Arizona to Run Dirty Bomb Drill

Sometime next week, fake terrorists will target the Arizona Valley with a radioactive "dirty bomb." The "attack" will coincide with similar events in Portland, Ore., and Guam.^[1] Of course none of these crises will be real, in fact for the public, there will no visible signs that a major crisis is under way.^[2]

But for hundreds of Arizona law enforcement agents the four-day drill known as TOPOFF 4 will be a harsh test of their ability to deal with a terrorist attack and the issue that such an attack would cause.^[3] Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, TOPOFF 4 is the fourth in a series of congressional-mandated exercises.^[4]

This is the most comprehensive emergency-preparedness drill ever undertaken in Arizona, and how officials respond during this exercise will give the Arizona Department of Homeland Security a point of reference for future law enforcement techniques.^[5]

Participants include more than 40 federal agencies, 26 state agencies, 11 counties, 15 local jurisdictions, three tribes, four volunteer agencies and 37 organizations from the private sector.^[6]

”As director of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security, I view this as a chance of a lifetime for us to see just how well we're ready to deal with an act of terrorism. Although exact details of the mock attack are yet to unfold, we do know it involves a "dirty bomb" that would cause large numbers of casualties, test the capabilities of our first responders and public-health officials, tax our hospitals, prompt evacuations and snarl our traffic systems,” said Leesa Berens Morrison, Director of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security. ^[7]

One of the most important things that is to be tested is communication, especially between different levels of government, different counties and different tribes.^[8] In the past interagency communication has been a problem in the past. Federal criminal defense attorney Douglas McNabb has previously discussed crimes of terrorism, here.

---

^[1] Leesa Berens Morrison, Anti-terrorism drill will make Arizonans safer in the long run, Arizona Republic, October 13, 2007, available at http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/1013satlet3-131.html (last visited October 13, 2007).
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.
^[8] Id.