This page concerns a follow-up action to the enclosures contained in the Church of Scientology's first contact letter to "The SPOTLIGHT". See National Commission On Law Enforcement and Social Justice letter of August 25, 1976 to the SPOTLIGHT, re: Dear Mr. DeRemer, Your paper, THE SPOTLIGHT, has come to our attention as being closely aligned with our own purposes.

In 1978, a Scientology group offered up to $10,000 for information leading to successful (emphasis added) prosecution of government corruption. At some point the "Church of Scientology" apparently decided it would also protect the security of the United States by pointing out the sordid pasts of Interpol officials. It should be kept in mind that the "Church of Scientology" is not an authority on government agencies, Interpol or any other legitimate pursuit. The "church" is more of an authority on gathering sordid details of people's past lives.

CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
316 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, S.E.,
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20003
FOUNDER: L. RON HUBBARD

The Honorable Jeremiah Denton Chairman
Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism
U.S. Senate Washington, D.C.

Sept. 26, 1985

Dear Senator Denton,

Enclosed please find a report on the security threat posed to the United States by the current operating basis of Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization. Interpol has 136 member countries, 85% of which are involved in state supported terrorism, communist influenced, or dictatorships. These countries include Iran, Syria, Libya, Cuba and Lebanon.

Utilizing the computerized systems linked with Interpol these countries can request and receive confidential police information from United States agencies. Despite Interpol's charter prohibiting involvement in circulating information of a political, religious, racial, or military nature, there are numerous documented examples in the last few years of Interpol doing exactly that.

Representatives from these and other such countries are holding a secret meeting next week in the U.S. Department of Justice Departmental Auditorium. Access has been denied to the public, including the media.

As the enclosed report indicates the Interpol organization is riddled with oppressive countries which are known to provide succor to terrorists. Criminality among its own personnel is common. Interpol Chiefs in South America have been implicated in drug smuggling. Recently, the Mexican Interpol Chief was arrested for corruption. He had been indicted for drug smuggling earlier.

I urge you to take a serious look at Interpol as a potential a very real threat to American security.

Sincerely,

Rev. John D. Stanard III,
Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT PERSON: LISA CONLIN (202) 543-6404

U.S. Involvement in Interpol Condemned by Church of Scientology, Freedom Defense Council

WASHINGTON -- "Membership of terrorist and communist countries in Interpol threatens the security and privacy of every American citizen," Rev. Jim Nicholls, Executive Director of the Freedom Defense Council, charged today at a press conference sponsored by the Church of Scientology.

Rev. John D. Stanard III, Director of the Church of Scientology International's public affairs office in Washington, announced that a report "Interpol: A_ National Security Threat" has been submitted to Senator Jeremiah Denton, Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism, urging Senator Denton to investigate Interpol for security violations with regard to the files of American citizens, in light of Interpol's inclusion of terrorist and communist countries in its membership.

Also at the conference was William Willoughby, editor of Religion Today, whose recent trip to Europe to investigate Interpol was cut short by the organization's flat refusal to talk to him.

"I wasn't able to speak to anyone in Interpol," Willoughby said at the conference, "but I was able to interview Simon Wiesenthal, the famed Nazi hunter, on the subject of Interpol's Nazi history and its blatant refusal to assist him in his search for Nazi fugitives. It became very clear during my conversation with Wiesenthal that U.S. membership in Interpol could well pose a grave danger to our free society in the United States," Willoughby added.

Interpol's 54th General Assembly Meeting, which is scheduled to begin next Tuesday in Washington, will be the organization's first annual meeting to be held within the United States. Approximately 500 delegates and observers from Interpol's 136 member countries are expected to attend.

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"The United States government has opened up its files to an organization whose membership majority consists of police states, dictatorships or communist-supported regimes," Rev. Stanard said. "Interpol's member countries include Iran, Syria and Libya, countries that Secretary of State George Shultz recently charged with state-supported terrorism. Representatives of these same countries will be meeting next week with U.S. Department of Justice officials to strengthen their access to private U.S. police files," Rev. Stanard concluded.

Rev. Nicholls blasted Interpol for selective violations of its own constitution, which specifically forbids the organization from becoming involved in cases with religious or political ramifications.

