Shadow Government Ordered After Attacks, Post Says (USA)

Reuters ^ | 3-1-2002

[blam]

Shadow Government Ordered After Attacks, Post Says

Fri Mar 1, 1:42 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush has set up a "shadow government" to ensure that the government would continue to operate in the event of catastrophic attack on the U.S. capital, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

The newspaper said in the first hours after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush deployed a "shadow government" of about 100 senior civilian managers to live and work outside Washington, in the first-ever activation of a classified "Continuity of Operations Plan."

The report cited three officials with first-hand knowledge of the operation as saying the Cold War era plan was enacted because of heightened fears that the al Qaeda network might somehow obtain a portable nuclear weapon.

The Post said U.S. intelligence has no specific knowledge of such a weapon, but officials thought the risk was great enough to justify the expense and deployment of a shadow government.

One participant told the newspaper that the first deployment came "on the fly" in the first hours of turmoil on Sept. 11 and that the plan has evolved into an indefinite precaution.

Under the plan, high-ranking government officials representing various departments have begun rotating in and out of the assignment at one of two fortified locations along the East Coast, the Post said.

A senior official involved in managing the program said the civilian force present in the underground bunkers usually numbers 70 to 150, and "fluctuates based on intelligence" about terrorist threats.

In the event of an attack, the underground government would try to contain disruptions of the nation's food and water supplies, transportation links, energy and telecommunications networks, public health and civil order, the report said.

The Washington Post said it agreed to a White House request not to name any of those deployed or identify the two principal locations of the shadow government.

[sheltonmac]

"...if the Constitution doesnt specifically forbid something, it doesnt mean the govt can't do it."

If it isn't in the Constitution, the federal government can't do it. As Madison wrote in Federalist No. 45, "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite." The Constitution defines the specific powers given to the federal government. Everything not mentioned is left to the states.

[archy]

... I'd also like you to show me where the Constitution forbids it.

Or, so far as that goes, where it forbids throwing Japanese-Americans into concentration camps after the Pearl Harbor attack, though that was found to be an unconstitutional act by the US Sopreme Court long after the fact. And, had the Japs actually landed on the West Coast during WWII, would we have shot or gassed to death the inmates of those camps, as per the operational instructions in the event of an attempted riot or takeover of one of them?

Show me where the Constitution forbids it.

-archy-/-

[Hoosier Patriot]

Okay, I give up. Don't send in the dogs, I'll come out on my own. Ya know, I knew that didn't look right just before I posted it, but, just like a bullet, ya' can't call it back once it's gone. OTOH, I don't think these are really that far from what I meant anyway.

2 : to stay in hiding : strive to avoid notice 3 : to bide one's time : remain secretly ready for action

[lentulusgracchus]

We shall consult with, and seek input from, the Congress on approaches and programs to meet the objectives set forth in this directive.

Thanks for posting the document. Appreciate it.

The only mention of Congress in the document is quoted above (emphasis mine).

Of course, the Executive can't emit orders to Congress, but it makes you wonder -- does Congress have a role in this scenario?

[anniegetyourgun]

That's where you're wrong - it's not about a mainstream media hype about a "shadow government" - it's about an emergency plan that exists at the federal level to restore order and constitutional government structures in the event of a catastrophic event. Now if you are saying you don't believe that such plans should exist - then I presume you have the same problem with such plans that exist in your state, hometown, local hospital, or schools.

I love ya', Hoosier - I just don't see prudent planning as a threat.

[Dengar01]

I have heard rumors where it is, but I won't repeat them.

Yeah the new secret facility is in Chappaqua NY, ooops.

[archy]

We shall consult with, and seek input from, the Congress on approaches and programs to meet the objectives set forth in this directive.

Thanks for posting the document. Appreciate it.

The only mention of Congress in the document is quoted above (emphasis mine).

Of course, the Executive can't emit orders to Congress, but it makes you wonder -- does Congress have a role in this scenario?

You underestimate the authority assumed under the document. Congressional personnel will be relocated to the appropriate facility, formerly that located beneath the Greenbriar Hotel in west Virginia, [used for rehabilitation of of injured and psychologically damaged troops during WWII; particularly officer POWs] now the High Point Special Facility at Berryville, VA. Key members are to be evacuated as high priority VIPs, others are rated in varying order, with some to be placed on lists for pickup with their families by military police and armed FEMA personnel for transfer to other relocation facilities until it can be determined when- and if- they're to join their fellows at the other operations centers.

[archy]

I have heard rumors where it is, but I won't repeat them.

Yeah the new secret facility is in Chappaqua NY, ooops.

Not Quite.

[archy]

The Washington Post said it agreed to a White House request not to name any of those deployed or identify the two principal locations of the shadow government.

