fm.tex (i-xx) 5/12/03 1:24 PM Page i Executive’s Guide to Personal Security David S. Katz Ilan Caspi John Wiley & Sons, Inc. fm.tex (i-xx) 5/12/03 1:24 PM Page ii This book is printed on acid-free paper. 䡬⬁ Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, e-mail: fm.tex (i-xx) 5/12/03 1:24 PM Page ix CONTENTS Chapter 1: Target: Corporate America 1 Chapter 2: Awareness 11 Chapter 3: General Recommendations 20 Chapter 4: Know Where You Are Going: 25 Pretravel Research Chapter 5: Preparing to Travel 39 Chapter 6: Residing Abroad 49 Chapter 7: Vehicle Safety Measures 72 Chapter 8: Principles of Route Selection 86 Chapter 9: Protective Equipment 99 Chapter 10: Countersurveillance 127 Chapter 11: Receipt of Mail and Packages 142 Chapter 12: Physical Site Security 153 Chapter 13: Technological Security 169 Chapter 14: Emergency Response Planning 177 Chapter 15: Bomb Threats and Bombings 203 Chapter 16: Hotel Safety and Security 209 fm.tex (i-xx) 5/12/03 1:24 PM Page x Chapter 17: Hijacked 217 Chapter 18: Hostage Survival 225 Chapter 19: Commercial Espionage 231 Chapter 20: Violence in the Workplace 245 Chapter 21: Criminal Activity 250 Chapter 22: Studying Abroad 253 Index 263 Appendix A: Security and Awareness Checklists and Forms and Appendix B: List of Vendors are available on this book’s companion website, www.wiley.com/go/personalsecurity (password: security). c01.tex (1-10) 5/12/03 1:24 PM Page 1 CHAPTER 1 Target: Corporate America n the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center I and the Pentagon by the Al Qaeda organization, it has become clear that Western economic interests, particularly American corporations, have become the most desirable target of terror groups seeking to further their own varied political agendas. In the past, the prime targets of terrorist groups were military bases and personnel and off icial U.S. government facilities. Striking at the American military was the foremost priority, espe- cially for radical Islamic fundamentalist groups. Recall the murder of 242 Marines in Lebanon and the attacks on the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia and the USS Cole. Governmental and diplomatic facilities were also pri- mary targets of groups like Al Qaeda, which was responsible for the car bomb attacks that destroyed the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in Africa. To be sure, there always were the occasional terror attacks that tar- geted civilians. Kidnappings were frequent occurrences in many parts of the world, and hostages were taken to be used as bargaining chips or for ransom. The spate of airline hijackings in the 1970s and 1980s, the attack on the Achille Lauro, and the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, are examples of incidents specifically targeting civilians. However, in the not too distant past, the largest and most well-financed operations seemed to be reserved for attacks on official targets. This is no longer the case. Today most experts on international terror organizations agree that terrorists have changed their targeting priorities. Unquestionably, the 1 c01.tex (1-10) 5/12/03 1:24 PM Page 2 2 Executive’s Guide to Personal Security current targets of choice are Western, or more specif ically American, eco- nomic interests. It may seem as if this shift in targeting priorities followed the attacks of September 11, 2001. This is actually not the case; the trend had already been well documented long before the Twin Towers fell. Remember, the first attack on the World Trade Center, on February 26, 1993, was under- taken with the goal of causing one of the towers to topple over and take its twin with it. Clearly, the intent in the f irst attack was to cause the deaths of many thousands of civilian noncombatants. The ugly truth is that terror groups the world over have made the murder of civilians the first priority. Exhibit 1.1 clearly documents the trend over the f ive-year period before the attacks on September 11, 2001. In fact, this exhibit shows that attacks against military targets, traditionally thought of as the prime target for these so-called freedom fighters, actually represent the smallest target category. Exhibit 1.1 Facilities Targeted by Terrorists 1996 – 2001 400 350 300 1996 250 1997 1998 200 1999 150 2000 100 2001 50 0 Military Government Diplomat Other Business Source: U.S. Department of State, “Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001,” Washington, DC: Office for Counterterrorism, May 21, 2001. