A veteran CIA officer who has spent more than 30 years working undercover against terrorist groups told an ISU audience Wednesday that the most important weapon to combat terrorism is intelligence.

Jim Olson, senior lecturer and CIA officer in residence at the Bush School of Government and Public Service in College Station, Texas, presented “The Role of Intelligence in Counterterrorism.”

Olson said the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were a turning point in the nation’s history.

“Our country has been staggered by the worst terrorist attacks in its history,” he said. “Terrorism is now a serious threat inside our own borders.”

Olson said the loyal nature of terrorist groups is an obstruction to U.S. forces.

“Most terrorist groups are close-knit and fanatically loyal,” he said. “They are willing to die for their cause without blinking an eye.”

The CIA officer said the five main aspects of U.S. intelligence are human intelligence, signals intelligence, covert action, imagery intelligence and liaison.

Sabotage is another option available to U.S. efforts against terrorism.

“Information warfare is a form of covert action and is a big part of our future,” he said.

Olson, who spoke as a part of an Institute of World Affairs series “What is Terrorism?” has held positions as Deputy Chief of Station in Moscow, Chief of Station in Vienna and Chief of Station in Mexico City.

Todd Doorenbos, member of the Lecture Committee on the Institution of World Affairs, said Iowa State is lucky to have someone like Olson available to speak.

“He’s an exceptionally qualified speaker with an incredibly rich background in national defense,” Doorenbos said.

The next forum will be Douglass Cassel’s discussion on the International Criminal Court at 2 p.m., Dec. 8 in the Pioneer Room of the Memorial Union.