Tower Terror

A murderous explosion in the heart of New York City raises the specter of terrorism in America and sets off a feverish hunt for the bomber

By Richard Lacayo Monday, Mar. 08, 1993

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    As the only remaining superpower, the U.S. can find itself the target of resentments of players on all sides who are seeking American involvement or trying to fend it off. Massive car bombs have become familiar as political weapons in the Middle East and Europe. But it would represent a quantum leap in terrorist capabilities -- and brazenness -- to assemble one in the U.S. Middle East terror networks, for one, have never shown themselves to be capable of that or interested in doing so, preferring to concentrate their attacks on Westerners in Europe, where they have found it easier to operate.

    Whoever the bomber was, he made an indelible statement. On top of the deaths and injuries, the bomb's damage to the heart of New York City's financial district will bring heavy costs. Repairs and restoration alone will cost the Port Authority as much as $100 million, according to one estimate. But the disruption to business will be even worse, because the Port Authority will have to close the giant complex for at least several days for structural and safety work. The towers, which represent about 10% of all the office space in Manhattan's financial district, are so large that they have two ZIP codes.

    Perhaps the most unsettling possibility is that the hand behind the blast will never reveal itself and never be discovered by anyone else. Though two Libyan intelligence agents were indicted in the downing of Pan Am 103, they have never been brought to trial, and no nation or group ever came forward to take responsibility. Just blocks from the World Trade Center, the walls of the Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. are still scarred from the effects of a bomb that was hidden in a horse-drawn wagon on Sept. 16, 1920. When it exploded into a lunchtime crowd, 40 people died and 200 were injured. The mystery of the blast was never cleared up. The investigators who have begun scratching through the rubble of the Trade Center are determined that this flash of terror will not go unsolved.

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