U.S. Conducts Mock Biological, Chemical Attacks
Updated 6:40 PM ET May 20, 2000
By Patrick Connole
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A series of mock terrorist attacks
began on Saturday in the United States, testing the ability of top
local, state and federal officials to respond to a catastrophic
sequence of biological and chemical releases.
In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a spoof explosion of a
Chevrolet van loaded with unknown chemical agents kicked off
the drill a few hours after daybreak near the town's port,
fictionally killing and maiming around 50 people.
A biological "attack" took place outside Denver, Colorado, and
a third series of exercises were being run in and around the
nation's capital, the Justice Department said.
Called "Topoff" -- short for Top Officials -- the largest ever such
dress rehearsal is being conducted by the Department of Justice
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Thousands will participate in the 10-day exercise, including
Attorney General Janet Reno, other Cabinet members, mayors,
local and state police, hospital personnel and volunteer actors
playing the role of injured and dead civilians, according to the
Justice Department.
"The goal of the exercise is to assess the nation's crisis and
consequence management capacity under extraordinarily stressful
conditions," said Gina Talamona, a Justice Department
spokeswoman.
At a cost of $3.5 million, Topoff is the largest drill of its kind ever
conducted in the United States, and while the various officials
knew the exercise was to take place, they did not know before
the exercise the size and scope of what they were going to have
to deal with, and still may not.
"No one was surprised, that's not the critical part. People knew
this was a drill they were responding to, but not to what they
were responding to," said Jim Van Dongen from the New
Hampshire Office of Emergency Management.
NO PLANS FOR PUBLIC PANIC
"Topoff" is being carefully orchestrated so as not to alarm the
general public. Police in responding areas are not using sirens and
though physical activity is taking place on the ground, it is not
being done in a way to excite the uninformed.
"The intent is to make sure this does not turn into the War of the
Worlds," said a source with the Clinton administration, referring
to the radio play produced by Orson Welles in the 1930s which
scared many Americans into thinking Martians were attacking the
planet.
In the Portsmouth attack, local officials said shortly after 8:20
a.m. EDT, at the start of a make believe charity foot race, a fake
car bombing sent a foul smelling concoction of garlic mixed with
Gatorade over the picturesque Portsmouth Port Authority facility.
"A Portsmouth police officer was the first on the scene, then fire
trucks," said Van Dongen.
Following procedure, local authorities called in toxic hazard
teams, then informed the statehouse of what was happening.
Federal involvement followed, after the governor's office
requested a presidential disaster declaration, freeing the FBI and
FEMA to respond to the incident.
FBI Special Agent Barry Mawn told reporters the exercise was
"going pretty well," as federal agents and police scurried around
the dead and wounded in Portsmouth.
The spoof terror incident in Colorado actually began two days
ago under a scenario in which a "terrorist" released "anthrax
spores" in Denver.
Police were called to a Denver hotel room after a body was
found. But what first looked like a simple death soon turned into
something else when police noticed vomit and blood.
Other "information" that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had
"received" about the same time prompted sending hazardous
material personnel to the scene.
Soon the bomb squad was dispatched to the hotel room, which
was actually on an old army hospital. Other events were
expected during the 10-day exercise in the Denver metropolitan
area.
CONGRESS MANDATED TERROR DRILLS
"Topoff" stems from a provision inserted in a 1998 spending bill
by Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire calling for
"practice operations" for a terror attack.
Critics of the exercise say it overstates the real threats facing
America and that such a broad range of attacks would be
unlikely to happen all at the same time.
In congressional testimony in March, CIA Director George Tenet
said major threats to U.S. security came from groups such as
Saudi exile Osama bin Laden's, which were trying to acquire
biological and chemical weapons capabilities.
Tenet said over the next few years U.S. cities faced ballistic
missile threats from a wide variety of sources: North Korea,
probably Iran and possibly Iraq.
