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COUNTERTERRORISM: Valet Parking Bombs

Article posted with permission from Adriden Global Inc.   Adriden Global is a high level intelligence and security consulting firm with operational abilities worldwide.  For more information please visit www.adridenglobal.com.

On February 26, 1993, the World Trade Centers in New York were attacked for the first time when a car bomb was detonated below the North Tower. The 1,500 lb urea nitrate and hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower (Tower One) into the South Tower (Tower Two), bringing both towers down and killing thousands of people. Even though the device failed to do so, it did manage to kill six and injure more than 1,000 people.

The master mind of the operation, Ramzi Yousef, drove a yellow Ryder van into the public parking garage beneath the World Trade Center around noon. Yousef ignited the 20-foot fuse and fled. Twelve minutes later, at 12:17 pm, the bomb exploded in the underground garage, generating an estimated pressure of 150,000 psi. The bomb opened a 98 foot wide hole through four sub levels of concrete. The detonation velocity of this bomb was about 15,000 ft/s. The bomb instantly cut off the center’s main electrical power line, knocking out the emergency lighting system. The bomb caused smoke to rise up to the 93rd floor of both towers, including the stairwells which were not pressurized. With thick smoke filling the stairwells, evacuation was difficult for building occupants and led to many smoke inhalation injuries. Hundreds were trapped in elevators in the towers when the power was cut.

On February 17, 2010, Vice President Joe Biden stated that “We have made more progress in dismantling the hierarchy of Al-Qaeda central… and evidence of that is; now they’re going to lone bombers as the means to get there… I am more worried about, and harder to detect, and I am very concerned about a terrorist attack in the United States along the lines of the ‘Christmas Day bomber.’ You get a disgruntled student, someone who has some relationship with the United States who is — able to be recruited quickly, able to be indoctrinated quickly. And they say, basically, ‘Here’s a bomb. Go do it,’ as opposed to the kind of planning that’s needed to pull off — a very complicated 9/11″.

As the Vice President expressed his fears of impending attacks against the US homeland, an area of concern and vulnerability should be parking valet services offered at hotels, shopping malls, casinos, high rise residential complexes and various other targets of interest which may be viewed as “soft targets” by terrorists. The first attack on the New York World Trade Center, as well as other terrorist attacks, revealed the vulnerability of any building to being attacked by a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED).

A terrorist plot against a Las Vegas casino, during the holiday season or any other significant date can be easily carried out by any terrorist cell by placing their VBIED(s) into the target area by merely checking the explosive laden vehicle with the courteous valet. Many casinos, malls, resorts and hotels provide valet parking services to guests and non-guests in order to provide a welcoming environment for their guests and visitors. A determined and trained terrorist cell, with logistical help from within the US, can deploy multiple VBIED’s into any target location by merely checking in numerous vehicles with the valet at different times of the day. The logistical help can be provided by individuals such as Colleen Renee La Rose (aka Jihad Jane), 46, from Philadelphia, who is accused in a March 4, 2010 indictment of allegedly conspiring to provide support to terrorists, making false statements and attempted identity theft.

On 17 July 2009, the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, were hit by separate bombings five minutes apart. Seven individuals were killed and more than 50 people were injured in the blasts. Both blasts were caused by suicide bombers who had checked into the hotels as paying guests several days earlier.

The suicide bombers in the Jakarta bombings had checked into the hotel and assembled their devices inside their room. US experience in Iraq and Afghanistan has shown that insurgents and terrorists are extremely capable of creating highly lethal VBIED devices. These devices can be created in the US, as was the case with the first World Trade Center bombing, and then driven to the target location. Once at the location, the target vehicle would be checked in with the parking valet who would merely ask for the drivers name and then provide the driver with a valet ticket. After the courteous exchange, the valet service would take the VBIED, without knowing about its deadly cargo, and park the VBIED within the designated valet parking location, usually an underground parking structure which may be connected to the main structure. This process can be repeated by the terrorists as often as needed, based on the size and complexity of their plan. Additionally, this same plan can be carried out at different locations, thereby creating simultaneous detonations at various locations which have been a trademark of Al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups. The VBIED’s can be detonated via timers or remotely through cell phones. Some of the VBIED’s can be saved and used after the arrival of first responders in order to inflict casualties on those responding to the event.