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, this trend will certainly con- tinue and is expected to do so at an accelerated rate. Why is this so? What makes civilian economic targets so important to terror groups? If you ask the average person to describe his or her most vivid impres- sion of the horrors perpetrated on September 11, virtually everyone will recall and describe the image of the collapsing World Trade Center towers, the terrible scene of ordinary people leaping out of the burning towers to their deaths and the thousands of off ice workers and rescuers c01.tex (1-10) 5/12/03 1:24 PM Page 3 Target: Corporate America 3 killed. The attack on the Pentagon seems to have been largely ignored, almost forgotten. Why? Why do civilian deaths seem to shock us in a way that military casualties do not? The very idea of terror attacks on civilian targets creates a visceral reaction in all of us. Those who died in the World Trade Center weren’t soldiers or instruments of U.S. foreign policy. They were ordinary folks simply going to work to support their families. They kissed their spouses good-bye that morning never imagining that this was the last time they would ever come home to them. The media reported numerous stories of people trapped on floors above the impact of the planes phoning home on cell phones to the loved ones they knew they would not see again in this world. These images were enough to terrorize average citizens into changing jobs and moving away from crowded population centers. In the aftermath of the attacks, rentals of off ice space in the Empire State Build- ing, once again the highest building in New York City, began to drop pre- cipitously as people began to view the stately building not as prime commercial real estate but as the new prime target for the terrorists. As Vladimir Ilyich Lenin observed, “the purpose of terrorism is to terrify.” Certainly attacks against innocent men, women, and children do just that. However, other, more practical reasons better explain why economic targets are now so desirable to those seeking to destroy our way of life and diminish American influence throughout the world. One is the fact that the attacks on the World Trade Center resulted in consequences to the American and world economies that exceeded even the most optimistic expectations of Osama Bin Laden and his associates. They immediately recognized that economic targets were not only easier to hit but also that there was an unlimited supply of such targets that could be easily struck with more far-reaching effects than attacks against embassies and military bases. Our system of government, with our constitutionally guaranteed free- dom and liberty, is the enemy of radical fundamentalism. Fundament- alists loathe democracy because it is the antithesis of the repressive theocratic system they aspire to create. Radical Muslim extremists know all too well that the fanaticism they seek to promote cannot f lourish within an open society where freedom of thought and expression is protected. They are also aware that the most effective way to combat the spread of Western-style democracies is to attack the foundations of economic pros- perity that makes it so powerful. Damage the American economy and you damage American ability to spread its ideals throughout the world. Bin c01.tex (1-10) 5/12/03 1:24 PM Page 4 4 Executive’s Guide to Personal Security Laden himself made this observation in a tape that surfaced shortly after 1 the attacks. World conditions and political realities guarantee that the United States and its interests, possessions, and citizens will continue to be targeted at home and abroad. Corporate targets have become more desirable as terrorists seek to use economic disruption to achieve politi- cal goals. An examination of the practical advantages of attacking corporate tar- gets will further illustrate the point and illustrate why civilian economic targets are so attractive. There is a distinction made between so-called hard targets, that is, well-defended military bases and well-prepared embassies, and “soft targets” with little or no security such as off ice build- ing and industrial centers. Military targets: ● Are generally harder to strike because of enhanced security ● Result in military casualties ● Generally cause loss of government property ● Cause damage that is generally confined to the target itself Attacks against civilian economic targets are more desirable to terror groups because economic targets: ● Are more vulnerable, easier to strike ● Result in loss of civilian life ● Cause loss of private and public property ● Create widespread damage to the fragile world economy The September 11 attacks clearly illustrate the distinct differences between hard and soft targets as well as the effects of a successful attack on each. Two targets were selected and attacked: a hard target, the Pentagon, and a soft target, the World Trade Center. The disparity in the actual effects of those attacks is great. The destruction of the Twin Towers not only killed many more people than the attack on the Pentagon but also caused economic repercussions that were still being felt more than a year later. Exhibit 1.2 shows some of the costs to private industry as well as the loss of tax revenue associated with these attacks. While the actual tally is still incomplete, even this partial accounting shows the enormity of the economic loss. Other data estimate in