Terrorist incidents government response

Specific capabilities of federal agencies, bureaus, and offices in dealing with WMD are stated below. Fire and police chiefs in the United States are often frustrated in not knowing exactly what response services are available from the federal government to help local officials when a terrorist incident occurs with the United States. 

This introductory section is designed to provide the background to the rest of the book. Terrorist incidents do not happen in a vacuum but against a complex background. This chapter provides the necessary information to understand the nature of the present terrorist threat and the responses to it of HM Government and the security agencies. 

Despite its rather dramatic name, COBRA simply stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A. COBRA is convened in response to significant threats that cross departmental borders within government. It is chaired by a senior minister and includes representatives of MB, the police, the civil contingencies secretariat and relevant ministers. COBRA was convened following September 11th, 2001, and other major terrorist incidents, but its remit also extends to such events as the firemen s strike and the fuel strikes of 2000. The COBRA... 

The management of terrorist incidents is led by the Home Secretary, who is responsible for the Government s coimter-terrorism response. The Home Office is the lead government agency. The Home Office is responsible for the management of the acute phase of an incident if it is necessary to manage the consequences of an incident, this is the responsibility of the Civil Contingency Secretariat. 

Box 1.9 Central Government responses to on actual or suspected terrorist incident... 

After 9/11, the federal government adopted a National Response Plan (NRP), built on the template of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which adopts an all-hazards approach to emergency management, helping streamline a national response irrespective of the cause of the emergency (i.e., terrorist or natural DHS, 2004). The NRP applies to all incidents requiring a coordinated federal response and is scalable to the nature of the event. However, NRP maintains the local/state primary role in public health response, with a continued premise that state and local authorities will handle the first response. (A private-sector role is also envisioned.)... 

In response to the terrorist threat, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) developed the National Incident Management System (NIMS). This system makes use of the ICS but expands it so that federal, state, and local governments can work together, not only to respond to a terrorist attack (or other natural... 

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