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Five Quick Questions with Bomb Expert Richard Priem

Richard Priem knows about explosives and security

January 01, 2006 — CSO — Richard Priem knows about explosives and security. Priem, now a manager of weapons of mass destruction training at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (www.emrtc.nmt.edu), served for more than 20 years in the U.S. military in law enforcement, security, antiterrorism and training posts. He has conducted antiterrorism assessments for the Army, and he served as the senior security expert for the Army inspector general's Technical Inspections Division, where he was responsible for assessing the security of nuclear and chemical weapons. Priem spoke with CSO Editorial Assistant Al Sacco about the nature of bomb threats.

CSO: You've said around 5,000 bombing incidents occur in the United States every week. Are all of them terrorist-related? If not, what are some other motivations?

Richard Priem: Most incidents involving bombsâ¬this includes actual explosions, conspiracies, seizure of explosive materials and so onâ¬don't involve terrorism. What CSOs should be aware of is that most bomb incidents involve situations in which one individual is attempting to exact some form of retribution against another. Workplace violence, for example, has emerged as an important security problem, and bombing incidents, including bomb threats, represent a portion of that problem.

The FBI says 67 percent of terrorist attacks in the United States are bombings. Why is this?

Terrorists and other criminals use explosives because they are easy to fabricate. Chemicals required for the manufacture of explosives, or the explosive materials themselves, are readily available. The technology for fabrication of most explosives is fairly simple. There are numerous sites on the Internet with detailed instructions on explosives manufacture.

In addition, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) can be left at a target location. The perpetrator can leave and avoid a physical confrontation with targeted individuals. Successful execution normally requires the terrorist to defeat security measures or a security force.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms reported thefts totaling nearly 100,000 pounds of explosives, and more than 30,000 detonators were stolen in 2003. Does this mean 30,000 bombs are waiting to be put to use?

Thefts typically occur from work sites where explosives are stored for onsite use, such as a construction company's explosive storage facility or a demolition company's blasting site, although they can also be stolen during transit. There is no way to estimate how much of this material is ultimately used in the fabrication of IEDs.

How has bombing technology changed?

Today, explosives can be forged into an infinite number of shapes. The actual look of a bomb is limited only by the imagination and resources available to the bomber. Typically, a bomber will attempt to make a device look like something that belongs in the targeted area.