Vol.14 No.49 - December 8, 1980 - Trouble's Coming... - U.S. Is Very Likely Target for Terrorist Attacks

Oct 13, 2026

Crime Control Digest Vol.14 No.49 dated December 8, 1980 addresses rising concerns about international terrorism targeting the United States. Reporting from Houston, police leadership warns that U.S. cities with corporate headquarters, consular offices, and major seaports are likely targets. An analysis from Risks International describes terrorist “copycat” behavior and outlines common tactics and assassination methods, including patterns, target convenience, team structure, and emerging threats involving heat-seeking missiles like the SAM-7.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages11

Reading Time28 min

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TERRORISM IN U.S.: Houston Workshop Concludes We Are Very Likely Target

Terrorists Are Copycats

Nothing Like A Hotrodder

Vol.14 No.49 December 8,1980 Trouble's Coming... U.S.IS VERY LIKELY TARGETFOR TERRORIST ATTACKS ※ 票* * “Col.Khadaffi Will Give You A SAM-7If Nobody Else Will,"Analyst Warns By Dr.Betty B.BosargeEditor,Washington Crime News Services With 45 foreign consular offices,the nation'ssecond busiest seaport,and the headquarters ofdozens of major international corporations in hisjurisdiction,Houston Police Chief B.K.Johnsonsays he is wondering where terrorists will strikefirst. Addressing a “Terrorism in the 1980s”work-shop conducted in Houston recently by Richard W.Kobetz and Associates and the Houston PoliceDepartment,Johnson warned police and securityofficials that they can "rest assured they will betargeted”by terrorists. "In this day and time terrorism is going to bethe name of the game,"Johnson said."We need toknow as much as we can possibly know.” Johnson pointed out that any city with acorporate headquarters,consular office,or seaportis a "likely target"for terrorist attacks. Other instructors at the four-day workshopfocused on known intelligence about internationalterrorist organizations and methods of assessing anorganization's vulnerability to terrorist attacks. IN THIS ISSUE TERRORISM IN U.S.:Houston WorkshopConcludes We Are Very Likely Target......1 Illinois In The Springtime..........4 POLICE AND VIOLENCE:Series Of StudiesPublished In Social Science Journal ......4 RICO MANUAL:Justice DepartmentHas New Manual For Organized Crime Units ...5 CHICAGO VOTES:Names FOP As OfficialBargaining Agent As Trouble Looms......6 Commissioner Of Kentucky State Police.....7 PROPOSITION 13:Study Says TaxCuts Hurt Agency Performance........7 NEW YORK STREETS SAFE:Mayor KochSays Right Things In Times Interview......8 WEBSTER AND CIVILETTI:News ConferenceReveals New Informant Use Guidelines. . 9 PETER J.PITCHESS:Excellent ConditionAfter Very Difficult Heart Operation......10 | PUT US ON YOUR MAILING LIST
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DIGEST,Washington Crime News Services,
7620 Little River Turnpike,Annandale,
Virginia 22003. | | --- | ## CRIME CONTROL DIGEST Terrorists Are Copycats Branding the world's terrorists as“unbelievable copy-cats,"Dr.Charles Russell,senior analyst at Risks Interna-tional in Alexandria,Virginia,said his company'scompu-terized analysis of the world's terrorism incidents over thepast few years shows that terrorists concentrate on fivefavorite tactics: ● Assassinations; Assaults on aircraft and facilities; ●Kidnapping; ● Hijacking;and ●Maiming Since 1978 there have peen 157 victims of successfulterrorist assassinations worldwide. "Terrorists look for the most convenient target,"Russll said.“You're not a convenient target if you con-stantly change your daily patterns.But if you're a highrisk target and you follow the same patterns every day,it'slike putting a big sign around your neck that says 'ShootMe!'” The preferred method of killing assassination victims,according to Russell,is to wait until the victim is in avehicle. "You got them in a tin can,allneatly packaged,"hesaid."This is the most popular method used by Europeanterrorists today.” The favorite killing method of Latin American terror-ists is to wait until the victim is on foot,Russell said,ex-plaining that Latin “macho”concepts play a role here. "They like to see the victim die,"he said. The Israelis prefer to bomb a target vehicle by remotecontrol. Assassinations from a distance-such as letter bombsand package bombs-are becoming less popular amongsophisticated terrorists because "the wrong guy usuallyopens it and the terrorists fail in their primary mission.” The normal assassination team today co

FAQs

Why does Houston police leadership warn that the U.S. is likely a target for terrorist attacks?

Houston Police Chief B. K. Johnson says cities with corporate headquarters, consular offices, or seaports are likely targets. He warns police and security officials they will be targeted based on vulnerability assessments.

What tactics are highlighted as commonly favored by terrorists, according to the analyst cited in the issue?

The analyst states terrorists concentrate on five favorite tactics: assassinations, assaults on aircraft and facilities, kidnapping, hijacking, and maiming.

How does the document explain why successful assassinations get copied internationally?

It describes a shared intelligence network that spreads successful methods across countries. The issue quotes the idea that if one terrorist team scores a hit, others will copy it in detail.

Oct 13, 2026

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