so I wasn't that familiar with which way to the door I looked straight ahead and there was a hole in the wall which seemed to me a hell of a lot better way to get out of that place quickly and it was really really black in there and something was was pushing me like the force of the bomb was pushing me and I I Remember the force pushed me into somebody and he fell and and I just kind of stood as he fell I remember reaching for something and I felt like the wall so I kind of stood there and I remember yelling to everybody you know don't run don't run whether Americans are on or off duty hasn't made much difference in Athens and terrorist attacks there as in other World locations have also focused on more than one service there was strict security at the US Air Force Base in Athens tonight and military officials were not available to talk about the attack Greek police say two gunman riding a motorcycle ambushed an American Postal officer as he was driving from the American Military mission to the air base Sergeant Robert Jud was shot in the shoulder and hand before accelerating his vehicle away from the attackers he reached the safety of the base before being rushed to the hospital his condition is described as good I was hitting the arm hitting the back and I still it's practically it's been almost uh 20 months and I still really haven't recovered totally physically I remember looking at the the uh Windows all shattered and hoping that they hadn't HIIT something that was going to cause me to bleed to death the mental scars will always be there as with any of these Terror terrorist attacks it's something that's totally unexpected something that you you just you think happens to the other guy you you see it on television you hear it on the radio and you say boy that's n that's a terrible thing to have happen to anybody but you never really think that it's going to happen to you you you just you don't it's something that happens to the other guy a terrorist's attitude toward an attack is usually impersonal but the results sure aren't just before Christmas members of the US military were aboard this Italian train when a bomb exploded in a tunnel one of them was seriously injured then there was the infamous October Fest bombing in Munich the enormous blast at the main entrance of the famous mil Square October Fest Grounds was heard for Miles the explosion tossed bodies into the street in front of the still crowded park killing seven people instantly including three young children hundreds of Festival goers were in the immediate area when the bomb went off 10 minutes before closing time eyewitnesses said the deafening blast was preceded by a ball of flame which leav 15 ft in the air many of the Dead were burned beyond recognition and doctors said most of the injured were treated for burns concussions and shrapnel wounds the city of Munich mobilized the largest emergency Squad since the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes there during the 1972 Olympics taxis and private cars were pressed into Service as panicky survivors fought to escape the scene of Terror as City water trucks hosed away the debris and workers washed off the mud splattered signs concessionaires assessed the damage from what police are saying was an expertly made pipe bomb detonated by a professional one booth attendant said she was less than 15 ft from the blast which tore a 2ft wide crater in the pavement she said she was stunned by the noise and still can't believe she escaped injury while some American Service people were casualties at the October Fest in Munich many more had a good time as you can do almost any place in the world by using Common [Music] Sense avoid the personal threat of terrorism by not being predict ible maintain low visibility to keep from calling attention to yourself as an American and remember to be alert I think the most important thing is to be aware that it could happen that the the threat is very very real you don't have to be in a bombing to recognize and appreciate the fact that terrorism Works they were just totally astounded that anybody would have the audacity to do this to Americans there's ways to avoid it and I wish I would have known it then I think we have to try to blend in more with the the local populace of that country wherever it is whether it's Greece or Germany and maintain a lower profile learn the customs and traditions of the local country so we're aware of how the people in that country react and behave so once something is out of the ordinary we can recognize it I never thought I'd be a victim but you never really know it could happen again tomorrow just walking down the [Music] street