Related Stories
U.S. Conducts Mock Biological, Chemical Attacks (May 20
11:23 pm ET)
Updated 6:40 PM ET May 20, 2000
By Patrick Connole
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A series of mock terrorist attacks
began on Saturday in the United States, testing the ability of top
local, state and federal officials to respond to a catastrophic
sequence of biological and chemical releases.
In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a spoof explosion of a
Chevrolet van loaded with unknown chemical agents kicked off
the drill a few hours after daybreak near the town's port,
fictionally killing and maiming around 50 people.
A biological "attack" took place outside Denver, Colorado, and
a third series of exercises were being run in and around the
nation's capital, the Justice Department said.
Called "Topoff" -- short for Top Officials -- the largest ever such
dress rehearsal is being conducted by the Department of Justice
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Thousands will participate in the 10-day exercise, including
Attorney General Janet Reno, other Cabinet members, mayors,
local and state police, hospital personnel and volunteer actors
playing the role of injured and dead civilians, according to the
Justice Department.
"The goal of the exercise is to assess the nation's crisis and
consequence management capacity under extraordinarily stressful
conditions," said Gina Talamona, a Justice Department
spokeswoman.
At a cost of $3.5 million, Topoff is the largest drill of its kind ever
conducted in the United States, and while the various officials
knew the exercise was to take place, they did not know before
the exercise the size and scope of what they were going to have
to deal with, and still may not.
"No one was surprised, that's not the critical part. People knew
this was a drill they were responding to, but not to what they
were responding to," said Jim Van Dongen from the New
Hampshire Office of Emergency Management.
NO PLANS FOR PUBLIC PANIC
"Topoff" is being carefully orchestrated so as not to alarm the
general public. Police in responding areas are not using sirens and
though physical activity is taking place on the ground, it is not
being done in a way to excite the uninformed.
"The intent is to make sure this does not turn into the War of the
Worlds," said a source with the Clinton administration, referring
to the radio play produced by Orson Welles in the 1930s which
scared many Americans into thinking Martians were attacking the
planet.
In the Portsmouth attack, local officials said shortly after 8:20
a.m. EDT, at the start of a make believe charity foot race, a fake
car bombing sent a foul smelling concoction of garlic mixed with
Gatorade over the picturesque Portsmouth Port Authority facility.
"A Portsmouth police officer was the first on the scene, then fire
trucks," said Van Dongen.
Following procedure, local authorities called in toxic hazard
teams, then informed the statehouse of what was happening.
Federal involvement followed, after the governor's office
requested a presidential disaster declaration, freeing the FBI and
FEMA to respond to the incident.
FBI Special Agent Barry Mawn told reporters the exercise was
"going pretty well," as federal agents and police scurried around
the dead and wounded in Portsmouth.
The spoof terror incident in Colorado actually began two days
ago under a scenario in which a "terrorist" released "anthrax
spores" in Denver.
Police were called to a Denver hotel room after a body was
found. But what first looked like a simple death soon turned into
something else when police noticed vomit and blood.
Other "information" that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had
"received" about the same time prompted sending hazardous
material personnel to the scene.
Soon the bomb squad was dispatched to the hotel room, which
was actually on an old army hospital. Other events were
expected during the 10-day exercise in the Denver metropolitan
area.
CONGRESS MANDATED TERROR DRILLS
"Topoff" stems from a provision inserted in a 1998 spending bill
by Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire calling for
"practice operations" for a terror attack.
Critics of the exercise say it overstates the real threats facing
America and that such a broad range of attacks would be
unlikely to happen all at the same time.
In congressional testimony in March, CIA Director George Tenet
said major threats to U.S. security came from groups such as
Saudi exile Osama bin Laden's, which were trying to acquire
biological and chemical weapons capabilities.
Tenet said over the next few years U.S. cities faced ballistic
missile threats from a wide variety of sources: North Korea,
probably Iran and possibly Iraq.
Related Stories
U.S. Conducts Mock Biological, Chemical Attacks (May 20
11:23 pm ET)
