Terror Attacks to include Vancouver BC
US Simulated Terror Attacks to include Vancouver BC---May 12 to May16
Appropriately enough, Paul Martin---whom some dub as Bush's runningmate
in 2004
will participate in a town hall meeting hosted by the Canada West
Foundation at
the Park View Terrace Room at the Pan Pacific Hotel 999 Canada Place at
7:00 pm
on May 12...
Hmmm... wonder if he'll be wearing a Hazmat suit?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
US to Test Readiness with Simulated Terror Attacks
Fri May 9, 2003 12:26 PM ET
By Deborah Charles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will launch simulated
radiological and
biological attacks on two cities next week in its first major test of
disaster
preparedness since the deadly Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America.
The $16 million simulation -- the largest homeland security exercise
ever
undertaken in the United States -- will take place from May 12-16 in
Seattle,
Washington and Chicago, Illinois and will spread into Vancouver,
Canada.
Officials and analysts say they hope to see some improved responses
during the
Congressionally mandated drill, dubbed "Topoff 2" for "Top Officials
2," over
those from Topoff 1 -- a similar exercise carried out in May 2000.
In 2000 when the domestic terrorism threat was not viewed as a top
priority,
very few top officials participated in the drill. The exercise, similar
to what
will be played out next week, exposed major communications and
coordination
problems between federal, state and local officials.
But the attitude has changed in light of the Sept. 11 attacks which
forced the
United States to realize its vulnerability to terror attacks. This
time, more
than 25 federal agencies will be involved as well as numerous state and
local
agencies and departments.
Government agencies at all levels have invested more money to try to
improve
response time, streamline communications and improve the ability of
hospitals
to handle a disaster.
"We're really seeing more emphasis on the contingency planning
mentality by
both corporations and (government) agencies," said Gene Kirby, chief
executive
of Dialogic Communications Corp., a major vendor of emergency
notification
technology.
DIRTY BOMB AND PNEUMONIC PLAGUE
Under the scenario, a fictitious terror group will detonate a
radiological
"dirty bomb" in Seattle on Monday at about noon local time (3 p.m.
EDT/1900
GMT). The same group will disseminate a pneumonic plague in Chicago,
and people
will begin to report flu-like symptoms around Chicago on Tuesday.
More than 100 people will be injured in Seattle and significant
radiation will
be detected, sparking the government to raise its terror threat warning
to the
highest level.
In the Chicago area an undisclosed number of people will get sick. In
the
exercise, people in Canada will report the same symptoms as in Chicago,
leading
to cross-border efforts to coordinate an epidemiological investigation.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, whose department was created to
prevent
and deal with any future attacks, said the exercise scenario reflected
plausible threats to the country.
"Our objectives are to improve the nation's capacity to save lives in
response
to a terrorist event," he said earlier this week. "We do have to be
prepared in
the event an attack occurs so we train and train to build and enhance
our
capabilities to respond."
Weldon Kennedy, a former deputy director of the FBI and current vice
chairman
of private security firm Guardsmark, said drills like Topoff 2 were
invaluable.
"It tests to the limits under a simulated situation what could really
happen,
and lets them analyze the response," he said in an interview.
Although planners are due to throw out unexpected scenarios during the
exercise
to address weaknesses they discover, one thing is for sure. At the end
of the
week, the FBI will find and "neutralize" the group responsible for the
attacks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If the FBI really do their job right, I guess this means the 'game' is
over for
for Bush, Cheney, Rummy, Condy, Wolfowitz, Perle and the rest of the
gang... |