"In Libya, for example," Rev. Nicholls said, "hundreds of people have been arrested and imprisoned in the last five years because of their non-violent political or religious beliefs, ethnic origins, or simply because of their relationship with people who were active political opponents of the government"

"A number of Libyan citizens have been killed or wounded in assassination attempts outside of Libya," Rev. Nicholls continued. "Through Interpol, Libya has access to the police files of 136 countries. Police agencies routinely maintain files -- including addresses -- on any politically active foreign nationals living in their country. How many of these Libyan citizens were tracked down via Interpol?" Rev. Nicholls asked.

Rev. Stanard noted that U.S. involvement in Interpol has increased dramatically in the past few years.

"United States support of Interpol in terms of staff and funding has risen 600 percent since 1976," Rev. Stanard said, "and now Interpol had invited its member countries -- including Cuba, Iran and Romania -- to Washington to make plans for further increasing the flow of information between member police agencies. U.S. participation in such an exchange of data with Interpol member countries warrants urgent scrutiny by Congress to ensure the privacy of this country's citizens is not being violate by Interpol."

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INTERPOL: A National Security Threat

A Report Prepared by the
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL Office of Public Affairs
316 Pennsylvania Ave. S.E. Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20003
September, 1985

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction - Interpol: A National Security Threat pgs. 1-4

II. History of Interpol pg. 5

III. Terrorism pgs. 6-8

IV. Operation pgs. 9-10

V. Conclusion pg. 11-12

INTERPOL: A National Security Threat

Interpol - The International Criminal Police Organization - is a private police agency which maintains and distributes information on individuals and organizations throughout the world. The organization, founded in 1923 in Vienna, Austria, was conceived as a means of promoting cooperation between the police agencies of various countries. It boasts a membership of 136 countries, and is an autonomous organization under no governmental jurisdiction.

Through its network, member nations, approximately 85% which are police states, dictatorships, and communist supported regimes 1/ can receive information on American citizens living or visiting in foreign countries. Such information can be relayed to the Soviet Union, and other communist and terrorist oriented countries.

The purpose of this report is to point out the potential security threat which exists in cooperating with such an international police network, in its present form. While Interpol may have enjoyed the reputation of James Bond - supersleuth efficiency - a closer look reveals a potential for national security leaks, the spread of disinformation, and an ideal intelligence gathering outlet for unfriendly nations.

1.) The Interpol Connection - Meldel-Johnsen & Vaughn Young. Dial Press, 1979 (Member Nation pgs. 264-268)

1

Currently, within the United States, the Interpol office, called the National Central Bureau, is housed in the Department of Justice and is jointly managed by the Justice and Treasury Departments.

Interpol via the National Central Bureau, has direct access to the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and indirect access to Treasury files. 1/

Once information is given to Interpol, according to a 1976 General Accounting Office (GAO) investigation, "There is no absolute control over the distribution of information disseminated abroad through Interpol.." 2/ The data can be relayed to dozens of countries in a matter of hours, and there are few safeguards as to how this information will be used.

Like the United States, each member nation has its own Interpol office which is called the National Central Bureau (NCB). The NCB is staffed and operated by officials and employees of that country. Currently the United States Interpol office has 60 staff, up from 6 just 2 years ago.

ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms), DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), IRS (Internal Revenue Service), Customs, Immigration and Naturalization Service, the postal inspectors, the marshals, the Department of Agriculture, the Secret Service, and FBI - all participate in Interpol.

1.) March 8, 1985 supplement from the Internal Revenue Manual (Part XI, Criminal Investigation, Section 337.3)

2.) GAO Report - United States Participation in Interpol, The International Criminal Police Organization - Dec 27, 1976.

2

While the private, French based Interpol has its overall policy charter, each country's NCB sets its own local policy. For example, the Rumanian police running their NCB, would undoubtedly have some policies which differ from the United States, British, or Canadian police.

In 1959, a special subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee wrote regarding Interpol: "... finally, it is conceivable, in the light of world conditions, that the forms of government existing in the participating countries, could be replaced or modified in conflict with our own and that they, in turn, could see to use Interpol for their own devious means..." 1/

Subsequent developments have borne this out. For instance:

* Today there are only approximately 28 countries with a democratic form of government out of the 136 member nations of Interpol. The remaining 108 countries, are dictatorships, police states, communist supported regimes, or totalitarian governments. 2/

* In 1970, U.S. State Department employees investigating corruption in drug related Bolivian law enforcement, found two former Interpol chiefs had been dismissed for corruption. The State Department report found, "Because of the corruption and graft that has prevailed in the past in dealing with cocaine, Interpol has been the target of criticism by the public." 3/

1.) Report of the Special Subcommittee of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Police Organization, the House Judiciary Committee, April 1959.