excess of $60 billion (some esti- mates put this closer to closer to $100 billion) in property damage and casualty losses alone. In addition, the attendant economic loss to the City of New York is estimated at more than $83 billion. These staggering amounts actually surpass the annual budgets of many of the world’s governments. c01.tex (1-10) 5/12/03 1:24 PM Page 5 Target: Corporate America 5 Exhibit 1.2 Economic Impact of Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center, Dated May 29, 2002 200 Billions 150 100 50 0 Total losses Loss to economy Loss of tax of major U.S. revenue to metropolitan New York State centers Source: GAO review of studies of the economic impact of September 11, 2001. The insurance industry has been particularly hard hit. Recent esti- mates have placed the amount of insured loss at approximately $58 bil- lion. The enormous financial loss to insurance companies will compel underwriters to require that steps be taken to reduce the likelihood of financial loss caused by terrorism. Corporations will likely f ind that their insurers will exclude terror acts in their policies or require certif ication that antiterrorist measures have been taken. Every facility, structure, or organization that is deemed to be an attractive target for terrorist activity is being charged more for insurance coverage. For example, small neigh- borhood synagogues in Brooklyn, New York, have had their liability pre- miums raised by thousands of dollars per year simply because Jewish interests and buildings are deemed as being at risk of attack. The airline industry, which seems to be constantly facing economic challenges even during relatively mild downturns in the national economy, was also dealt a severe blow by the 2001 attacks. Many people viewed the federally funded settlements given to the surviving family members of the victims of the attacks as a bailout for the airline industry. To collect the government benefit, the recipients were required to forgo their right to any other legal action to recover damages, such as suing United or American Airlines for negligence in not providing an adequate level of security. c01.tex (1-10) 5/12/03 1:24 PM Page 6 6 Executive’s Guide to Personal Security In addition, business was disrupted in New York City, the financial capital of the world, for months. The American stock market, already reel- ing under the collapse of the tech stocks, was further hard hit, as were global markets. Some estimates attribute more than 40 percent of the current economic downturn to the attack on the World Trade Center. No terror attack in history had ever created the same amount of widespread damage or generated such a powerful response. Compare these far-reaching effects to the results of the attack on the Pentagon. Certainly the damage done was far more localized. While the pain and suffering of the families who lost loved ones in the Pentagon is no less than those who lost relatives at the Trade Center, comparatively little attention has been paid to them. The nationally televised interviews always seem to focus on the surviving family members from the Twin Towers. Civilian deaths and injuries always create a stronger reaction in the gen- eral public because the death of an ordinary citizen is far easier for the average person to relate to. Terrorists have, to be sure, grasped that fact and are focusing the bulk of their assets and abilities on planning addi- tional attacks on U.S. civilian and economic targets. In October 2002, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning that Al Qaeda might have been specif ically planning attacks on U.S. economic interests. Al Qaeda leaders, the report stated, “aim to undermine what they see as the backbone of U.S. power, the economy.” The FBI said that “an attack may have been approved” and that “Our adversary is trying to portray Amer- ican influence as based on economic might and therefore seeks to strike an economic target prominent enough for economic aid and symbolic rea- 2 sons that it would have immediate resonance around the world.” This analysis is actually quite correct. The economic might of the United States is what allows it to remain the most influential force in the world. Our system of democracy, with all its attendant personal freedoms, would not have captured the imagination of the oppressed people of the world were it not for the prosperity and economic success it has produced. The State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Counterterror- ism has documented this trend in its “Patterns of Global Terrorism” report dated May 21, 2002. Exhibit 1.3 shows a comparison of the number of anti-U.S. attacks for the year 2001. More attacks targeted U.S. economic interests during the year 2001 than all other attacks combined. Furthermore, the trend exactly mirrors the statistics of terrorist incidents worldwide shown in Exhibit 1.1, which showed that the overwhelming numbers of terrorist attacks were directed