The USmilitary plans to mobilize thousands of troops to protect Washingtonagainst potential terrorist attack during the inauguration ofpresident-elect Barack Obama, a senior US military commander saidWednesday. (We somehow don’t believe this kind of preparation would be in play had Ron Paul won the election. — Ed.)
They will fly combat air patrols and man airdefenses, organize large scale medical support, and help local lawenforcement provide security in the capital, said General Gene Renuart,head of the US Northern Command.
“(It’s) not because we see aspecific threat, but because for an event this visible, this importantand this historic, we ought to be prepared to respond if something doeshappen,” he told reporters.
Renuart said some 7,500 active dutytroops and 4,000 national guard troops will take part in the operationsin support of the inauguration of the 44th US president on January 20.
Overall responsibility for security during the inauguration falls to the Secret Service.But Renuart’s command, which is co-located with NORAD, is responsible for preparing for any contingency.
Some troops will march in parades, serve in honor guards or perform other ceremonial duties, he said.
Butmost of the national guard troops will back up local law enforcement,while active duty forces will provide specialized capabilities,according to the general.
Renuart said NORAD, the US-Canadiancommand responsible for defending North American airspace, willincrease combat air patrols over the United States to guard againstanother September 11 type attack.
“Our integrated air defensesystem in the national capital region will be up and robust andavailable,” he said. It typically includes Patriot missile defensebatteries deployed at key points around the city.
Chemical response units also will be on alert in case of a chemical weapons attack, he said.
Ajoint task force for the capital region is planning medical response incase of an attack that produces large numbers of casualties, he said.
“Itis prudent for us to assume that it would make news for a terroristelement, or a rogue element of some sort, to interrupt that (theinauguration).
“So it is prudent for us to plan for thepossibility of that kind of event, and be prepared either to deter itor respond to it,” he said.
An ever present fear is another attack like the one on September 11, 2001 on New York and Washington with hijacked airliners.
ButRenuart said both NORAD and the Northern Command have worked hard toprevent a repeat, devising systems that allow them to determine whethera suspicious flight poses a threat.
Civilian aircraft have been intercepted 400 times a year without a shoot-down, he said.
“Fortunately, we have not had to do that,” he said.
“Butthere are a number of aviators out there who have had a chance to seean F-16 up very close, who have been landed at an airfield that wasn’ttheir planned airfield, and were greeted by 30 or 40 of their newestfriends in the FBI.”
He said in virtually every case “a mix ofbuffoonery or mechanical failure or just lack of understanding rules ofthe road” got them into trouble.
The attacks in Mumbai, Indiahave raised the spectre of another kind of threat — suicide attacks byheavily armed, well trained assailants.
Renuart said theUnited States was better equipped with counter-terrorism teams to dealwith that kind of attack than India proved to be, but he said “the keyis how quickly can you respond.”
“Certainly, the Mumbaiattacks ought to be understood clearly down to the local level — thespeed to which a small group of people could begin to hold a fairlylarge city hostage,” he said.