On a day when the nation's terror alert status was lowered, roughly 200 law enforcement officials from across the Midwest were reminded to keep their guard high.

The group, which included officers from local police departments, participated in a conference Thursday in Itasca on countering terrorism and extremism in the post-Sept. 11 era.

"The worst thing we can do is start feeling good about ourselves because we haven't had anything happen in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001," said Thomas Kneir, special agent for the FBI in charge of the bureau's Chicago division. "This threat is real and it's not going away in any short period of time," he added.

The FBI and Anti-Defamation League hosted the one-day conference to help spread the word about international extremists and homegrown terrorists. As part of the event, attendees participated in various workshops, including one about weapons of mass destruction.

Richard Hirschhaut, the league's regional director, said he hopes attendees have a better understanding of the terrorist threat. This is the third conference hosted by the Anti-Defamation League on public awareness and safety. The other two were on hate crimes.

"Hopefully, the one officer who is here from Deerfield is going to go back to Deerfield and say, 'This is what I learned. These are the things we need to think about in our community,'" Hirschhaut said.

Kneir said it's crucial to get local, state and federal law enforcement officials working together to combat terrorism. "This terrorism fight is not the federal government verses the terrorists," Kneir said. "This is all of law enforcement versus the terrorists. The better we can exchange information and share information we will make this work."

Thursday's conference was held as the country's terror alert status was lowered from the "high risk" orange to "elevated" yellow. The change came nearly three weeks after federal officials said there was credible intelligence suggesting al-Qaida was planning new attacks against U.S. interests.

Terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman of the RAND Corp. said that while the U.S. military crippled al-Qaida by destroying training camps and control centers in Afghanistan, the organization still exists. And while it has become more difficult for al-Qaida to strike high-profile targets like the Pentagon, terrorists will only seek more vulnerable targets.

"The threat is not equally pervasive and at the same level throughout the United States," Hoffman said. "On the other hand, we are a country that's at war, which means terrorists prevented from attacking a hardened target will look for softer ones." It's possible one of those soft targets could be here in the suburbs, he said.

Hoffman said the recent sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C., area showed the suburbs could be a convenient venue for terrorists, in part, because of the roads and highways. If someone wants to commit a terrorist act, it's easier to get away in a suburban area than in an urban one, Hoffman said.

Suburban leaders are aware of the threat. Just this month, the DuPage County health department unveiled its bioterrorism plan. That detailed response plan will be put to the test in May, when the Chicago region serves as one of two national sites for a multimillion-dollar, full-scale drill to gauge the nation's terrorism preparedness.

"Unfortunately, it's an all new ballgame for America," Kneir said. "The days of going back to 'Leave it to Beaver' are over."

©2003 The Daily Herald

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