FBI: No credible terrorist threats to Nevada

Jace Radke

Friday, Oct. 29, 2004 | 11 a.m.

There are no credible or specific terrorist threats against Nevada according to an FBI threat assessment released to the Nevada State Homeland Security Commission on Thursday.

Daniel DeSimone, FBI supervisory special agent for the Nevada Regional Intelligence Center, said that the greatest threat to the country and Las Vegas remains al-Qaida, but added that FBI intelligence suggests that "the threat posed by Islamic extremists is generally considered to be low in Nevada."

DeSimone presented a 19-page unclassified version of the FBI's threat assessment at the first meeting of the newly reformed Nevada Homeland Security Commission. The report recaps the threats that Nevada has faced since Sept. 11, 2001, and lists several possible terrorist targets.

The report does not explain why five of the Sept. 11 terrorists were in Las Vegas the summer before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

"There are a lot of questions that still remain today as to why they were here," DeSimone said. "Information is continuing to be vetted out in various classified ways to determine why they were here."

DeSimone said that domestic terror groups such as the Animal Liberation Front, Earth Liberation Front, Aryan Nation, Skinheads, National Alliance and others are active in Nevada.

The assessment also notes that the Las Vegas Strip, Hoover Dam, the state Capitol in Carson City, the Fallon Naval Air Station, the U.S. Army's ammunition dump in Hawthorne and mining sites are all considered to be areas of concern by the FBI.

The intersection of U.S. 95 and Interstate 15, also known as the Spaghetti Bowl, the I-15 corridor between Las Vegas and Southern California, as well as the Las Vegas Monorail are also noted as possible targets.

The report further points out that the possibility of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and the routes that the waste would be shipped through Nevada are future concerns.

The Homeland Security Commission is planning to set aside federal funding in fiscal year 2005 to conduct a statewide threat assessment to help in determining how future federal homeland security funds are spent in the state.

"We're behind the eight-ball with the threat assessment," said Jerry Keller, the former Clark County sheriff turned vice president of security for Wynn Resorts, who serves as vice chairman of the commission. "Right now we look at how much money we have and then decide what we want to spend it on instead of looking at what our priorities are and how we fund them.

"We have to reverse that."

Sheriff Bill Young said that many law enforcement groups -- including Metro Police and the FBI -- have worked on threat assessments but a statewide assessment has not been done.

"When it comes to the statewide issue it gets unclear," Young said. "We need to see that complete picture to know how to better distribute these funds."

Adjutant Gen. Giles Vanderhoof, the commander of the Nevada National Guard and state homeland security advisor, said that he will meet with Young and other members of the commission as early as next week to determine how much money should be withheld from 2005 grants to conduct the assessment.

The rest of the 2005 monies, which have yet to be determined by the federal government, will be divided among counties using the same formula as the 2004 homeland security grants. That formula gives each county a $25,000 base sum with the bulk of the money divided based on population.

Frank Siracusa, chief of the Nevada Division of Emergency Management, said he expects to receive a notice of availability of grant monies for Nevada before the first week of December.