Former joint chiefs member heads terrorism institute

Friday, April 14th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The new director of a terrorism prevention institute says his organization will be an information clearinghouse for local emergency officials nationwide.

Retired Gen. Dennis J. Reimer, the immediate past chief of staff of the Army, said Thursday that helping local emergency officials respond to domestic terrorism is the primary mission of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism.

The institute wants to match emergency officials with agencies that provide training and research on how to respond, said Reimer, a Medford native who was named director April 1.

The institute also will have a library for scholars and policymakers to study the root cause of terrorism as they attempt to find solutions, he said.

"The goal of the institute is to become a world-class facility that is recognized for its expertise in preventing and deterring terrorism and mitigating the results of terrorism," Reimer said.

Questions remain about whether school shootings would be considered terrorism and something the institute would track, said Don Hamilton, the deputy director.

"I have personally not thought a lot about whether a school shooting would be terrorism or might not," he said. "I'm not ready to speak for the institute on that."

Reimer said he and his four-person staff plan to create a library, including digital information.

The institute and RAND Corp. will hold a conference in Oklahoma City called "Terrorism and Beyond...The 21st Century" Monday through Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

About 200 are expected to attend the conference. Thousands are expected at the memorial dedication.

The institute is now housed in the City Place building in Oklahoma City but will move to the Journal Record building next the bombing site when renovations are finished.

The federal budget provides $15 million for the institute, which is not required to spend it all this year, Reimer said.

Dartmouth College also got $15 million to explore cyber-terrorism, he said.

Reimer said he's not opposed to outside funding but hopes the institute's budget becomes a routine part of the Justice Department budget. The institute could eventually have a staff of 20, he said.