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Justice Not Prepared for WMD Attack, IG Says |
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by Mickey McCarter
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Wednesday, 02 June 2010 |
IG report singles out lapses at ATF in particular
Despite strong measures undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Justice Department on the whole is not prepared to handle its responsibilities in response to an attack by a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), the department's inspector general (IG) warned Tuesday.
The IG report, Review of the Department's Preparation to Respond to a WMD Incident, enumerated shortcomings in the Justice Department's ability to fulfill the roles assigned to it under the National Response Framework.
"For example, the Department does not assign one entity or individual with the responsibility for the central oversight or management of WMD incident response," the report read. "The Department has not updated its policies to reflect recent national policies, and the Department's operational response policies and plans have not been fully implemented. Moreover, no components other than the FBI have specific WMD operational response plans or provide training on responding to a WMD incident."
The IG report found that the Justice Department has not updated its Critical Incident Response Plan since May 1996. The plan does not contain any guidance on responding to WMD incidents either.
Other than the FBI, the department overall and many of its agencies lack policies and plans for responding to a terrorist attack using WMDs, the report noted. Justice components have not coordinated any WMD activities very well and their staffs receive little training with requirements to respond to a WMD attack.
The Justice Department also decentralizes its oversight and management of producing policy for a WMD attack response, spreading those responsibilities among a special assistant to the deputy attorney general, senior staff at the National Security Division, the executive office for United States Attorneys, and the FBI, the report said. This situation has continued despite a department recommendation, made in 2006, to pool these responsibilities into a central committee.
The report singled out lapses at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in particular. The Justice Department designated ATF as its lead agency for coordinating public safety and security in response to a WMD attack that proved too much for local and state law enforcement agencies to handle. ATF has not taken steps to do so, the report cautioned, as it made no personnel assignments for management of those duties and it lacked a catalog of people and equipment to deploy in the event of a WMD attack.
In contrast to these lapses, the FBI undertaken "appropriate steps" to respond to a WMD attack, the report stressed.
The FBI investigates WMD attacks and threats. It has stood up a WMD response program managed by a WMD Directorate. The Bureau has produced plans, handbooks, and other guides for response to a WMD attack. FBI agents and staff also regularly receive targeted training for WMD response.
However, the FBI could improve on documentation in the form of after-action reports to correct any deficiencies found in its training exercises, the report said.
To meet its responsibilities detailed under Emergency Support Function 13 of the National Response Framework, the department should designate a senior office to manage the WMD operational response program across the agency, the IG report recommended. The Justice Department then should update the department's response policies and plans for confirmation to the National Response Framework and the National Incident Management System.
Furthermore, the attorney general should require Justice agencies to update their individual policies and plans to be consistent with department-level and national policies and plans. The department should ensure the readiness of those plans through training and exercises and take corrective measures to fix any shortcomings uncovered in them, the IG report said.
The attorney general also should sign off on a review of the ATF's designation as the lead agency to coordinate public safety and security. The department must approve a concept of operations plan and staff national and regional management positions for dealing with a WMD attack, the report said.
The Justice Department concurred with all five specific recommendations, James Baker, associate deputy attorney general, wrote in response to the report.
Baker said the department would designate a senior official in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General to oversee all emergency response activities at the Justice Department. It would further create a central committee to coordinate development and revisions of WMD policies and plans.
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Mickey McCarter |
| About the author: |
| eNewsletter Editor/Senior Washington Correspondent,
is a journalist with more than a decade of experience in reporting
on
military affairs and information technology.
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