Since Free Republic has been enjoined from publishing Washington Post articles and we're accordingly not supposed to do so here, doesn't that mean we also shouldn't abide by the deals the WaPo makes with their political sources of spoonfed stories?

That's what I thought. Good.

Mount Weather / High Point Special Facility (SF) / Western Virginia Office of Controlled Conflict Operations - United States Nuclear Forces

Mount Weather
High Point Special Facility (SF)
Mount Weather Emergency Assistance Center [MWEAC]
Western Virginia Office of Controlled Conflict Operations

Berryville, VA

703-542-2287

The Mount Weather Special Facility is an unacknowledged Continuity of Government (COG) facility operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The 200,000 square foot facility also houses FEMA's National Emergency Coordinating Center. Located on a 434 acre mountain site on the borders of Loudon and Clarke counties, the above ground support facilities, with 240 employees, include about a dozen building providing communications links to the White House Situation Room.

The site was originally acquired by the National Weather Bureau to launch weather balloons and kites. In 1936 it passed to the Bureau of Mines, which bored a short experimental tunnel less than 300 feet beneath the mountain's crest to test new mining techniques. Based on a favorable evaluation of the hardness and integrity of the mountains rock, the Bureau began construction of the facility's tunnels in 1954, which were completed by the Army Corps of Engineers under the code name "Operation High Point." Total constuction costs, adjusted for inflation, are estimated to have exceeded $1 billion. Tunnel roofs are shored up with some 21,000 iron bolts driven 8 to 10 feet into the overhead rock. The entrance is protected by a guillotine gate, and a 10 foot tall by 20 foot wide 34-ton blast door that is 5 feet thick and reportedly takes 10 to 15 minutes to open or close.

Completed in 1958, the underground bunker includes a hospital, crematorium, dining and recreation areas, sleeping quarters, reservoirs of drinking and cooling water, an emergency power plant, and a radio and television studio which is part of the Emergency Braodcasting System. A series of side-tunnels accomodate a total of 20 office buildings, some of which are three stories tall. The East Tunnel includes a computer complex for directing emergency simulations and operations through the Contingency Impact Analysis System (CIAS) and the Resource Interruption Monitoring System (RIMS).

An on-site 90,000 gallon/day sewage treatment plant and two 250,000 gallon above-ground storage tanks are intended to support a population of 200 for up to 30 days. Although the facility is designed to accomodate several thousand people (with sleeping cots for 2,000), only the President, the Cabinet, and Supreme Court are provided private sleeping quarters. For Continuity of Government purposes, senior officials are divided into Alpha, Bravo and Charlie teams -- one remains in Washington, another relocates to Mount Weather, and the third disperses to other relocation sites. The only full-scale activation of the facility came on 9 November 1965, at the time of the great Northeastern power blackout.

The Mount Weather Emergency Assistance Center has transitioned from a single mission to one that supports the all-hazards mission of FEMA and, simultaneously, it became a self-supporting cost center that derives its income from the Working Capital Fund authorized by Congress. The Fiscal Year 1997 Appropriation Act authorized FEMA to establish a working capital fund for providing administrative services. A fund was established to support the centralized services provided by the Mount Weather Emergency Assistance Center (MWEAC). The facility, over a two year period in 1997 and 1998, transitioned to a fully operational mode for the Working Capital Fund. It provides office, conference, training, and billeting accommodations at Mount Weather for use by FEMA organizations and other Federal agencies. While operations are being funded based on current appropriations, collections, and usage, FEMA is aggressively marketing the facility to attract new users. All organizations at Mount Weather, including FEMA components, were subject to the provisions of the Working Capital Fund beginning in FY 1998.

Since the 1993 restructuring, population explosion occurred at Mount Weather, moving from a daily work force of about 400 employees, to one of more than 900. Approximately 250 new Cadre of Oncall Response and Recovery Employee (CORE) positions were added that did not exist in 1993. Conference and Training Center (CTC) activity also expanded dramatically, from fewer than 6,000 students/attendees in 1993, to more than 18,000 in FY 1996. More than 100,000 persons were guests at Mount Weather during 1996. The Conference and Training Center at Mount Weather handles some 10,000 students per year for one-week courses, a number comparable to the approximately 10,000 students trained each year in residence at the National Emergency Training Center in Emittsburg, Maryland.

Mount Weather is currently home to six major disaster operations facilities including the:

• National Processing Service Center–Virginia
• Satellite Teleregistration Center
• Disaster Finance Office
• Disaster Information Systems Clearinghouse
• Disaster Personnel Operations Division
• Agency Logistics Center

Today, even in small emergencies like flooding, a lot of the coordination is going through Mount Weather. Ever since the Cold War ended, they have been ordering service for the whole country on the smaller disasters. A snow storm on January 13, 1997 closed the NTC in Denton, TX. The Mount Weather Emergency Assistance Center took 100 percent of the calls that day. The West Side Teleregistration Service Representative personnel of Buildings 704 and 712 took a total of 2,254 calls with an average wait time of only 12 seconds.

