Terror Town Prepares for the Inevitable

The scariest part of yesterday’s
demonstration was not the anorexic
anarchists or the facetious fascists, but the smooth and tightly controlled
force displayed by Boston police. It was a coordinated and multi-divisional
operation; horseback officers, uniformed patrolmen, motorcycle officers,
tricked out riot cops, SWAT teams and undercover officers all worked
together to maintain control of all the players at all times.

It was obvious that this was not a one-off response to an unexpected
situation. The precision and absolute discipline of the goosestepping
riot troops in particular, bespoke long hours of drilling and dress rehearsals.
The
interdepartmental coordination was evidence of multiple drills and simulations
in preparation for the real thing.

In a way, yesterday’s entire operation was a preseason practice
for serious situations which might arise in the future.  There
were several times more police presence than was necessary, given the
size and seriousness of the troublemakers.  The police display
we saw yesterday could have taken on a major riot or civil insurrection.
It definitely felt like a dress rehearsal. But for what?

We are beginning to realize that this is not an isolated situation. Since
9/11, all over America the forces of order have been wood shedding like
crazy, training and drilling in the arcania of crowd control, civil discipline,
checkpoint
maintenance, street clearing technique. hostage situations, crisis management,
panic control.

The following
article describes an entire town in New Mexico dedicated
to anti-terror and urban command and control activities. Coming soon
to a city near you….

PLAYAS, N.M. — With its pristine Spanish-style houses and flowering
gardens, this remote town seems an unlikely place to be the most dangerous
spot in the United States. But for the past six months, it has been under
siege by terrorists.

First, a man took some hostages and holed up inside 1 Mesquite
St., threatening to blow up the place. A SWAT team had to take him out.
Then came the discovery of a pipe-bomb factory in a neighbor’s kitchen,
and an explosion on a bus in which eight were killed or wounded.

The attacks are simulations, part of a national training program for emergency
personnel such as police, paramedics, and border patrol officers. For the
roughly 20 families who live in this government-contracted town and the
several dozen others who live on the outskirts, though, the events often
seem too real.

Life has been this way since December, when the first trainees began
arriving from across the country. Nicknamed ”terror town" by locals,
Playas is part of a multibillion-dollar initiative by the federal government
to prepare for what some think is inevitable: another attack on US
soil.

”You’ll never fight the scenario you train against but the fact that
you’ve been exposed to similar conditions in a synthetic environment
— one where
there’s no penalty or harm for making a mistake — is the best opportunity
you’re going to have to learn," said Corey Grube of the Office for
Domestic Preparedness, part of the Department of Homeland of Security

from the Boston Globe