Home > Politics > Political Punch

Political Punch

Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper

« Previous | Main | Next »

Bush & Obama Officials Play "War Games"

January 13, 2009 6:08 PM

ABC NEWS' JAKE TAPPER, JENNIFER DUCK and SUNLEN MILLER REPORT:

Top officials from the Bush Administration invited the men and women who will replace them in just one week to join them for a two and a half hour hypothetical terrorist attack.

The drill, in which U.S. cities from coast to coast were attacked by terrorists using improvised explosive devices in coordinated attacks, allowed, for instance, the National Security Adviser-designate for President-elect Obama to watch as President Bush’s National Security Adviser, Stephen Hadley, responded with various recommendations.

“We want this new team to be as successful as they possible can be especially in the areas of national and homeland security,” current White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten said before the exercise, standing with the White House Chief of Staff-in-waiting Rahm Emanuel.
 
The drill, orchestrated by the Department of Homeland Security, simulated two-days’ worth of attacks on American cities targeting transportation and economic centers.

Bush Homeland Security Advisor Ken Wainstein tells ABC News the type of response merited in such a scenario: “Federal government assisting state and local governments; responding to medical needs, responding to investigative needs, making sure we had enough protective forces out there to provide to provide to give confidence to the American people that they can continue to live their lives 12 despite the fact these explosions are going on all around the country.”

Wainstein said that “even though we don't have any specific threat information that suggests such an attack is going to happen, it is conceivable.”

President Bush himself warned just yesterday at his last press conference that an attack on U.S soil would the most pressing threat for President-elect Obama’s new term.

“The most urgent threat that he’ll have to deal with,” the president said, “Is and attack on our homeland.”

“The process has evolved quite a bit, and a lot of the processes have improved and have strengthened,” said former CIA official John Brennan, who will serve in Wainstein’s role for President Obama. “What the exercise was intended to do was to make sure that the federal government was able to respond very well to these types of coordinated attacks that span a geographic area that goes from West Coast to East Coast.”

“There's still more work to be done,” said Wainstein. “Every time we do these exercises, every time we deal with a  crisis, you learn lessons but you also identify the weaknesses. and it's our job to try and address each of those weaknesses we identify.”

He said the  Obama team did well. “It wasn't designed to be a 'gotcha' exercise where we were going to put people on the spot,” said the Bush adviser. “That being said, they asked very probing questions to the extent that there were soft spots in our policies or processes. 10 they went right to those soft spots. They saw the issues and I think we had a very constructive dialogue.”

Former White House Counterterrorism Czar Richard Clarke says such exercises are vital, and indicated they made a difference in the reaction during the real disaster on September 11th. 

“If we had not had scores of exercise with real playing when 9/11 happened I would not have known what to do,” Clarke says, “You can’t just read things in a book and expect to know how to do it.”

Does your heart start pumping? Is it nerve-wracking?

“It’s actually very much like the real thing, real players sitting around the real room,” Clarke says. “You receive information the same way they will receive it in the same event, and it will force you in real time to make decisions…If the exercise is done well it simulates the real work and after a while the players forget it’s a game.”

Prior to the exercise, the Obama team participated in a briefing in the nerve center of the White house, The Situation Room, to orientate them with government procedures and incident management practices. And following the IED scenario, members of the incoming and outgoing teams talked about air defense, pandemic influenza and other disaster response situations. 

Participants included, from the Bush Team, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, DNI Mike McConnell, FBI Director Robert Mueller, National Counter Terrorism Center acting director Mike Leiter, and FEMA Administrator Hank Paulison.

From the Obama Team, they including pending DNI Admiral Dennis Blair, DHS Secretary -designate Governor Janet Napolitano, Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner, incoming White House senior adviser David Axelrod, and incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Watch our report here:

-- Jake Tapper, Jennifer Duck and Sunlen Miller

January 13, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (18)

User Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Turning of the orientation of US policy and action that can build trust of them (extreme moslem), will BORN new delightful situation for relating between US and moslem society......

Posted by: Ali | Mar 4, 2009 1:26:26 AM

Whatever the reasons of war, the destination of war be the winner, can’t be handle. It has consequences that the side participated in war will use all of the way for winning the war without ethic, value of life and moral, certainly at last.

Let see my opinion completely in:

Posted by: Ali | Mar 3, 2009 12:13:46 PM

War make people forget about their vision, to manage world-nature become more fine and comfortable for living...

