Counter-Terrorism for Emergency Responders

Robert A. Burke

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351648523
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Politica e relazioni internazionali
• Subtopic: Terrorismo

Using the authors many years of experience in emergency services and his skills as a hazardous materials consultant, prepares the first responder to handle everything from re-establishing control and on-scene triage to investigating the crime. Including information on pre-incident and avoidance tactics, the author also discusses monitoring and detection techniques, protective equipment and decontamination, and an extensive list of resource organizations and training opportunities. This up-to-date 3rd edition is written to provide concise information for emergency responders who might be called upon to confront explosive, chemical, nuclear, biological, or incendiary acts of terrorism.

chapter one

Introduction

It’s just another hazardous materials incident!

During the period from 1990 to 2006, weapons, used primarily by terrorist groups, were improvised explosive devices (IEDs), both small and truck size, with or without chemical agents or radioactive materials, and biological agents. There were chemical agent attacks in Japan and attempts in the United States and biological agents as well. Since 2006, changes have occurred in both numbers and types of terrorist groups and the manner in which they carry out acts of terrorism. Terrorists have utilized explosive devices and armed attacks to spread terror on the U.S. soil and around the world. Some terrorist groups have either manufactured or obtained chemical weapons and used them in terror attacks. Terrorists would still like to get their hands on radioactive materials or a nuclear device. Some countries that sponsor or support terrorism are also trying to develop a nuclear capability. It is only a matter of time before they are successful.

Focus on terrorism

In the past, the focus of foreign terrorists seemed to be the killing of large numbers of people by truck bombs, hijackings, and bringing down airplanes or crashing them into buildings. Domestic terrorism involved the use of IEDs in the form of pipe bombs and other IEDs, biological materials such as anthrax or just white powder incidents where the suspected biological material was a hoax. Foreign terrorism for the present has focused on the U.S. facilities abroad, such as the attacks on embassies and military installations. Attacks have also focused on Europe, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, and other countries.

ISIS, a terror group that evolved from the war in Iraq and the vacuum left by the end of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, has tried to establish an Islamic State and an all-out war on Christians. Since 9/11, security has tightened both at home and abroad for high-profile targets (Figure 1.1). Terrorists are now focusing on soft targets, which are almost impossible to secure. Guns, knives, and IEDs, also used by suicide bombers, have become the primary weapons of individual terrorists radicalized by ISIS propaganda and organized attacks by ISIS. Also there has been the occurrence of knife and axe attacks on random groups of people. Overall victims of terrorist attacks have been fewer during individual incidents, but the numbers of incidents have increased significantly. While there have been continued incidents of bombings such as that which occurred at the Boston Marathon and active shooter incidents, terrorism has also shown a significant increase in Europe, Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, India, and other middle eastern and North African countries (Figure 1.2).

Figure 1.1 Smoke billows from one of the towers of the World Trade Center, and flames and debris explode from the second tower. (AP/Worldwide Photos. Used with permission)

Figure 1.2 Terrorism has shown a significant increase in Europe, Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, India, and other Middle Eastern and North African countries.

In the United States, there has been a marked reduction in the occurrence of domestic terrorist acts. There has been a significant increase in the numbers of mass shootings or active shooter incidents (Figure 1.3). Some incidents were perpetrated by mentally disturbed people such as the Sandy Hook School shooting. Other incidents such as the San Bernardino, CA mass shooting and attempted bombing, were carried out by radicalized Muslims, some of them are U.S. citizens, military personnel, and some may have been ISIS fighters.

Figure 1.3 After the terror attacks in the mid-1990s, we as emergency responders were not prepared to deal with acts of terrorism (World Trade Center Bombing, FBI).

Terrorists and weapons of mass destruction

Several tragic events, beginning in the mid-1990s, caused emergency responders to stop, pause, and consider both their luck and preparedness. Multiple terrorist attacks using the nerve agent sarin in Tokyo/Yokohama, Japan; explosions at the World Trade Center in New York City; the bombing of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; bombings at the Olympics, an abortion clinic, and at a gay night club in Atlanta, Georgia; and an attack on a family planning clinic in Birmingham, Alabama made the threat all too clear. Terrorism was not just something that occurred somewhere else, it was happening right here in the United States. We as emergency responders were not prepared to deal with acts of terrorism. Federal agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Fire Academy (NFA), and the U.S. Justice Department developed training programs for emergency responders to prepare them for response to acts of terrorism. But, as with any new preparedness concept, there were those who thought it could not happen in their communities and felt that preparing for something that was unlikely to occur was not necessary (ostrich syndrome).

