S. Hrg. 104-832 BOMB AHACK IN SAUDI ARABIA Y 4. AR 5/3: S. HRG. 104-832 Bonb Attack in Saudi Arabia, S. Hrg... TVT/^Q BEFORE THE COMMITTBE ON AKMED SERVICES UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JULY 9 AND SEPTEMBER 18. 1996 Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 35-785CC WASraNGTON : 1997 ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice SuperintendentofDocuments,CongressionalSalesOffice,Washington,E)C 20402''^ ISBN 0-16-054911-6 )\ S. Hrg. 104-832 BOMB AHACK IN SAUDI ARABIA 4. AR 5/3: S. HRG. 104-832 Bnb Attack in Saudi Arabia* S. Hr§. XT/^Q . . BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON AKMED SERVICES UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JULY 9 AND SEPTEMBER 18, 1996 Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services C' Ana • la *>,. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE jf^y, 35-785CC WASraNGTON : 1997 ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice SuperintendentofDocuments,CongressionalSalesOffice,Washington,DC 20402 ISBN 0-16-054911-6 COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES STROM THURMOND. South Carolina. Chairman JOHN W. WARNER, Vir^nia SAM NUNN, Georgia WILLIAM S. COHEN, Maine J. JAMES EXON, Nebraska JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona CARL LEVIN, Michigan DAN COATS, Indiana EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts BOB SMITH, New Hampshire JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Idaho JOHN GLENN, Ohio KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma CHARLES S. ROBB. Virginia RICK SANTORUM, Pennsylvania JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut SHEILA FRAHM, Kansas RICHARD H. BRYAN, Nevada LES Brownlee, StaffDirector Arnold L. Punaro, StaffDirectorfor the Minority (II) CONTENTS CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES The Bombing of U.S. Military Facilities in Saltdi Arable on June 25, 1996 JULY 9, 1996 Page Peny, Hon. WilliamJ., SecretaryofDefense 4 Shalikashvili, Gen.JohnM., Chairman,Joint Chiefs ofStaff 19 Peay, Gen.J.H. Binford, III, Commandin Chief, U.S. Central Command 24 Downing Assessment Task Force on the Bomb Attack on Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, and Other Issues Related to U.S. Policy in the Middle East september 18, 1996 Perry,Hon. WilliamJ,, SecretaryofDefense 80 Shalikashvili, Gen. JohnM., USA, Chairman,Joint Chiefs ofStaff 100 Downing, Gen. Wayne A., USA (Ret.), Director, Downing Assessment Task Force 103 (in) THE BOMBING OF MILITARY FACILITIES U.S. IN SAUDI ARABIA ON JUNE 25, 1996 TUESDAY, JULY 9, 1996 U.S. Senate, Committee on Armed Services, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:40 a.m. in room SD- 106, Senate Dirksen Office Building, Senator Strom Thurmond (chairman) presiding. Committee members present: Senators Thurmond, Warner, McCain, Coats, Smith, Kempthorne, Hutchison, Frahm, Nunn, Exon, L«vin, Bingaman, Glenn, Robb, Lieberman, and Bryan, Committee staff members present: Romie L. Brownlee, staff di- rector, George W. Lauffer, deputy staff director; Melinda M. Koutsoumpas, chiefclerk; Donald A. Deline, general counsel; Chris- K tine Cimko, press secretary. Professional staff members present: Charles S. Abell, Lucia M. Chavez, John H. Miller, Bert K. Mizusawa. Minority staffmembers present: Arnold L. Punaro, minority staff Director; Andrew S. Effron, minority counsel; Richard D. DeBobes, counsel; Patrick T. Henry, professional staffmember; Julie K. Rief, professional staffmember. Staff assistants present: Patricia L. Banks, Shawn H. Edwards, John R. McLeod, Jennifer L. Wallace. Research assistants present: Daniel B. Ginsberg. Committee members assistants present: Judith A. Ansley, assist- ant to Senator Warner; Ann E. Sauer, assistant to Senator McCain; Thomas L. Lankford, assistant to Senator Smith; Glen E. Tait, as- sistant to Senator Kempthorne; David W. Davis, assistant to Sen- ator Hutchison; Patricia L. Stolnacker, assistant to Senator Santorum; Andrew W. Johnson, assistant to Senator Exon; Richard W. Fieldhouse, assistant to Senator Levin; Steven A. Wolfe, assist- ant to Senator Kennedy; Suzanne M. McKenna, assistant to Sen- ator Glenn; William Owens, assistant to Senator Robb; Randall A. Schieber, assistant to Senator Bryan; Mary Weaver Bennett, assist- ant to Senator Bryan; Darren Dick, assistant to Senator Frahm. