15 replies to this topic

[Thor God of Thunder]

This is a slightly edited message that was sent to me and that I would like re-post and share to show what some with a global view see the situation at ATF. I would have to agree with the author. If there are others, that would like me to post their comments, please send them to me. I will not reveal your pseudonym or identity. "Thor, I'm not posting these comments because I don't work for ATF, have incomplete knowledge, and don't want to speak beyond what I think is reliable knowledge. I know a person whose job includes evaluating budgets, who has shared some thoughts with me regarding ATF. I don't have reason to doubt this person, who works at the (intentionally left blank). He has no axes to grind one way or the other, and has a much more global view of some of these issues and processes. The following comments reflects some of his views and some of mine. Perhaps the most serious issue confronting ATF is that Main Justice has not assimulated ATF, and has no idea what do do with ATF. Unlike some of the commentators on CleanUpATF, I believe the FBI has done some behind-the-scenes things to make things purposely difficult for ATF, including the ESF 13 issue. Strangely, while ATF isn't well positioned to implement ESF 13, ATF does have much better relations with local LE than does the FBI, which has in general alienated them. By contrast, ATF is willing to work with local LE, and they appreciate it. As to some reorganization, I think that's a real possibility, but not in some ways as people might think. Just as it's not well understood by outsiders how much the FBI hates ATF, it's not well known that the FBI wants absolutely NOTHING to do with gun control, in any way, shape or form. So if there is some reorganization along those lines, look for ATF to move to DHS in some capacity. I believe there is a much larger issue here that's not getting discussed much --- and that is the fact that the U.S. intelligence capabilities have eroded to dangerous levels, and there is likely to be some reorganization along those lines. The United States is exactly where it was with WMDs and Iran right now, as it was with WMDs and Iraq in 2003. The United States simply doesn't have a clue. Panic led us into Iraq; panic and fear of a sort engendered by 9/11, in that bluster could no longer be tolerated, as there was fresh memory of what could happen. I personally thought it was bluster at the time, and it gives me no satisfaction to see that thought justified (read LEGACY OF ASHES). My sense is that Mr. Melson is probably a decent person, and is certainly a competent forensic scientist; however, he's allowed himself to be held hostage by the people who run ATF from day to day, perhaps because he thinks he needs them to do that. Those ATF people are only looking to save themselves and keep ATF from falling apart; they are the ones who are panicking, to ATF's detriment. Right now ATF is fairly well bollixed up legally with some FTB (firearms testing) issues, but much more because ATF has done so much in the way of technical rulings off the seat of its pants rather that on a scientific basis, issues that may wind up getting decided in the Atlanta case. The NFRTR issues may wind up being problematic enough that some NFA Branch folks may find themselves in unenviable positions if asked to testify in federal court, and I've no doubt that ATF Chief Counsel is going to be more than careful about the types of NFRTR evidence that gets trotted out. The personnel issues CleanUpATF has been trying to address are universally just as if not more difficult in other federal agencies, because they represent the soft underbelly of management -- and all sorts of folks who have signed off on indecent, crummy decisions, and looking to cover themselves. It is typically only when an aggrieved person has golden documentation and, in some cases, golden testimonials, that s/he can prevail. There's simply no easy way to deal with that stuff. Unless things get really out of hand, the Congress isn't likely to delve into internal personnel issues; I'm not saying it can't happen, but it would be fairly rare. The Congress is MOST likely to get involved when top ATF managers present information that is false or has no factual basis --- catch 'em doing that, and the Congress WILL mess with them, but you'll need golden evidence, and a lot of it --- not just one or two cases. Probably the worst thing that could happen would be for ATF Special Agents and others to simply stop enforcing the law on the grounds that ATF managers are giving out unreliable evidence, be it in the form of inaccurate NFRTR data or unscientific FTB decisions that won't pass legal muster. There's a fine line there --- courts have ruled that LE officers or agents can be sued personally for making egregious mistakes (recall the Groh case), and if (for example) FTB or NFRTR data or evidence becomes well enough known as unreliable, there's going to be a tipping point at some point. What point that is, I'm not sure. It is not a good thing that the Obama administration is refusing to put up an ATF Director nomination that it will stand by, and for an agency with a mission as visible and controversial as that of ATF to continue to be leaderless at the top. I thought before that could be a prelude to reorganization or housecleaning, in a post that got put in Archives because others didn't like what got posted in the first place and was allowed to go off topic."

