Terrorism institute expanding support base
05.03.2007
David Page, The Journal Record
OKLAHOMA CITY – After the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, survivors and family members of victims realized what they considered an important need – developing information on terrorism.
What the survivors and family members in Oklahoma City envisioned as a center to conduct research and create programs to provide information to avert terrorism and reduce the impact of acts of terrorism resulted in the creation of the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism in 2000 – about year before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The nonprofit MIPT in Oklahoma City has historically operated on grants from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security but now plans to expand its financial base by seeking more support from private donors and foundations.
"We realize we need broaden our support," said Donald R. Hamilton, the institute's executive director.
Founded with a mission to counter terrorism with knowledge, the MIPT developed an extensive terrorism database. Information is available online and at a library at the MIPT offices in The Journal Record Building at 621 N. Robinson – the same building that houses the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum.
"We want to see contributions from people and groups who are interested in our mission," Hamilton said. "We will also provide fees for services to government agencies and businesses."
David Cid, deputy director of the MIPT, is leading development of the fee-for-service offerings.
The first fee-for-service client is the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Ala. The center, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, provides training for emergency responders.
"We are conducting a series of four critical management exercises for them," said Cid, who went to Anniston with several MIPT staff members to provide the training.
MIPT and its partner, C.H. Guernsey & Co. of Oklahoma City, trained first responders at the Center for Domestic Preparedness on how to deal with act of terrorism involving chemicals.
Cid plans to expand the fee-for-service business beyond government agencies.
"Little by little we hope to get traction in the business world," he said.
MIPT plans to help business create threat assessment plans.
"A business would use our services if they recognize they need a crisis management plan and realize that they need someone to validate the plan that is not in the company," Cid said.
The institute currently has 15 employees and usually about three or four interns. Hamilton expects the staff to expand to provide the additional services. He also plans to for staff members to perform tasks that have been done by contractors.
"When we started we wanted results quickly and we contracted out much of the work," he said. "Now we want to bring that work back in house with our employees."
The staff operates in about 14,000 square feet on the fourth and fifth floor of The Journal Record Building, which was renovated after being heavily damaged by the federal building bombing.
A large conference room and library are on the fifth floor.
"We have the largest collection of books on terrorism outside the Library of Congress," Cid said.
The Web site includes three knowledge bases: terrorism knowledge, responder knowledge base and lessons learned information sharing.
"Our main job is to provide first responders and policymakers with knowledge to deal with the terrorists," Cid said. "The site has been used by the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security and state and local law enforcement."
Information also is available for the general public, worldwide not just domestic, on much of the Web site.
The Web site recorded more than 1.5 million visitors – not visits but visitors – over two years, Cid said.
"We provide information on terrorists and terrorism groups," he said. "We can understand them from our experience with the Oklahoma City bombing."
Cid's experience includes the bombing.
A native of New York, he joined the FBI in 1981 and retired 20 years later as an inspector and assistant special agent in charge of the Oklahoma City Field Office. He joined MIPT in 2006 after serving as president of Salus International, a consulting practice providing security, crisis management and business continuity services.
Hamilton joined MIPT in April 2000 after serving as a senior member of the U.S. Foreign Service. He lived in Tulsa from early childhood until joining the Foreign Service. Hamilton attended Tulsa public schools and is a graduate of the University of Tulsa.
During his diplomatic career, Hamilton served in the U.S. Department of State's Counterterrorism Office and as a senior adviser to the National Commission on Terrorism.
The Web site operates much like popular commercial sites, Hamilton said.
"We try to do the same thing with terrorism that Amazon.com does with books," he said. "We have links between the terms. If you do a search for one terrorist group, it will say if you are seeking information about this group you may also be interested in this group."
The Web site includes information on terrorism events worldwide.
"The number of terrorism events worldwide is staggering," Hamilton said.
Information on new terrorism events is quickly added to the Web site. The MIPT Web site includes a section on the incident at Virginia Tech University in mid-April.
The institute established from the experiences of the Oklahoma City bombing has maintained its connections to the 1995 terrorist act – MPIT's office overlooks the Oklahoma City National Memorial grounds and it is in the same building as the museum.
"The people of Oklahoma really paid a high price – a blood price," Hamilton said. "The lessons the people of Oklahoma learned need to be shared so other will not have to pay such a high price. The lessons learned here became more important after 9/11."
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