According to Jack Van Impe program(Sunday night 9-12-1999)in the August annuls(sp?)of Emergency medicine said "we are now preparing 120 cities to be hit by a weapon of mass destruction".I swear this is what he said.I had taped the program and had to rewind it to be sure this is what I heard.Has anyone else heard this?Can anyone get a copy and post it?

-- maggie (aaa@aaa.com), September 13, 1999

Answers

It would appear that none of those 120 cities know they are being prepared or I think we would have heard something. But then they have meetings and never announce the fact that there will be a meeting. I would want some verification from another in the trenches...or should that be triage? Taz

-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), September 13, 1999.

This sounds like the list that came out last fall. I don't think this is something new.

-- FLAME AWAY (BLehman202@aol.com), September 13, 1999.

It sounded like they published a report in august.I just don't know where to look to find it.

-- maggie (aaa@aaa.com), September 13, 1999.

Nothing new here.

MAJOR CONCERN - but not new.

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous99.xxx), September 13, 1999.

I didn't find the article for august but,did find this one and it is from last fall .

Headline- Armed and dangerous

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/exclusive/980928_domestic_rapid_depl.html

-- maggie (aaa@aaa.com), September 13, 1999.

Since Oklahoma City there has been an effort underway to get cities to plan, educate, drill and educate again everyone in the chain from First Respnonders (Firemen,Police etc.) to Hospitals (Docs ,Nurses and staff) to volunteers. I have been to numerous contin. ed. courses with topics on everything from chemical spills to bio attack to nuke. The fact that 120 cities were identified as possible targets and that efforts are underway to curtail any such event is nothing to fear at least we are preparing for something.

Didn't sec of defense Cohen say a while pack " it's not IF the U.S. suffers such an attack but WHEN "

-- Johnny (JLJTM@BELLSOUTH.NET), September 13, 1999.

Mr Cohen... In all his glory... best speech he has orated....

Byliner: Preparing For A Grave New World http://www.usia.gov/cgi- bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=99072601.plt&t=/ products/washfile/newsitem.shtml (By William S. Cohen) (1210)

(Mr. Cohen is the Secretary of Defense. The following op-ed column by him appeared in The Washington Post July 26. COPYRIGHT: 07/26/99 -- Public Domain -- no republication restrictions. Please Credit the Washington Post.)

In recent months, the eyes of the world have rightly focused on the threat to American interest and values in the Balkans. At the same time, we cannot afford a national case of farsightedness that precludes us from focusing on threats closer to home, such as the potential danger of a chemical or biological attack on U.S. soil. The United States now faces something of a superpower paradox. Our supremacy in the conventional arena is prompting adversaries to seek unconventional, asymmetric means to strike our Achilles' heel. At least 25 countries, including Iraq and North Korea, now have -- or are in the process of acquiring and developing -- weapons of mass destruction. Of particular concern is the possible persistence in some foreign military arsenals of smallpox, the horrific infectious virus that decimated entire nations down the ages and against which the global population is currently defenseless.

Also looming is the chance that these terror weapons will find their way into the hands of individuals and independent groups -- fanatical terrorists and religious zealots beyond our borders, brooding loners and self-proclaimed apocalyptic prophets at home.

This is not hyperbole. It is reality. Indeed, past may be prologue. In 1995 the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo used sarin gas in its attack on the Tokyo subway and also planned to unleash anthrax against U.S. forces in Japan. Those behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing were also gathering the ingredients for a chemical weapon that could have killed thousands. In the past year, dozens of threats to use chemical or biological weapons in the United States have turned out to be hoaxes. Someday, one will be real. What would that day look like? A biological agent would sink into the respiratory and nervous systems of the afflicted. The speed and scope of modern air travel could carry this highly contagious virus across hemispheres in hours. Indeed, the invisible contagion would be neither geographically nor numerically limited, infecting unsuspecting thousands -- with many, in turn, communicating the virus to whomever they touch

The march of the contagion could accelerate astoundingly, with doctors offering little relief. Hospitals would become warehouses for the dead and the dying. A plague more monstrous than anything we have experienced could spread with all the irrevocability of ink on tissue paper. Ancient scourges would quickly become modern nightmares. Welcome to the grave New World of terrorism -- a world in which traditional notions of deterrence and counter-response no longer apply. Perpetrators may leave no postmark or return address -- no tell-tale signs of a missile launch, no residue of TNT that can be traced to a construction site, no rental truck receipts leading to the foolhardy suspects. In fact, their place of business may be a number of countries that are conducting bioengineering under the guise of pharmaceutical research. Penicillin for the poor, or ebola for the enemy? Who is to say, and with what deterrent is America left?