[Doc Holiday]

It all boils down to leadership,or in ATF's case lack thereof. Mr. Melson we have been telling you, but you refused to listen.CNN has told you. Now the OIG is telling you.You are crystal clear that you need to replace members of your senior management team.Not just move them to the next office down so they can do the same things that got us here. Find their particular skill set, send them to main justice and replace them with people you trust, who won't lie to you and will not try to keep you from the business of the Bureau. Stop acknowledging their incompetence and saying you can't move them. You are the DD and last I checked, they signed the same mobility agreement we did.

[ProConfesso]

This story has legs. http://online.wsj.co...'s_Most_Popular

[Thor God of Thunder]

Thor; This IG report was not politically motivated but was a scheduled review and audit of the DOJ response capability. The IG did not commence this audit with an eye towards exposing the shortfalls of any one particular agency. The IG stated the purpose of the review as follows:


Purpose
Our review examined the Department’s and its components’ preparedness for responding to a WMD incident. Specifically, we examined whether:
•
the Department and components have adequate policies and
operational plans for their WMD preparedness activities;
•
the Department and components have a person or office to manage WMD operations, activities, or responsibilities;
•
the Department and its components are training their personnel to respond to a WMD incident;
•
the Department and its components are conducting WMD response exercises; and
•
corrective actions are being taken to resolve deficiencies identified during WMD response exercises.
In addition, we examined the preparations of components’ field offices in the National Capital Region for responding to a WMD incident.26

This was to gauge trhe effectiveness of DOJ's ability under the National Preparedness Framework as stated below:

National Response Framework, January 2008. Issued by the DHS and approved by the President, the National Response Framework implements the requirements in HSPD-5 and HSPD-8 for a consistent approach to emergency response and preparedness for domestic incidents.19 It describes how communities, tribes, states, the federal government, the private sector, and nongovernmental partners should work together to respond to incidents; describes specific authorities and best practices for managing incidents; and reinforces a consistent methodology for managing incidents. It also states that agencies are to conduct exercises and evaluate their performance to identify and correct weaknesses.
The National Response Framework directs federal agencies to develop all-hazards response plans and plans to respond to eight scenarios. Of the eight scenarios, four are WMD-specific and include attacks with nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical weapons.20 In addition, the National Response Framework contains annexes that address specific hazardous incidents. The Department is identified as a cooperating agency in the following annexes: nuclear and radiological, biological, and catastrophic incidents.21 The Department, through the FBI, is identified as the lead coordinator for the Terrorism Incident Law Enforcement and Investigation Annex, which assigns the Department the responsibility for investigating all threats or acts of terrorism.

Memorandum from the Deputy Attorney General, Emergency Support Function-13 (ESF-13), Public Safety and Security, October 16, 2008. In this memorandum, the Deputy Attorney General stated that in line with a recommendation by the Homeland Security Council following Hurricane Katrina, the Department was assigned the lead role in coordinating federal law enforcement support to state and local and federal government agencies during critical incidents. This responsibility, designated as Emergency Support Function-13 (ESF-13) in the National Response Framework, requires the Department to ensure public safety and security in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. The Attorney General accepted the assignment for the Department in 2006 and assigned the lead role to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The 2008 memorandum formalized ATF’s assignment as the Department’s coordinator for ESF-13 activities to “coordinate the Federal law enforcement response to assist other Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement department and agencies that have been overwhelmed or incapacitated by an act of terrorism or natural or man-made disaster.”

In the review the ATF was identified as the lead agency for ESF 13. ATF was found tto be deficient in its ability to fullfill its staus as lead agency. ATF only has ATF to blem in its failure. The FBI on the other hand was found to have been prepared to respond to incidents. I know several people in the FBI's WMD Directorate. This Directorate was established after 9/11 and well before the Memorandum from the Deputy Attorney General, Emergency Support Function-13 (ESF-13), Public Safety and Security, October 16, 2008 (see above paragraph) makng ATF the lead agency. It was done in response to DOJ and Congress mandating that agencies prepare themselves for a WMD response capability. After 9/11 the FBI's priorities drastically changed. Counterterrorism and counterintelligence became the number 1 and 2 priorities in the FBI. Within this framework the WMD Directorate was stood up independent of any promtitng from DOJ. Within that framework was the ability to train, respond to, and handle consequences of a WMD incident. In re-establishing its priorities, the FBI reduced its involvement in narcotics, violent crime, property crime, fugitives, and other matters it had previously engaged in. There is still involvement in these programs, but not to the extent it once was.

