European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page a a a the stars and stripes tuesday january 22, 1991 War in the Gulf Fri defends tighter . Security but agents Lack hard evidence of terrorist threat by David Johnston Washington not Federal Law enforcement officials say they have no solid evidence that the War in the persian Gulf will Lead to terrorist activity in the United states but they say extra Security precautions arc justified. A a a on that premise the Fri has begun an aggressive program to heighten vigilance within the United states and to serve As a warning to iraqi president Saddam Tius Sein that plotting terror is futile. Saddam has said in several speeches that he will employ any Means possible to Widen the conflict which . Officials have interpreted As a threat to use terrorism. . A on saturday Abu Abbas head of the Palestine liberation front called on palestinians to strike at the interests of the United states and its allies. A hurry and strike at and destroy the interests of . Imperialists and their Al lies a he said in an iraqi radio broadcast. Evening to the style of Jedgar Hoover his agents tracked imagined subversives and spied indiscriminately on political dissidents. A a we want the Fri to be vigilant and we support the of big a anti Terrons Tref forts a said rep. Don Edwards d-calif., chairman of the House judiciary us Leonir Mittie on civil rights. A but we must avoid infringements of our civil  it was because of such threats that the Fri rapidly expanded its program in recent weeks. Officials said the program relies on measures such As electronic eavesdropping Jed other information collected in the states and abroad on suspected terrorists. A we Are doing everything we possibly Hippo it to Varr Ety of Chilli n tors such As Saddam a inflammatory statements the existence of a training Camp run by the Abu Nidal terrorist organization in Iraq and the recent move mints of some Plo members from their bases in Lebanon and elsewhere to Undis closed locations. _ can to make the environment As hostile As we can a a senior Justice department official said. A the program Ralso involves seeking out iraqi nationals who have overstayed their visas and conducting criminal investigations. One such probe led to the arrest of a kuwaiti american on charges he threatened president Bush a life. But the of big a tactics including interviews with Arab american leaders have inflamed fears that the Justice department has responded to the crisis by re Fri officials said that since sly when county terrorism was made a priority within the Agency agents have largely succeeded in preventing terrorist attacks in the United states. L la a. _ they said the number of such attacks declined to five in 1990, from 25 in 1986. Senior Justice department officials concede that the threat of terrorism stemming from the Gulf War remains at a a flow  but those officials said the precautionary measures Are necessary. A there is a lot of intelligence that indicates there is reason to believe there will be attempts by a number of terrorist groups to  out a a senior Justice department official said before the United states began its air assault on Iraq. A terrorism experts said fears Are further heightened because support groups of the Abu Nidal organization and the Plo Are Tuio Warto be in the United states. A although agents know such groups exist a they done to know everyone and they done to know what it is they done to know a said Vincent Cannistraro a former Cia counter terrorism official. A members of a South korean medical team Salute monday at a ceremony activating them for persian Gulf  Korea joins War Effort Twa cutting flights overseas As fears ground travellers new York apr trans world airlines its business Hurt by americans fears of travelling abroad in wartime said monday that it planned to Cut overseas service by up to 50 percent this week and Lay off up to 3,000 employees. The airlines european business has fallen dramatically with the outbreak of War in the persian Gulf. As a result Twa is rewriting its flight schedule to try to conserve Cash said general counsel Mark Buckstein. Twa was operating at a loss before the War and the drop in passengers on normally profitable routes has raised the possibility of further losses. A we Are significantly curtailing service on hopefully a temporary basis to almost All european cities that we serve a Buckstein said in a Telephone interview. The service cuts were to take place tuesday he said. The major Impact of the cuts will be in the frequency of Twa flights Buckstein said. For example he said the three daily Twa flights from new York to London will be Cut to one. A the airline will use smaller More fuel efficient planes and will reduce the number of non Stop flights and Domestic flights into new Yorkus Kennedy Airport which feed the carriers foreign service. As a result of the schedule changes Between 2,500 and 3,000 employees were being furloughed including 1,500 flight attendants Buckstein said. The Independent federation of. Flight attendants said it was exploring its Legal options on grounds the airline was stopping pay without proper notice. Seoul South Korea up1 a the National Assembly gave its approval monday to a government plan to Send a 154-Membcr military medical unit to saudi Arabia to help the multinational War Effort to Force Iraq out of Kuwait. With the consent of the 299-member one House parliament secured the government planned to Send out a 134-Membcr main Force of the medical unit wednesday. A 20-member Advance party is already at a proposed Hospital site in northeastern saudi Arabia. When the government dispatch plan was submitted to the Assembly which opened a 20-Day special session the main opposition party for peace and democracy decided to support the medical unit dispatch a on the understanding that no combat troops will be  meanwhile about 200 dissident College students burned an american Flag at a Campus rally and opposed the dispatch of the medical team. They also demanded the immediate withdrawal of . Forces from the persian Gulf. The rally was held at Seoul National University in a Southern sector of the City. A the Gulf War is a conflict triggered by the United states to protect its interests in the Middle East a the students said in a  sending a military medical unit and sharing spending to support such a War is proof that this government is under the control of the United states. We will stage Strong anti War anti-. Struggles in Alliance with civic groups and other democratic  the War has sliced into an already weakened air travel Market. Consumers had already Cut Back their travel plans As the Economy faltered and fears about terrorism have grounded Many americans who had planned to go overseas. Buckstein said the airline would continue to evaluate the level of its european bookings and restore service if More people resumed flying. Firm Sells 500,000 Gas masks a pest Hungary apr a hungarian company has sold half a million Gas masks and protective clothing to a buyer in saudi Arabia the state Mai news Agency reported monday. According to Mai the value of the masks filters and protective outlets was about $24 million. It did not name either the buyer or the company that sold the equipment