The fact that seven years after the attacks on the WTC and Pentagon, and some six years after the formation of the Department of Homeland Security, the department designed to protect us, is just now finalizing a so-called rapid response plan for a terrorist-driven catastrophe, to me, is disturbing. However, the fact that the aforementioned plan will be in place just in time for the 2008 presidential election, is downright ominous.
No, I’m not putting forth a conspiracy theory here but if you really think about it, it’s not much of a stretch to admit that the timing is dubious to say the least. After billions upon billions of our taxpayer dollars have been spent hand over fist at the federal, state and local levels for years, are they telling us that that they don’t even have an effective plan in place for another national disaster right now? How can that be?
Folks, if there was ever a time in which to question your government’s motives as far as supposedly protecting us... this is it.
According to a top military commander, the Pentagon’s first specially trained task force designed to rapidly respond to a catastrophic attack on U.S. soil will be ready to go into effect this coming fall.
The Stars and Stripes website has the onerous story:
Gen. Victor "Gene" Renuart, chief of the U.S. Northern Command, said the brigade-sized unit will consist of military personnel who are trained to help local authorities respond to a chemical, biological or nuclear incident. The unit will have between 4,000 and 4,500 people and come from various bases and specialties across the country.
When disaster strikes, those dedicated to the task force will come together to form the unit.
"Today we pull that together very quickly to respond," Renuart said Thursday. "This unit will be trained to react in a very short period of time."
Renuart, the top commander in charge of defending the homeland, is traveling through Europe this month to exchange information with NATO leaders on how military forces can fight homeland terrorism and respond to national disasters.
U.S. Northern Command, called NORTHCOM for short, was created in 2002 to oversee the Pentagon’s homeland defense efforts and support civil authorities. The creation of the rapid-response team comes after congressional leaders questioned heavily the military’s ability to react to a major attack against the United States.
The six year old NORTHCOM unit is set to include personnel with medical, logistics and airlift expertise, and will also involve small decontamination teams to assist local first responders at the scene of an attack.
Renault said, the specialized task force will not be rallied from a stationary base per se, but rather come from various units around the country. The general added that a key piece of the initiative is that those chosen for the elite unit will train together and know each other, "... so they’re not exchanging business cards at a disaster."
Apparently, Renault also wants to see the command expand its own use of unmanned aerial vehicles all across the country. He called the remotely controlled aircraft a "critical enabler" that has proven its worth by assisting firefighters battle wildfires and border agents protect both the southern and northern borders. Renault expressed particular interest in the Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft utilized last fall during the massive southern California wildfires.
"That’s, I think, a growth area for us. It provides us with some really unique capability, and we’ll continue to work with partners to develop it," he said.
During his meetings with NATO leaders this month, Renuart said he plans to share lessons learned from the U.S. military’s response to Hurricane Katrina and its efforts to prevent a terrorist attack on American soil.
"Each country approaches the terrorist threat in a different fashion," said Renuart, a former 52nd Fighter Wing commander at Spangdahlem Air Base.
"Each country places a different emphasis on use of [the] military to respond when disaster strikes. So for us, it is learning how they view and how they approach it ... but also sharing the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve created a much more improved, integrated process to plan for and then execute in the response to whatever the event may be — all hazards, threats."
I would be remiss at this point not to point out that this elite national rapid response team would not even be possible if it wasn’t for the suspension of the Posse Comitatus Act by President Bush back in 2006, which paves the rocky road to martial law.
Feeling reassured yet?
Peace