National security exercises test lawmakers
Legislators this week grappled with how to respond to a 10-kiloton nuclear blast at New York's Grand Central Station and a smallpox attack in Europe and America.
Members of the House Homeland Security Committee went to Wye River, Md., Monday and Tuesday to participate in the two separate tabletop exercises, which were chosen to represent what committee Chairman Christopher Cox, R-Calif., called Wednesday, the two "most serious" threats to national security.
Unlike a chemical or radiological strike, Cox told reporters in a telephone press conference, a nuclear or biological attack could be a "civilization-buster" bringing about drastic, long-term changes in the very nature of the country attacked. He said the thorny problems raised by the Wye River exercises confirmed the panelists' belief that preventing such attacks should be their top priority.
"The greatest priority now is to prevent a nuclear or biological attack from ever happening," Cox said. "A nuclear or biological event is the clearest example of why homeland security must continue to push our borders out."
The nuclear scenario involved a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb detonated at Grand Central Station after having been trucked there in a lead-sealed container. Cox said several "radical al-Qaeda terrorist groups" claimed responsibility in the exercise, and initial casualty reports indicated 500,000 dead with a dramatic rise still expected.
In playing out the nuclear scenario on the first day of their retreat, the House members focused on emergency response, health care, financial markets, prevention of further such attacks, cooperation with allies and the use of intelligence, according to Cox.
The retreat's second day featured a smallpox and anthrax exercise modeled after the high-profile, U.S.-European exercise conducted last month, known as Atlantic Storm.
The exercise involved a smallpox attack, for which al Qaeda claimed responsibility, in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Turkey. The latter invoked the North Atlantic Treaty's Article 5, in which NATO members pledge to respond to any attack on one member as if it were an attack against them all. Cox said a subsequent anthrax attack also figured in the exercise.
During the bioterrorism exercise, legislators discussed the roles of international organizations, allocation of limited medical resources, public information and general infectious disease containment, Cox said.