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U.S. to test government's response to IED attacks

23 Feb 2007 22:45:43 GMT
Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. officials on Saturday will test the government's ability to respond to attacks inside the United States that use improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, the White House said.

In the "tabletop" exercise, officials from security agencies, including the FBI, Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security, will meet in the office building adjacent to the White House and discuss how they would react to a fictional scenario of several IED attacks around the country.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the exercise was not in response to any current threat.

The United States dealt with such attacks on its soil in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Insurgents commonly use IEDs in Iraq to attack American troops.

The government has held similar exercises since 2005 to test capabilities for dealing with disasters such as pandemic flu, hurricanes and small pox.

"This is part of the administration's effort to test the policies, plans, procedures to protect the American people," Stanzel said.

"The exercise is designed to tax the system, so we can learn more about whether or not we have the appropriate policies in place," he said.

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Last updated:Fri Feb 23 22:46:48 2007