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Simulated terror attacks { May 9 2003 }

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   http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2714004

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2714004

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.



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