-Caveat Lector-
Congress reassesses its security plans
Cold War-era crisis procedures weren't much comfort to officials
fearing imminent terrorist attack
Some lawmakers suggested Tuesday's events revealed gaps in
procedures for evacuating leaders.
By John F. Harris
THE WASHINGTON POST
Sept. 13 - The frantic evacuations of the White House and
Capitol - along with the decision to spirit some key officials by
helicopter to a fortified mountain site in Virginia - were based on
elaborate plans originally drawn up in preparation for a nuclear
attack during the Cold War and extensively revised in recent years
to reflect rising concern over terrorism, according to current and
former government officials.
At the White House, there were panicked dashes for the gates by
most employees, after the Secret Service - apparently fearing that
the complex was at risk from an air attack - gave the order to
clear out.
WHEN A MOMENT of genuine crisis actually arrived, however,
the response reflected desperate improvisation as much as careful
planning, some of these same officials said. On Capitol Hill some
lawmakers suggested the day revealed gaps in procedures for
evacuating leaders and getting timely information to members.
At the White House, there were panicked dashes for the gates
by most employees, after the Secret Service - apparently fearing
that the complex was at risk from an air attack - gave the order to
clear out.
Officials of arguably marginal importance to national
security, such as Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman, were flown
to Virginia. But some specially fortified offices in the White
House were deemed safe enough for the most important officials,
like Vice President Cheney, to stay put.
On Capitol Hill, the situation was the opposite: The most
important people were moved away with greatest dispatch. House
Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. - who is second in line of
presidential succession after the vice president under the
Constitution - was evacuated quickly, sometime around 10 a.m., and
flown immediately to the Virginia redoubt.
It was not until a couple of hours later that other top
lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle,
D-S.D., and House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, D-Mo., who
had gone to his Capitol Hill home after the Capitol was first
evacuated, were also flown to the countryside.
SOMETHING OUT OF 'DR. STRANGELOVE'
What followed at a large unidentified complex there was
described by some attendees as a surreal scene - something out of
"Dr. Strangelove," as one person described it. Legislative leaders
who ordinarily have little but disdain for one another, such as
House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and House Minority Whip
David E. Bonior, D-Mich., huddled around television sets, talking
with one another and occasionally taking calls from Cheney back at
the White House for updates on the situation.
The ability of the president and other policymakers to
retain command and control of the military and the other levers of
government at critical moments during a crisis was a preoccupation
of the Cold War. Much less visibly, Clinton administration
officials devoted significant time to revising the rules for
evacuation and chain of command in the event of a terrorist attack.
But the fact that some important Washington figures stayed
and others left, and that there was apparently considerable
confusion on the Hill and among administration officials about what
people were supposed to do, suggests those plans were followed in
only fragmentary fashion, some officials said.
"They were calling audibles," said one former senior
government official, who had extensive involvement in national
security matters, of Tuesday's plan for protecting national
leaders.
Much of the planning in recent years, according to
knowledgeable sources, was done in anticipation of a possible
attack using biological or chemical weapons. The particular
scenario of horror that unfolded Tuesday was not widely discussed
or anticipated.
The White House, sources say, does have antiaircraft
artillery on its roof to shoot down aircraft steering toward the
complex. One former U.S. official said those guns might be
effective against a smaller aircraft but probably would be of much
less utility against a large commercial airliner hurtling inbound
at high speed.
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, defending
President Bush's decision to originally take refuge at an Air Force
base in Nebraska rather than return to Washington immediately from
a day trip to Florida, said officials had "real and credible"
information that the White House had been targeted by terrorists
for attack.
Asked why Vice President Cheney remained in the White House
if the building was in danger, Fleischer said: "The White House has
sufficient secure locations in an event such as this."
In general, White House officials disclosed little about who
was making decisions or recommendations about security at the
complex or for Bush's movements. But they said prudent choices had
been made.
CONFUSION AT THE CAPITOL
On Capitol Hill, some lawmakers and aides said their sense
of what happened was more ad hoc than deliberate. It was a
half-hour or so after television began broadcasting news of the
World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks that police officers raced
into offices, shouting for people to clear out. But in most cases,
they did not tell the people where to go, even those members who
were later authorized to fly to Virginia.
"For Speaker Hastert, there was a preassigned route" of
evacuation, said one congressional official with detailed knowledge
of the security measures taken Tuesday. "Everyone else was winging
it.... There was starting to be a sense of panic."
John Feehery, Hastert's spokesman, said the speaker believes
the Capitol Police did a good job clearing the Capitol and offices
expeditiously on Tuesday to protect lawmakers, staff and tourists.
Wednesday, Hastert and Gephardt met and discussed
whether procedures should be improved, particularly in terms of
sharing better information with lawmakers.
Rep. Timothy J. Roemer, D-Ind., a member of the House
Intelligence Committee, praised the work of the Capitol Police but
added that the incident exposed "new wrinkles" in the congressional
security system. He suggested that the intelligence panel, which
now meets in the Capitol, might need an alternate meeting site in
case of an emergency and lawmakers should develop evacuation plans
for their individual offices.
"Members need to be able to know where they ought to go,"
Roemer said.
Lt. Dan Nichols, spokesman for the Capitol Police, said the
agency has practiced "set protocols" for evacuations, and for the
most part Tuesday's plan faithfully followed the practice drills.
He said the agency is "looking for better ways to communicate with
members."
"We had a situation that was breaking quickly," he said. "It
was better to act quickly and give explanations later."
� 2001 The Washington Post Company
begin 666 Congress reassesses its security plans.url
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