US Plans Biggest Terror Drill Ever

Alpha Killer II

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http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6972
Spoiler :


(AP) The nation is preparing for its biggest terrorism exercise ever next week when three fictional "dirty bombs" go off and cripple transportation arteries in two major U.S. cities and Guam, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

Yet even as this drill begins, details from the previous national exercise held in 2005 have yet to be publicly released - information that's supposed to help officials prepare for the next real attack.

House lawmakers were expected to demand answers Wednesday, including why the "after-action" report from 2005 hasn't been made public. Congress has required the exercise since 2000, but has done little in the way of oversight beyond attending the actual events.

Next week will be the fourth Top Officials exercise - dubbed TOPOFF. The program costs about $25 million a year and involves the federal government's highest officials, such as top people from the Defense and Homeland Security departments.

"The challenge with TOPOFF is not the exercise itself. It's to move as quickly as possible to remedy what perceives to be the problems that are uncovered," former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said in an interview with AP this week.

Ridge, who launched his own security consulting company on Monday, said he's a big fan of the TOPOFF exercises. But he said "it's not acceptable" that the review from the 2005 exercise is still not released publicly.

The House Homeland Security emergency communications, preparedness and response subcommittee was holding a hearing Wednesday on the terrorism exercise program.

This year's TOPOFF will build on lessons learned from previous exercises, according to the Homeland Security Department, which runs the program. The agency said the Oct. 15-19 exercise would be "the largest and most comprehensive" to date.

According to an internal department briefing of next week's exercise obtained by AP, a dirty bomb will go off at a Cabras power plant in Guam; another dirty bomb will explode on the Steel Bridge in Portland, Ore., impacting major transportation systems, and a third dirty bomb will explode at the intersection of busy routes 101 and 202 near Phoenix.

Local hospitals and law enforcement agencies will be involved in the "attacks" by the dirty bombs, which are conventional explosives that include some radioactive material that would cause contamination over a limited area but not create actual nuclear explosions.

"Lessons learned from the exercise will provide valuable insights to guide future planning for securing the nation against terrorist attacks, disasters and other emergencies," according to the department's Web site.

The after action report from TOPOFF 3, which deals with issues that came up in the 2005 exercise, is supposed to identify areas for improvement. That report is still going through internal reviews.

According to a brief summary of the 2005 exercise - marked For Official Use Only, but obtained by AP - problems arose when officials realized the federal government's law for providing assistance does not cover biological incidents.

The exercise involved a mustard gas attack from an improvised explosive device in Connecticut and the release of the pneumonic plague in New Jersey. This caused certain federal disaster programs to be unavailable to some residents suffering from the attack, according to the summary.

A 2005 Homeland Security inspector general report suggested the department start tracking the lessons learned from these exercises.

And a 2006 White House report on Hurricane Katrina criticized the department for not having a system to address and fix the problems discovered in the TOPOFF exercises.

"The most recent Top Officials (TOPOFF) exercise in April 2005 revealed the federal government's lack of progress in addressing a number of preparedness deficiencies, many of which had been identified in previous exercises," according to the White House.

Please note that NORAD had a exercise on the same day as 9/11, so does this terror drill = another false flag scenario so we could invade another country?
 
This would probably be a little more useful if the officials involved didn't know exactly when and where it was going to take place. That's not to say that this isn't useful, but introducing the element of surprise into a terrorism drill would make for a much more realistic scenario.
 
They would have to be fictional dirty bombs, because real ones shouldn't cripple anything.
 
My guess is Biological dirty bombs. Some highly virulent and deadly virus spread throughout major transportation hubs. I believe some levels of the beaurocracy have already prepared for such an event.
 
Guam?!

This whole exercise feels like it serves two purposes. To remind people that the 'TERRORISTS ARE OUT TO GET YOU!' and 'THE GOVERNMENT IS HERE TO PROTECT YOU!'.

Being prepared is one thing, but Guam? Guam? Guam? Only two American cities?

I can name at least five off of the top of my head that would be perfect candidates for a terrorist attack, but oh no, save Guam from Bin Laden.
 
At least it's better than giving Homeland Security dollars to protect the Bean Fest in Yazoo City, to pick on some random place.

Edited since I realized Yazoo wasn't completely random...it's the name of a place! Which might be why my mind went with Yazoo-something, since I quite remember there being this place when being bored and studying maps. Though I'm sure they got DHS money too.[/disclaimer]
 
At least it's better than giving Homeland Security dollars to protect the Bean Fest in Yazooland, Nowherestate.

I agree, Indiana has more terrorist targets than New York for heaven's sake. What a crock of crap.
 
So, like, don't we have an obligation to protect Guam? Those guys are nice, not at all like those ungrateful Puerto Ricans, amiright? : D

I don't see any real problem with the US orcastrating terror exercises on its own soil. As long as the tab doesn't reach over two billion dollars.
 
So, like, don't we have an obligation to protect Guam? Those guys are nice, not at all like those ungrateful Puerto Ricans, amiright? : D

What terrorist would attack Guam?
 
I dunno. To make a point? Also, I believe the U.S. has a stragetic military base in Guam.
 
I dunno. To make a point? Also, I believe the U.S. has a stragetic military base in Guam.

Okay, I am going to say this with 100% confidence.

No terrorist will attack Guam.

You can quote it and keep it in your signature for the rest of our humanly lives.

There are more important places to defend than Guam, here is a short list:

New York City
Chicago
Boston
Philadelphia
Washington D.C.
Los Angeles
Seattle
Miami
Houston
St. Louis
Detroit
Phoenix
San Francisco

Yes for some reason, our government decides to choose two of the above cities and Guam.

If I was a terrorist, the last place I would try to hit would be a military base.
 
If I was a terrorist, the last place I would try to hit would be a military base.

Don't forget those terrorists that thought they could walk into Fort Dix, have fun shooting up soldiers, then walk out of there unscathed!
 
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