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Retired intelligence man reflects national anger By PAUL FATTIG Retired military intelligence officer Rick Francona received a chilling e-mail Tuesday morning from a former co-worker stationed at the Pentagon. "It said, 'We're at war - we just don't know who with,' " said Francona, a Port Orford resident who specializes in the Middle East. The communication from the nation's military stronghold in Washington, D.C., to the Southern Oregon Coast resident reflected the frustration felt across the nation in the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon. The central question is who committed the deadly acts that appear to have killed thousands, said Francona, 50, who has worked with the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency. "Everything right now is sheer speculation," he said. "When the Oklahoma City bombing happened, people were initially talking about Middle Eastern terrorists. It turned out to be one of our own." Having said that, Francona, who is fluent in Arabic and was Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf's personal interpreter during the Gulf War, believes the culprits may very well be connected to Osama bin Laden, a suspected terrorist leader believed to be living in Afghanistan. "Everything would point to someone on the scale of bin Laden," he said. "This was well executed. It required a well organized organization with long tentacles. "Bin Laden has been talking for some time about an unprecedented attack on the United States," he added. "I think it's here." Yet it could also be another terrorist organization, Francona added. "All we know for certain is that it was on a scale no one has contemplated," he said. "This is horrendous." Francona, who retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force in 1998 after 28 years of service, is the author of "Ally to Adversary: An Eyewitness Account of Iraq's Fall From Grace." During one of his missions with the CIA, he worked covertly in northern Iraq, helping groups that opposed Saddam Hussein. His wife, Emily, is also a retired intelligence officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Francona, who worked in the Pentagon through much of the 1990s, said it's impossible for intelligence agencies to be aware of all terrorist plans. "Of course, you don't hear about the successes," he said, noting that organizations such as the CIA aren't about to tip off terrorists by airing successful missions. Francona, who had stayed up late Monday night working on an article about Middle East terrorism and was awakened by his wife about Tuesday's terrorism, said the attack is reminiscent of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. "The difference was that JFK's assassination saddened me," he said. "This absolutely angers me." That anger will no doubt be felt around the nation, he added. "It takes a lot to anger the American people but this will outrage them," he said. "When you come to New York City and kill thousands of innocent Americans, that's like Pearl Harbor." But he reiterated that Americans have to be careful not to lump ethnic groups together when looking to place blame. "People are going to be frustrated in the next few days," he said. "Things will be said that shouldn't be said. We have to watch that." Noting that his former co-workers were still working at the Pentagon, albeit in their bunkers, Francona believes that many Pentagon employees were able to continue their work after the aircraft crashed into the huge building. "The Pentagon is well built with granite and reinforced concrete," he said. "I got a couple of e-mails from people working there. They're still working." He expects the United States to respond militarily to Tuesday's terrorist attack. "We're probably going to reach out and touch someone," he said. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.