December 2001: Vol. 81, No. 1

CIA expert Loch Johnson has long urged intelligence agency reform
Wanted: more spies on ground

UGA political science professor Loch Johnson, a national authority on intelligence gathering, has been calling for reform in the nation's intelligence-gathering services for years. In this conversation with Athens Banner-Herald writer Lee Shearer (AB '72), Johnson talks about what went wrong prior to the Sept. 11 attacks and about long-term intelligence problems.

Q: There are 13 national intelligence agencies. Is that 12 too many?
A: No, but it might be two or three too many. In my writing, I've tried to point out that one of the biggest problems we've got in gathering intelligence is its highly fragmented nature. These 13 agencies are medieval fiefdoms separated from one another with insufficient coordination and sharing of information.

Q: What are the lessons from Sept. 11?
A: We've got to do a much better job at examining the immigrants coming to this country—which may sound harsh—but in 1995, when Betty Jean Craige (director of UGA's Center for Humanities and Arts) and I organized a symposium on the Middle East, one of the guys that participated ended up being the head of Hamas (a Middle Eastern terrorist group). I wonder what that guy was doing in this country, and I wonder what these 19 hijackers were doing in this country.

Q: What do you mean by human intelligence networks?
A: We were so riveted on the Soviet Union during the Cold War that we forgot about the rest of the world, particularly with respect to building spy networks. When you focus on the Soviet Union, you don't worry too much about Afghanistan and Sudan.

And we've been fascinated by satellites, U-2 planes, unmanned reconnaissance vehicles, and this whole gamut of technological machinery—that really is awesome. Reading the word "Wilson" on a tennis ball from hundreds of miles in space is really great stuff, and members of Congress love it and members of the intelligence community love it. But what gets lost in the shuffle is the spy on the ground. We need someone inside those caves and tents, and we need more analysts back home to figure out what all this information means.

Q: After Sept. 11, we've heard some claims that the CIA has been hamstrung by a 1995 presidential directive prohibiting the CIA from recruiting bad people—and that without it, we would have known Osama bin Laden's plans.
A: I would like to clear up that myth. It's simply false. The truth is that 1995 directive was in response to a Guatemalan colonel who had killed two American citizens and was still on the CIA payroll. The directive says if you've got someone you want to recruit who seems to be really unsavory, you have to get that cleared by the director of central intelligence.

Q: There have been press accounts of incidents that might have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks—for example, when FBI agents in Minneapolis learned that some people had gone to a flight school and said they wanted to learn how to fly big planes, but not how to take off or land.
A: That's a great example of how the FBI royally fouled up. Can you imagine that—someone in Washington, after hearing that from agents in Minneapolis, said we're not going to open an investigation? I hope those people have been fired by now. That should have been a tripwire immediately.

Q: Are we just saying that because hindsight is 20-20?
A: They were asleep at the wheel. But there's plenty of blame to go around. Apparently, the CIA sent a routine notice to the FBI that two people who they thought were associates of terrorists had entered the U.S. and might be in the vicinity of San Diego. That went to the FBI, the FBI again looked at that and saw that it was only a routine notice from the CIA and didn't pay much attention. If the CIA had red-flagged that, the FBI might really have looked at who these people were.

Q: Who were they?
A: Two guys who turned out to be two of the 19 (who hijacked the planes and carried out the Sept. 11 attacks), and they were out in San Diego. Furthermore, the FBI had a photograph of one of those guys who was standing next to one of the guys who was convicted of the Kenyan embassy bombing.

UGA in the news

UGA climbing in college rankings The University of Georgia rose two spots to 18th in U.S. News & World Report's 2002 rankings of the "Top 50 Public National Universities—Doctoral." Only three other states—California, Texas, and Virginia—had more than one school listed in the top 20; Georgia had two: UGA and Georgia Tech. UGA also ranked 21st on U.S. News' list of "Great Schools at Great Prices"—and was the fourth-highest public institution on that list. UGA's Terry College of Business tied for 30th on the list of "Best Business Programs" and its insurance/risk management program ranked fifth in the nation. Vets must learn to recognize ag terrorism An article in the Oct. 26 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education said that, in the event of terrorist attacks on livestock, veterinarians would be the first to identify the problem—but only if they are trained to recognize warning signs. Corrie Brown, a professor of pathology in UGA's College of Veterinary Medicine, who was quoted as saying: "There's a tremendous problem among United States veterinarians right now in that many of them would not be able to recognize some of these diseases." UGA has revamped its vet school curriculum to rectify that problem; the University is also helping vets by developing a distance-learning course on foreign-animal diseases. SREL: one-time weapons plant now a wildlife refuge In its Aug. 24th issue, USA Today traced the transformation of UGA's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory in Aiken, S.C., from a weapons plant that produced plutonium and tritium for nuclear weapons to a nature refuge for 450 species of birds, fish, and reptiles. The 300-square-mile preserve, once heavily polluted, has made a remarkable ecological recovery—and for one simple reason, says UGA ecology professor Whit Gibbons, who was quoted as saying: "It's a pretty simple formula. The best protection for the environment is no people." Interest rates at 40-year low—but will it help stem recession? In cutting interest rates to their lowest level in 40 years, the Federal Reserve has unleashed its most powerful monetary guns in an attempt to stop advancing recession. But like Japan, where short-term interest rates have essentially been forced to zero in an unsuccessful effort to combat a long-lasting slowdown, the feds may be running out of ammunition. In the Nov. 7 issue of the Chicago Tribune, UGA finance professor Marc Lipson says the Fed has to begin worrying about people "getting the feeling their interest rate cuts aren't working. If there is too large a cut and there is no change, it undermines their [the Federal Reserve] ability to do anything in the future." UGA near top of SEC in black student statistics In their Oct. 25 issue, the editors of Black Issues in Higher Education examined black student graduation rates at universities across the U.S.—grouping them, for easy reference, by athletic conference, with UGA being a member of the 12-school Southeastern Conference. Looking at students who entered college in 1994, the rankings showed that UGA ranked second among SEC schools in number of black students entered (375), second in number of black graduates (210), and tied for second in percentage of black students graduated (55 percent) during a six-year time window.

