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STATEMENT OF RAUL E. CARBALLIDO

ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, DENVER DIVISION
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM
SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY,
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL

RELATIONS
AUGUST 23, 2002

Good morning Chairman Horn, Members of the Subcommittee and distinguished Members of the Colorado Delegation. I value the opportunity to appear before you and discuss terrorism preparedness, including threats posed by attacks involving biological, chemical or nuclear agents, as well as measures being taken by the FBI and our law enforcement partners to address these threats.

Introduction

The mission of the FBI's Counterterrorism Program is to detect, deter, prevent, and swiftly respond to terrorist actions that threaten U.S. interests at home or abroad, and to coordinate those efforts with local, state, federal and foreign entities as appropriate. The counterterrorism responsibilities of the FBI include the investigation of domestic and international terrorism. As events during the past several years demonstrate, both domestic and international terrorist organizations represent threats within the borders of the U.S.

The Denver Field Office of the FBI

The Denver Field Office of the FBI is responsible for the States of Colorado and Wyoming. The Field Office has investigative responsibilities in 87 counties with an approximate population of 4.9 million. The Field Offices' headquarters is located in Denver with satellite offices, or Resident Agencies (RAs) in Boulder, Colorado Springs, Durango, Fort Collins, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction and Pueblo, Colorado, and Casper, Cheyenne, Jackson Hole and Lander, Wyoming. The Field Office personnel resource staffing level for Special Agents is 132 and the professional support complement is 96.

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Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs)

Enhanced cooperation among law enforcement at all levels is a significant component of the prevention and investigation of terrorism. This cooperation is most evident in the development of the Joint Terrorism Task Forces that now exists in all 56 FBI field offices. These Task Forces are successful through the integration of resources provided by local, state and federal agencies.

Additionally, the U. S. Attorney General has directed the U. S. Attorney in each judicial district to form an Anti-Terrorism Task Force (ATTF). This task force coordinates with the JTTF to avoid duplication of effort and enhance the exchange of information and overall counterterrorism objectives.

Denver JTTF

The Denver Field Office JTTF is composed of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Secret Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Colorado State Patrol, U.S. Postal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Bureau of Reclamation, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Denver Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Diplomatic Security Service and the Internal Revenue Service. Soon to join the Denver JTTF are deputies from Douglas County and Arapahoe County Sheriff's Offices.

Denver also maintains close liaison with the Defense Intelligence Agency.

In addition to the ATTF, the Denver JTTF coordinates with the recently created Colorado Office of Preparedness, Security and Fire Safety to share information on terrorism-related matters. This cooperation is demonstrated through the anticipated sharing of an ATTF analyst who will conduct terrorism-related research and analysis for the FBI and the Colorado Office of Preparedness, Security and Fire Safety.

Military and Civilian Assets

Denver is also home to a number of significant military assets located in Colorado and Wyoming. Those facilities include Army Space Command, Air Force Space Command NORAD, U.S. Space Command, Buckley Air Force Base, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, U.S. Air Force Academy and Fort Carson Army Base.

In addition, the newly established Northern Command (NORTHCOM) is now located at Peterson Air Force Base. On October 1, 2002, NORTHCOM, the Homeland Security Combatant Command, will become operational. NORTHCOM will be based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, under the command of United States Air Force General Ralph E. Eberhart. The new command will place all U.S. military air, land, and sea forces and antiterrorist teams charged with protecting the United States under a single entity. In an effort to facilitate cooperation, coordination, and the sharing of information between the FBI and NORTHCOM, in issues relative to the prevention, deterrence and detection of terrorism activities threatening the national defense, and other activities of joint interest to the FBI and NORTHCOM, the FBI will assign a full-time senior level Special Agent to the command. The primary responsibility for those involved in this joint effort is to provide an effective interface between all FBI and NORTHCOM components so as to insure the timely sharing of pertinent law enforcement and counterespionage/counterintelligence information. Through this partnership, the missions of both entities can be completed in a manner that will best serve the people of the United States.

Denver also relies on liaison with many other facilities, such as the National Renewable Energy Lab, Lockheed Martin Technologies, the Plague Center, Rocky Flats, University of Colorado, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, University of Wyoming, the Olympic Training Center, the Pueblo Chemical Storage Depot, numerous ski and mountain resorts and numerous companies engaged in research and development in the Denver Tech Center.

Bioterrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction

In June 1995, Presidential Decision Directive 39, "the United States Policy on Counter-Terrorism" was issued as a directive for the federal response to any terrorism incident, including those involving chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons, also known as Weapons of Mass Destruction. Presidential Decision Directive 62 reaffirmed the FBI's role as the Lead Federal Agency for conducting and coordinating the federal crisis management response concerning any terrorism incident on U.S. soil, including any incident involving Weapons of Mass Destruction. Crisis management involves measures taken to identify, acquire, and plan for the use of resources needed to anticipate, prevent and/or resolve an act of terrorism.

The Denver Field Office of the FBI has taken a proactive approach in its preparation for terrorist attacks involving Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Realizing that an effective response to any Weapons of Mass Destruction threat or incident would require a multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplinary effort, the Denver Field Office of the FBI has worked to establish long-term working relationships with our federal, state and local response partners. These efforts have been multifaceted, including development of a Denver Field Office Weapons of Mass Destruction Incident Contingency Plan, participation in interagency training and exercises, participation in the development of regional response resources and plans, development of interagency working groups, and establishment of operational protocols for effective and efficient response to Weapons of Mass Destruction threats or incidents. Each of these efforts will be discussed in further detail.

Denver Field Office Weapons of Mass Destruction Incident Contingency Plan

In 1998, the Domestic Terrorism Section located at FBIHQ produced a national Weapons of Mass Destruction Incident Contingency Plan. This plan was designed to facilitate the FBI's response to Weapons of Mass Destruction threats or incidents by providing the general framework for evaluating the threat and managing the crisis. In January 1999, the Denver Field Office completed its own Weapons of Mass Destruction Incident Contingency Plan. This plan was designed to provide specific guidance for response within the Denver Field Office. Perhaps the most important aspect of the Denver Field Office plan was that, in addition to summarizing the national response plan, it contained specific contacts for our response partners within Colorado and Wyoming. The contacts identified in this plan, which are updated annually, have been utilized numerous times to resolve Weapons of Mass Destruction threats or incidents within Colorado and Wyoming.

Training and Exercises

Due to the increasing threat that terrorists could utilize Weapons of Mass Destruction within the United States, Congress appropriated funds in 1996 to improve the response to these types of events. Nationally, 150 cities were selected for what was known as the "Domestic Preparedness Program", with Denver being among of the first to benefit from this program. Since 1996, the Denver Field Office of the FBI has participated in three iterations of Domestic Preparedness Program training in Denver, Aurora and Colorado Springs.

In addition to the Domestic Preparedness Training, FBI Denver has provided Weapons of Mass Destruction awareness and response training to numerous law enforcement, fire, emergency medical, emergency management, military and

infrastructure agencies and organizations. These presentations have been

instrumental in establishing and maintaining meaningful liaison with our federal, state, local and private response partners.

The Denver Field Office has participated in numerous local, regional and national Weapons of Mass Destruction exercise scenarios. The most extensive participation, both in time and resources, was during the national Weapons of Mass Destruction exercise known as TOPOFF 2000. TOPOFF 2000 was a 10 day, no-notice, national exercise which included a scenario where the biological pathogen responsible for plague was deliberately released in the City of Denver. Over the next 10 days the Denver Field Office of the FBI worked with a wide variety of response agencies in our role as lead federal agency for crisis management, and as a result we were able to evaluate and improve our ability to respond to a bioterrorism attack.

We continue to actively participate in Weapons of Mass Destruction training and excrcises. During the month of August 2002 alone, we will participate in conferences and exercises sponsored by the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the City of Denver. We consider our involvement in both training and exercises to be essential to maintaining and enhancing our relationships with our local, state and federal partners.

Response Plans and Resources

By definition the threatened or actual use of Weapons of Mass Destruction involves hazardous chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials. Therefore, responding to a threatened or actual release of such materials requires specialized equipment and training.

In 1996 the FBI established a Hazardous Materials Response Unit, which is based in Quantico, Virginia. Staffed with subject matter experts, the Hazardous Materials Response Unit has provided national and international assistance in the response to Weapons of Mass Destruction terrorism. In May 2000, the Hazardous Materials Response Unit certified the Denver Field Office's Hazardous Materials Response Team. This team, which is comprised of FBI Agents specially trained to operate in a contaminated environment, has the capability to respond to a crime scene where Weapons of Mass Destruction may be present.

In addition to developing specialized response resources, the Denver Field Office

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