2.) The Membership - Interpol Dossier - Pgs. 33-50

3.) U.S. Department of State - April 1970, Agency for International Development, Office of Public Safety

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Under Interpol, no machinery exists to discipline employees those who break the law.

* Last week the former Mexican Interpol NCB chief was apprehended in Los Angeles and charged with corruption. He had also been indicted earlier for cocaine smuggling.

* The Soviet Embassy has confirmed that Russian law enforcement agencies collaborate with Interpol and that such collaboration is reciprocal, even though the Soviet Union is not a member of Interpol. One incident involved Interpol tipping off Russian police to possible criminal acts by a number of Westerners, who were subsequently arrested by Soviet Police.

* Numerous member countries are terrorist supportive. An Israeli request for help from Interpol headquarters was leaked to a hostile Arab Nation, which leaked sensitive information to terrorists. 1/

An international police network could conceivably be worthwhile, for example in combating terrorism. However, Interpol has done little to stop terrorists, and may, by its nature, directly and indirectly assist terrorism as demonstrated in the Israeli case. An American who has worked with Interpol likened the agency to "a retirement colony for police officials." He said Interpol officials "can't get involved in anything with political ramifications and, of course, 90 percent of all terrorists activity has political ramifications." 2/

1.) The Entebbe Rescue by Ben Porat, Haber, Zeev Schiff Dell Publishing Co., Inc. - 1977

2.) New York Times article, Saturday, May 16, 1981. by Frank J. Prial

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HISTORY

Interpol was formed in Vienna, Austria in 1923, in order to "promote mutual assistance and cooperation between different country's police."

The Nazis recognized the value of Interpol's network, and took control of the police files belonging to all member countries. The organization became an instrument of terror and the dangers of an international police system became vividly clear.

In the early 1940's the Interpol President was Reinhard, known as "The Hangman". Heydrich also headed the Intelligence Service of the Nazi SS. It was at Interpol headquarters in Wannsee, a suburb of Berlin, that Heydrich and a Nazi officials met and planned the "final solution to the Jewish problem", which lead [sic] to the extermination of six million Jews.

After Heydrich was assassinated in 1942, Gestapo chief Ernst Kaltenbrunner took his place as President. By then Interpol had become consolidated with the Nazi Central Police which was run by the Gestapo. As the Nazis invaded cities throughout Europe, police files from each were gathered up, and are believed to have been centralized in Interpol's main files, Arthur Nebe became President after Ernst Kaltenbrunner was hanged for his Nazi atrocities in 1946.

The [sic] 1972 we find the Interpol President, Paul Dickopf, had been a Nazi SS officer during World War II (SS #337259).

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TERRORISM

Today, the list of totalitarian countries that can gain free access to Interpol's massive system of files has grown longer.

In 1975, during an Interpol conference on hijacking and terrorism, one security officer attending the conference summed up Interpol's basic flaw regarding terrorism by saying, "How the hell can information flow if it might get back to terrorists?"

In the book The Entebbe Rescue authors Ben-Porat, Haber, and Schiff, wrote regarding intelligence gathering on terrorist organizations, "Experience has shown that Interpol, the international organization of police forces, is not the tool for the job. Quite apart from its commitment to non-involvement in politics, information transmitted through Interpol in the past has leaked to Arab countries, who have gladly handed it on to the terror groups." 1/

Among Interpol's member nations there are numerous countries which have been noted for their terrorists activities, or are believed to give refuge to terrorists. Such Interpol member countries include, to name a few:

* Algeria - a dictatorship which supports terrorism and relies for its stability on a secret police with extraordinary powers and on Soviet advisers to its army;

1.) The Entebbe Rescue outlines the events surrounding the successful Israeli rescue of hostages being held by terrorists.

6

* Bolivia - a dictatorship which practices political torture and whose corrupt police have been implicated in international drug trafficking scandals;

* Cuba - a communist dictatorship;

* Haiti - a dictatorship which commonly practices torture;
* Iran - a dictatorship with ruthless secret police;

* Libya - a military dictatorship which lends financial and political support to terrorists and whose police use torture as a method of control;

* Nicaragua - a dictatorship known for the brutal treatment and torture of its citizens by the police;

* Rumania - a communist police state;

* Syria - a totalitarian state whose army and police are trained by Soviet soldiers and intelligence experts;

* Uganda - a totalitarian regime, until recently ruled by vicious dictator Idi Amin;

* Vietnam - a communist totalitarian police state; and

* Yugoslavia - a communist totalitarian police state.

