Note: The following text is an exact quote:
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http://www.fbi.gov/page2/april05/topoff042205.htm
Headline Archives
PREPARING FOR THE UNTHINKABLE
FBI Participates in Nation's Largest Ever Mock Terrorism Event
04/22/05
Did you hear? This past April 4, international terrorists launched major, simultaneous attacks in three countries: the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. Here in the U.S., a chemical bomb exploded at a waterfront festival in southern Connecticut, causing a huge fireball that burned bystanders and exposed others nearby to noxious fumes. At the same time, a deadly biological agent—later found to be the pneumonic plague—was released at a New Jersey university. Hospitals quickly filled up with the sick and injured, and within days, thousands of Americans had died from the attacks.
The incidents weren't real, of course. They were part of TOPOFF 3—short for "Top Off(icials)"—the third in a series of week-long, congressionally mandated anti-terrorism drills staged every two years by the Department of Homeland Security.
Their purpose? To improve our nation's ability to prevent and respond to major terrorist attacks involving a weapon of mass destruction (nuclear devices or chemical, biological, or radiological agents).
How realistic was the drill? Very. No chemical or biological agents were released and no one was hurt, of course. But real-life investigators, emergency and health care workers, major officials, and others participated in the drill, using existing partnerships, technologies, facilities, and equipment to respond. To make the attacks seem real, make-up artists applied fake wounds to hired actors. An actual fireball went up in Connecticut, buses were overturned, and emergency workers donned actual hazmat suits. More than 10,000 people nationwide participated in the test.
What was the FBI's role in the exercise? Same as in real-life: we served as the lead investigative agency, working closely with our partners to assess the situation, round up evidence and intelligence, find the culprits, and communicate threat information and vulnerabilities nationally and internationally. Specifically, we:
Sent dozens of agents from our New Haven and Newark field offices to the scenes to interview victims, collect evidence, and pursue leads;
Quickly arrested 5 "terrorists" in a house raid, including the alleged mastermind of the New Jersey attack, and provided information and warrants to our partners, who arrested 3 "suspects" in the Connecticut attack;
With our partners, located a hose nozzle sticking out of the window of an SUV in New Jersey that enabled us to determine how the plague was released;
Worked with the Red Cross to set up a Family Assistance Center that provided victim and family services and counseling; and
Used intelligence to head off more possible attacks...and shared information on the attacks and potential future targets with our partners around the world.
More than 600 FBI employees participated in the exercise, including agents, analysts, victim specialists, evidence experts, and SWAT and crisis response professionals from New Jersey, Connecticut, our Critical Incident Response Group in Virginia, and FBI Headquarters. Our Counterterrorism Division, Office of Intelligence, and Strategic Information and Operations Center command post at FBI Headquarters coordinated our overall response to the events.
Next steps? Federal officials will study the findings and issue an assessment in several weeks. This review will help improve our nation's response capabilities and enable everyone to do a better job in TOPOFF 4!
Links: Dept. of Homeland Security TOPOFF 3 web site
Note: The following text is an exact quote:
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http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2005/prepared_remarks_042205.htm
PREPARED REMARKS OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
ALBERTO R. GONZALES ON ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI
FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC
Good Afternoon. I am joined today by the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, Chris Wray; by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Paul McNulty; by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Dave Kelley; and by the Deputy Director of the FBI, John Pistole.
All Americans remember the images of September 11th, 2001, when nineteen men hijacked four commercial airplanes to commit the largest terrorist attack in our history. We also remember the heroes of that day - brave police officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, National Guard troops, passengers on Flight 93, and everyday men and women who put themselves in harm's way to help others. Together with every American, they honored the thousands of victims with acts of ordinary goodwill and extraordinary patriotism.
In the wake of these horrific attacks, the U.S. Government, working with our allies, launched an unprecedented global investigation - the largest of its kind - to identify and bring to justice those who participated in this conspiracy to kill thousands of innocent lives.
As part of that effort, just a short while ago at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, Zacarias Moussaoui pled guilty to charges related to his role in the conspiracy that brought about the September 11th terrorist attacks. Specifically, Moussaoui pled guilty to:
Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Terrorism Transcending National Boundaries,
Conspiracy to Commit Aircraft Piracy,
Conspiracy to Destroy Aircraft,
Conspiracy to Use Weapons of Mass Destruction,
Conspiracy to Murder United States Employees, and
Conspiracy to Destroy Property
Four of these charges authorize a maximum penalty of death, and as you know, we are seeking the death penalty in this case, for reasons that are spelled out in detail in the United States' 2002 notice of intent to seek the death penalty.
The fact that Moussaoui participated in this terrorist plot is no longer in doubt. In a chilling admission of guilt, Moussaoui confessed to his participation, including the following specific actions:
That he trained with al Qaeda in Afghanistan and communicated directly with Usama bin Laden;
That Usama bin Laden personally selected Moussaoui to participate in an operation to fly hijacked airplanes into American buildings, and approved him attacking the White House;
That he came to the United States to receive flight training to carry out his terrorist mission, intending that such training would be used to further al Qaeda's plan to use planes to kill Americans;
That he communicated to an al Qaeda associate that he would be finished with jet simulator training before September 2001;
That he continued to receive financial and other support from al Qaeda after arriving in the United States for pilot training;
And that after being arrested in Minnesota on August 16, 2001, by Immigration agents, Moussaoui lied to federal agents in order to allow his al Qaeda "brothers" - his words - to go forward with the operation to fly airplanes into American buildings.
Moussaoui and his co-conspirators were responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocents on September 11th - each one a son or daughter, father or mother, husband or wife. Families left without loved ones on that day grieved, and continue to grieve, tragic losses...and America grieved with them.
From that grief, however, emerged a steely resolve in the American people. And from resolve came decisive action by their government. The mission of the Justice Department was transformed to make the fight against terrorism our number one priority. And President Bush told U.S. Attorneys at the Justice Department that they would play an important role in the war on terror - prosecuting terrorists aggressively, but fairly and in keeping with the high standards of our system of justice.
We have acted fairly and patiently to bring Moussaoui to justice. A grand jury indicted Moussaoui in December 2001. He has received legal counsel. He has been heard numerous times in federal district court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and he has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court.
Moussaoui now joins shoe bomber Richard Reid, John Walker Lindh, and more than two hundred other individuals who have been convicted or pled guilty to terrorism-related charges since Nine-Eleven. With today's guilty plea, we now move to the penalty phase of this case on a schedule to be established by the judge.
The Justice Department will continue working to break up terrorist cells within our borders - as we have from Buffalo, New York, to Portland, Oregon - and to prosecute terrorists using every legal tool available.
Countless dedicated public servants have contributed to these successes in the war on terror. Today, I would like to recognize the team of investigators and prosecutors that made today's conviction possible. This team was assembled - and was hard at work, and was getting results - long before I became Attorney General, and they are the ones who deserve the credit for this conviction.
The Criminal Division of the Justice Department, led by Chris Wray;
U.S. Attorneys Paul McNulty and Dave Kelley and their teams;
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led by Director Bob Mueller and represented today by Deputy Director Pistole.
This team - working with many other federal, state, and local law enforcement officials across the country - has worked tirelessly on this and other terrorism cases. I thank them for their dedicated service. They have lived up to the Department's mission - to "enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States" - and they have earned the thanks of a grateful Nation.