‘Who’s in Charge?’ Not the Best Response Tactic

WASHINGTON — Experts say it’s only a matter of time before terrorists target the continental United States with a chemical or biological weapons attack. But almost a year after the Pentagon created rapid-response teams specifically geared to react to such a horrifying incident, the powers that be are still battling each other to determine who will spearhead a federal response.

In one corner is the military, quietly backed by the Clinton administration and Congress. Pentagon officials contend that only their specialized military units have the training and resources to respond adequately to a chem-bio catastrophe in the United States.

On the opposing side is the one-two punch of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, currently the lead agencies for domestic terrorism. Officials from FEMA and the FBI insist that National Guard or other military troops could not react quickly enough. They say soldiers would “get in the way” of local, state and federal authorities who already have experience responding to large-scale domestic disasters.

This potentially deadly fight must be broken up fast, because too much is at stake for an internal political slugfest to continue harming U.S. national security. Neither side appears capable of outright victory, and the most likely outcome of continued bickering is that we will all lose. It would be a tragedy if a chem-bio attack occurred before government officials ironed out their petty differences.

The feds have more experience in domestic crisis responses; the military possesses expertise in chemical and biological weapons. The military wants to work with the FBI and FEMA, but the sentiment doesn’t seem mutual. The feds appear to be placing pride before logic. They’re dragging their feet and even sabotaging Defense Department efforts. They seem more concerned that the Defense Department might cut into their precious budgets. Consequently, the feds aren’t cooperating, safety be damned.

The Pentagon is not blameless, for its leaders started this turf battle--though with good intentions. Last year, alarmed that the United States was drastically unprepared to handle any sort of a chemical or biological terrorist attack, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen made a preemptive strike. He went behind the backs of both the FBI and FEMA and convinced Congress and the White House to sign off on a measure that declared the Defense Department would lead a federal reaction to any stateside nuclear, biological or chemical, or NBC, incidents.

In October, the Pentagon announced the creation of 10 Rapid Assessment and Initial Detection, or RAID, teams which are strategically dispersed across the country and focused on reacting to chem-bio attacks in the U.S. The Pentagon also launched a program in 120 U.S. cities that has Defense Department specialists training “first responders,” including firefighters and paramedics, to cope with chemical or biological agents. Many first responders across the country have now had the training, to mixed reviews.

The Senate, unnerved by recent classified briefings from the intelligence community that indicate an increasing probability of a chem-bio attack in the United States, is requesting an additional $107 million for 2000 to create 17 more RAID teams. If Congress approves the proposal when finalizing its budget by September, and President Bill Clinton signs off on it, by next year there would be a total of 27 RAID teams across the country.

The current 10 RAID teams are each comprised of 22 full-time National Guard soldiers trained and equipped to respond to NBC strikes. While these troops are undoubtedly negotiating uncharted territory--no one really knows how to best respond to the unleashing of biological agents--they are practically the only people focusing solely on just such a dreadful task. They also have the tutelage of the Pentagon, the most knowledgeable organization when it comes to chem-bio weapons.

As the RAID teams join the anti-terrorism world, moving in on the FBI and FEMA, the feds have reacted defensively. Handling terrorist attacks falls under their domain, and they are threatened, annoyed and angered by anyone who seeks a piece of their budget pie.

In recent months, officials from the FBI, FEMA and local and state agencies used to working with them complained to investigators from the General Accounting Office. Casting RAID teams as nincompoops who would confuse the federal response to a chem-bio attack, the feds persuaded the GAO to release a May report calling on Congress to reconsider, if not abolish, the RAID teams.

The feds told the GAO they “do not see any role at all” for the RAID teams in a response to a domestic chem-bio attack. They argue that working federal structures for NBC assault responses already exist. The feds point to more than 600 hazardous material (HAZMAT) organizations spread across the country, noting that the HAZMAT workers frequently respond to chemical incidents, while the National Guard RAID teams have no such experience.

This is not quite accurate. No one has any experience reacting to the chaos of an NBC assault. It is true that seasoned HAZMAT experts may possess the knowledge and the cool demeanor required to organize a response to a terrifying disaster. But the fact remains that these folks are more attuned to industrial chemical spills, not widespread emissions of, say, VX, a highly lethal nerve agent that is difficult to detect and even more arduous to decontaminate.

Even the GAO concedes that the typical HAZMAT worker is only “generally familiar” with chemical weapons, much less biological agents. To think HAZMAT officials alone could best detect, identify and decontaminate chem-bio weapons is to believe Boy Scouts could survive hand-to-hand combat.

FBI and FEMA officials rightly contend that the four hours within which RAID teams are supposed to arrive on the scene is too long. But the four-hour assessment is based on having only 10 RAID teams in the nation. If the Pentagon and Congress have their way, that number rises to 27 by next year, obviously cutting the reaction time. Further, Congress is exploring the idea of creating 54 “light” RAID teams, so every U.S. state and territory will have some form of chem-bio response capability. After all, you can’t have a RAID team in California if there’s going to be a chem-bio attack in Nevada.

You can be assured the CIA, the FBI and other government employees are working hard to squelch any planned terrorist attacks against U.S. targets. However, the reality is that investigative agents are limited in what they can do. Short of stopping a chem-bio attack before it happens, the only hope we have is to react to it. That means determining what kind of weapon was used, then taking appropriate measures. If it’s a chemical attack, you need to get people away; if it’s biological, you need to contain everyone so it doesn’t spread.

This might sound easy, but it’s a job that requires experts in mayhem. It’s a task only brave, well-trained soldiers are prepared to accomplish. It’s a mission for the RAID teams.

The chem-bio experts on the RAID teams are the nation’s only hope in containing a stateside terrorist attack. In this life or death matter, the feds must swallow their pride and lend the experience they have in crisis control so that the military can best use its chem-bio expertise. Our lives are at stake.