Hopewell Radebe , Deputy Political Editor
19 October 2004
Johannesburg — Threat of global terrorism demands domestic and worldwide co-operation'
SA IS not immune to international terrorist attacks, says Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, who believes his intelligence agencies must collaborate with their counterparts around the world in the interest of national security.
Recently, British and US officials hailed S A's intelligence community for the successful arrest and deportation of suspected agents of terrorist networks, including people believed to be connected to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Kasrils says this is a motion of confidence in the competence of SA's state intelligence.
He is concerned about a report leaked to the US media this month which claimed that South Africans were being targeted as potential recruits by international terrorists.
He argues that this contributes to fuelling undue fears about possible attacks, while the situation is "actually under control".
"It would seem those agents have been more successful in recruiting in the US, UK and Europe than in SA. If such a report exists, we believe it is grossly exaggerated," says the minister.
But Kasrils cautions against complacency, saying many countries have been caught by surprise.
He wants more collaboration between all intelligence agencies in SA, such as the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the South African Secret Service (SASS), the police and military intelligence.
Several investigations in the US and UK concluded that some terrorist attacks could have been prevented had there been centralised analysis of all the information gathered by various agencies .
Kasrils has opted to ensure that the president and cabinet receive thoroughly analysed information with proper recommendations to act decisively, should the need arise.
He says all intelligence groups must constantly collect information, which is then given to a group of analysts who "objectively interpret and evaluate it".
"We are using professional analysts who tell the truth and are not keen on buying the face of the minister or impressing the president," he says.
Kasrils says the downfall of some world-class intelligence agents has been their inability to share information and to evaluate it properly.
The two intelligence agencies, the NIA and SASS, are now more focused on national security than in the past when they were bedevilled by internal strife, he says.
"After all, we were uniting intelligence groups that had sought to destroy each other during the struggle for liberation."
Kasrils says the intelligence community has now stabilised, and has matured enough to embrace the vision of the constitution and is "nonpartisan" in gathering information within legal constraints .
The agencies will not be used for political manoeuvring, he says. The constitution has made provision for an inspector-general for intelligence and a joint standing committee on intelligence with an oversight role , and the public can now trust that the agencies have their priorities in order.
They are now focusing on ensuring that SA's political stability is not threatened and are helping the security forces in their fight against international terrorism, drug trafficking and crime.
Kasrils wants South Africans to change their attitudes to their intelligence agencies. They should not be seen as a threat to society as in the past whe n being labelled a spy had negative connotations and often led to death .
He wants the intelligence agencies to work closely with their counterparts in Africa to build the African Union security council's early warning system to prevent potential conflicts on the continent.
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