[osint] War Plans Drafted To Counter Terror Attacks in U.S.

[David Bier]

"In my estimation, [in the event of] a biological, a chemical or
nuclear attack in any of the 50 states, the Department of Defense is
best positioned -- of the various eight federal agencies that would be
involved -- to take the lead," said Adm. Timothy J. Keating, the head
of Northcom, which coordinates military involvement in homeland
security operations."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/07/AR2005080700843_pf.html

washingtonpost.com

War Plans Drafted To Counter Terror Attacks in U.S.
Domestic Effort Is Big Shift for Military

By Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 8, 2005; A01

COLORADO SPRINGS -- The U.S. military has devised its first-ever war
plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the
United States, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and
anticipating several simultaneous strikes around the country,
according to officers who drafted the plans.

The classified plans, developed here at Northern Command headquarters,
outline a variety of possible roles for quick-reaction forces
estimated at as many as 3,000 ground troops per attack, a number that
could easily grow depending on the extent of the damage and the
abilities of civilian response teams.

The possible scenarios range from "low end," relatively modest
crowd-control missions to "high-end," full-scale disaster management
after catastrophic attacks such as the release of a deadly biological
agent or the explosion of a radiological device, several officers said.

Some of the worst-case scenarios involve three attacks at the same
time, in keeping with a Pentagon directive earlier this year ordering
Northcom, as the command is called, to plan for multiple simultaneous
attacks.

The war plans represent a historic shift for the Pentagon, which has
been reluctant to become involved in domestic operations and is
legally constrained from engaging in law enforcement. Indeed, defense
officials continue to stress that they intend for the troops to play
largely a supporting role in homeland emergencies, bolstering police,
firefighters and other civilian response groups.

But the new plans provide for what several senior officers
acknowledged is the likelihood that the military will have to take
charge in some situations, especially when dealing with mass-casualty
attacks that could quickly overwhelm civilian resources.

"In my estimation, [in the event of] a biological, a chemical or
nuclear attack in any of the 50 states, the Department of Defense is
best positioned -- of the various eight federal agencies that would be
involved -- to take the lead," said Adm. Timothy J. Keating, the head
of Northcom, which coordinates military involvement in homeland
security operations.

The plans present the Pentagon with a clearer idea of the kinds and
numbers of troops and the training that may be required to build a
more credible homeland defense force. They come at a time when senior
Pentagon officials are engaged in an internal, year-long review of
force levels and weapons systems, attempting to balance the heightened
requirements of homeland defense against the heavy demands of overseas
deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Keating expressed confidence that existing military assets are
sufficient to meet homeland security needs. Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe,
Northcom's chief operations officer, agreed, but he added that "stress
points" in some military capabilities probably would result if troops
were called on to deal with multiple homeland attacks.
Debate and Analysis

Several people on the staff here and at the Pentagon said in
interviews that the debate and analysis within the U.S. government
regarding the extent of the homeland threat and the resources
necessary to guard against it remain far from resolved.

The command's plans consist of two main documents. One, designated
CONPLAN 2002 and consisting of more than 1,000 pages, is said to be a
sort of umbrella document that draws together previously issued orders
for homeland missions and covers air, sea and land operations. It
addresses not only post-attack responses but also prevention and
deterrence actions aimed at intercepting threats before they reach the
United States.

The other, identified as CONPLAN 0500, deals specifically with
managing the consequences of attacks represented by the 15 scenarios.

CONPLAN 2002 has passed a review by the Pentagon's Joint Staff and is
due to go soon to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and top aides
for further study and approval, the officers said. CONPLAN 0500 is
still undergoing final drafting here. (CONPLAN stands for "concept
plan" and tends to be an abbreviated version of an OPLAN, or
"operations plan," which specifies forces and timelines for movement
into a combat zone.)

The plans, like much else about Northcom, mark a new venture by a U.S.
military establishment still trying to find its comfort level with the
idea of a greater homeland defense role after the Sept. 