Given the rquirements of the duites within ESF 13, my colleagues who work in the FBI does no not relish that function. It is a headache. See the next footnote taken from the IG report.
ESF-13 activities include: (1) providing basic law enforcement assistance such as conducting routine patrols and making arrests; (2) issuing identification badges to emergency responders and other personnel needing access to a controlled area and verifying emergency responder credentials; (3) providing security forces to control access to the incident site and critical facilities; (4) providing officers for traffic and crowd control; and (5) providing for protection of emergency responders and other workers operating in a high threat environment.

ESF 13 is best left to the principle state or local agency affected by the consequences of the fallout from a natural or man made disaster. Federal agencies are better left to overall crisis management in overseeing investigative and intelligence functions, and providing logistical support to state and local operators.
s
My point here is to caution you in not throwing the FBI under the bus or making it a scape goat due to the failure of ATF leadership in fullifilling its duty. The FBI had foresight in this matter. It even provided ATF and the other DOJ agencies with reports as to what it was doing to prepare for WMD incidents.

I have friends in the FBI who I keep in touch with as I do research to teach a few college courses. Some are in the WMD Directorate and provided me with some insight into this IG Report.


The issue you seem to have is the perception FBI and other agencies grabbing jurisdiction in things some think should be reserved for a single agancy. I remember when I was a FNG and my training agent told me that the orchard is large enough to pick fruit and that there is plenty of work to go around for everbody. Coordination, not competiton is what truly gets the job done.

I really struggled on whether I should respond to this particular post. I am not on this website for a competing view and to argue back and forth with others.

Obviously, you have got to be former FBI or an FBI sympathizer.

Some of your statements should be directed at your buddies at the FBI.


I will say very simply that my statements were not directed at the FBI's performance in this audit, obviously they faired very well for a change, which is the exception and not the norm. I congratulate them. They are the ones responsible for terrorism attacks. An attack with a WMD would be an act of terrorism. They most definitely would take the lead. Additionally, DOJ has not provided any resources to ATF to be able to accomplish the objectives of the audit.


Whether the audit is scheduled as to the politics of the OIG Report, there was certain informtaion provided by ATF that the OIG ignored or chose to ignore. No matter how rational and articulate your argument above may be the fact still remains that it was political on the part of the OIG. I will not go into detail but that is my take on it. Again, no slam or disrespect on the FBI, they did very well and should be commended.

[Doc Holiday]

How many times is Mr. Melson going to be told we are not getting it done before he makes REAL changes. Hint: Toooooo damn many dope cases and dope reltaed T-III's, not enough ATF shoe leather face to face with bad guys. When you try to be everything to everybody, you almost always fail. REMEMBER "NEW" COKE? We are not the dope guys, we are the gun guys, and we are good at it. Enough with the headline grabbing wiretaps that give us ZERO bang for our juridictional buck. We are not DEA, we are ATF. Leave the neutrality act cases to whoever is tasked with that jurisdiction.

[x1811]

