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Top Bush aides test bird flu
preparedness
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Warning an outbreak may be inevitable, the White House on Saturday conducted a test of its readiness for a feared bird flu
pandemic and said federal agencies fared "quite well" without offering any details.
Cabinet secretaries, military leaders and other top officials took part in the
four-hour tabletop drill, which officials said was designed to
assess the level of federal preparedness for a possible outbreak of bird flu or another deadly virus.
"This is about being ready for what
inevitably will come," Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said.
But the White House refused to divulge details about the exercise and the test results, and officials said afterward that it was clear that
state and local governments would have to assume a leading role.
"Quite frankly, I think we did quite well," White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend said of the federal agencies that took part in the
exercise...
Approximately 20 officials took part, including Townsend, Leavitt, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said...
"The exercises are just that. It's a drill, it's meant to test, it's meant to push federal resources to the breaking point and to ensure that
we're prepared, that we identify gaps and then we plan to fill them. We accomplished that this morning," Townsend said.
She said the biggest lesson from the test was the leading role that state and local governments would have to play in responding to a pandemic.
"This is not going to be a federal answer to the problem," she said. "The federal government has got a support role to play. But frankly, I think,
really very important is the state and local efforts."
More...
Be afraid! IMO, this is a definite signal...
On the one hand it is laughable that 20 people in our government could sit around a table for only four hours and call that pushing "federal
resources to the breaking point...to ensure that we're prepared" and calling that a "resounding success."
On the other hand, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt called the pandemic an "inevitability."
Why would they be secretive about the results???
Something smells....