Mt. Weather
USGS Aerial Images
April 1965

Mt. Weather overview image 114k

Mt. Weather overview image 451k

West Portal

East Portal

Mt. Weather West - 1 meter resolution

Mt. Weather East - 1 meter resolution

Sources and Resources

• Pollack, Richard, "The Mysterious Mountain," The Progressive, March 1976, pages 12-16.
• Emerson, Steven, "America's Doomsday Project," US News and World Report, 7 August 1989, pages 26-31.
• Walters, Robert, "Going Underground," Inquiry, 2 February 1991, pages 12-16.
• Royce, Knut, "COG in US Nuclear Wheel," Baltimore News American, 2 May 1983, page 1.
• Gup, Ted, "Doomsday Hideaway," Time, 9 December 1991, pages 26-29.
• Gup, Ted, "The Doomsday Blueprints," Time, 10 August 1992, pages 32-39.

[BJClinton]

I thought it was interesting, but we digress.

So, all I've seen is that the Shadow Gov't has vaguely defined powers to keep things running. It would seem to me that W could eliminate a lot of suspicion just by clarifying what the powers this SG has are. I'm all for maintenance of infrastructure and the military, but only as a segue to a return to Constitutional government.

My other concern is, if any in Congress are left, they appoint a new Speaker. He/she then assumes Presidential powers. Is Congress spread out or they all in DC?

[mrustow]

I think you're going overboard here. Emergency continuity of government operations could be justified as part of national defense in time of war.

[.30Carbine]

Can one really have a foolproof plan for doomsday?

I do!

[.30Carbine]

...plan that exists at the federal level to restore order and constitutional government structures in the event of a catastrophic event

Ah but, AGUG, how do any of us know that they will be Constitutional? Especially considering how far from the frame of the Constitution the idea of a back-up government is.

Just wondering. LOLuv.

[Hoosier Patriot]

I do!

LOL! I was thinking in more limited terms my friend, but, he's my "retirement plan" also.

[Windy-Dave]

Now that most of the nay sayers are having to admit that they may have missed something important on the issue of shaddow government programs, lets hope we can begin to work together to fully expose the innerworkings of all these spooks who we now know exist. Remember this also, this country does not have a full civil defense program for the grunts. MAD does not work to anyone's benefit. One thing for sure all those condemned to surface existence are mutually assured of destruction because of the lack of a plan. The high level smucks still don't respect us taxpayers who footed the bill of goods for their Bunkers but what about the rest of the country which is still un-protected?

[mrustow]

See #191, and let me know what you think.

[Hoosier Patriot]

I'm all for maintenance of infrastructure and the military, but only as a segue to a return to Constitutional government.

Agreed. It's that segue part that I cast a wary eye upon, and quite honestly doubt. The only segue that I've seen over the course of my life is in a direction that is more and more distant from the Constitution. To think that that would all change, and, as a result of a catastrophe, the government would embrace the Constitution like a long lost child is a stretch of the imagination in my opinion.

So, all I've seen is that the Shadow Gov't has vaguely defined powers to keep things running. It would seem to me that W could eliminate a lot of suspicion just by clarifying what the powers this SG has are.

Agreement on this also. But, has he? No. Okay then, will he? He might, but only if there's a hue and cry from the masses? Who knows? To me, this is a pretty darn big deal, something that one would think would be addressed post haste. And today we find out that we've had a "shadow government" for a few months now. Or, like some say, it's not a "shadow government," it's just a big ol' preparedness plan. You say potato, yada yada yada.

Is Congress spread out or they all in DC?

I don't know. I'm going on the assumption that they feel DC might be at best crippled, at worst completely gone. Either way, I just can't see them ol' boys hangin' around to "firmly take hold of the reigns and get the wagon back on the path" from there, can you? They all got out of Dodge during the Anthrax scare. But that is just my assumption. I really don't know where they might be or go.

By the way, I didn't spell check this one either, I'll let you do it.

[anniegetyourgun]

The situation under which it would be implemented would also be far from anything we've ever seen or experienced. If those who are running the emergency plans begin setting up a dictatorship when they are supposed to be trying to re-establish communications, clearing airfields, etc., then we the people would have to perform a revolution. However, all that assumes that those who would be caring for the country under those conditions are not patriots but traitors. It stretches credulity for me to assume that is true of everyone involved. If I believed that, I'd have to say the same about every other American, including those on FR.

[anniegetyourgun]

Yup.

[mrustow]

Section 2

Clause 1: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

(If the cabinet, and various government agencies (remember the Pentagon!) were wiped out, if the President did not have a backup, skeleton government, he would lack "principal Officers" to who he could turn for their respective Opinions.)