Terrorist Attack Preparation
Terrorist Attack Preparation
Introduction
According to the information intercepted by the intelligence, a terrorist organization is planning to attack Chicago Bulls United Center NBA arena. According to the terrorists plan, they plan to attack in three different ways which are; through 3-5 suicide bombers who will locate themselves strategically around the arena. Secondly, they also plan to use large vehicle bombs (LVB) 1-2 of them which they will locate at a parking facility near an entertainment complex around. Because of the high number of mass casualties, intelligence also says that the terrorist organization will also attack the ER department in the hospital where casualties will be attended to in case of the accident.
About the Sports Arena
United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago Illinois in the near west side. The United Center is home ground to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. The United Arena has a capacity of 23, 500 during concerts and 20, 917 during Basketball tournament. The Stadium’s address is 1901 West Madison Street. Below is a representation of United Center siting Chart.
Photo 1
Like in our case scenario, I assume I am the Incident Commander (IC) of Chicago, and the intelligence agency has intercepted from a credible source a terrorist organization communication regarding a generally coordinated plan to use improvised explosive devices to detonate bombs at Bulls (NBA) when the match is ongoing. According to the intelligence, there will be 3-5 suicide bombers strategically positioned at the arena ready to attack. Secondly, it has also been revealed that there will be 1-2 large vehicle bombs (LVB) in parking facility near the entertainment complex. In addition, the intelligence also reveals that the attack will take place in the next month of September but the specific date is still unknown.
As the city Incident Commander, this is a serious issue which should not be taken lightly because it is a serious threat to the American people. In order to prepare for this attack, the first step would be visiting the sports arena and see the events schedule weekly. From the visits, the United Center Bulls (NBA) will be hosting three matches weekly until the end of next month which is September when the terrorist are planning to attack. The matches will be taking place on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturdays weekly. Not to take any chances, a team of surveillance and secret services are already deployed on the ground even before the scheduled attack date reaches. A terrorist is very clever people, maybe the September scheduled date is just a decoy, and maybe the real attack will take place before September.
The second most important thing to do to prepare geographically, this implies that the whole sports arena has to be marked and architectural design of the same has to be used to determine underground tunnels and any other site which the terrorists can take advantage of (Hesterman, 2015). A team of experts has to study the map of the sports arena and the surrounding places such as the mentioned nearest hospital and the entertainment complex in which the LVB will be parked. Unfortunately, all the public events which were initially scheduled to take place will not be disrupted. On the other hand, not disrupting public events is a great idea, because once they are disrupted, the terrorist organization will realize that they are blown and won’t go on with their plan as scheduled, and shift it to another place. This can then make it difficult to intercept their information about another attack.
The other important preparation is to handle the suicide bombers so that they don’t reach inside the sports arena. And the first thing is to deploy officers to the sports arena weekly for the three days in which the stadium is active with the sports, and the officers must be well trained with the ability to recognize tactics and techniques used by suicide bombers and how these attacks affect the initial response to emergency (Sharpe, 2008). In addition, the officers should be in civilian with a backup team stationed in a hidden place around the arena. The backup team should consist of a team full of professionals such as IT guys who are able to intercept any form of communication being made in and out of the sports arena. More importantly, the backup team should have access to all cameras within the stadium, where they are able to access the faces of every individual who enter and leaves the sports arena. However, the population can be so big but it is worth it and nothing should be left to chance.
The deployed team on the ground should have the knowledge of detecting a suicide bomber when they see one, and most of them engage in this cowardice activity mainly to fulfill their religious purpose. In addition, the deployed team on the ground should also have devices which can be used to detect people with suicide vests. Dogs to sniff the bombs would have been appropriate, but they can blow the operation and the terrorist will realize everything which is taking place once they spot the dogs (Sharpe, 2008).
Secondly, it is sententious to make necessary preparation to deal with Large Vehicle Bombs which according to intelligence will be parked in a parking facility near the entertainment complex. The first thing is to mark all the blocks or buildings located near the entertainment complex in order to identify where specifically the parking facility is located. Once the parking facility is identified, it should be marked, architectural design obtained to establish every place in the parking facility. More importantly, all cameras from the streets near the parking facility and those within the facility should be always accessed remotely by the team of professionals (Jenkins et al, 2011). Through this, all the vehicles entering and leaving the parking lot will be identified. On the said day of the attack, security levels should be improved, and the vehicles should not even find their way to the parking lot. A road block should be mounted in all the roads which can lead to the parking lot within the surrounding.
Finally, the terrorists are also planning to detonate additional series of devices in the lobby of the nearest hospital emergency room. Just like the preparation plan for the parking lot, the same should apply to the hospital. All concentrations will not be put in the ER only, but every part of the hospital which is accessible and can be used by the same terrorists. This is a great plan by the terrorist, attacking the sports arena, and then attacking the casualty section making sure that no one survives. Hopefully, we won’t reach to this stage, and all their planned activities will be shattered. The architectural drawings and the hospital map should be obtained, and hotspot points marked (Olson, 2012). A team of professionals should be put in these identified hot spots including the said ER where the attack is going to take place.
All the communications and calls within the hospital range should be intercepted because probably the terrorists will be in the hospital days before the attack. In addition, all the cameras should be remotely accessed to view all the activities within the hospital, and much stress is put on suspicious ones. The hospital is a very populated place, and the attackers can target anywhere not necessarily the ER since they are aware many casualties will be coming in case the attack takes place. Enough of that, to prepare for the attacks starting from the sports arena, the parking lot, and the hospital, a team of professionals should be involved.
References
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Hesterman, J. L. (2015). Soft target hardening: Protecting people from attack.
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Sharpe, M., Advanced Research Workshop on Suicide Bombers: the Psychological, Religious and other Imperatives, & NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Suicide Bombers: the Psychological, Religious and other Imperatives. (2008). Suicide bombers: the psychological, religious and other imperatives. Amsterdam [u.a.: IOS Press.
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Jenkins, B. M., Godges, J., & Dobbins, J. (2011). The long shadow of 9/11: America’s response to terrorism. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
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Olson, D. T. (2012). Tactical Counterterrorism: The Law Enforcement Manual of Terrorism Prevention. Springfield: Charles C Thomas.
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