THE US: President Bush yesterday proposed a strategy to protect the US from terrorism that includes using the US military to enforce quarantines during a biological attack and "red teams" of agents thinking like terrorists to pinpoint weaknesses.
"Protecting Americans from attack is our most urgent national priority and we must act on the priority," Mr Bush said in his long-awaited roll-out of the national homeland security strategy he ordered in the wake of the September 11th attacks on the United States.
Mr Bush's initiative, announced in the White House Rose Garden after the President met key members of Congress, calls for new extradition and secrecy laws, new vaccines, tighter border inspections and a major effort to protect infrastructure such as power plants and pipelines.
It also calls for high-tech methods to identify people and for national standards on state drivers' licences.
But it stops short of urging a national identity card that some have called for but human rights activists and others have resisted, citing fears of government intrusion.
"Red teams" of federal agents would think up ways of attacking US targets, in order to devise better ways of protecting them. The plan also envisions a greater role for the US military in domestic security, which Homeland Security Director Mr Tom Ridge said may include using troops to enforce a quarantine in the event of a biological attack.
He said the "rules of engagement" for such a circumstance should be worked out ahead of time.
The plan calls on state and local governments and the private sector to bear a significant share of the costs.
It is anchored by Mr Bush's proposed new Cabinet Department of Homeland Security, which was outlined earlier.
"This comprehensive plan lays out clear lines of authority and clear responsibilities, responsibilities for federal employees and for governors and mayors and community and business leaders and the US citizens. With a better picture of those responsibilities, all of us can direct money and manpower to meet them," Mr Bush said.
Mr Bush urged legislators to complete work on establishing the Homeland Security Department.
House of Representatives Speaker Mr Dennis Hastert said after the Bush speech he would like to complete action by September 11th, the first anniversary of the hijacked plane attacks that killed about 3,000 people.
"We'd like have it done by September 11, however we're not going to let haste get in the way of getting a good piece of legislation," said Mr Hastert, an Illinois Republican.
- (Reuters)