Maine gets OK for terrorism task force

PORTLAND – FBI Director Robert Mueller has signed off on a proposal that would make Maine the 41st state to get a Joint Terrorism Task Force, Sen. Susan Collins announced Wednesday.

The task force would be made up of federal, state and local law enforcement officers and would build upon an informal arrangement U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby put into place after the Sept. 11 attacks, Collins said.

The task force would have the authority to pursue leads, begin investigations and coordinate security, she said.

Collins, whose Senate Governmental Affairs Committee is holding hearings into the Sept. 11 commission’s recommendations, said the deadly attacks showed that Maine was not immune from terrorist activities.

The second paragraph of the commission report notes that two of the hijackers began their day in Portland, Collins said.

“If you read this report, you find the names of small cities and small towns throughout the United States that are used by terrorists for operational training, for planning and other activities,” she said, holding up a copy of the 567-page report for emphasis.

Maine would become the first state in northern New England to have a Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Collins said the task force is important because Maine’s international border, coastline, airports, fuel depots and deep water ports make it more vulnerable to terrorists than other states.

Maine State Police Chief Craig Poulin and other law enforcement officers expressed concern about meeting the task force’s obligations because of tight budgets and the prospect of a tax cap.

Law enforcement agencies would be asked to assign one officer each to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and each officer would have to receive additional training and federal security clearances.

Poulin said his agency was already stretched thin and he was wary of taking troopers off the beat.

No state has turned down the FBI’s offer to establish a task force, said Steve Abbott, the senator’s chief of staff.

Abbott said he expected the task force to be up and running by year’s end with the participation of at least four or five agencies. The FBI is allowing officers to be assigned to the task force part-time.

Silsby was credited with setting up a similar task force after the Sept. 11 attacks, in which hijackers Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al-Omari started their morning by flying from Portland to Boston.

Instead of holding occasional meetings, the new task force announced by Collins will be operational on a day-to-day basis.

The first Joint Terrorism Task Force was created in 1980, but the number has doubled since the Sept. 11 attacks. Currently, there are 84 Joint Terrorism Task Forces with 2,300 personnel in 40 states.

Collins said she had been pressuring Mueller for a year to get a task force set up in her home state. She received a call from him Tuesday night giving the OK for a task force in Maine.

Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood said he remains skeptical even though he believes in the concept of a terrorism task force.

“I don’t have the manpower that I would like to have,” said Chitwood, who has asked the FBI for permission to train a bomb squad for months. “Even though the concept is wonderful, why would I want to get caught up in a bureaucratic endeavor where I can’t get what I need?”