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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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December
2003
Volume 5
- Number 3 |
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My Perception of the Terrorism Risk Inside the Beltway By Jessica Pulz It’s 6:45 AM on a Monday morning and I am sitting in traffic on I-395 flanked by the Pentagon on my left and Pentagon City on my right. I think back to the evening of September 12, 2001 when I was stuck in traffic in almost the same location, driving by the Pentagon to get my first real glimpse of the damage. I saw the footage on CNN, but watching events six miles from my house unfold on national television only added to the surrealism of the previous 48 hours. After a few minutes traffic begins to move again. I take note of the weather . . . somewhat overcast, low lying fog, front coming in from the west . . . the chance of weather-related flight delays would likely make it difficult to coordinate an assault by air. Besides, we’ve stepped up our security measures at airports. Traveling by air has become a more time consuming, cumbersome process, but it’s a small sacrifice to make in the grand scheme of things, at least that’s their marketing pitch. As I turn into the parking garage of the Reagan Building I fumble through my purse to find my driver’s license. The security guard checks my ID and asks me to pop my trunk while another guard walks around the car with a mounted mirror, inspecting for “suspicious devices” under the car. After a 30 second glance the security guard shuts my trunk and motions for me to proceed forward into the parking garage as I have passed inspection. The trunk of my car is a depository for random items that never make it from home to work to school or back again. There’s a couple of blankets, a table cloth, a few cans of dog food, some bottled water, and two emergency kits. One emergency kit was a Christmas present from my dad. Christmas 2001 . . . still a lot of uncertainty about the definition of “life as normal.” My dad gave everyone in the family a car emergency kit consisting of a flashlight, road flares, a flare gun, jumper cables, first aid kit, and a few random tools. I commented the flare gun would come in handy if I needed to defend myself against an incoming aircraft while stuck in traffic on the beltway. My dad was not amused and was less amused when I asked where to find the secret compartment with a 60 day supply of antibiotics. He meant well, and to be honest the flashlight has come in handy a time or two. I mentioned there were two emergency kits. The other contains a change of clothes, a pair of tennis shoes, another first aid kit, some water, a two way radio, a few batteries of random sizes, a smaller flashlight, and probably a few other miscellaneous items. I walk into the atrium of the Regan building. No additional security measures from the parking garage to the building. It’s not until I head over to the Arial Rios Building that my bag will be scanned, I’ll walk through the metal detector, and hand over my driver’s license for inspection. Before getting on the elevator the security guard will touch my photo ID as a last measure of security. This policy was implemented back in March. If you have a Federal ID badge you can avoid the scanner and the metal detector . . . that seems like a “risk free” policy. I venture over to the food court for some Diet Coke since I have time to kill before my meeting to discuss homeland security issues with EPA. In my opinion, the risk of terrorism inside the beltway is much greater than people want to admit. I wonder what the guy at the other end of the table thought about on his way to work this morning? Will he be prepared if today is the day the next event occurs? Will I?
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