US: The US military has devised its first war plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the US, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and anticipating several simultaneous strikes around the country.
The classified plans, developed here at Northern Command headquarters, outline 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 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, defence officials continue to stress that they intend the troops to play largely a supporting role in homeland emergencies, bolstering police, firefighters and other civilian response groups.
However, the 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.
The plans present the Pentagon with a clearer idea of the kinds and numbers of troops and the training that might be required to build a more credible homeland defence 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 defence against the demands of overseas deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Pentagon authorities have rejected the idea of creating large standing units dedicated to homeland missions. Instead, they favour a "dual-use" approach, drawing on a common pool of troops trained both for homeland and overseas assignments.
Particular reliance is being placed on the National Guard, which is expanding a network of 22-member civil support teams to all states, and forming 120-member regional response units. Congress last year also gave the guard authority under Title 32 of the US Code to perform such homeland missions as securing power plants.
The Northcom commander can also quickly call on active-duty forces. On top of previous powers to send fighter jets into the air, this year he gained the authority to dispatch navy and coast guard ships to deal with suspected threats off US coasts. He has immediate access to four active-duty army battalions based around the country.
Nonetheless, when it comes to ground forces possibly taking a lead role in homeland operations, senior Northcom officers remain reluctant to discuss specifics.
Military exercises codenamed Vital Archer, which involve troops in lead roles, are shrouded in secrecy. Homeland exercises featuring troops in supporting roles are widely publicised.
Civil liberties groups have warned that the military's expanded involvement in homeland defence could breach the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which restricts the use of troops in domestic law enforcement. However, Pentagon authorities have told Congress they see no need to change the law.
According to military lawyers, the dispatch of ground troops would most likely be justified on the basis of the US president's authority under Article 2 of the constitution to serve as commander-in-chief and protect the nation. The Posse Comitatus Act exempts actions authorised by the constitution. - (LA Times-Washington Post)