American Red Cross and training

This past week, our local chapter of the American Red Cross had a training in how to handle a response to a weapons of mass destruction attack or terrorist incident. Considering how the Bush government and the US military are doing everything possible to increase the chance of such an event in the USA, I thought I would go and listen to what they had to say.

The Red Cross is not a first responder. Basically, their job is to provide food, water, shelter, clothing to people who have been affected by a disaster of some type. They also provide for the first responders to a disaster (fire, police, health care workers, officials, public works, etc.).

The FBI defines a WMD as "any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors; any weapon involving a disease organism; any weapon that is designed to release radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life or any destructive device."

So, those DU bombs we dropped in Iraq are definately WMDs. Iraq didn't have them before the US military got there, but they do now.

Back here in the USA, we have nuclear materials of one sort or another traveling all over our highways and railroads. That is where our biggest danger of radioactivity being released in the USA comes from.... an accident, from silly fools shipping the stuff all over the country. Last year, a truck full of nuclear waste was leaking on I-26 just south of Asheville. Oh, well.

The FBI defines terrorism as "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."

So, the war on Iraq was illegal, and was done to end the government of Saddam and bring the Iraqi people "freedom and democracy." Or, so they say. So, the entire enterprize counts as one giant act of terrorism, since it was never done for defense of the USA. Iraq never was a threat to the USA. Oh, but those new terrorists recruits - they may turn out to be a threat to the USA. Bin Laden says they will attack again, and he has been known to do what he says he will do.

Oh, and by the way, Bin Laden offered a truce in this war on terror.... and the Bush administration turned it down. What kind of idiot would turn down a truce (and negotiation) in a WAR???? Makes you wonder what their real goals are up there in DC.

This Red Cross course talked about prior terrorism attacks and possible types of attacks, and possible focuses of attacks, in the future. They talked about possible health hazards of the various types of attacks. They talked about the various information gathering they would have to do to prepare for a response to a WMD event, and what procedure we/they would follow.

They explained the Basic Incident Command Structure and how that works. They said the lead agency is Homeland Security, which means of course that we are in deep trouble. We all saw how well that worked in the Katrina aftermath. They also said the DOD is a support agency for the FBI and homeland insecurity, and we have seen how well they have functioned in Iraq! Yeap, we are in trouble.

The good news is that a WMD event, or terrorist attack, is unlikely to happen in my little town. However, a truck full of nuclear material crashing into the Pidgeon River gorge could happen!