Since this type of operation is not a suicide operation, the main operational challenge that the terrorist cell would face would primarily deal with their ability to acquire the necessary components to create the VBIED. The acquisition of vehicles would be an extremely easy task and could be performed by a logistical supporter who has an automotive dealer’s license and who can purchase vehicles at various auctions or through private party sales. This person could acquire vehicles of all types and models and the explosives can be built into the vehicle. The main challenge would be the acquisition of large quantities of explosive material to support the operation. This challenge could also be overcome through sufficient time to prepare for the operation and through logistical support networks who can acquire the material through fraudulent or criminal means such as the drug cartels in Mexico. The single biggest advantage for the terrorist cell would be the lack of proper training by private security and support personnel at “soft targets”. Some security personnel may be trained to utilize mirrors to inspect the under carriage of vehicles for explosives. However, they are not trained or authorized to inspect the interior of a vehicle especially if the vehicle is viewed as a high end vehicle belonging to a guest who is checking into the hotel, casino or shopping mall. Additionally, the valet personnel may not have received any counterterrorism training, such as detecting and recognizing pre-operational surveillance of the target. Such training is usually reserved for the security staff. As such, valet personnel must rely and adhere to their customer service based training in order to make the guest or non-guest feel welcomed at their facility.

The devastation that was caused by the first attack on the World Trade Center can easily be repeated at any of the thousand “soft targets” throughout the United States which cause Vice President Biden “concern”. Through their vigilance, US law enforcement and intelligence officials have done a tremendous job of detecting, deterring and denying attacks upon the homeland since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. However, that vigilance must also extend to the private sector. As our economy continues its struggle to regain momentum, security and training are often the first casualties of private sector budget cuts. Sadly, many, but not all, executives may view security and training as liabilities rather than assets during economic down turns. Security personnel often times are tasked with duties and responsibilities that should be delegated to administrative entities within an organization rather than front line protectors of the organizations greatest assets which should be the employees and customers. As the valiant men and women of our armed forces continue to serve this nation on many fronts, the private sector must reaffirm its commitment that we will not relinquish our duties during tough economic times and pledge to continue to support our troops until they return home, support our dedicated law enforcement and intelligence professionals and most importantly support and train the dedicated and committed private sector security professionals who patrol and stand post as the rest of us enjoy our freedoms.

Counterterrorism- Security vs. Customer Service

Reprinted with permission from Adriden Global Incorporated.

One of the most significant challenges that security experts face while attempting to harden a target is how to achieve the perfect balance between public safety and customer service. Enhanced security measures are viewed as potential obstacles to profitability especially during tough economic times. The presence of security guards, metal detectors and vehicular check points may give customers or guests a sense of unease and vulnerability. These issues are ever more present at luxury hotels. With the recent attacks at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz Carlton Hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia this issue has to be raised yet again, since this issue went unaddressed after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India in November 2008.

In the recent attacks, one of which was caught on tape by security cameras, the suicide bombers had checked into the hotels several days before the attack as registered guests. Through the use of such simple tradecraft, the terrorists avoided the vehicular security check points and the metal detectors that were being utilized by the hotel in a discrete fashion. They were able to obtain a base of operations within the target zone where they prepared the explosive devices in the comfort of their four and five star hotel rooms. Once the devices were prepared and the timing of the two attacks was coordinated, one of the suicide bombers casually entered the lobby, as seen on surveillance footage, with a back pack strapped to his chest while pulling a rolling suitcase. After the bombing, police discovered a third bomb in the bomber’s room which was intended for another location. This device was then safely defused by the bomb squad.  

During tough economic times, businesses are focused on providing a higher level of customer service and personal attention to their guests and clients. Emphasis on customer service and ambiance is intended to provide a pleasant experience which may lead to additional sales within the hotel and higher occupancy rates. Overt security measures have a chilling effect on businesses and when profits are lower, businesses try to save money by reducing their security and training costs. As such, well designed security plans and comprehensive risk assessments, commissioned after an attack such as Mumbai, are not fully implemented and are used in order to provide a mere “illusion of security” and justify a reduced rate on liability insurance.   

Intelligence-based security and situational awareness training can be a force multiplier for any business which may be considered a “soft target” by the evil doers in our world. Through such training, a room attendant may have been able to provide a clue to the hotel security staff that a particular guest had not left his room in several days and had not asked for any additional hotel amenities. An intelligence-trained and aware security staff may have seen such information as worthy of inquiry to make sure that the customer had not had a major medical emergency or that he was not busy plotting a criminal act against their establishment. However, in the interest of customer service, such subtle clues are ignored and valuable intelligence collection opportunities are bypassed as an unnecessary expense due to lack of security training funds.

Security is a commitment which must be exercised at all times and at all costs. The costs need not be measured in pecuniary terms but can be associated with a commitment from corporate executives to empower the employees to ask questions and to come forward with information without fear that they may be intruding on a guest or client’s privacy. In addition, as seen in Jakarta, the suicide bombers found an easy solution to avoiding the security measures in place by the hotels. The simple solution used by the terrorists proves that security does not necessarily require lavish “smart cameras” to record the deadly incident or heavily armed guards to scare the guests and create a siege mentality at a five star resort. Rather, through better training as part of customer service, higher visibility security measures, closer coordination and communication between private sector security personnel and law enforcement personnel and better intelligence sharing, we can harden our soft targets and eliminate such attacks in the future. Intelligence-based employee training can prove to provide a better return on investment in the long run.