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR STROM THURMOND, CHAIRMAN Chairman Thurmond. The committee will come to order. The Committee on Armed Services convenes this morning to con- duct a hearing on the circumstances and consequences of a terror- ist bomb attack on the Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on June 25, 1996. The bomb attack resulted in the deaths of 19 (1) U.S. military servicemen and injuries to approximately 550 others, including 250 Americans. I would like to express my deepest condolences, on behalf of the Committee on Armed Services, to the families of our servicemen who lost their lives in the terrorist bomb attack in Saudi Arabia on June 25th. American servicemen and women sacrifice a great deal in volunteering to serve their country, especially when they deploy for extended tours overseas. Members of the committee and the Nation are extremely proud of our personnel in uniform. Our sincerest sympathies are extended to the beloved ones ofthose who sacrificed their lives, as well as to those injured, during the bomb attack. The American people, the administration and the Congress are obligated to provide the very best security and support for those in our Armed Forces who volunteer to stand in harm's way. We must do all in our power to provide for the continuous readiness and pro- tection of our men and women in uniform as they serve our nation on dangerous missions in an increasingly volatile world. Occurring on the 46th anniversary of the North Korean invasion of South Korea, this most recent terrorist attack on our troops stands as a stark reminder that the United States must maintain a strong, ready military that is prepared to meet and defeat a wide spectrum of threats to our vital and important interests. We must remain vigilant. The purpose ofthis hearing is for the committee to determine the facts surrounding the bomb attack, including the extent to which it was recognized that U.S. military personnel housed in the Khobar Towers were vulnerable to a terrorist attack, the degree to which any concerns relating to such an attack were made known up the chain of command, the measures that were taken to meet the threats that were identified and why safeguards that might have thwarted such an attack or minimized casualties were not in place. The committee will review decisions made with respect to these threats and concerns by both U.S. and Saudi authorities. In addi- tion, the committee is interested in the state of security for other U.S. Forces posted in regions where they might be vulnerable to similar attacks. I would like to add that I have always believed that those issues affecting the security of our nation should be handled here in the Congress in a bipartisan manner. Since I have been chairman of the committee, I have insisted that the committee operate in this way. I do want to make clear, however, that the protection ofour men and women in uniform is a responsibility that rests with the lead- ership, both civilian and military, from the President down, and must be taken with utmost seriousness. I intend that this commit- tee will determine if lapses have occurred in carrying out these re- sponsibilities and will recommend strong action where appropriate. Our witnesses today are Secretary of Defense William Perry; Gen. John Shalikashvili, Chairman ofthe Joint Chiefs ofStaff; and Gen. J.H. Binford Peay, III, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Central Command, whose area ofresponsibility includes the Middle East. The committee expects these witnesses to provide information that will assist us in reaching a full understanding of how this tragic event occurred. We must learn what we can from this latest incident, and then do what we must do to prevent a recurrence. The witnesses are well known to this committee, each having tes- tified before us on numerous occasions, and require no introduc- tion. To the witnesses, I want to extend to each ofyou a welcome on behalfofthe committee, and we look forward to your testimony. Because ofthe limited time and substantial interest in this hear- ing by all Members of the committee, I request that each of you limit your oral statement to 7 minutes or less. Finally, before we begin, I would like to remind the Members and the witnesses that immediately after this open hearing, the com- mittee will conduct a closed session with the witnesses in room S- 407. We are pleased to have you with us. The distinguished Senator from Maine, I believe, is in Egypt and could not be here but he is very interested in this matter and he wanted to have me express his interest to all the committee about this. He is interested over there in the fight against terrorism, the peace process, religious security and political and economic issues. Before he left for Cairo, he was briefed on the investigation of the recent bombing in Saudi Arabia and he may submit some questions for the record for today's witnesses. Secretary Perry, we will begin with you. Excuse me. The ranking Member may have a statement