This is intended as a follow-up letter to the note I sent you last week regarding the need for a comprehensive terrorism policy. In speaking with Dan Gelber and John Sopko of your staff, we agreed on the need for a more specific and focused plan of action.

I believe two threat specific issues and one generic issue require our greatest attention. These are consequence management, terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction, and infrastructure vulnerabilities.

The United States government is only marginally prepared to deal with one major terrorist incident, let alone a cascading sequence of events. This raises the possibility of real threats to the Continuity of Government in the face of coordinated terrorist attacks. FEMA and other agencies must prepare to deal with the human and technological consequences of severe terrorist events in a manner that reflects the breadth and intensity of the threat.

The inability to respond adequately to a serious terrorist incident would be compounded if that event involved weapons of mass destruction. On November 14, President Clinton extended Executive Order No. 12938, declaring a national emergency regarding weapons of mass destruction. Can we adequately respond to incidents involving:

o Nuclear explosives

o Chemical, biological, and radiological weapons

o Large scale conventional munitions (e.g. World Trade Center bombing)
o Precise attacks against strategic and tactical targets

The vulnerabilities of our nation's infrastructure are unsettling. A well organized group could disable or destroy with disastrous results netted systems such as:

o Electric distribution and natural gas transmission

1800 K Street Northwest Washington DC 20006⚫ Telephone 202/887-0200

o Communications capabilities (e.g. 911 and other emergency services)

o Banking and finance communities

o Transportation (e.g. Air Traffic Control, Rail Roads)

o Information networks (e.g. the Internet)

We are facing new national security challenges. The question is whether current agency configurations, missions etc. are adequate. How can the crisis management process be retrofitted and redesigned to cope with this changing threat? How can intelligence requirements and collection capabilities best support our crisis response? Is FEMA the right entity, or is a very different structure needed?

If further hearings are to be held, and if you agree with me about the dynamics of the emerging threat, then a great deal of time and attention must be paid to the design of adequate countermeasures. One can be easily overwhelmed, but we need to ensure that the Congress and the Executive branch thoroughly understand the nature of this threat and the options available to them (including passive means and active countermeasures), as well as the opportunity costs in failing to take appropriate actions.

Sincerely,

Bren

Robert H. Kupperman
Senior Advisor

On May 17, 1995. I directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD(P]) to establish a working group to review how the Department of Defense provides military assistance to outside agencies. They were charged to examine current procedures, identify deficiencies, and provide recommendations to improve the system. The group reports that our system of providing support is sound but needs modification in some areas, particularly those dealing with emergency responses to naturai or man-made disasters or civil disturbances and support to law enforcemcat.

Approval Criteria. Any request for DoD military support will be evaluated by DoD authorizing authorities against certain fundamental criteria: legality (compliance with laws); lethality (potential usc of lethal force by or against DoD forces); risk (safery of DoD forces); cost (who pays. impact on DoD budget): appropriateness (whether the requested mission is in DoD's interest to conduct); and readiness (impact on DoD's ability to perform its primary mission).

Request Procedures. To improve visibility and coordination over outside agency requests. the DoD Executive Secretary will be the principal office charged to keep senior OSD leadership informed of emergency support requests and to be the repository of information on all DoD support to outside agencies. Agencies that receive requests for emergency support may informally coordinate with the requesting agency, but they must immediately notify the Executive Secretary. Outside agencies will be informed that verbal requests for support must be followed by a wrines request. Non-emergcacy support requests from federal agency beadquarters will be in writing. Toe Executive Secretary wii! establish notification procedures within 60 days of this memorandum and advise me as to necessary changes and staff expansion

Anoroval Authority - Execution Procedures.

Emergency Support. When DoD responds to acts of terrorism whether overseas or domestically. I will personally oversce such matters. For such responses. the CJCS will assist me to

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operationally manage these crises using the Joint Staff, assisted in domestic incidents by the Army's Director of Military Support (DOMS) in managing the consequences of a terrorist incident (WMD. Oklahoma City, etc.). The USD(P)`and the CJCS. in coordination with the DoD GC, will ensure that our policies and operational procedures are consistent and comply with applicable federal laws and Presidential directives, whether responding to traditional terrorist incidents or ones dealing with weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, or biological).

