L.A. Times
Thursday May 10, 2007
WASHINGTON — President Bush issued a formal national
security directive Wednesday ordering agencies to prepare contingency
plans for a surprise, "decapitating" attack on the
federal government, and assigned responsibility for coordinating
such plans to the White House.
The prospect of a nuclear bomb being detonated in Washington
without warning, whether smuggled in by terrorists or a foreign
government, has been cited by many security analysts as a rising
concern since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The order makes explicit that the focus of federal worst-case
planning involves a covert nuclear attack against the capital,
in contrast with Cold War beliefs that a long-range strike
would be preceded by a notice of minutes or hours as missiles
were fueled and launched.
As a result of the asymmetric threat environment, adequate
warning of potential emergencies that could pose a significant
risk to the homeland might not be available, and therefore
all continuity planning shall be based on the assumption that
no such warning will be received," states the 72-paragraph
order.
The statement added, "Emphasis will be placed upon geographic
dispersion of leadership, staff, and infrastructure in order
to increase survivability and maintain uninterrupted Government
Functions."
After the 2001 attacks, Bush assigned about 100 senior civilian
managers to secretly rotate to locations outside of Washington
for weeks or months at a time to ensure the nation's survival,
a shadow government that evolved based on long-standing "continuity
of operations plans."
Since then, other agencies including the Pentagon, the office
of the Director of National Intelligence and CIA have taken
steps to relocate facilities or key functions outside of Washington,
citing factors such as economics or the importance of avoiding
Beltway "group-think."
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