to make. STATEMENT OF SENATOR SAM NUNN Senator Nunn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend you for scheduling the hear- ing. I realize that our witnesses, Secretary of Defense Perry and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Shalikashvili, and Com- mander in Chief of the U.S. Central Command General Peay, will only be able to provide preliminary information at this point but it will be helpful to us to have whatever they know at this point. More complete information will await the outcome of the assess- ment being performed by Retired Gen. Wayne Downing, and other investigations being conducted into the bombing incident. But I believe it is very important to begin our oversight jeflfort now to ascertain what happened and what steps should be taken in the future. As you have said, Mr. Chairman, that is most impor- tant. I want tojoin you, Mr, Chairman, in expressing my deep con- dolences to the families of the fine Americans who lost their lives and my heartfelt wishes for a speedy and full recovery by those American airmen and the personnel ofour allies who were injured. This incident underscores the fact that U.S. servicemen and women are in harm's way every day as they perfonn their missions at home and abroad. I want to commend Secretary Perry for ap- pointing Retired General Wayne Downing to conduct an assess- ment ofthe facts and circumstances surrounding this bombing, the extent to which it was the result ofinadequate security, infrastruc- ture, policies or systems, and to recommend measures to minimize casualties and damage from such attacks in the future. In order to fully understand the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident, we must ascertain the answers to a number of questions, as many as we can this morning, but certainly in the course of this overall investigation, including the following: What recommendations to improve security came out of the assessments performed after the November 1995 bombing in Saudi Arabia; which of these were carried out; which were not; and to the extent they were not, why not? Was an assumption made that militants in Saudi Arabia did not have the ability or expertise to explode a bomb any larger than the 200 pound device used in the November 1995 attack and, if so, why? Where do these assumptions come from? Were they based on intelligence? Were they based on analysis? Was this simply based on what had happened in the past without regard to any real ana- lytical forecast? Another question: Was human intelligence and other intelligence support on the scene to the Commander effective? If not, why not? Another question: Did Saudi officials turn down a request to extend the perimeter at Khobar Towers facility, and was this decision ap- pealed up the chain of command? What did Washington officials know about that request, and when did they find out about it? What action was taken? Did the changes brought about by the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols legislation streamline the chain ofcommand and facilitate the over- sight responsibilities of the Commander in Chief, Central Com- mand. That is particularly pertinent given the history of the Leb- anon chain ofcommand, which was veiy cumbersome, very difficult and probably had something to do with the tragedy in Lebanon a few years ago. Did Saudi officials cooperate fully in the aftermath ofthe Novem- ber 1995 bombing and are they cooperating fully at this time? Finally, have the Gulf States themselves taken sufficient action in the aftermath of the Gulf War to improve their own ability to defend themselves? Should the United States be both the residual backup and also the primary frontline support for the defense of the Persian Gulf? Are we going to play all roles, or should the pri- mary role be played by the Gulf States themselves with us being the backup, which was the assumption that many of us had after the Persian GulfWar. In fact, I think that was our policy. Ifthat was our policy, is that policy still applicable or has it, in eff'ect, been dropped with us as- suming all the roles in the defense ofthe Persian Gulf? Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to hear from our wit- nesses this morning. We appreciate Secretary Perry, and General Shalikashvili, and General Peay being here. Again, I thank you for having this hearing in a timely fashion. Chairman Thurmond. Secretary Perry, you may proceed. STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAMJ. PERRY, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Secretary Perry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The U.S. military is a family. We have just lost 19 members of our family, and we feel their loss