I hate to beat a dead horse, but the Washington Post published a scathing editorial about the failure of the DOJ/ATF in its lack of ability to respond to a WMD attack. Notwithstanding the preparedness of the FBI to respond to a WMD incident, I am certain that DHS would love to take on the leadership coordination of the ESF 13 and give it to the Secret Service, who has the coordinators role for National Security Special Events (NSSE's), such as the political conventions, G8 Summits, Olympics, etc. Still no response to this subject by the ATF leadership thereby continuing the void of direction in this agency. This issue make get more traction as the DHS continues to expand its jurisdiction and seek to corner the leadership and responsibility for all domestic emergency rsponse functions. Maybe the ATF should look to go back to the DHS to get more attention. Being part of the DOJ law enforcement community obscures ATF's abiltiy to establish prominence and creates an environment of competing for already scarce resources against the DEA, Marshals, FBI, BOP, Probation, and the USAO. Unready at Justice Monday, June 7, 2010 "EVERYBODY WOULD be winging it." That is how one law enforcement official described the likely Justice Department response to an attack involving weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The remark was included in a critical report by the department's inspector general, which concluded that the department "is not prepared to fulfill its role . . . to ensure public safety and security in the event of a WMD incident," including those involving biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. The only Justice component to receive high marks was the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which the report noted had specific policies in place to deal with a WMD attack and routinely carried out WMD-specific training for agents and other personnel. Not so the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Agency or the U.S. Marshals Service. The ATF, for example, had been tapped to coordinate federal law enforcement's response and its efforts to dovetail with local and state efforts in such matters as sealing off buildings and areas subject to WMD exposure. But the agency has no policies or training focused specifically on reacting to a WMD attack, and many officials within the Justice Department were not aware of the agency's critical role nor had they worked with any other component, including the FBI, to coordinate efforts in the event of an attack. This state of affairs is appalling, coming as it does nearly nine years after the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes and the anthrax attacks that took the lives of five people and sickened 17 others. The inspector general offered five recommendations, among them: designating a person within the top echelons of the Justice Department, probably a deputy within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, to serve as a point person in the event of an attack; requiring the Justice components to develop WMD-specific policies and training exercises; and increasing coordination to ensure an orderly, efficient and effective response. In a formal response to the inspector general's report, the Justice Department acknowledges its lapses, embraces the recommendations and signals that it has begun to move forward to fully implement several of them. The progress is welcome, but the truth is that these actions should have been taken -- and completed -- years ago.

[x1811]

In all fairness, ATF is allowed to offer a response and provide additional information to all IG reports. The original report submitted by IG was more scathing than what was published. It is because of the additional information and comments provided that the IG report was watered down but they still screwed ATF over.


This report was motivated by politics. ATF picked-up the ESF-13 function when no one else would and with no funding or staff attached to it. Now that this function has become more visible and prominent, there is a problem with ATF performing this function and the FBI wants it just like they want everything else.


How does it feel to be abused?

Thor; This IG report was not politically motivated but was a scheduled review and audit of the DOJ response capability. The IG did not commence this audit with an eye towards exposing the shortfalls of any one particular agency. The IG stated the purpose of the review as follows:


Purpose
Our review examined the Department’s and its components’ preparedness for responding to a WMD incident. Specifically, we examined whether:
•
the Department and components have adequate policies and
operational plans for their WMD preparedness activities;
•
the Department and components have a person or office to manage WMD operations, activities, or responsibilities;
•
the Department and its components are training their personnel to respond to a WMD incident;
•
the Department and its components are conducting WMD response exercises; and
•
corrective actions are being taken to resolve deficiencies identified during WMD response exercises.
In addition, we examined the preparations of components’ field offices in the National Capital Region for responding to a WMD incident.26

This was to gauge trhe effectiveness of DOJ's ability under the National Preparedness Framework as stated below:

National Response Framework, January 2008. Issued by the DHS and approved by the President, the National Response Framework implements the requirements in HSPD-5 and HSPD-8 for a consistent approach to emergency response and preparedness for domestic incidents.19 It describes how communities, tribes, states, the federal government, the private sector, and nongovernmental partners should work together to respond to incidents; describes specific authorities and best practices for managing incidents; and reinforces a consistent methodology for managing incidents. It also states that agencies are to conduct exercises and evaluate their performance to identify and correct weaknesses.
The National Response Framework directs federal agencies to develop all-hazards response plans and plans to respond to eight scenarios. Of the eight scenarios, four are WMD-specific and include attacks with nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical weapons.20 In addition, the National Response Framework contains annexes that address specific hazardous incidents. The Department is identified as a cooperating agency in the following annexes: nuclear and radiological, biological, and catastrophic incidents.21 The Department, through the FBI, is identified as the lead coordinator for the Terrorism Incident Law Enforcement and Investigation Annex, which assigns the Department the responsibility for investigating all threats or acts of terrorism.

Memorandum from the Deputy Attorney General, Emergency Support Function-13 (ESF-13), Public Safety and Security, October 16, 2008. In this memorandum, the Deputy Attorney General stated that in line with a recommendation by the Homeland Security Council following Hurricane Katrina, the Department was assigned the lead role in coordinating federal law enforcement support to state and local and federal government agencies during critical incidents. This responsibility, designated as Emergency Support Function-13 (ESF-13) in the National Response Framework, requires the Department to ensure public safety and security in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. The Attorney General accepted the assignment for the Department in 2006 and assigned the lead role to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The 2008 memorandum formalized ATF’s assignment as the Department’s coordinator for ESF-13 activities to “coordinate the Federal law enforcement response to assist other Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement department and agencies that have been overwhelmed or incapacitated by an act of terrorism or natural or man-made disaster.”

