US military drafts terror war plans

The US military has devised its first-ever war plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the United States, envision...

The US military has devised its first-ever war plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the United States, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and anticipating several simultaneous strikes around the country, according to officers who drafted the plans.

The classified plans, developed here at Northern Command (or Northcom) headquarters, outline a variety of possible roles for quick-reaction forces estimated at as many as 3,000 ground troops per attack.

Possible scenarios range from ‘‘low-end’’, relatively modest crowd-control to ‘‘high-end’’ full-scale disaster management after catastrophic attacks.

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The command’s plans comprise two documents. One, designated CONPLAN 2002 (short for concept document), is an umbrella document drawing together previously issued orders for homeland missions and covers air, sea and land operations. It addresses post-attack responses and also prevention and deterrence actions aimed at intercepting threats before they reach the US.

The other, identified as CONPLAN 0500, deals specifically with managing the consequences of attacks represented by the 15 scenarios. —LAT-WP

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