On the heels of super storm Sandy, the
Discovery Channel aired a documentary delving into the government’s
top-secret plans and facilities set up for a Doomsday scenario.
At one time, these plans almost
singularly existed with the possibility of a nuclear attack by the
Soviet Union in mind. Today, the threat of a terror attack like 9/11, a
cyber attack from abroad, an attack on the power grid or an
extraordinary natural disaster have all been added to the list.
Among the experts Discovery tapped for “America’s Doomsday Plan” is
Marc Ambinder, author of the soon-to-be released “Deep State: Inside
the Government Secrecy Industry.” As a political and national security
reporter he has often written for various outlets about “Continuity Of Government“—the name for the procedures the U.S. government has in place so it can continue to
operate during a catastrophic event. The plans include securing the
president and other high-level officials in a plane or in bunkers, and
ensuring government agencies can continue to operate through a set of
command centers.
“I’m incredibly fascinated by this, not
just because it’s a secret,” says Ambinder. “But it’s also an incredibly
important part of history that we know little about. And what we do
know is shrouded in conspiracy theories.”
Many of these theories hinge on the belief the government’s Doomsday scenario includes plans for an extralegal, military government that
would take over in times of chaos, as well as suspend the Constitution.
Ambinder says he found no evidence of this, but concedes many details
remain classified. Skepticism is rife, too, because of the plan’s
estimated annual budget of $5-6 billion, despite being designed for a
very rare event.
The documentary, which premieredon the
Discovery Channel, also sheds light for the first time on details of the
Doomsday plan under past administrations. During the Reagan
administration, for example, new bunkers were opened up for the
president and secret exercises ramped up for his cabinet members. Much
of the focus at that time, says Ambinder, was on “what would happen with
the nuclear codes.”
“America’s Doomsday Plan” also delves into modern-dayDoomsday scenarios, something
the Federal Emergency Management Agency is deeply invested in.
According to Ambinder, 30 percent of FEMA head Craig Tugate’s job is
dealing with the secret continuity programs. The other 70 percent, of
course, is spent handling emergencies like the recent superstorm. But
because FEMA does both jobs, there is a level of crossover.
“What FEMA is using in the Tri-state area
[now] would be what they would do in the event of a major emergency,”
says Ambinder. “The sexy part of [FEMA] is the part you don’t see all
the time. It’s this parallel world” that exists, he says.
Part of that world is a secretive FEMA operations center in Virgina called Mount Weather.
It is one of several relocation sites intended for top level military
officials during a catastrophe. The center includes a high frequency
radio system designed for communication between public safety agencies
and states during a disaster.
The U.S. Air Force is also a key part of
the Doomsday plan, with a strategic command center housed at Offutt Air
Force base near Omaha. The base is home to four Boeing 747s designed to
allow the president to command from air during a time of catastrophe.
The primary Doomsday plane is “tricked out to weather the apocalypse”
and “has everything senior leadership would need to defend America from
the air,” according to the documentary.
That doesn’t mean all the technology the
Doomsday plane uses is brand new. Instead, much of the plane’s
technology is straight out of the 1980s. “You walk into some of these
places and you see huge telephones that look like lunch boxes,” says
Ambinder. Modern-day technology, the film notes, can be more susceptible
to hacking or breaking than older technology can.
Those involved in the Continuity of
Government plan have defended the program against its critics. In 2010,
Lt. Col. David Gaskill, who oversees the day-to-day operations of
president’s Doomsday plane, told U.S. Strategic Command it is the “most technologically advanced airborne system in the world.”
Interviews featured in the documentary
are no different. Damon Penn, assistant administrator for national
continuity programs at FEMA, tells the film in closing: “As a private
citizen I sleep very well comfortably at night knowing that our way of
life is preserved.”
Source: http://www.usnews.com/news
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