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Tuesday October 9 5:30 PM ET

Bush Augments Counterterrorism Team

By Adam Entous

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) beefed up his homeland security team on Tuesday, appointing special advisers to crack down on terrorism networks and protect the nation's computer systems from cyber attacks.

The announcements came one day after former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was sworn in to lead the first White House Office of Homeland Security and amid heightened fears of reprisals against U.S. targets after American and British forces began bombing Afghanistan (news - web sites) on Sunday.

``The people of America should go back to business, should go about their daily lives knowing full well that our government, at all levels, is doing everything we can to disrupt any potential action,'' Bush told reporters at the White House. He spoke after Ridge announced that retired Army Gen. Wayne Downing would serve as national director for combating terrorism and Richard Clarke as special White House adviser for cyberspace security.

The new positions are part of a broader White House reorganization, prompted by last month's hijack attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (news - web sites).

In this new post, the White House said Downing, a career specialist in counterterrorism, would act as Bush's principal adviser on ``all efforts designed to detect, disrupt and destroy global terrorist organizations and those who support them.''

CRITICAL REPORT

Downing wrote a highly critical official report on security lapses in the military after 19 U.S. troops were killed in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers barracks in Saudi Arabia. The report recommended the government regard terrorism as an ''undeclared war against the United States.''

``Let's not make any bones about it. This is going to be an extremely difficult job,'' Downing acknowledged. ``It's a tough foe. It's a determined foe. And as events have shown us, it's a very, very smart foe and a crafty one.''

But Downing, who also assumes the post of deputy national security adviser, promised to exert ``unrelenting pressure ... 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We intend to give these people and those who support them no place to hide.''

As head of cyberspace security, the White House said Clarke would coordinate efforts to secure a wide range of information systems, including telecommunications, banking and finance, transportation, energy, manufacturing, water, health and emergency services networks.

``Protecting this infrastructure is critically important,'' Ridge said. ``Disrupt it, destroy it, or shut it down -- these information networks -- and you shut down America as we know it. ... This is an enormously difficult challenge.''

PUBLIC APPROVES BUSH ACTIONS

Bracing for possible reprisals, U.S. law enforcement agencies have been placed on top alert and extra National Guard troops and police have been dispatched to major cities and key sites around the country.

Opinion polls conducted overnight showed support for the strikes and approval of Bush's handling of the crisis at more than 90 percent. However, a majority in each poll thought the strikes increased the risk of terrorism on U.S. soil.

Bush has charged Ridge with crafting a nationwide strategy ''to fight terror here at home'' by gathering intelligence and finding ways to make the U.S. transportation, food and water systems and other critical infrastructure less vulnerable to attack.

By all accounts, that will be a monumental task. The number of possible targets for attack are endless, from nuclear power plants to crowded subway trains. Some experts and key lawmakers also doubt that Ridge will have the jurisdictional and budgetary powers he needs to lead a maze of federal, state and local agencies in carrying out an effective anti-terrorism strategy.

But Ridge insisted on Tuesday that he was up to the task of ensuring ``our defenses against terrorism are both strong and seamless.''

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2001