Terrorists had declared war on America

Terrorists had declared war on America. While the first battles of the war were fought in big cities, we need to be careful not to think that it only happens in some other city, not our own or it happens in the big cities, not in rural America. Terrorism can happen anywhere at any time, and there is little we can do to prevent it. No place is immune. As security increases in major population areas, the terrorists will likely turn to soft targets in other places that they feel are vulnerable, like smaller cities and rural America.

Remember the mailbox bombings in the Midwest in 2002, where John Helder planted 18 pipe bombs in mailboxes in five states. That event, even though a criminal act, created terror in rural America. Think about it, the mailbox is a very important part of daily life in most parts of America. But in rural America, it is the lifeline to the outside world. What if people were afraid to go to the mailbox and get their mail? After all, the goal of the terrorist is to cause fear among the population and distrust in government’s ability to protect its citizens. Then there were the snipers in Maryland, Virginia, and Ohio, whose actions resulted in fear among people living in the affected areas. Those events were also criminal acts and not terrorism, but what if terrorists used those tactics? What if it happened in dozens of states or cities? What if it happened during major events such as the Super Bowl, college football games and bowls, NCAA Basketball Tournament, state fairs, NASCAR races, and just to name a few. While we may not be able to do anything to stop terrorism, we can certainly prepare to handle the aftermath in a safe and appropriate manner. We are all at the mercy of radical groups or individuals who have extreme political or religious agendas, personal grievances, or psychological disturbances. Terrorists strongly believe in their causes. Many believe they are patriots. Not unlike Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, George Washington, and my fourth Great Grandfather Lt. Asa Corbin who participated in the Lexington Alarm, and others in the American Revolution. Was not the Boston Tea Party really an act of terrorism against England (Figure 1.4)? It really depends on your mind-set at the time you commit the act. To some you are a patriot or a religious or political hero; to others you are a terrorist.

Figure 1.4 Wasn’t the Boston Tea Party really an act of terrorism against England? (From W.D. Cooper. “Boston Tea Party.” The History of North America. London: E. Newberry, 1789. Engraving plate opposite p. 58 Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress.)

Philip Stern, a terrorism expert with The Fairfax Group, a New York-based corporate security firm, said, “As an open society and a democracy, this country is particularly vulnerable. We have free passage coast to coast, anyone can apply for a visa to visit, and the population is both enormous and diversified.” Our borders are virtually unprotected, with Canada and Mexico offering potential routes for terrorists who might want to cross over. After all, thousands of illegal immigrants cross over the virtually unprotected borders each year. According to Stern, “Such factors provide cover to anyone who may wish to commit an act of violence against this country. Those kinds of people may be resentful economic ‘have-nots’ or even religious fundamentalist extremists who see Western culture, values, and power as oppression. At the same time, we have the Montana Freemen, the Branch Davidians, and the people who bomb our churches all symptomatic of disenchantment with society among people who are willing to use violence.” Abortion clinics, family planning clinics, fur stores, research facilities that use animals and farms that raise them for their fur have been targets for terrorists in this country. Thousands of bombings occur in this country every year, though on a fairly small scale compared to the bombings in Oklahoma City and at the World Trade Center in New York City.

War on terror

Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States initiated an international military campaign known as the War on Terror (Figure 1.5) or the War on Terrorism. Goals of the War on Terror included:

•Defeat terrorists such as Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and destroy their organizations.

•Identify, locate, and destroy the terrorists along with their organizations.

•Deny sponsorship, support, and sanctuary to terrorists.

•Diminish the underlying conditions that terrorists seek to exploit.

•Defend U.S. citizens and interests at home and abroad.

•Ensure an integrated incident management capability.

Figure 1.5 Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron Spaulding, the senior medical department representative with Marine Expeditionary Brigade—Afghanistan, stands by the Regional Command (Southwest) logo aboard Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, Afghanistan, August 20, 2014. (U.S. Army Photo.)

Under the leadership of the United States and the United Kingdom with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) support, the focus of the war initially was al Qaeda, and mastermind of the 9/11 attacks Osama bin Laden. They were thought to be the major terrorist threat to the United States and the rest of the world at that time. They were suspected of masterminding and implementing the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.

Just another hazardous materials incident

It has been my strong personal belief since we began planning and training personnel for terrorism response back in the early 1990s that terrorism is “just another hazardous materials incident” with some special circumstances. If emergency responders are trained and equipped to deal with hazardous materials incidents, they can handle the aftermath of terrorist incidents with some additional training and equipment. Responders who are not prepared for hazmat response will not do well at terrorist incidents either. One of the biggest lessons learned from the September 11 attacks was that all levels of government must support each other to maximize the response effectiveness to acts of terrorism. There needs to be planning, security improvements, training, and exercises to validate th...