U.S. Plans Biggest Terror Drill Ever
Three Fictional "Dirty Bombs" To Go Off In Portland, Phoenix And Guam
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A bomb squad member walks through a parking lot at Kean University in Hillside, N.J., during TOPOFF 3 disaster drill April, 4, 2005. The next TOPOFF exercise will be held Oct. 15-19, 2007. (AP)
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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.
Previously, a more detailed version of lessons-learned from TOPOFF 2, held in 2003 was not released to states for security reasons.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



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See all 98 Commentshttp://www.madcowprod.com/05252006.html
The above link details a crash of a CIA-connected plane with 5.5 tons of cocaine in Mexico. The CIA has been repeatedly and authoritatively linked to drug dealing all over the world, and you don''t think they are connected to terrorism as well? Even Bush says that there is a link between drugs and terror-- he should know, his father was intimately involved with both in Nicaragua and other places south.
The Kennedy-McCain Amnesty Plan wants to grant these people amnesty. In Mexico City, the crowds chanted "Osama! Osama!" against a US sports team. They fly the flag of Mexico in many towns instead of the American flag...In Reno, one storeowner had it above the US flag and a veteran cut it down. All this and the borders remain open.
The Washington REgime realizes all of this--AND THEY SUPPORT IT!! As do the banks that do not demand proper ID for Mexicans to open a checking account and give preferential treatment to illegals TO BUY HOMES!! One bank executive at Bank of America said, ''this would make it impossible to send them back''! Don''t do business with Bank America!!
The Washington Regime is America''s enemy! Troops Home Now!
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Posted by Fastfredy1 at 11:47 AM : Oct 03, 2007
I''m with you, good idea!
Does any one want to make a bet that something real, DOES happen next week?
I guess they are recognizing that fcuking with the Iranians will have painful consequences. LOL
However, instead of seeking to avert potential danger, the maniacal leader will plunge America head first all the way into the abyss.
If Americans were severely traumatize with a ''little'' 911 and anthrax attack, can you imagine the havoc of a dirty bomb?
America will never be the same again, thanks to a lunatic leader from hell.
IT WAS THE CORRECT THING TO DO THEN,,, AND IT IS THE CORRECT THING TO DO NOW,,,
America and the Barbary Pirates: An International Battle Against an Unconventional Foe
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/mtjprece.html
But with regard to non-Muslims who are at war with the Muslims and do not have a peace treaty with the Muslims or are not living under Muslim rule, then Muslims are commanded to kill them, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
%u201CFight those of the disbelievers who are close to you, and let them find harshness in you%u201D [al-Tawbah 9:123]
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=11406&ln=eng&txt=kill
The atheist who does good deeds is worse than the one who kills his mother and takes care of dogs
What is the reason for people not believing in God being punished? I read that good deeds of such people will not be accepted. So if someone does all he can do to help people and be useful to the society, he will be punished nevertheless if he did not believe in God. But what exactly is the reason of punishing a good man for his atheism?
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=10300&ln=eng&txt=kill
What a laugh.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely!
Prinzowhales - I think you are the correct camel for SuhaAlNafa to select.
Actually, they aren`t able able to help you!
Posted by SuhaAlNafa at 02:27 PM : Oct 03, 2007
the coalition will be in iraq for a long long time,,, thanking you in advance for your gracious hospitality,,,
Iraq: We''ll Negotiate Long-Term Presence
Asks U.N. Security Council To Extend Mandate For U.S. Forces Through End Of Next Year
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/29/iraq/main3311545.shtml
Senate Authorizes $150B More For Wars
Passage Of Defense Policy Bill Comes As Democrats Try To Force An End To Combat
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/01/politics/main3317077.shtml
ok, I can understand no one would want to be called extreme. I suppose it is a relative term.
Interesting choice of pen names, SuhaAlNafa. As you have capitalized SAIN, then I would presume the rest of the pen name has significance. Care to share ?
