The Next Terrorist Attack: Not If, But When...Are We Prepared?
Abstract
Senior leaders continually warn of future terrorist attacks and acknowledge that the United States will not be able to prevent all attempts at terrorism. Consequently, National Strategies highlight the importance of preparing responses for when prevention fails. Since lessons learned from past attacks call attention to the terrorists' ability to overcome military defenses, the importance of well-developed, exercised response plans cannot be overstated. Department of Defense directives charge the combatant commanders with developing such responses to protect U.S. Forces. But while commanders spend billions of dollars building stronger defenses, Joint Staff assessment teams continue to find response plans that do not exist, are not coordinated with the responsible agencies, or are not exercised. The combatant commander must find a method to break the "bunker mentality" and move beyond a solely defensive antiterrorism strategy. By translating national strategy through campaign planning and applying the essence of operational art, the combatant commander will increase the efficacy of his antiterrorism program. Viewed as a series of major operations divided into three phases (prevention, response, and continual improvement), the theater antiterrorism campaign will move subordinate commanders beyond their defense-centric strategy. Establishing adequate physical security standards, transitioning through each campaign phase, prioritizing command installations, and integrating existing plans are key elements of the campaign plan. Only when combatant commanders have well-developed, and exercised, response plans will U.S. Forces truly be prepared for the next terrorist attack. (20 refs.)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 09, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA422831
Entities
People
- David F. Lynch
Organizations
- Naval War College