News Release

November 27, 2000

U.S. government leaves public unprepared for terrorism
Preparation for nuclear, biological and chemical attacks is deeply flawed, study says

WASHINGTON-Many experts agree that the United States is likely to experience a terrorist attack using a weapon of mass destruction, probably within the next decade. But how prepared is America for a nuclear, biological or chemical (NBC) attack on the homeland? Not very, according to a new study from the Cato Institute. Despite spending tens of billions of dollars annually on preparation programs, the federal government has failed to take advantage of existing emergency management structures and to educate the public about how to react to an attack, argues Eric. R. Taylor, a chemistry professor and former officer in the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical branch of the U.S. Army.

In "Are We Prepared for Terrorism Using Weapons of Mass Destruction?" Taylor exposes the flaws in the federal Domestic Preparedness Program (DPP), which was set up in 1997 and directs various federal agencies to train state and local governments to deal with NBC terrorism. When the federal government decided who should be trained, it targeted only cities, and then only halfway, leaving "personnel in more than 50 percent of the major U.S. population centers … unprepared for such an attack," he says. But since NBC contamination spreads quickly, it's not just cities that need to know how to respond, Taylor argues.

State and regional structures such as the State Emergency Management Agencies and National Guard units have been largely bypassed by the DPP, Taylor says. Those agencies already have experience in coordinating responses to terrorism and hazardous material disasters. Furthermore, they could have been passing on acquired knowledge to subordinate groups while the federal government moved on to other states, Taylor argues. The "pyramid effect" has been reduced by focusing on cities in isolation, he says.

Even if the training programs were better targeted, Taylor argues, they are useless without public involvement. "The lack of any organized program to actively educate the public in matters of NBC awareness and preparedness is the Achilles' heel of the entire national plan," he writes. Without education, the government "will have two foes to combat during an attack: the NBC agent and rampant civil panic," he says.

"The concepts and principles of NBC taught to the private first class soldier can be understood by Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public," Taylor says. But they must be taught in advance. "Any official who thinks he can adequately inform the public during an NBC incident will be preaching to the morgue," he says.

"Are We Prepared for Terrorism Using Weapons of Mass Destruction? Government's Half Measures"