[osint] War Plans Drafted To Counter Terror Attacks in U.S.

[Bruce Tefft]

 
  washingtonpost.com 
War Plans Drafted To Counter Terror Attacks in U.S.
Domestic Effort Is Big Shift for Military


By Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 8, 2005; A01




COLORADO SPRINGS -- The U.S. military has devised its first-ever war plans
for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the United
States, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and anticipating several
simultaneous strikes around the country, according to officers who drafted
the plans.

The classified plans, developed here at Northern Command headquarters,
outline a variety of possible roles for quick-reaction forces estimated at
as many as 3,000 ground troops per attack, a number that could easily grow
depending on the extent of the damage and the abilities of civilian response
teams.

The possible scenarios range from "low end," relatively modest crowd-control
missions to "high-end," full-scale disaster management after catastrophic
attacks such as the release of a deadly biological agent or the explosion of
a radiological device, several officers said.

Some of the worst-case scenarios involve three attacks at the same time, in
keeping with a Pentagon directive earlier this year ordering Northcom, as
the command is called, to plan for multiple simultaneous attacks.

The war plans represent a historic shift for the Pentagon, which has been
reluctant to become involved in domestic operations and is legally
constrained from engaging in law enforcement. Indeed, defense officials
continue to stress that they intend for the troops to play largely a
supporting role in homeland emergencies, bolstering police, firefighters and
other civilian response groups.

But the new plans provide for what several senior officers acknowledged is
the likelihood that the military will have to take charge in some
situations, especially when dealing with mass-casualty attacks that could
quickly overwhelm civilian resources.

"In my estimation, [in the event of] a biological, a chemical or nuclear
attack in any of the 50 states, the Department of Defense is best positioned
-- of the various eight federal agencies that would be involved -- to take
the lead," said Adm. Timothy J. Keating, the head of Northcom, which
coordinates military involvement in homeland security operations.

The plans present the Pentagon with a clearer idea of the kinds and numbers
of troops and the training that may be required to build a more credible
homeland defense force. They come at a time when senior Pentagon officials
are engaged in an internal, year-long review of force levels and weapons
systems, attempting to balance the heightened requirements of homeland
defense against the heavy demands of overseas deployments in Iraq,
Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Keating expressed confidence that existing military assets are sufficient to
meet homeland security needs. Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe, Northcom's chief
operations officer, agreed, but he added that "stress points" in some
military capabilities probably would result if troops were called on to deal
with multiple homeland attacks.

Debate and Analysis


Several people on the staff here and at the Pentagon said in interviews that
the debate and analysis within the U.S. government regarding the extent of
the homeland threat and the resources necessary to guard against it remain
far from resolved.

The command's plans consist of two main documents. One, designated CONPLAN
2002 and consisting of more than 1,000 pages, is said to be a sort of
umbrella document that draws together previously issued orders for homeland
missions and covers air, sea and land operations. It addresses not only
post-attack responses but also prevention and deterrence actions aimed at
intercepting threats before they reach the United States.

The other, identified as CONPLAN 0500, deals specifically with managing the
consequences of attacks represented by the 15 scenarios.

CONPLAN 2002 has passed a review by the Pentagon's Joint Staff and is due to
go soon to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and top aides for further
study and approval, the officers said. CONPLAN 0500 is still undergoing
final drafting here. (CONPLAN stands for "concept plan" and tends to be an
abbreviated version of an OPLAN, or "operations plan," which specifies
forces and timelines for movement into a combat zone.)

The plans, like much else about Northcom, mark a new venture by a U.S.
military establishment still trying to find its comfort level with the idea
of a greater homeland defense role after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Military officers and civilian Pentagon policymakers say they recognize, on
one hand, that the armed forces have much to offer not only in numbers of
troops but also in experience managing crises and responding to emergencies.
On the other hand, they worry that too much involvement in homeland missions
would diminish the military's ability to deal with threats abroad.

The Pentagon's ne