In the review the ATF was identified as the lead agency for ESF 13. ATF was found tto be deficient in its ability to fullfill its staus as lead agency. ATF only has ATF to blem in its failure. The FBI on the other hand was found to have been prepared to respond to incidents. I know several people in the FBI's WMD Directorate. This Directorate was established after 9/11 and well before the Memorandum from the Deputy Attorney General, Emergency Support Function-13 (ESF-13), Public Safety and Security, October 16, 2008 (see above paragraph) makng ATF the lead agency. It was done in response to DOJ and Congress mandating that agencies prepare themselves for a WMD response capability. After 9/11 the FBI's priorities drastically changed. Counterterrorism and counterintelligence became the number 1 and 2 priorities in the FBI. Within this framework the WMD Directorate was stood up independent of any promtitng from DOJ. Within that framework was the ability to train, respond to, and handle consequences of a WMD incident. In re-establishing its priorities, the FBI reduced its involvement in narcotics, violent crime, property crime, fugitives, and other matters it had previously engaged in. There is still involvement in these programs, but not to the extent it once was.

Given the rquirements of the duites within ESF 13, my colleagues who work in the FBI does no not relish that function. It is a headache. See the next footnote taken from the IG report.
ESF-13 activities include: (1) providing basic law enforcement assistance such as conducting routine patrols and making arrests; (2) issuing identification badges to emergency responders and other personnel needing access to a controlled area and verifying emergency responder credentials; (3) providing security forces to control access to the incident site and critical facilities; (4) providing officers for traffic and crowd control; and (5) providing for protection of emergency responders and other workers operating in a high threat environment.

ESF 13 is best left to the principle state or local agency affected by the consequences of the fallout from a natural or man made disaster. Federal agencies are better left to overall crisis management in overseeing investigative and intelligence functions, and providing logistical support to state and local operators.

My point here is to caution you in not throwing the FBI under the bus or making it a scape goat due to the failure of ATF leadership in fullifilling its duty. The FBI had foresight in this matter. It even provided ATF and the other DOJ agencies with reports as to what it was doing to prepare for WMD incidents.

I have friends in the FBI who I keep in touch with as I do research to teach a few college courses. Some are in the WMD Directorate and provided me with some insight into this IG Report.


The issue you seem to have is the perception FBI and other agencies grabbing jurisdiction in things some think should be reserved for a single agancy. I remember when I was a FNG and my training agent told me that the orchard is large enough to pick fruit and that there is plenty of work to go around for everbody. Coordination, not competiton is what truly gets the job done.

[Thor God of Thunder]

In all fairness, ATF is allowed to offer a response and provide additional information to all IG reports. The original report submitted by IG was more scathing than what was published. It is because of the additional information and comments provided that the IG report was watered down but they still screwed ATF over. This report was motivated by politics. ATF picked-up the ESF-13 function when no one else would and with no funding or staff attached to it. Now that this function has become more visible and prominent, there is a problem with ATF performing this function and the FBI wants it just like they want everything else. How does it feel to be abused?

[ProConfesso]

It is unrealistic to think that ATF could coordinate ESF 13 activities in a major metropolitan city during a WMD event. "These ESF-13 activities, include: (1) providing basic law enforcement assistance such as conducting routine patrols and making arrests; (2) issuing identification badges to emergency responders and other personnel needing access to a controlled area and verifying emergency responder credentials; (3) providing security forces to control access to the incident site and critical facilities; (4) providing officers for traffic and crowd control; and (5) providing for protection of emergency responders and other workers operating in a high threat environment." This report is disturbing and WMD preparedness is a task not to be undertaken by dilitantes.

[Doc Holiday]

Our leadership has diminished to uninspiring, meeting attending, position paper writing bureaucrats. They better start engaging the field. We are out here doing it day in day out. WE could have helped prevent such OIG findings. There are 5000 of us Mr. Melson. We ARE stakeholders. WE know whats broken. Do you really think your executive staff is going to honestly advise you of their own short comings. Dont you find it odd that all the Bureaus woes are blamed on the field Agents. We have watched the apathetic approach to the programs mentioned in these reports. Our leadership is strong on paper, just ask them. Remember; Big cases big problems, Little cases little problems, No cases no problems. Ask yourself the last time one of your senior staff came to you and said "Sir we have real problems with A,B,and C. We need to make some drastic changes to correct this before it becomes a real problem". If you hear, its no problem sir, we have it handled, you should be suspicious. We love this Bureau and we are being asked to watch it run in the ground by people who are disengaged. We want to pull this place out of the flames. We have to get back to bare bones ATF ass kickin. Just one mans (well actually the vast majority of 5000 men and womens) Opinion. WE ARE SPEAKING UP. Put your pride and diplomacy aside and listen.