Any member countries - including those listed above - are free to request information from the files of any other member country, as well as the files of Interpol headquarters in France.

United States official policy directly opposes involvement of any kind with such an organization. On April 3, 1984, Secretary of State George Shultz publicly criticized terrorist activities in countries which are Interpol member nations.

7

Demanding that the Western nations consider pre-emptive action against "known terrorist groups" and face up "to the need for active defense against terrorism", he identified several Interpol member countries including Iran, Syria, and Libya, as countries involved in state-supported terrorism" 1/

"How do we combat this challenge?" he asked. "Certainly we must take security precautions to protect our people and our facilities." A few months earlier, on February 13, President Reagan had met with King Hussein of Jordan to discuss the turbulent situation in the Middle East. Criticizing nations that have supported terrorism in the Middle East, Reagan stated, "States that condone terrorism undermine their own legitimacy." 2/

Ironically, the United States, by its membership in Interpol, is doing more than condoning terrorism - it is supporting it.

U.S. involvement in Interpol, as stated earlier, has become so extensive that the head of the U.S. Secret Service is now the president of Interpol. He plans to expand Interpol's organizational management and upgrade its telecommunications network of computerized information dissemination making it even easier for information about U.S. citizens to be spread to countries which the United States is publicly condemning.

U.S. contributions to the expansion plans of Interpol will be approximately $2 million in 1985, according to a recent report. Nearly $3 million has been requested for 1986, a 600% increase since the 1976 General Accounting investigations.

1.) New York Times, Wednesday, April 4, 1984 "SHULTZ ASKS MOVE AGAINST TERRORISM"

2.) New York Times, Tuesday, February 14, 1984 by Steven R. Weisman

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OPERATION

Interpol operates basically as an international clearing house for law enforcement information. It is an autonomous organization under no governmental jurisdiction or control.

A member nation can request information concerning an individual or organization through the main Interpol headquarters, located outside of Paris. There thousands of dossiers are maintained, often complete with fingerprints and photos, each meticulously indexed.

To process a request, headquarters would check their files for information and relay the request to one or more countries asking for the information. Radio transmitters are still generally used, as well as photo telegraphic equipment for relaying information, photos and fingerprints.

A country can also liaise directly with another member country for information.

The potential for abuse is obvious. Recently an American sued Interpol for the publication and circulation of a false wanted notice identifying him as a wanted international criminal. The Judge awarded attorney fees finding that he "had suffered substantial prejudice and expense as a consequence of the recalcitrance displayed by defendants (N.C.B. Interpol) as they failed for almost four years to litigate in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure." The Judge went on to state that he "need not and will not allow defendants to use the results of

their recalcitrance to shield them from sanctions for their improper behaviour." l/

9

According to the 1976 GAO report, in a large number of foreign requests for information on Americans, insufficient data was given as to what the purpose of the request was. Without determining the real need for the information, the request would be processed.

The GAO report noted "a need to require better documentation in support of requests for information." Additionally the report stated, "Although the U.S. Bureau has adopted guidelines for screening requests, almost half of the sample cases we reviewed involved inadequate documentation and we believe the U.S. Bureau prematurely proceeded with the various record checks and investigations."

When the Soviet KGB training manual came into the possession of the West, it was learned that their instruction included the recruitment of American spies, by using compromising material. Obtaining such compromising material would be quite possible for Soviet agents through the use of Interpol.

With no control over the distribution of information disseminated abroad through Interpol, the United Stated by releasing information on American citizens without full evidence of a criminal offense having been committed, could be jeopardizing the freedom of American citizens involved, as well as the national security of our country.

1.) Steinberg vs. Interpol, C.A. No. 77-0038 D.C. District Court

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CONCLUSION

Interpol is a very real threat to national security in its present form. While international cooperation with other law enforcement agencies is a valuable endeavor, Interpol is not the vehicle, without enacting stricter controls.

The GAO recommended in 1976 that the U.S. Bureau:

* Improve the screeing [sic] of, and insist on adequate documentation for, requests for information.* Encourage other bureaus to report the disposition of cases.

* Screen replies to be sent abroad to make sure they are relevant and appropriate.

