WP,pg1: D.C. Area Still Unprepared for Terror Attacks, Senate Panel Told

[DeepModem Mom]

Area Still Unprepared for Terror Attacks, Senate Panel Is Told
By Eric M. Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 30, 2006; Page A01

Nearly five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Washington region still lacks a strategic plan to guide preparations for any future attacks or to effectively spend hundreds of millions of homeland security dollars, federal and local officials told a U.S. Senate panel yesterday.

The lack of a comprehensive regionwide communication system was repeatedly cited by senators as a case of poor planning and coordination. For example, Prince George's County does not have radios that are fully compatible with neighboring jurisdictions.

An oversight panel for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs took emergency response officials from the District, Maryland, Virginia and the federal government to task for bureaucratic foot-dragging and a lack of agreement on a long-term plan for protecting millions of residents in the region.

"What do we have today? What's in place today?" asked Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.)....

***

Warner and other senators said the poor federal response to Hurricane Katrina and the confusion and lack of communication when a small plane violated the District's airspace in May underscored the need for effective regional coordination....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/29/AR2006032902476.html

[MountainLaurel]

1. Can't say I'm surprised

As a District resident, I'm fully aware that in case of emergency, it's up to us to save ourselves. I haven't started stocking up on tuna under the bed (between the dust bunnies, the lost dog toys, and the knitting supplies, there's not enough room anyway), but I have mentally drawn evacuation routes that avoid the main roads and would get us toward my parents in WV.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. That under-the-bed space sounds familiar! And besides your city's...

being a major metropolitan area, it's our Nation's Capital, and has already been struck once. Never can we plan for every eventuality that might come, but surely we can do better than this.

[rodeodance]

2. well, well, surprize surprize.