IRANIAN TERROR OPERATIONS ON AMERICAN SOIL JOINT HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT AND THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON COUNTERTERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION OCTOBER 26, 2011 Serial No. 112–54 Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 73–741 PDF WASHINGTON : 2012 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY PETER T. KING, New York, Chairman LAMAR SMITH, Texas BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California LORETTA SANCHEZ, California MIKE ROGERS, Alabama SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas HENRY CUELLAR, Texas GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia LAURA RICHARDSON, California CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois TIM WALBERG, Michigan BRIAN HIGGINS, New York CHIP CRAVAACK, Minnesota JACKIE SPEIER, California JOE WALSH, Illinois CEDRIC L. RICHMOND, Louisiana PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania HANSEN CLARKE, Michigan BEN QUAYLE, Arizona WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia KATHLEEN C. HOCHUL, New York BILLY LONG, Missouri JANICE HAHN, California JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas ROBERT L. TURNER, New York MICHAEL J. RUSSELL, Staff Director/Chief Counsel KERRY ANN WATKINS, Senior Policy Director MICHAEL S. TWINCHEK, Chief Clerk I. LANIER AVANT, Minority Staff Director (II) SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas, Chairman GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts BILLY LONG, Missouri, Vice Chair YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (Ex Officio) PETER T. KING, New York (Ex Officio) DR. R. NICK PALARINO, Staff Director DIANA BERGWIN, Subcommittee Clerk TAMLA SCOTT, Minority Subcommittee Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON COUNTERTERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania, Chairman PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia, Vice Chair JACKIE SPEIER, California CHIP CRAVAACK, Minnesota LORETTA SANCHEZ, California JOE WALSH, Illinois BRIAN HIGGINS, New York BEN QUAYLE, Arizona KATHLEEN C. HOCHUL, New York SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia JANICE HAHN, California BILLY LONG, Missouri BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (Ex Officio) JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina PETER T. KING, New York (Ex Officio) KEVIN GUNDERSEN, Staff Director ALAN CARROLL, Subcommittee Clerk HOPE GOINS, Minority Subcommittee Director (III) C O N T E N T S Page STATEMENTS The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management .................................................................................................. 1 The Honorable William R. Keating, a Representative in Congress From the State of Massachusetts, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management ........................................................................ 6 The Honorable Patrick Meehan, a Representative in Congress From the State of Pennsylvania, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence ........................................................................................................... 4 The Honorable Jackie Speier, a Representative in Congress From the State of California, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence .................................................................................................... 3 The Honorable Peter T. King, a Representative in Congress From the State of New York, and Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security .................... 8 The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security ................................................................................................................. 9 WITNESSES General John M. Keane, United States Army (Retired): Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 10 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 13 Mr. Reuel Marc Gerecht, Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democ- racies ..................................................................................................................... 14 Dr. Matthew Levitt, Director, Stein Program On Counterterrorism And Intel- ligence, The Washington Institute For Near East Policy: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 16 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 19 Dr. Lawrence J. Korb, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress Action Fund: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 27 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 28 Colonel Timothy J. Geraghty, United States Marine Corps (Retired): Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 31 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 34 FOR THE RECORD The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security: Article .................................................................................................................... 46 (V) IRANIAN TERROR OPERATIONS ON AMERICAN SOIL Wednesday, October 26, 2011 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COUNTERTERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE, AND SUBCOMMITTEE ON SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT, WASHINGTON, DC. The subcommittees met, pursuant to call, at 10:05 a.m., in Room 311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Michael T. McCaul [Chairman of the Oversight, Investigations, and Management sub- committee] presiding. Present from the Counterterrorism and Intelligence sub- committee: Representatives Meehan, Broun, Speier, Higgins, and Hahn. Present from the Oversight, Investigations, and Management subcommittee: Representatives McCaul, Bilirakis, Duncan, Marino, King, Keating, Clarke, Davis, Hochul, and Thompson. Also present: Representative Jackson Lee. Mr. MCCAUL. Good morning. Excuse me, good morning. The sub- committees will come to order. Today, we have a joint subcommittee between the Oversight Sub- committee and the Intelligence Subcommittee. We are meeting today to hear testimony regarding the ‘‘Iranian Terror Operations on American Soil.’’ The Iranian government is a threat to the international commu- nity, building weapons of mass destruction. It is a threat to the Middle East, dominating the region through intimidation and sup- port to terrorist organizations. Now, recent reports indicate that the Iranian government is a threat to homeland security by at- tempting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador on our soil using drug cartels operating on our doorstep. Enough is enough. In the past, we, and the international commu- nity have attempted to use economic sanctions. It is obvious these sanctions have not worked. Our message to Iran should be sim- ple—continue threatening the National security of the United States, and there will be a punitive response. Our hearing today examines the threats from the Iranian govern- ment, the timid U.S. response, and the alternative courses of ac- tion. In February, the International Atomic Agency director agreed that Iranian leaders seemed very determined to build a nuclear weapon. (1) 2 Additionally, Iran has declared it has successfully enriched ura- nium. Iran’s growing arsenal of ballistic missiles enhances its power projection, and there are reports Iran is adapting one of its ballistic missiles to deliver a nuclear warhead. The U.S. Department of State considers Iran the world’s most ac- tive state sponsor of terrorism. Since its inception in 1979, the Is- lamic state has used terrorism as an integral part of its foreign and military policies. It provides funding, weapons, training, and sanc- tuary to numerous terrorist groups, most notably those operating in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and other Middle Eastern countries. Iranian-backed political violence has killed more than a thousand people in over 200 terror attacks, including the 1983 suicide bomb- ing of American and French military barracks in Beirut, killing 299 people. Most recently, the U.S. Department of Justice filed charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism against Manssor Arbabsiar, a natu- ralized U.S. citizen who holds an Iranian passport, and Gholam Shakuri, who is identified as a member of the Qods Force—a spe- cial covered unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Shakuri is still at large and thought to be in Iran. But charges state that Mr. Manssor, who is living in Corpus Christi and, at one point in time, in my district in Austin,