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An ‘awakening’ of Iranian sleeper cells poses a threat at the World Cup – the size of which the United States has not seen for up to 25 years, a veteran of counter terrorism has warned.
Paul Goldenberg worked as a beat cop in New Jersey and an undercover officer in Florida for four years before later becoming an expert in counter-terrorism. Now, he has been participating in various aspects of security planning for the World Cup through his affiliation with the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience.
‘I’ve been around a long time,’ Goldenberg tells the Daily Mail. ‘I’m a seasoned veteran in counter terrorism and I’ve been through it all.’
But this isn’t a man who is here to talk about himself. Goldenberg has a sense of perspective few can offer on this summer’s tournament, particularly on fears of sleeper cells being activated by Iran in retaliation to attacks by Israel and the United States.
‘There are people sitting around on social media platforms, trying to figure out how to disrupt, how to dismay, how to destroy, how to kill, how to maim and we’re working harder to ensure that doesn’t happen,’ Goldenberg warns.
‘I’ll call it an awakening. It happens when you have these geopolitical events like we’re seeing now. This event is unprecedented in many ways, because I believe there are cells here.
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President Trump pictured alongside the President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, last year
‘Think about this. When you have a country like Iran that isn’t afraid to kill 30-35,000 of its own children, its own youth and its own citizens, then you know they’re sure not going to be afraid to strike us at our Achilles heel.
‘And our Achilles heel is what? Our children, schools, universities, stadiums, infrastructure where you’re going to have the largest gathering for the highest impact. So I will say that we are in probably the most challenging times that I’ve seen in probably 20, 25 years.’
Sleeper cells offer a unique threat, Goldenberg explains, because they can be so difficult to uncover.
‘Sleeper cells are people that have been lurking in the shadows, either individuals or small groups appearing inactive, waiting to receive some kind of order from a foreign adversary or linked to some foreign intelligence or extremist group,’ he says.
‘They’re not just what I refer to as a casual internet meme threat, but really much more serious, which is a concern to intelligence agencies around the world because it’s not like they’re in your face.
‘We, the intelligence community, the CIAs of the world, the FBI, the MI5 and MI6 of the world are tracking and monitoring these activities as best we can.’
Goldenberg’s words might sound chilling. But he is as confident as anyone can possibly be in the efforts that are being made to keep everyone safe in the United States.
And that should mean something to the hundreds of thousands of fans heading to the States this summer. He knows more than most about what is being done to protect fans.
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‘On one hand, I am going to say the World Cup is a prime target for someone who wants to do the greatest damage,’ Goldenberg explains. ‘On the other, I can assure you, because I have seen inside the house, that the World Cup is probably the single most event that has had the greatest number of resources and technologies and methodologies placed all in one pot to secure those games.
‘I will tell you that they are using both known and unknown technologies and methodologies, even when it comes down to timing of who’s where, what and how. They’re doing everything humanly possible. And I’m not just saying that.
‘The federal task force itself, overseen by Andrew Giuliani, they’ve declared this a national special security event, an NSSE level event, which is the top of the top. There has been tremendous funding.
‘There’s been tremendous on the ground protective measures by the FBI, DHS, the inner operability between the feds and the international and global intelligence and police has been absolutely extraordinary.’
Goldenberg’s words come as the DHS on Thursday signed off on World Cup security funding worth an extra $625million, according to Politico.
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‘Citizens need to know that the White House task force that’s responsible for this has been working feverishly with state and local agencies,’ Goldenberg adds. ‘Years ago, that was a problem.
‘Does that mean they’re going to stop the next attack? I don’t think there’s any guarantee of anything in the world but I have never seen the resources, the coordination and best effort put forward, as I have seen with regard to the FIFA games. And I mean that, genuinely.
‘They have not slept, they literally have not slept, and I had an opportunity first-hand to see the outcomes and good work. The world’s citizens are coming here, they’ve got a big job and they know it. They’re trying to do it with dignity, integrity and they’re not sleeping at night.’
To anyone considering staying away from games out of fear, Goldenberg has one simple and defiant message.
‘Anyone thinking about going to those games should go,’ he insists.
‘If these terrorists keep us from doing things that make us happy, that bring us together as nations, such as sports that test the human spirit… if these terrorists keep us from those games, then they’ve won.’
