Good article Murdoc……….I can tell you right known why the emergency response was inconsistent though. There had been NO integrated routine practice by the many agencies involved. Obviously they couldn’t have practiced for manned cruise missle attack, but practice for anticipated threats or disaster sceenarios would have identified interagency problems of all tpes. No inter agnecy practices + none of the kinks were worked out, nor improvements made.

This is what really pisses me off about the billions wasted on much of our emergency preparedness since 9/11. The various national, state, and local agnecies still haven’t put meaningful attack/disaster exercises into place. There have been a lot of paper and electronic exercises, but no real multi state multi agency mobilizations. It’s too much troulble, too disruptive to normal operations and services, and too expensive (that’s the usual litany of excuses). I heard them over and over again at the local level……it was like pulling teeth to get exercises authorised and organised. I also heard many deep sighs of relief after real emergencies/incidents when the foot draggers realised how much better off we’d been during the incident/s; for the lessons we’d learned during the practices we had engaged in.

Good to see:

‘General Arnold later recalled instructing [Battle Commander Colonel] Marr to “go ahead and scramble them, and we’ll get authorities later.”’

Of course if Osama + co attack again it will be something different.