New Mexico Plays Home To Terror Town, U.S.A.

Gruber said each simulation is followed by detailed assessments of what went right or wrong. The results, he said, have been helpful in pinpointing weaknesses in our response system. Gruber said, for instance, that after an exercise that involved a dirty bomb the government discovered that there were multiple agencies trying to predict the spread of radiation, yet no formal way for them to communicate. They have since fixed that.

Daniel Hamilton, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, cautioned that the results of simulations should be seen as a tool to help in decision-making, not as a solution. Johns Hopkins recently co-hosted an exercise involving a biological attack that began in Europe and that featured Madeleine Albright playing the president.

Simulations "simply draw out a range of choices and provide some perspective," Hamilton said.

Built by the Phelps Dodge Corp. in the 1970s to house workers at its copper smelter plant nearby, Playas was once an idyllic piece of rural America. Nestled at the base of a small mountain range in the deserts of southwestern New Mexico, it housed more than 1,000 people in a complex that included about 260 pastel-painted houses, a bank, medical clinic, bowling alley, and diner. People who lived in Playas in its heyday remember how no one's door was ever locked and newcomers would be welcomed with fresh-baked pies. But when the factory closed in 1999, all but a handful of Playas's inhabitants left.

It was not until last fall that Playas was reborn. The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (better known as New Mexico Tech) used a $5 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security to purchase the 640-acre township. It is now part of a network of academic institutions that specialize in training emergency workers to respond to various threats. In Alabama, the scenarios revolve mostly around chemical incidents. In Louisiana, biological threats. In Texas, a broad range incidents involving weapons of mass destruction, including derailed trains and people trapped in tunnels. In Nevada, radiological attacks.

New Mexico specializes in explosives.

Letter bombs, pipe bombs, car bombs and the improvised explosive devices placed on roadways are among the easiest of weapons for terrorist to create. That is why many believe they have been so difficult to control in Iraq and are the most likely to make their way to the United States first.

"This is something that terrorists have been using for a long time and we believe they'll use here in the future," said Van Romero, vice president for research and economic development at New Mexico Tech.

Playas resident Benjamin Davis recalled what it was like to play a bus passenger seated next to a bomber in one scenario.

"It makes you realize how awful the world can be . . . It makes you think," said Davis, 23, a furniture store worker and volunteer firefighter who was paid $10 an hour for his role-playing.

When New Mexico Tech moved in, it closed the town to newcomers. Existing families were relocated to three streets on the eastern side of town. They pay about $375 a month in rent, depending on their home's size, condition and location.

Bill Cavaliere, 47, is one of those who decided to stay. He is the former sheriff of Hidalgo County which includes Playas and extends south to the Mexican border. He said is proud of his town's role in helping stop terrorism. When soldiers came to train recently, he said, "we said 'God bless you' and waved American flags."

David and Kathy Johnson, Trent's parents, have mixed feelings about their decision to remain in Playas. They did it mostly because they did not want to uproot their son during his senior year of high school. They say that their new landlords have tried hard to minimize disruptions to their lives--for instance, building a special half-mile road for David, 50, so his commute to his job at the cattle ranch on the other side of town would not take him through training exercises in the center of town. And, as landlord, New Mexico Tech continues to make available a bank window, convenience store and diner. It also threw the residents a Christmas dinner and gave each family a bottle of champagne for New Year's.

But despite the university's best efforts, Kathy, 47, a bookkeeper for a nearby school district who has lived in Playas for 17 years, said that lately she has been feeling as if she is living in an occupied town.

One afternoon on her way back from work, she was stopped by a soldier standing next to a tank who asked to see her driver's license. Then New Mexico Tech barricaded half of the town, declaring it a restricted area and making her family sign forms saying they will not enter without an escort. Last month, the town's operators instituted a new visitor's policy, requiring outsiders to check in at the police station before entering town.

John Jones, a New Mexico Tech official in charge of running the town, said that on days when homeland security exercises are taking place the residents cannot admit visitors--even family members or friends.

"I don't know how long we will keep living here because of this," Kathy said. When residents first heard New Mexico Tech was buying the town, she said, "people assumed it would be like the old days. But that's not the way it is."