1. Agricultural Investigations
Hello, my name is ______________ Today, I am pleased to discuss with you the WMD threat, our assessment of the overall threat, and the FBI’s role in addressing the threat and response to potential or actual WMD incidents.
Law Enforcement Perspective

2. “Agriculture ranks among the most crucial of our nation’s
industries; yet its reliability
and productivity are often
taken for granted.”
President George W. Bush

3. What is Agroterrorism?
The deliberate introduction of an agent, either against livestock, crops or into the food chain, for purposes of undermining stability and generating fear.
FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction operations Unit (WMDOU) provides resources and assistance to WMD criminal investigations
Manages the federal response to WMD incidents within the US
Reinforces FBI LFA responsibility with interagency federal partners
Provide WMD response support to International and Domestic FBIHQ Units

4. Terrorism 28 C.F.R. § 0.85 Title 22 of USC, §2656f(d)
“… the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”
“… premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.”
Here is the definition of terrorism as given by the Code of Federal Regulations. Note how this definition includes the furtherance of political or social objectives. Terrorism might go beyond these two goals.
Need for attention, Revenge, Religious beliefs, Creating chaos in society, Copycats, To impress, Economic harm
The US Code gives a slightly different definition of terrorism. Note how terrorism in this definition must be politically motivated. One thing that terrorism does have in common, no matter the definition, is the evocation of fear, panic, and dread and the targeting of noncombatants.

5. Criminal Violations
Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Statute of 1989, (BWAT) Title 18, USC §175
Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction Statute Title, 18, USC §2332a
Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998, Title 18, USC §229
Prohibited Transactions Involving Nuclear Materials, Title 18, USC §831
These are the criminal statutes which provide the FBI authority to convict
A WMD THREAT IS A CRIME…EVEN IF THERE IS NO DEVICE, EVEN IF IT IS A HOAX

6. Agricultural Vulnerabilities
It will be an economic assault on our national
security and infrastructure
Our ability to produce safe, plentiful, and inexpensive
food creates the discretionary spending that drives
the American standard of living
Early detection and effective intervention is critical

7. Food and Agriculture Targets
Livestock
Crops
Water supplies
Food in grocery stores
Food and agriculture transportation systems
Farm workers
Livestock producers
Food processors
Food handlers
Processing facilities
Restaurants
Ultimate target?
BWAT statute is intentionally broad in scope to provide law enforcement with the necessary tools to address WMD terrorism.
Teaching WMD 18 USC 842
Unlawful to teach or demonstrate the use of a WMD with the intent of furthering a crime of violence.
PATRIOT ACT 2001 Expansion of the Biological Weapons Statute
18 USC 175, Prohibits the possession, development, acquisition, etc., of biological agents or toxins “for use as a weapon.”
Section 817: Expands the coverage of existing restrictions on the possession and use of biological agents and toxins “for use as a weapon.”
- “for use as a weapon” is amended to include all situations in which it can be proven that the defendant had any purpose other than a prophylactic, protective, bona-fide research, or other peaceful purpose. This enhances the government’s ability to prosecute suspected terrorists in possession of biological agents or toxins, and created subsection 175b which makes it a criminal offense for certain restricted persons (including felons, persons indicted for felonies, fugitives, drug users, illegal aliens, mentally impaired persons, aliens from certain terrorist states, and persons dishonorably discharged) to possess a biological agent or toxin listed as a select agent by HHS.

8. WMD Threat - Current Assessment -
We continue to investigate allegations regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction and their illegal use
At this time there is no credible intelligence that a Domestic Terrorist Group is either developing or planning to use a sophisticated Chemical, Biological, or Radiological Weapon on U.S. agriculture or food system.
Each WMD threat is thoroughly investigated
The vast majority fail to reveal the presence of actual hazardous material, although we have seen Anthrax, Ricin, Shigella, and the use of Industrial Chemicals/Pesticides
There are roughly a dozen formalized International Terrorist Groups, most notably Al-Qaeda, that have an interest in the development of a WMD agricultural program or have used WMD in the past.
Our current assessment is that there is no credible indication of a large-scale WMD threat within the U.S by Domestic Terrorists.
However, the number of cases investigated by the FBI involving the threatened use of a WMD has been on the rise over the past few years and the FBI addressed a dramatic increase in the number of threats that they responded to in light of the events of September 11, 2001 and the anthrax mailings that followed shortly thereafter.
- Some of the increase in WMD interest is emanates from the “How to” books that are readily available over the internet and through other public sources and the response and panic that a WMD threat exudes. Domestic groups have discussed the use of chemical weapons and threats against chemical facilities, but have not successfully carried out these threats.
To date, most of our investigations have resulted in non-credible threats, where the perpetrator has insufficient knowledge to successfully weaponize and deliver the threatened CBRN agents.
With this history, why then do we still take some threats seriously, well to give you an example,
December 3, Bhopal India
An accidental leak of lethal gas methyl isocyanate from a Union Carbide pesticide plant killed 3,500 people and injured 200,000 in the nearby community. Because of the potential threat, we must seriously examine all threats and determine their credibility.
Fall 2001 – Four letters containing anthrax resulted in 5 deaths and 18 confirmed cases of anthrax exposure. Despite the fact that the anthrax was contained within envelopes and this form of dissemination is unsophisticated, it remains
Threats from International Terrorist Groups:
IT groups – there are roughly a dozen terrorist groups, according to the Department of State, that are actively pursuing WMD or have used WMD in the past.
Most notably, Al-Qaeda has stated in the past that it feels compelled to pursue a WMD program. 11

9. Presidential Decision Directive 5
U.S. Policy on Domestic Incidents - signed by President Bush 3/03
Outlines a national approach treating crisis and consequence management as an integrated function.
Directs highest priority to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks and major disasters.
Designates Homeland Security as the lead Federal Agency for managing the operational federal response.

