NorthCom chief says attack not inevitable

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Oct 6, 2006 | by TOM ROEDER THE GAZETTE

Despite an astounding array of threats, the United States is getting better at defending itself, said Adm. Timothy Keating, commander in chief of U.S. Northern Command.

And, though others say a future terrorist attack here is guaranteed, he's not so sure.

"I do not think it's inevitable," said Keating, whose command at Peterson Air Force Base is charged with preventing terrorist attacks on American soil. "But we have a lot of work to do."

Keating made his remarks at a news conference Thursday at the conclusion of the three-day Homeland Defense Symposium at The Broadmoor International Center.

Throughout the symposium, speakers discounted Keating's slim measure of hope. The gathering, which drew 1,500 government officials, military officers and defense contractors, mainly focused on how to deal with the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the event's keynote speaker, called an attack "100 percent certain" during his Tuesday address.

The trust Keating has in his command's ability to prevent an attack does not mean he's not planning for the worst. The command spent much of this year developing detailed contingency plans, which the admiral said are as thick as phone books, to deal with attacks and natural disasters.

The goal, he said, is a seamless meshing of military and civilian agencies responding to a crisis.

The divisions between agencies and the military were highlighted in the failed response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he said.

"If we do this right," he said, "you're just going to get aid."

Keating also praised a change that has unified planning between Northern Command and its component, the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

That change resulted in a move of NORAD workers out of Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, which is being put in "warm reserve" status, to be used if intelligence indicates a threat to Colorado Springs.

Air Force Space Command workers now in the underground command center will be moved to Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Air Force announced last month.

Northern Command and NORAD will work out of a single command center at Peterson in the money-saving move announced in July.

"We're getting a combined command center, and we'll save money," he said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0240 or tom.roeder@gazette.com