The events of September 11, 2001, sharply brought into focus the dangers posed by terrorism to the U.S. Homeland. The inadequacies of the response measures in the aftermath of the incident galvanized the U.S. government to set up an umbrella organization called the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 to holistically deal with all hazards, including terrorist attacks. Prior to this legislation, almost every State had its own emergency response plan, which supposedly meshed with the Presidential Directive 39 of 1995 but actually caused more confusion.
The fact that terrorists could carry out successful Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) attack was proved when as Lawson (2000) states that “On the morning of March 20 1995, several members of the Aum Shinrikyo released sarin nerve agent on five different subway trains in Tokyo by puncturing plastic bags containing the agent”(1). Terrorists may be motivated by religious fundamentalism, political ideologies, or sheer adherence to anarchist or nihilistic ideologies. “Some men just want to watch the world burn” (Dark Knight, 2008) may therefore be not just a great one-liner by Michael Caine, but an apt summarization of the socio-psychopathological disconnect of our times.
The fate of over 100 Russian nuclear bombs so small “that terrorists or extortionists could conceal them in their luggage” (Stern, 1997) is still a mystery and the chances of even one being detonated by a terrorist group in a heavily populated city is a possibility. Even if this was not possible, there is enough unaccounted radioactive waste available in the world, which could be used to devise a radiological bomb or a ‘dirty bomb’. This essay aims to cover the incident response plan in the event of a ‘dirty bomb’ explosion as outlined in the new U.S. National Response Plan with focus on the Incident Command System (ICS).
Overview
According to Tom Ridge, the National Response Plan (NRP) very clearly states that:
“It provides the structure and mechanisms for the coordination of Federal support to State, local, and tribal incident managers and for exercising direct Federal authorities and responsibilities. The NRP assists in the important homeland security mission of preventing terrorist attacks within the United States; reducing the vulnerability to all-natural and manmade hazards; and minimizing the damage and assisting in the recovery from any type of incident that occurs”(Ridge, 2004, p.iii).
The entire framework consists of a base plan, appendices which amplify the base plan and annexure that layout the emergency support functions. The governing principle of the plan states that the management of the incident should be done at the lowest possible local level, with higher organizations and authorities coming into action commensurate with the complexity of the incident. The severity of the incident determines whether the incident should be termed as an ‘incident of national significance or not. The methodology governing the procedure to declare an incident to be of ‘national significance’ or not is governed by the Stafford Act, which mandates the degree of federal involvement required.
Organizational Structure of the Incident Command System
At the grass roots level, the Incident Command Post (ICP) is the tactical level unit which consists of local government and county officials as well as federal officers when required. When multiple agencies are involved, the ICP is upgraded to a unified command with jurisdictional authority remaining with the local government. Usually one ICP is set up for one incident. In case multiple incidents take place in a defined geographical spread, then an Area Command may be set up.
The physical location where coordination of information and resources take place is called as an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). This could be a temporary facility or a permanent one such as a Fire Station. A local Chief Executive Officer such as a city mayor is named as a Jurisdiction Chief Executive. These local ICPs and EOCs are supported by the State Emergency Operations Center, which, if the complexity of the incident demands, would feed information to a Joint Field Office (JFO). The Joint Field Office is the nodal office responsible for coordinating federal support required with the local authorities. As the level of incident complexity rises, the circumstances may demand the setting up of a Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) and finally the Homeland Security Operations Center(HSOC) at the national level.
Methodology of NRP in case of a Dirty Bomb Scenario
In case of a ‘dirty bomb’ scenario, the incident would most probably warrant upgrading to an incident of ‘national significance. Thus, as per the stipulations of the Stafford Act, a chain of actions would be set into motion. Firstly, the local responders would arrive on scene and alert the Mayor or county head who in turn would activate the local EOC. As per Terrorism Incident Law Enforcement Annex (2004), “The FBI is the lead agency for criminal investigations of terrorist acts or terrorist threats and intelligence collection activities within the United States”(TER-1). Therefore, the FBI would be involved right from the start.
An ICP would be set up, which would direct all on-scene activities. The local jurisdictional officer on assessment of the situation would then raise the level and request help from the Governor of the State. On receiving such a request, the Governor, in turn, would be required to activate the State EOC. The State EOC would then carry out a preliminary damage assessment. The Governor, being the Commander-in-Chief of the State National Guard can invoke their use if the situation so demands. After an assessment of the incident, the Governor can, if he so deems it fit, request a President’s declaration of ‘incident of national significance which would entail activation of the HSOC.
The HSOC is required to evaluate the request and to do so, may convene an Interagency Incident Management Group to chart future actions. The findings of the HSOC would be presented to the Secretary, Homeland Defense, who is empowered to recommend the declaration of ‘incident of national significance to the President. On the recommendation of the Secretary of Homeland Defense, with due deliberation, the President may then declare the ‘dirty bomb’ incident as an ‘incident of national significance.
“For Incidents of National Significance that are Presidentially declared disasters or emergencies, Federal support to States is delivered in accordance with relevant provisions of the Stafford Act”(Ridge, 2007, p.7). Such a declaration would signal the activation of the entire National Response Plan. Emergency Response Teams would then be deployed and a Joint Field Office would be activated to coordinate Federal assistance.
In case the dirty bomb incident is a small one, which does not warrant declaration of incident of ‘national significance, then the FBI involvement would continue as in the former case; however, the steps of the Governor requesting the President would be obviated. The HSOC yet again would swing into action, and the JFO would be activated, with it the associated federal assistance commensurate to the emergent situation.
In either case, the immediate actions would be to preserve life, property and the environment. It must be recognized that in an incident of radiological fallout, panic amongst the population would be natural. Therefore, an orderly evacuation and availability of transportation and unfettered access out of the contaminated area would be the first priorities of the authorities. To prevent theft and larceny in the areas evacuated, mobile patrols by the Law enforcement agencies would have to be requisitioned.
Emergency Response Teams specializing in medical help, speedy evacuation, urban search and rescue would all be activated to reduce the deleterious impact of the fallout. The Nuclear Incident Response Teams and the Radiological Emergency Response Teams would be amongst the first response teams which would swing into action to physically monitor the extent and damage of the fall out. After the initial actions are completed and the fallout has been countered, the Community Recovery and Mitigation Branches would be required to carry out an assessment of the long term recovery plan and its execution.
Conclusion
The success of the NRP and the actions taken by the Department of Homeland Security can be measured by the fact that since the 9/11 attacks, not a single terrorist incident has taken place in Continental Unites States. The U.S. has not yet faced an incident of WMD terrorism but must remain prepared at all times because the nature of terrorist threats continues to evolve. The NRP itself is not a static plan, and the Department of Homeland Security periodically reviews its capabilities through un-alerted drills, exercises and carries out refinements where required. Eternal vigilance and resolute action is therefore the answer to counter the threats posed by International Terrorism.
References
Dark Knight. (2008). Film. Directed by Christopher Nolan. USA: Warner Bros..
Lawson, Sea. (2000). “Aum Shinrikyo and the 1995 Tokyo Subway Attack in Historical Perspective”. Web.
Ridge, Tom. (2004). “National Response Plan”. The U.S. Department of Home Land Defense. Web.
Stern, Jessica. (1997). “U.S. Backs Wrong Nuke-deterrence Efforts”. USA Today. Final Edition Section: News; Pg. 15A. Web.
Terrorism Incident Law Enforcement Annex. (2004). “Terrorism Incident Law Enforcement Annex, National Response Plan”. Department of Homeland Security. Web.