10. DHS Presidential Decision Directive 9
U.S. Policy to Protect Agriculture and Food System
- signed by President Bush 01/04
Identifying agriculture and food system as critical
infrastructure.
Developing awareness and early warning capabilities to
recognize threats.
Mitigating vulnerabilities at critical production and
processing areas.
Enhancing product screening procedures and
response and recovery.

11. The FBI’s Role (per PDD-15, Annex II)
Conduct criminal and intelligence investigations:
Investigate terrorist acts planned or carried out by
foreign/domestic groups in the U.S.
Gather Intelligence:
Collect, analyze, and disseminate intelligence on
terrorist groups and activities.
Serve as the lead for the investigation.

12. Importance of Response
Emergency response to a WMD crime scene requires that each responder perform in a manner that does not jeopardize Life Safety or successful prosecution
Keep in mind, as we discuss the first responder role in evidence awareness, life safety is number one priority and will always outweigh evidence.

13. Threat Assessment Process
Consultation
Assessment
USDA
FDA
HHS
DOE
EPA
DHS
FEMA
DOD
Behavioral
FBIHQ
WMDOU
Threat
State/Local
Responders
Local
FBI
Operational
Upon receipt of the threat to FBIHQ/WMDOU by an FBI Field Office or other agency, the FBI will conduct a formal credibility threat assessment of the information available. Various entities within the FBI will participate in the the threat assessment to include WMDOU, HMRU, NCAVC, BDC, and CIRG, as well as many experts from our interagency partners as the situation necessitates. Often state and local officials from Law Enforcement, Fire and Health are included in the conference call with behavioral, medical and technical experts to provide guidance to the Incident Commander at the Scene. The threat is evaluated from the following three perspectives:
Behavioral Resolve - a psychological assessment of the likelihood that the subject(s) will carry out the threat, including a review of any written or verbal statement by the subject(s)
Operational practicability - an assessment of the feasibility of delivering or employing the material in the manner threatened.
Technical feasibility - an assessment of the capacity of the threatening individual or organization to obtain or produce the material at issue
Technical
HMRU
NCAVC
CIRG

14. International Symposium on Agroterrorism

15. Education and Awareness
Government
Private
Industry
Science/
Academia
Law
Enforcement
NOTES:
This set of slides is intended as a template for an experienced criminal investigator – from a local, state or federal law enforcement agency – to speak from in the Forensic Epidemiology course. As a template, they are designed to be customized to be correct for the jurisdiction(s) where the course is being held. You should go through and, as far as possible, answer the questions posed in the bullets, or customize them to local practices and organizations. Feel free to create more slides, if you need to, to cover the issues in the templates. Also feel free to add additional topics as needed for local use. Experience has shown, however, that people without a law enforcement background will benefit greatly by hearing about the topics outlined on this template.
You may leave the slides as they are, to prompt you to say the right things about these issues, but we strongly recommend that you customize them. The participants in the course should have a copy of your slides in their notebooks, and you will want to be sure that they take the appropriate information home with them.
This presentation should last approximately 50 minutes, including time for questions and answers. As a result, it may be necessary to remove some of the topics covered. This should be done at the discretion of the local planning committee and the presenter of this slide set.
Add your own name as the presenter and your own subtitle if you like. Text that is designed to be replaced or edited is colored in RED. Other material should be edited or customized as needed.
A space is provided in each slide for your organization’s seal or logo. In order to access the area in which the logo will reside, you must go to the slide master. To do this go to the View menu, then select Master, Slide Master. Replace the “Insert seal or logo here” generic logo on the slide master with the appropriate logo for your jurisdiction’s criminal investigation department. This will replace the logo on all but the title slide. To change the logo on the title slide, go to the View menu, then select Master, Title Master. Replace the “Insert seal or logo here” generic logo on the title master with the appropriate logo for your jurisdiction’s criminal investigation department.
Make sure all the text is legible (e.g., white on blue background, not red on blue) when slides are complete. To change the color of the text, highlight the text that needs to be changed, go to the Format menu, then Font, then change the color to white.
Currently, the date is located in the footer. To change the date from the generic “Date” to the date of the presentation, go to the View menu, then select Header and Footer. Under footer, replace “Date” with the appropriate date, then select Apply to All.
To change the presenter’s name and change the color of the text in the footer you must go to the slide master. To do this, go to the View menu, then select Master, Slide Master. Highlight the generic “Presenter’s name”, change it to the reflect the name of the presenter, then go to the Format menu, select Font and change the color to white. Highlight <footer>, go to the Format menu, select Font and change the color to white.
Health,
Medical,
Veterinary
Education and Awareness

16. Inaugural: May 3 – 5, 2005 2nd Year: Sept. 25-29, 2006 3rd Year:
April 22-24, 2008
                                                                                                           
                                                                                                           
                          
Hyatt Crown Center
Kansas City, Missouri
Next: May 2010

17. Presented By:

18. What Have We Learned? Threats need to be taken seriously
Need a framework for response and coordination to
handle large incidents
Adequate resources and expertise
- Determine extent of contamination and any public health
implications by testing product, recalling product and
alerting consumers
- Finding the perpetrator by law enforcement capabilities

19. SA David Cudmore, FBI WMD Coordinator 816-512-8684
QUESTIONS ?????????????
SA David Cudmore, FBI
WMD Coordinator