Preparation is itself a deterrent. By minimizing the death and destruction would-be terrorists hope to spawn, we reduce the likelihood they will even try. Yet a chemical or biological strike on American soil could quickly surpass any community's ability to cope. As part of a federal interagency effort launched last year by President Clinton and led by the National Security Council, the Defense Department is doing its part to prepare the nation for the catastrophic consequences of an attack that unleashes these horrific weapons. Because it has long prepared to face this grim possibility on the battlefield, the military has unique capabilities to offer in the domestic arena as well.

Several core principles are guiding our efforts. First, any military assistance in the wake of a domestic attack must be in support of the appropriate federal civilian authority -- either the Department of Justice or the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Second, an unequivocal and unambiguous chain of responsibility, authority and accountability for that support must exist. Third, military assistance should not come at the expense of our primary mission -- fighting and winning our nation's wars. A special Task Force for Civil Support is being created to ensure that we have the military assets necessary to help respond domestically while still meeting our foremost mission.

Fourth, our military response efforts will be grounded primarily in the National Guard and Reserve. In contrast to their more familiar role of reinforcing active-duty forces overseas, our guard and reserve are the forward-deployed forces here at home. Special National Guard teams are being positioned around the nation to advise and assist communities upon request.

Finally, we must not and trample on American lives and liberties in the name of preserving them. Fears about the military's role in domestic affairs are unfounded, as evidenced by a long history of reasonable and successful military support to communities ravaged by natural disasters, such as fire and flood.

As in the past, any military support will be precisely that -- support. Both legal and practical considerations demand it. The Posse Comitatus Act and the Defense Department's implementing policies are clear -- the military is not to conduct domestic law enforcement without explicit statutory authority, and we strongly believe no changes should be made to Posse Comitatus. Also clear is that the military's unique assets are most valuable when used to supplement -- not supplant -- continuing federal, state or local efforts. This is one of the reasons we are helping to train the local emergency "first responders" in 120 cities under a program mandated by Congress and now being transferred to the Justice Department.

But merely managing the consequences of an attack is not sufficient. We must be vigilant in seeking to interdict and defeat the efforts of those who seek to inflict mass destruction on us. This will require greater international cooperation, intelligence collection abroad and information gathering by law enforcement agencies at home. Information is clearly power, and greater access to information will require the American people and their elected officials to find the proper balance between privacy and protection.

There need be no fear or foreboding by the American people of the preparations of their government. On the contrary, the greater threat to our civil liberties stems from the chaos and carnage that might result from an attack for which we had failed to prepare and the demands for action that would follow.

Mere months before the attack on Pearl Harbor shocked America out of its slumber, Walter Lippmann wrote, "Millions will listen to, and prefer to believe, those who tell them that they need not rouse themselves, and that all will be well if only they continue to do all the pleasant and profitable and comfortable things they would like to do best."

The race is on between our preparations and those of our adversaries. We are preparing for the possibility of a chemical or biological attack on American soil because we must. There is not a moment to lose.

(Mr. Cohen is the Secretary of Defense.)

We are being prepared for an uprising of some kind. Any "useless eaters" out there???

growlin' at the TV...

The Dog

-- Dog (Desert Dog@-sand.com), September 13, 1999.

I never really gave any credit to the comtrails theories until I had read this speech and Andy or a posted that the comtrails were actually thought to be Anthrax vac. that made sense to me.

-- Johnny (JLJTM@BELLSOUTH.NET), September 13, 1999.

We Doomers know our Y2K preps are insurance toward weathering all types of wicked things blowing our way.

We're gonna stay prepped the rest of our lives, just rotate supplies. Have only bought stuff we really want anyway, useful. Just makes sense.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), September 13, 1999.