Explore the need for better guidelines to govern the interactions of overseas U.S. law enforcements agencies with the U.S. Bureau, foreign police, and foreign central bureaus.

The security problems noted in this earlier GAO report warrant attention. We urge Congress to request that the General Accounting office - since U.S. involvement has become so extensive - update its earlier investigation and report whether the recommendations the GAO made at that time were ever in fact implemented by the U.S. Interpol office.

Futhermore, Congress should require that the Department of Justice list all Interpol expenses as a line item in the budget so that these costs can be easily monitored.

11

Congress should. also investigate the handling of information and the relationship between the U.S. office of Interpol and communist and terrorist members.

In the hands of ill-intentioned masters, with massive computers at their fingertips, Interpol could become a vehicle for something far more frightening than even Hitler's Gestapo.

For Documentation and additional information contact: Ms. Sylvia Stanard, Assistant Director, Church of Scientology International, Office of Public Affairs, 316 Penn. Ave. S.E. Suite 200, Washington D.C. (202) 543-6404. Also available is a complimentary copy of The InterPol Connection, by Vaughn Young and Trevor Mendal, published by Dial Press in 1979, the most comprehensive book on this subject.

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The Washington Times

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2,1984 / PAGE 5D

U.S. gains leadership to upgrade Interpol

John M. Walker Jr. on U.S. goals for Interpol.

For the first time, an American has been elected president of the International Criminal Police Organization, better known as Interpol. Also for the first time, the Interpol General Assembly will be held in Washington next September.
The new Interpol president is John R. Simpson, director of the U.S. Secret Service. He will continue as Secret Service director as he seeks to establish a leadership role for the United States in international law enforcement.
Mr. Simpson's boss, Assistant Treasury Secretary John M. Walker Jr., says the United States now can develop new initiatives in combating terrorism, drug tracking, money laundering and offshore banking. He was interviewed by Ed Rogers of The Washington Times.