All emergency support to civil disturbances (MACDIS) because they may lead to the use of lethal force, will be approved by me. In particular, I will approve the rules of engagement for our forces in responding to a civil disturbance. For emergency support to a natural or man-made disaste: (MSCA), support approval is delegated to the SECARMY, uniess a CINC's assets are involved. In such MSCA actions, the DOMS staff will develop the courses of action for submission with the request through the Joint Staff to the Chairman prior to obtaining my decision. Following my decision, the CJCS will transmit orders through DOMS to the appropriate CINC for execution and management by the SECARMY. When CINC assets are not involved, the SECARMY, as my Executive Agent may task the Services or DoD agencies directly to provide emergency support

The Executive Agent (SECARMY) will retain his dedicated staff, currently established under the Director of Military Support (DOMS), to respond to domestic emergency support requests. The CJCS will assist the SECARMY in ensuring that the DOMS staff has adequate Joint Staff expertise by identifying select full time positions as joint critical and pre-designating Joint Staff members to augment DOMS during a crisis.

As an example, an outside agency, such as the FBV/DOJ (civil disturbance emergencies) or FEMA (emergency disasters), seeking assistance in a domestic emergency, will go to the DOMS staff. who will immediately noury the Executive Secretary and Joint Staff of the request and begin staffing the action. For a civil disturbance emergency, because of its potential for use of lethal force, the DOMS staff will always forward the support request with recommended courses of actions through the joint Staff and Chairman to me for a decision. For FEMA requests dealing with emergency disasters, the DOMS staff will review the request to determine if the request can be handled by a Service's assers alone or if CINC assets are required.

If the former is the case, the DOMS staff will submit the request with recommended courses ɔf action to the SECARMY for approval and subsequent tasking of the appropriate Service(s). In the event that a CINC's assets are required to deal with an emergency disaster, the DOMS staff will submit the support request with recommended courses of actions through the Joint Staff and the CJCS to me for a decision. Following my decision, in either a civil disturbance emergency or emergency disaste: requiring CINC assets, the Chairman will send the order through DOMS to the appropriate CINC for execution and management by the Secretary of the Amy.

Non-Emergency Support Overall, our non-emergency support system is satisfactory. Procedural and approval authorities for sensitive support to outside agencies will remain as presently constituted and comply, as necessary, with the guidelines defined below. Requests for support from civilian law enforcement agencies must be carefully examined prior to approval. No request will be approved without a legal review. Such requests must be approved or under oversight by a generai officer or senior civilian equivalent. All law enforcement requests must be evaluated against the intended purpose of the support. Any requests to assist law enforcement agencies that will result in a

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planned event with the potential for confrontation with named individuals /groups or use of lethal force must be forwarded to my office for approval

Overall. Any support provided by my Executive Agent in emergency makers, or by Service Secretaries for non-emergency matters, that impacts on readiness, must be brought to the attention of the CJCS. As part of revised reporting procedures, I want the Executive Secretary to be notified of any engineer support provided by the Services to outside agencies pursuant to the Stafford Act or other legislative authority that is not covered by other emergency support reporting means.

Implementation. The USD(P) will lead an effort to identify for formulation, revision, or cancellation those DoD directives, memorandums of understanding/agreement (MOU/MOA), policies. CONPLANS, and regulations, which impact on military assistance to outside agencies. In particular. clear definitions should be developed for MOUs/MOAs and procedures delineated on how the Executive Secretary's office can maintain for my review all MOUS/MOAs agreed to by DoD. The working group will oversee the updating of directives, regulations, etc. to ensure they meet the intent of this memorandum. The USD(P) will provide me periodic updates and a final report no later than six months from today. Supporting CONPLANS will be updated or established by the CICS within eight months from the date of this memorandum.

I applaud the efforts of the work done to date. I expect the same thoroughness and cooperation in completing this very important undertaking for DoD and the many outside agencies we suppor. Our goal is to streamline our procedures and ensure accountability, without degrading our responsiveness to the needs of the nation.

Welling kung