This is NOT news. I work in 5 or 6 of the cities (Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnatti, Toledo(I think) Pittsburgh (I think) and Detroit). Police, Fire and EMS teams have been receiving training for about a year and a half. Specific innoculants have been being stockpiled for about a half year. (gramarians that's the correct construction!) If one reads the papers, these things kind of show up as conferences and training conferences.

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), September 13, 1999.

Here's the link to August Annals of Emergency Medicine:

AEM August 1999

A lot of general articles on chemical and biological terrorism, but no inside information about any specific threat.

-- Ned (entaylor@cloudnet.com), September 13, 1999.

Thanks to all for the information.I agree that it's better to be prepared then not.I now have one less program (with sound bites)to watch.

-- maggie (aaa@aaa.com), September 13, 1999.

> "Police, Fire and EMS teams have been receiving training for about a year and a half. Specific innoculants have been being stockpiled for about a half year".

If their training is per the FEMA course materials it will be woefully inadequate. The stocks of innoculants are so small "stockpiling" is more of a feel-good term to tell the masses than anything. The current weaponized anthrax as produced/stored by the russians (and anyone else who've gotten their hands on it) is not stopped by the current form of vaccination. As far as smallpox goes, we don't know if the current stock of vaccine will stop it (particular weaponized strain), or if the many years old stock is very viable and besides, in destroying 95% of said vaccine in an oven some years back we are left with 1 dose of vaccine for evey 12,000 persons in the U.S. DHHS has been dragging their feet on getting new stocks built up which likely couldn't happen for several years anyway. Since bioweapons are most likely (at least any sophisticated ones) to be binary (anthrax/smallpox, smallpox/ filovirus) who knows if we can mount any meaningful vaccination program. Not the cherriest damn topic is it?

Got MOPP?......DCK

-- Don Kulha (dkulha@vom.com), September 13, 1999.

Don,

What is MOPP? I did print out an article (posted by Ashton & Leska) shelter in place:make your kits,for airborne toxic chemical release.It is amazing to think what started off as just put some food and water away to what we are discussing now.

-- maggie (aaa@aaa.com), September 13, 1999.

Don,

I DID say innoculants i guess. i MEANT to indicate the stockpiles are of antibiotics, but not a heck of a lot of them

C

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), September 13, 1999.

Did anyone else read this with a sick feeling in the pit of their stomach?

Excerpts from Cohen:

"self-proclaimed apocalyptic prophets at home.

Who will be scapegoated now that the Davidians are mere ashes?

"First, any military assistance in the wake of a domestic attack must be in support of the appropriate federal civilian authority -- either the Department of Justice or the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Second, an unequivocal and unambiguous chain of responsibility, authority and accountability for that support must exist. "

I'm getting an image of unmitigated power being handed to FEMA, and woe to those who oppose it.

"The Posse Comitatus Act and the Defense Department's implementing policies are clear -- the military is not to conduct domestic law enforcement without explicit statutory authority, and we strongly believe no changes should be made to Posse Comitatus."

Has Mr. Cohen commented recently on the possible violations that seem to have occurred at Waco?

"Information is clearly power, and greater access to information will require the American people and their elected officials to find the proper balance between privacy and protection."

What am I missing between the lines? Why must we sacrifice basic privacy and protection rights to government, something he clearly delineated as "power"? What horror will be either perpetrated and/or taken advantage of that will induce Americans to believe that handing over this kind of power will be in their best interests? (And if so, how long will it remain in their best interests before being abused?)

"There need be no fear or foreboding by the American people of the preparations of their government. On the contrary, the greater threat to our civil liberties stems from the chaos and carnage that might result from an attack for which we had failed to prepare and the demands for action that would follow."

It is a sad commentary on our times when we must be reassured thus. Again, what freedom are we being conditioned to relinquish in the name of safety? Why not simply prepare? Why does there need to be a trade off?

"Pearl Harbor shocked America out of its slumber, ....There is not a moment to lose. "

In light of his prior reference to Pearl Harbor, which our government was warned about, what exactly does Mr. Cohen/our government know now that we do not?

"Walter Lippmann wrote, 'Millions will listen to, and prefer to believe, those who tell them that they need not rouse themselves, and that all will be well if only they continue to do all the pleasant and profitable and comfortable things they would like to do best.'"

Hint for Y2K?

Chuck, regarding antibiotics, what is the government stockpiling?

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), September 14, 1999.