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Excuse me, I didn`t understand you
I`m not a left extremist and I don`t support the radical left military movements, I`m just a socialist
"SuhaAlNafa" - note the capital letters S-A-I-N.
Is there a significance to your pen-name (SuhaAlNafa), that you''d like to share ?
Al Nafa is my family name
Why do you say, "You failed in this war, Iraq is the second Vietnam."
Why do you say, "You failed in this war, Iraq is the second Vietnam.
Posted by speakinup at 03:41 PM : Oct 03, 2007
+ report abuse
Why not ask me, I lived through it. First off YOUR Government has just asked for 190 BILLION Tax Dollars we do not have, we have the Boomers Retiring which is going to add significantly to that debt. Now add to that the FACT that the nations is FALLING APART. DO you losers actually think the Enemy can''t ADD? ROFLMAO What is it with you Fascist.... I''ve often wondered why you losers followed the Fuhrer into his bunker... now I know. We are HIRING MERC''s who are not under the control of we the people and we the people can''t end a war we want ended. Just how much LOSING do you people think is enough? Not enough? Well then add to that the FACT that the people who planned and carried out the attack on us... YOU DO REMEMBER THEM don''t you? Well they have COMPLETELY rebuilt the ORGANIZATION and they used your Fuhrer''s Policy to do it. ROFLMAO I mean I have a 6 year old Grand Daughter who can see THAT!! Sieg Heil Bush!!
Do you live in Iraq ? Or, do you make your statement for the safety of another country ?
From what I read, any government is ok, so long as you are on top. So, would you prefer Saddam if you were a Shiite Muslim in Iraq ?
Posted by SuhaAlNafa at 03:46 PM : Oct 03, 2007
+ report abuse
YOU think SADDAM was a LIBERAL? BAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHA You think Saddam wanted to BAN the Death Penality AND wanted Gay Rights? ROFLMAO Sparky it has been said that wearing a Swastika makes you STUPID!! ROFLMAO What do you say that we have a little Nazi Hee Haw because you have ODed on Swastika''s! ROFLMAO Yep you reject from the Carl Rove Nazi Youth Camp you have gone OFF the deep end OR you have been lying to us for YEARS now because THAT is what you losers have been telling us Liberals are. So lets put on that hood and sheet there... go get the rope and sing out!!! SIEG HEIL!! SIEG HEIL!! ROFLMAO You you freaks were half as good at being NUTs with the enemy maybe we aren''t going bankrupt!! You really aren''t the sharpest knife in the old drawer there... HONEST!! ROFLMAO
And the new governors of Iraq have more religious opinion.
And the new governors of Iraq have more religious opinion.
And the new governors of Iraq have more religious opinion.
And the new governors of Iraq have more religious opinion.
And the new governors of Iraq have more religious opinion.
And the new governors of Iraq have more religious opinion.
--- Bush has politicalized the war on terror, detains people for life they can''t even figure out which one is a threat...
Files Raise Questions on GITMO Decisions
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071003/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/guantanamo_the_way_out;_ylt=ApKN97HFyEfdPvzlWzRBK6is0NUE
she is syrian,,,
syria,,,
Fear of torture or ill-treatment
http://tharwacommunity.typepad.com/syrianelector_english/
.. She''s the example of the small percentage of religious, historicaly & polittically ignorant and corrupt.
Bacteriological Warfare
The Haganah put typhus bacteria into the water going to Acre, the people got sick, and the Jewish forces occupied Acre. This worked so well that they sent a Haganah division dressed as Arabs into Gaza, where there were Egyptian forces, and the Egyptians caught them putting two cans of bacteria, typhus and dysentery, into the water supply in wanton disregard of the civilian population.
http://www.inminds.com/jews-of-iraq.html
What country is the U.S. going to practice terrorizing this year?
While you state that Saddam''s "Presidency" (more like a dictatorship) was secular, you can not plausably deny that Shiites suffered under his rule much more than the Sunnis. The Shiites welcomed his downfall in great numbers once liberated. They were once again allowed to practise their religion.
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