Regional Exercise Is a Rehearsal for A Terrorism Crisis

The scenario goes like this: Terrorists have assembled two weapons of mass destruction from materials smuggled into the United States. One arrives on the West Coast, where it explodes. The other is intended for detonation in the Washington area.

Neither weapon was real. But for the past three days, a host of federal agencies and officials from across the area have been playing out the situation in Washington as if it were a national crisis.

The $3.5 million drill, culminating yesterday at a Fairfax County hotel, was sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security. The FBI and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were key participants in the exercise.

Dubbed the "TOPOFF 4 Command Post Exercise," the drill for top officials was part of a congressionally mandated national program aimed at fortifying the country's ability to prepare for and respond to terrorism.

"This is an opportunity to strengthen our decision-making capability," said George Foresman, Homeland Security undersecretary for preparedness. "This bolsters our ability to respond to a crisis event in America."

This year, more than 4,000 federal, state and local officials, as well as senior managers from 85 other organizations, participated in the drill on preventing, responding to and recovering from a terrorist attack.

Although larger exercises elsewhere have included elements that were visible to the public, officials said, the Washington area drill was largely conducted out of the public eye because of its sensitive nature. The FBI's part of the exercise was classified.

Much of the action took place in a "master control cell" set up at the Fairfax Marriot hotel in Fair Oaks, where about 100 people sat beneath crystal chandeliers at tables lined with telephones and laptop computers. Many participants, including some Cabinet members, worked from designated operation centers.

Officials said some objectives were designed to address challenges that disaster responders encountered after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast last year. The drill included the assignment of roles and responsibilities at various levels of government and the coordination of communications and operations.

The point of the exercise was not to get it perfect but to push the limits until participants could see where problems might arise.

"When everything is going right, you've done the exercise wrong," said John Miller, an FBI spokesman.

Next year, a full-scale exercise will be conducted in three states and territories during which police, fire and other first-responders will be deployed.