Thursday, June 03, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Kerry's anti-terror message delivered

Ex-FBI official tells emergency workers LV faces threat, homeland security underfunded

A former high-ranking FBI official said Wednesday that Las Vegas remains a significant target for terrorists and suggested the Bush administration has failed local first-responders by underfunding homeland security efforts and not sharing intelligence on some threats.

Michael Vatis, who served as director of the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center and also as an associate deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration, spoke to about 25 local firefighters, nurses, police officers and ambulance personnel on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Vatis said that government agencies continue to have "bumbling and confusion" over what to say about terrorist threats and that there still are no integrated terrorist watch lists.

"Las Vegas is such an obvious terrorist target that you can appreciate that you need to have a list," Vatis said.

As an example he said a local police officer could pull a motorist over for a traffic violation and not know he's a wanted terrorist.

"Almost three years after 9-11, the Bush administration has fundamentally failed to improve intelligence sharing," Vatis said.

Vatis' claims that Bush has slashed funding for first-responders were disputed by both Republicans and the city's top law enforcement official.

"Under President Bush, under the homeland security funds, we've gotten $8 million," Clark County Sheriff Bill Young said. "We've gotten more money in the last two years and have an extra $10.5 million coming."

Vatis read a message from Kerry, who was campaigning in Florida on Wednesday, saying: "When I am president, we will have a real plan for homeland security. For terrorists, Las Vegas will always be a potential target, and you in this room stand on the front lines of this threat."

Kerry also wants to create an orange alert fund to make monies available for local communities that expend resources during increased threat levels.

In his FBI job, Vatis oversaw agents working to secure the nation's infrastructure, including roads, nuclear and energy facilities, bridges and ports. In that capacity, Southern Nevada landed on his radar with Hoover Dam and its importance to water and energy supplies in Western states.

"We've learned several things about al-Qaida since 9-11. ... We know that when they miss a target, they like to come back to it; and we also know that they're very keen on getting media attention," Vatis said.

"We know they've talked about Las Vegas and we know it represents what they see as Western values they don't agree with," Vatis said.

But Vatis said since he currently is not working at the FBI, he does not have first-hand knowledge of whether terrorists "missed a target" in Las Vegas. Five of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, including presumed ringleader Mohammad Atta, were in Las Vegas in the months leading up to the attacks.

Despite last week's mention in U.S. News & World Report of Las Vegas as a potential summer target, local law enforcement officials have said they have no specific information about threats in Las Vegas.

Vatis said Bush fought for new overtime rules that restrict overtime police and firefighters can earn. He also highlighted a memo, leaked to the Washington Post this week, that proposes a $1 billion cut in 2006 for homeland security. Vatis said that cut would mean Nevada would receive $8 million less.

Vatis said cuts in federal grants will result in $1 billion less for first-responder funding nationwide for 2005, and that local communities will be forced to make cuts or seek tax increases to make up the difference.

The Bush-Cheney campaign referred questions on homeland security to the Republican National Committee. Spokesman Yier Shi, said references Vatis made to the Washington Post's report on proposed 2006 cuts were baseless.

"The memo in question is generated by an Office of Management Budget computer each year as a part of the budget process, but the president's budget is not based on these numbers," Shi said. "It's just a computer-generated report of what was used by different departments projected into the future."

Shi said Bush's current budget includes significantly higher funding for homeland security than existed under the Clinton administration, noting a 400 percent increase in money for first-responders. Shi also criticized Kerry, saying "he seeks to weaken the Patriot Act" and noting that Kerry cast six votes against creation of the Homeland Security Department.

A number of senators from both parties cast votes opposed to the creation of the Homeland Security Department as the legislation was crafted in 2002. Some Republicans felt the agency was too big to be effective and Democrats in particular disliked that the agency's employees were not classified as civil service workers.