"Ride of Five" recalled during ACC bicentennial

Yes, that's President Adams dressed in 1800s garb below—and, no, that wasn't trick photography. He really did don knickers on Nov. 8 and impersonate UGA's second president, Josiah Meigs on North Campus.

Adams was reenacting UGA's first class—taught by Meigs in 1801—as part of Athens-Clarke County's 200th birthday celebration. Other North Campus events included a recreation of the "Ride of Five" in honor of the five men who rode through the North Georgia wilderness in the summer of 1801 to purchase land for the chartered—but as yet unbuilt—University of Georgia. The 633-acre tract, on the west bank of the Oconee River, was initially called Cedar Shoals and later changed to Athens.

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of Athens-Clarke County, President Michael F. Adams dressed up as his 1801 counterpart Josiah Meigs and reenacted the first UGA class.

Biochemistry professor Michael Pierce is attacking the way cancer spreads
Searching for a cancer inhibitor

Michael Pierce, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has discovered an enzyme that could help unravel the mystery of how cancer spreads in the human body. If he and his team of researchers can find an inhibitor of this enzyme that works in the body, they may be able to develop a drug that would bind to that enzyme and prevent or slow the migration of cancer cells.

For downloadable photos and links to Michael Pierce's Web sites, please visit www.uga.edu/news/specialreport.

"Almost every cancer that kills does so because it invades tissues and then moves to another location," says Pierce. "If you can remove the tumor and irradiate everything around it, there's a good chance the person will survive. If the cancer cells have gone to another tissue, you can't really find the tumor until it grows larger—and by then it's very difficult to treat."

In his lab at UGA's Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, Pierce works to understand how carbohydrates affect cell adhesion and migration. His research, which focuses on breast and pancreatic cancer, is supported by grants of more than $2 million from the National Cancer Institute.

When a cell becomes cancerous, its carbohydrate branches change and so do the messages sent to the nucleus. Starting with the altered branches, Pierce and his team worked backward to find what causes these changes, eventually identifying the enzyme GnT-V, which was patented through the UGA Research Foundation.

Subsequent studies have revealed that when a cell is forced to produce large amounts of GnT-V, adhesion goes down and the rate of migration goes up. Over-produced in many cancer cells, GnT-V accelerates cancer invasion. Inhibiting GnT-V activity appears to slow progression of some cancers. If Pierce can create a specific inhibitor of GnT-V that works in the body, preventing the spread of some cancers might be achieved with a simple injection.

—Allyson Mann (MA '92)

UGA joins city-county effort to provide students with positive role models
Mentor magic

Nancy Evelyn gently places her four-month-old son Will in the arms of 10-year-old Kenisha Pierce, whose smile is a mile wide. Evelyn adjusts the blankets as Kenisha gazes at the baby as though they were siblings. They aren't, but the bond is special because Evelyn has been Kenisha's mentor for five years, which is almost as far back as Kenisha can remember.

Evelyn and Kenisha represent just one of hundreds of relationships produced by a local mentor program, which was instituted in March 1999 by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce and the Clarke County School District to provide children with positive role models and to help keep children in school.

"I'm surprised (the partnership) didn't happen sooner," says Evelyn (BFA '84, ABJ '86), photography manager at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. "Now Kenisha's almost like a mentor for (my four-year-old daughter) Isabelle!" Evelyn speculates that one day Kenisha may play the same role for the baby she holds in her arms.

And thanks to UGA, the mentor program is getting even stronger. On Aug. 29, Vice President for Public Service and Outreach Art Dunning announced a partnership with the mentor program, whereby the University is asking supervisors to encourage their colleagues, staff, and employees to volunteer to become a mentor.

Nancy Evelyn, photography manager of the Georgia Center, has served as a mentor to Kenisha Pierce, 10, for five years.

Volunteers are needed
Of the more than 30,000 students and 9,000 faculty-staff at UGA, only 128 students and 56 staff members are currently involved in the program.

"Our immediate goal is to increase the number of persons within the University who will give one hour a week to help keep students in school and make this program a success," says Dunning. "If you're going to strengthen our community, you need to do it through education."

Cynthia Ballard, a counselor at Chase Street Elementary School, can attest to the positive results of the mentoring program.

"I'm a big fan," she says with her hand on the shoulder of her mentee, six-year-old Tianna Wilson. "You can see a big difference in students who are mentored—in their attitudes, behavior, motivation, and academics."

When Tianna attended Chase Street Elementary, Ballard became concerned about her performance in school, but was unable to serve as her mentor due to her relationship as Wilson's school counselor. When Wilson transferred to Barnett Shoals Elementary, that was no longer a problem. Ballard says the partnership with UGA can only make things better.

"When their mentors come to pick them up," says Ballard, "it makes the children feel almost like superstars."

Kenisha Pierce agrees. "I have a lot of fun," she says. "All my friends have mentors, too." In fact, the demand for mentors is so great, the people in charge are hoping the partnership with UGA will generate as much interest as possible.

"We have more students asking for help than we have volunteers," says Trudy Bradley, director of what she claims is the largest grassroots mentoring organization in Georgia. "And I have the best job in the world. All I do is deal with people who want to do something good for other people."

—Katie Mitchell

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