Q: Why is it important to have Interpol headed by a U.S. official?
A: There's never been a representative from the United States as the head of Interpol. Increasingly, Interpol is becoming more important to federal law-enforcement agencies who are faced with a variety of international problems. International crime is spreading and it's very necessary for us to deal with that problem.
Now, we could either deal with it through bilateral relationships, which would be expensive and very complex, or we could deal with it through Interpol. This administration decided that we would do everything we could to further the development of Interpol in order to be able to accomplish these international relationships in law enforcement.
The problem was that the Interpol management, the day-today management in France, was not as aggressive as we would like. We felt that modernization was needed; reforms had to be made in procedures; the financial side of Interpol had to be developed; the management side had to be developed; programs needed to be initiated, and we were not meeting with the degree of responsiveness that we wanted on the part of the general sec-[missing text]
At that point we decided it would be in the interest of Interpol and the United States if we could have an American elected president. That gentlemen would then be able to run Interpol, manage the general secretariat and the executive committee in order to accomplish these objectives.
Q: How did you achieve it - lobbying, campaigning or bargaining?
A: Well, it was a process that took several years. Two years ago we put up John Simpson for election as vice president of Interpol to represent our region, the Americas, and he was elected. Then, from that base, John became well known to the members of Interpol, and we announced early on that we were interestd in having John run for the presidency. This was mentioned at a number of meetings of the last couple of years so that his candidacy was well known to everyone by the time we arrived in Luxembourg.
Q: What do you expect the payoff will be?
A: We have many studies underway at Interpol that we have sponsored, dealing with financial management, organizational management, and the most important one, really, is the telecommunications committee and study. We want to upgrade the telecommunications, which is at the heart of Interpol, bring that into the 20th century.
You may not realize it, but Interpol still uses Morse code in some areas. They have manual files there, no computer systems, and there are no data linkages running out of Interpol.
We have one we've set up from the United States to Interpol, but Interpol itself does not use modern telecommunications equipment at all. We want to change all that.
Q: Hasn't there been a widespread public misconception about Interpol? A. Well, I think that people, to the, extent that they have heard of Interpol, believe that it is this mysterious agency that conducts investigations on its own and is spread out all over the world. That is not the case. Interpol is a support organization. It facilitates the communications and the dialogue
As far as we're concerned, if you have a terrorist act, by definition that is not serving a lawful political objective. Terrorism is murder, whether you call it terrorism or not. We don't believe that one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. We believe that a terrorist is a terrorist, and he is murdering or desiring to murder innocent people. That is something that we would say should be properly within the framework of Interpol. [break in text]
the members of Interpol are bound to respond.
Q: Had this been an issue involving any specific acts of terrorism?
A: When terrorists have been sought by countries against whom terrorists acts had been committed, police have been processing those names through Interpol and not receiving the kind of response that we thought Interpol should provide.
Q: Does the resolution now make Interpol's positions satifactory? A: Yes, absolutely. In fact, Judge Webster from the FBI [FBI Director William Webster] was at the Interpol conference and led the debate on this issue. We were very pleased to see it ' passed.
The only point I'd like to conclude on, I guess, is that we have a lot of confidence in the potential for Interpol to provide the kind of service to the law-enforcement community internationally that it can do. We feel that with an aggressive leader in John Simpson, who is a distinguished career executive with the Secret Service and has had many years in law enforcement, that we can exercise the kind of leadership that not only will serve the interests of the United States but also the interests of the law enforcement community throughout the world. And I think that a lot of people are expecting good things from Interpol as a result of this election. between police agencies of member countries. so ... it's probably not as glamorous as people think.
Interpol was created back in 1923 in order to facilitate the exchange of information between law-enforcement agencies on an international basis. That function, of course, has remained
In the past we've had difficulty getting that kind of support on terrorism, But, frankly, at the recent general assembly in Luxembourg, a terrorism resolution was passed, which we pressed for, and we are very pleased with this development.
Q: What was the thrust of this resolution?
A: The thrust of the resolution was that you couldn't just refuse a request that related to terrorism on the grounds that it was political. You had to look at the circumstances to make a judgment on each case as to whether or not there was a lawful political feature to it or it was an unlawful terrorist act. If it was an unlawful terrorist act, at the core of Interpol since its inception.
Q: This is information about crimes and criminals?
A: This is information. relating to fugitives, criminal history checks, information relating to license checks. We can trace weapons, we can locate witnesses, we can convey information relating to very serious crimes such as murder, robbery, large-scale narcotics and counterfeiting violations. Q: How many members does Interpol have?
A: Interpol has 136 members and is divided up among four regions of the world: Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. All of those regions have representation on the 13-man executive committee that runs Interpol, of which the president is the chairman.
Q: Will Mr. Simpson live in France? A: No. He will continue on as director of the Secret Service. He will preside at three executive committee meetings a year and one general assembly meeting a year. And then he will decide matters as they are brought to his attention.
Q: How large a staff does the Interpol operation have in Washington?
A: We have 60 people here, about 14 of whom are contributed by the member agencies of the federal government. We have ATF [Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms], DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), IRS [Internal Revenue Service], Customs, Immigration and Naturalization Service, the postal inspectors, the marshals, the Department of Agriculture, the Secret Service, inspector generals and FBI- all participate in Interpol. Internationally, we've got the Secret Service, DEA, IRS, Customs Service, Marshals Service and the postal inspectors physically located in St. Cloud, outside of Paris.
Q: Does dealing with Interpol occupy much of your time?
A: Well, it occupies a significant amount of time, but it's not the only function of this office. We run the Customs Service, the Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and a few other things. And, also, I would point out that Interpol today is jointly managed by Justice and Treasury, so I cooperate on a working basis with the associate attorney general, Mr. [Lowell] Jensen, and together we make the management decisions as far as Interpol is concerned.
Q: What are the top items on this country's agenda before Interpol?
A: There are three main areas that I could point to. First is terrorism.
We want to get or be able to obtain, rapidly, information relating to terrorism for purposes of our own investigations and for purposes of protecting our officials against terrorism. Secondly, we want to heighten the awareness in the international community about financial investigations which we consider to be critical in enforcing against many kinds of organized crime. Thirdly, we want to continue our efforts to push the international enforcement effort against narcotics, which is the No. 1 crime problem facing the United States today and which is responsible for at least one-half of the violent crime that we have in this country.
Q: Has the United States been at odds with any Interpol policies, such as its reluctance to deal with so-called political crimes?
A:. I Think that, maybe, there has been some degree of caution on the part of the Interpol management in St. Cloud, based upon the fact that Article III of the Interpol constitution prohibits intervention in political, military, racial and religious matters. That may have been used in certain instances as an excuse not to do things.
We agree that Interpol should be non-political, and we uphold Article III, but we don't feel it should be used as an excuse not to perform the regular functions of Interpol.