[x1811]

ATF management has proven that they can't even handle their internal problems let alone an national emergency. Seriously people, it takes these guys a month to make a decision that should take a minute. A WMD attack with ATF in the decision mix? Our leaderhip will all be deer caught in the headlights. They make look and sound good during a tabletop excercise but put these guys into play in any type of real time event and they will choke it away.

See below article from the Washington Post about OIG report. One of the recommendations was for the DOJ to reconsider ATF's role in WMD response and Emergency Management as the lead agency in the ESF 13 position. This will erode ATF's position as a viable agency in national disaster and law enforcement responses. Fox News also reported on this matter during the 9:00 AM slot further publicizing ATF's lack of fullfilling its responsibilities. The Bush and Obama Administrations are sending a strong signal as to how they regard the ATF by not appointing a Director. This report will add another nail to the ATF coffin. My contacts in the DC area close to the DOJ indicate to me that the ATF's star is waning. They say that the ATF is seen as a redundancy in that they share jurisdiction such as investigating violent crimes, gangs, narcotics, and bombings with other agencies such as the DEA, Marshals, FBI, and Postal Inspectors. The Border Patrol, ICE, CBP, and the DEA are pulling in more guns at the border that the ATF. I've seen other agencies charge felons with 924c and 922g violations without ATF involvement. I heard AUSA's express reluctance in prosecuting traditional ATF violations in favor of state prosecutions. I read the reports of turf wars between the FBI and ATF in explosives investigations. This OIG report will not bode well for the future of this organization. With the leadership void in ATF, I do not see anyone advocating the positive influences ATF has had on the security of this nation. What will happen next?

FBI is sole Justice agency prepared for terror attack, report says

By Jeff Stein
Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The FBI appears to be ready for a chemical, biological or radiological terrorist attack, but the rest of the Justice Department "is not prepared," according to a blistering audit released Tuesday.

The report by Glenn A. Fine, Justice's inspector general, singled out the department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for particular scorn, suggesting that the bureau was only dimly aware that it had been designated Justice's "lead coordinator" in responding to an attack with weapons of mass destruction.

The rationale for giving ATF, and not the FBI, the lead role was not explained in the report.

Other Justice Department components did not escape the inspector general's wrath.

"[W]e found that no Department law enforcement component, other than the FBI, has specific WMD operational response plans. ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the United States Marshals Service (USMS) each have groups that manage all-hazards responses, but these groups do not include specific preparations for WMD incidents," the inspector general said.

Those agencies weren't even curious about what the FBI was up to, the report said.

"When we asked if they were familiar with the FBI's WMD response plan, officials from ATF, the DEA, and the USMS said they were not familiar with the plan and had not asked to see it," the report said.

"Our review concluded that only the FBI has taken adequate steps to prepare to respond to a potential WMD attack" including in the Washington area, it said.

The Justice Department took its medicine without complaint.

"We concur in all five recommendations and will implement" them, Associate Deputy Attorney General James A. Baker said in a written response.

The DEA, however, protested, saying that it did participate in drills, citing one every year between 2005 and 2008. But auditors said they were not the same kind of exercises under discussion in their report.

The ATF and Marshals Service did not offer a formal defense of their bad grades.

[x1811]

The DOJ OIG just completed a review of DOJ response capability to respond to WMD incisents. The report was very bad for the ATF. According to the report, the ATF failed in its ability to lead the ESF 13 component of emergency management. The recommendation by the DOJ OIG was to reconsider the ATF's leading role in ESF 13. This could further degrade the ATF's ability to survive in a time where limited resources may mean cuts to agencies. This report manifests the lack of leadership in the ATF. I am new to this forum. I have been reading the posts on this site since seeing the CNN expose of the problems in ATF. The ATF is in real trouble. See report by accessing the below link. http://www.justice.g.../plus/e1004.pdf