European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Amp l p it re Rumor hot line helps americans keep Cool Heads David Tarrant Brussels Bureau or Quot mors of terrorism an outgrowth of Saddam Hussein s repeated threats to attack westerners have risen to unprecedented Levels since the outbreak of War  ago . Officials say. Concern Over terrorism is particularly keen in Brussels Belgium which has the largest diplomatic Community overseas As Well As a Large american military and civilian population. Brussels also contains such High profile targets As the Headquarters for nato and the european economic Community. A a certainly wed be less than truthful if we were not to state clearly that we think that Brussels is a High risk terrorist target Quot a . Official said recently. A a but Security officials say they Are equally con a Cerneck about the dangerous effect ,. Which can sweep through a Community like wildfire causing panic and harm. As a result the . Embassy in Brussels recently started a Rumor control hot line and Amer ican officials private business executives and a school principals arc working Octher to help a separate fiction from fact on Security matters. Almost a thousand Calls have come into the hot line since it began on Jan. 15 a the Day the . Deadline for Iraq to leave Kuwait expired. A a we re trying to maintain some Calm in this Community and a realistic idea of what s going a it no said Bonnie Moynihan one of three coordinators working for the civilian Liason office at the . Embassy. Some of the rumours that have  hot Tine Spring Only out of Fertile imaginations apparently unhinged by the War. For example a danish Man called one Day to say that he had heard of a radio report that police were evacuating everyone in Waterloo about 20 Miles South of Brussels because of bomb threats. It turned out the callers a radio report Quot had a pm from his Housker per who had heard it from  pc and soon. A a a there was no evacuation in Waterloo and no bomb threats Moynihan said. A even Small things can get blown out of proper Tion and Send people Rushing to their phones a she said. One such Rumor originating from local belgian radio and television reports on Jan. 23, had the american cultural Center in Brussels being bombed with Molotov cocktails which arc usually. Bottles filled with gasoline and ignited. The Rumor which had americans edgy for hours was cleared up when later reports indicated that there had been a Quot Small fire in a belgian business in the same High Rise building As the cultural Center. The fire had nothing to do with terrorism or Molotov cocktails Moynihan said. Many Calls have come from parents and Stu a a a a a. A a a a a a a a a a a a. A. Sas nov Tarrant Bonnie Moynihan and the hot line receive Calls from nervous americans and non americans. Dents. A a lot of parents of Exchange students in Europe called their children and wanted them to go Back Home a she said. A and one Exchange student called Here arid he said a there Are two Hundred of us Exchange Stu dents Here in Belgium and we re All thinking that maybe we should go  a Rusty Franck an american Exchange student in Charleroi Belgium said that he knows of about 15 Exchange students who have left their Host families to go Back Home. / a when we first heard about the War most of us panicked because we thought we would be a target for some crazy terrorist Quot Francek said. Now students circulate dark humor about such possibilities he said. A the joke Here is Why would a Yedic want to Kidnap us. Wed drive them  investigations into the pan am bombing revealed that some general information about a possible terrorist attack had circulated through . Embassies although there was nothing specific about the Pari am flight. Quot yes there Are some people who wonder a what Are you not telling us a which is nothing. We Tel everything we know Quot Moynihan said. Tracking Down rumours can be difficult and time consuming Moynihan said. But if even one of the Calls to the Rumor hot line turned out to be a real tip it could help Security officials thwart a terrorist attack she said. The embassy has also started a communications several times since Jan. 15, the embassy has talc faxed advisories to hundreds of american Busi Nesses. Even Small things can get blown out of proportion and Send people Rushing to their  a Bonnie Moynihan a hot line coordinator some hot line callers simply want to know if it is of to Fly. The embassy provides them with the latest travel advisories. But often that a not enough  a. Quot for a while there it seemed that anyone who was getting on an air plane eat led us and almost wanted Oue permission to . The state department and embassies have been sensitive to charges that they Are withholding information from the Public since the bombing of a i am eight 103 in december 19sm, according to several . Officials in Brussels. Quot if we have any kind of advisories that we want to 8cft0 the american business and private Community Here we use this service a said a . Official who requested anonymity. The advisories which contain general unclassified information cleared by the . Slate department is meant to keep . Businesses abroad updated on Security information a a a the Gulf crisis has contributed greatly to interest in the advisories said the . Official. I mean we be probably increased our read a a ship by 20 to 25 percent since the Start of the crisis a a a a / a a a a a a a 1. Meetings Between embassy Security officials and parents teachers and administrators from each of the Brussels area schools have also been arranged to hold Down panic Levels. Essentially we have been trying to keep Down the panic. Because there is no reason to panic a said the official. A a but you got a lot of people out there who have no experience a direct or indirect a with terrorism. And so if you get even the slightest potential of it in a Community like Brussels you have a higher level of  c Page 6 sunday february 10. 1991