Terror Drill In New York Tests Against Seaborne Attack
August 4, 2009 by national
Filed under Incident Reports
Federal, state and municipal agencies staged an elaborate drill in the waters off New York City on Tuesday to prepare for the possibility of a nuclear or dirty-bomb attack from the water.
Agencies involved in Tuesday’s test emphasized they did not undertake it because of a specific threat against the city. However, Kelly said the city was taking no chances after a proclamation years ago by Osama bin Laden. “We do know that Osama bin Laden several years ago obtained a fatwah to use nuclear weapons, and our goal is to make certain that that fatwah does not come to fruition,” he said.
In addition to increasing various agencies’ preparedness for a seaborne radiological attack, Kelly said Tuesday’s well-publicized drill was meant to deter those who would perpetrate such an attack.
“It pays to advertise to a certain extent. We want anyone who would do us harm to know that we’re out there, that we have the capability to detect,” Kelly said.
Eight government agencies participated in the drill, ranging from the NYPD to the U.S. Coast Guard. The exercise took place at the entrance of New York Harbor, just south of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge linking Staten Island to Brooklyn.
via Terror drill off New York tests agencies against seaborne attack – CNN.com.
Obama Participates in Terror Preparedness Test
July 31, 2009 by national
Filed under Emergency Preparedness
Health care reform was put aside for a time today as President Obama headed to the White House Situation Room to oversee federal efforts to prevent a terror attack on the United States.
It was part of an exercise for officials at the highest level of the U.S. government, including members of the National Security and Homeland Security Councils.
What made “National Level Exercise 2009″ different from previous training events, is that it focused “exclusively” on preventing a terror attack – as opposed to responding to and recovering from one.
A statement from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says today’s exercise, part of a week-long program, was mandated by Congress to give top officials realistic experience in handling the threat of a catastrophic crisis.
Today’s scenario according to FEMA, began with a terrorist event outside the U.S. It then became the responsibility of Mr. Obama and other top American officials to thwart efforts by the terrorists to enter the U.S. and carry out additional attacks.
Aside from federal departments and agencies, state and local authorities were taking part in the exercise in addition to officials from Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
Terror Drill Planned For New York Harbor
New York City police (NYPD) and the U.S. Coast Guard plan a terrorism drill near Ellis and Liberty Islands in New York Harbor next week.
The NYPD Special Operations Division has scheduled the terror drill between noon and 1 p.m. on Thursday.
The terrorism exercise will simulate a report of shots fired on a New York Waterways vessel, followed by lost contact with the crew. Plans also call for the use of a NYPD helicopter.
