U.S. holds nationwide biological attack exercise
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Tuesday, May 23, 2000
WASHINGTON -- The United States has launched a nationwide exercise to
respond to a biological weapons attack.
Thousands of people participated in the Topoff counterterrorism exercise
that began on Sunday and will end on May 30. Officials said the exercise was
the largest ever in the United States and comes amid assessments that
terrorists or rogue states would target U.S. cities for biological and
chemical weapons attacks.
In Denver, hospitals processed more than 1,300 people as part of the
mock attack, Middle East Newsline reports. In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, emergency teams trained in
eliminating remnants of a mustard gas attack.
The exercise is being monitored by Cabinet secretaries in the Clinton
administration. They included U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and Health and
Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala. More than 200 counterterrorism
exercises were held between 1995 and 1998.
Later this year, federal authorities will hold the NCR-2000 exercise in
the Washington area.
Tuesday, May 23, 2000
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