Posted by: Ali | Mar 3, 2009 12:10:26 PM

War is the war, for the participated war, moral, ethic and value of life is other side of culture that no related with war, at last. According to my tracking, the war always such that, no least, no more…

Posted by: Ali | Mar 3, 2009 11:59:53 AM

According to me, All leader in the world should be aware, that war no finish the problems, at least. It mere will come damage and calamity. War no give benefit at least, so that, the leader that make decision to begin war happen, he/she will has biggest mistake in history of the world, whoever. For the leader, should had being called as biggest looser….

Posted by: Ali | Mar 3, 2009 11:18:35 AM

"Prior to the exercise, the Obama team participated in a briefing in the nerve center of the White house, The Situation Room, to ORIENTATE them with government procedures and incident management practices."

Unless the Obama team was caused to assume an easterly direction by government procedures and incident management practices, I believe what happened during the meeting was that the Obama team was made familiar with -- or ORIENTED -- with government procedures and incident management practices.

Posted by: David | Jan 14, 2009 2:32:12 PM

Why does the media think we need to know all of this? Why let the world know what we do and how we do it? I personally don't need to know what steps are being taken to ensure our safety. Just do it!

Posted by: JB2 | Jan 14, 2009 2:29:58 PM

I have no problem giving credit where credit is due. Bush's team has done a great job with this transition and that is very admirable to me.

Posted by: AnaB | Jan 14, 2009 9:55:49 AM

The NY Times reported today that President Bush declared a state of emergency for Washington DC. It's supposedly needed to help "free up" extra money to handle security surrounding the inauguration. They're going to pull it from FEMA's budget. First time in history this has been done. Why an administration already in the hole nearly 10 trillion dollars would care about blowing 10 or 20 million more on their last day in office is puzzling, to say the least. By the way, the other thing that occurs when a state of emergency is declared is that martial law goes into effect. Remember Colin Powell's October 21st comment that a "crisis would come along January 21st or 22nd that even we don't know about."? Apparently, here it comes. I'd recommend staying home for this one folks.

Posted by: h5mind | Jan 14, 2009 9:00:35 AM

Obama will be worse President in this history. Not Bush! The Democratic Congress and the voters are already mad at Obama. The voters don't know who is this guy. He is already breaking his promise to the America people. He stole the election and it is going to be problem when all his Chicago 'crooked' friends are coming to the White House. Just like the Clinton Admin. We are going to laugh at when Obama fail.

Posted by: anonymous | Jan 14, 2009 4:44:09 AM

The conspiracy theorist wingnuts seem to be having a field day. No wonder America is in economic straits. Nobody is producing anything of value. Too many people are trying to make a living as talking heads, or scamming finances. Too bad for you, those days are over. Take for example, urrh, say John. Perhaps someone like him needs to get some real work for a change.

Posted by: WestCoastMessenger | Jan 14, 2009 12:20:57 AM

BertieW: Good one!!!!

Posted by: Interested08 | Jan 14, 2009 12:17:03 AM

what a pebo nominating a pebo treasury sec. pebo - will miss the sound of pebo soon. Pity, what a pity!

Posted by: pebo0. | Jan 14, 2009 12:04:01 AM

Don't believe this propaganda.

9/11 was an inside job, carried out by elements within the U.S. government, who have since walked all over our Constitution. They carried out 9/11 as a false flag attack, murdering 3000 of our fellow citizens.

Check out these videos:

http://www.ae911truth.org/flashmov11.htm

http://www.loosechange911.com/finalcut/

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2144933190875239407.


Also, the U.S. Government has dabbled in such deeds in the past. Google "Operation Northwoods" or check out this link for information on one such (planned but narrowly aborted) false flag attack, Operation Northwoods:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20010430/.

Posted by: John | Jan 14, 2009 12:00:50 AM

"Top officials from the Bush Administration invited the men and women who will replace them in just one week to join them for a two and a half hour hypothetical terrorist attack."

Obama usually calls these two and a half hour meeting with terrorists fund raisers.

Posted by: BertieW | Jan 13, 2009 11:41:56 PM

It seems pathetic to look at this and think what Bush has to say has any merit. Look at how he responded to Katrina. If he cannot help out our country immediately after a predictable storm, what hope do we have for his ability to teach about the threat of an attack?

Posted by: Alan | Jan 13, 2009 7:19:00 PM

I too am proud of the Bush team for making this a smooth and well informed transition. We are all in this together; it doesn't matter what party we support or the color of our skin. We are American's and want the best for our country.

Posted by: Ginger | Jan 13, 2009 7:01:16 PM

Credit to Bush regarding this transition.

With the exception of the petty Blair House stunt, he has done a great deal to make sure Obama is able to hit the ground running come Jan 20th.

Posted by: Ryan C | Jan 13, 2009 6:24:33 PM

Post a comment





 

POLITICAL VIDEOS