-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- On 6 Apr 2000, at 23:18, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: You know, this strikes me (for those of you who join me in recalling Uncle Remus) as another case of the Feds shouting "PLEASE don't throw me into the briar patch!!!" I leave the possible reasons why as an exercise for the student... ~Olga ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/ U.S. Set To Stage Mock Terror Attacks in May http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20000405_4419.html WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) Sometime in May, senior U.S. officials will wake up to their worst nightmare -- a string of terrorist attacks from coast to coast. Fortunately, it will be only a dress rehearsal for the real thing. Called "Topoff," the series of attacks by a fake foreign terrorist group is aimed at testing how top officials would respond if faced by real weapons of mass destruction. As part of the staged attacks, actors will release mock biological agents, chemical weapons and radiation and hack into computers, said Ted Macklin, director of exercises and evaluations at the Justice Department's Office of State and Local Domestic Preparedness Support. "This will give us the chance to assess in a context of a full-scale exercise how far we have come in the training process of our first responders and whether we need to make any midcourse corrections," he said in an interview with Reuters. "This exercise is very important to allow us to assess our national capacity and refine our approach to the threat of terrorism," he said, adding that the scale of the exercise -- which will cost at least $3.4 million -- was unprecedented in terms of the range of attacks. SPOOF ATTACKS MUST TAKE OFFICIALS BY SURPRISE Macklin refuses to provide specifics since he wants to avoid giving too much information to top officials, whom he wants to surprise with the carefully planned mayhem. It has taken more than a year and the involvement of hundreds of state and local officials to plan the exercise that targets three venues: Denver, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and an area outside Washington, D.C. The only information to be disclosed so far is that the attacks will take place over a period of several days between May 7 and 26. No details will be released until then about the type of biological agents to be used, how the process will unfold and the specific sites in the cities chosen. "The exercise is characterised as 'no notice.' We need an element of surprise," said Macklin. People can expect to see streets blocked off, emergency vehicles rushing to the scene and "victims" being taken to hospitals. "People will see response vehicles, people may see people in protective gear and there will be visible activity. Where, when and what, we can't share with you, "Macklin said. But he said his department was working hard to make sure people living in the areas affected knew that the events were simulated. "People will understand that this is just an exercise, but they must also understand that if they see things that are actual emergencies they must tell officials," Justice Department spokesman Doug Johnson said. Attorney General Janet Reno and Federal Emergency Management Director James Lee Witt are the first officials who have lined up to take part in the event. SENIOR OFFICIALS LINED UP FOR EXERCISE Macklin said he hoped senior officials from the FBI, CIA, State Department, Pentagon and others would also participate. After the attacks, a report will be filed how they responded and recommend any improvements or corrections needed. "Ultimately the end game in any exercise is that once the recommendations are validated we can incorporate them into training programmes to refine those," Macklin said. If a real attack takes place during the mock events, he said, enough resources have been set aside to deal with it. The exercise stems from a provision inserted in a 1998 appropriations bill by Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire calling for "practice operations" for a terrorist attack. His home state is one of those chosen for the mayhem. 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 together. CIA director George Tenet told a Senate committee last month that a major threat to U.S. security came from groups such as Saudi exile Osama bin Laden's that were trying to acquire biological and chemical weapons capabilities. Tenet said that 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. U.S. intelligence had identified well over 50 nations that were of concern as suppliers, conduits or potential proliferants, he said. -- Kathleen Government at its best is a necessary evil, and at its worst, an intolerable one. - Thomas Paine <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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