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Old 02-09-2004, 02:42 PM
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Default 'Shadow Government' News To Congress

Key congressional leaders say they didn?t know President Bush had established a ?shadow government,? moving dozens of senior civilian managers to secret underground locations outside Washington to ensure that the federal government could survive a devastating terrorist attack on the nation's capital, The Washington Post says in its Saturday editions.

Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) told the Post he had not been informed by the White House about the role, location or even the existence of the shadow government that the administration began to deploy the morning of the Sept. 11 hijackings.

An aide to House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) said he was also unaware of the administration's move.

Among Congress's GOP leadership, aides to House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (Ill.), second in line to succeed the president if he became incapacitated, and to Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (Miss.) said they were not sure whether they knew.

Aides to Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.) said he had not been told. As Senate president pro tempore, he is in line to become president after the House speaker.

Mr. Bush acknowledged yesterday that the administration had taken extensive measures to guarantee "the continuity of government," adding, ?This is serious business.?

Such an operation was conceived as a Cold War precaution against nuclear attack during the Eisenhower administration but never used until now. It went into effect in the first hours after the terror attacks and has evolved over time, said senior government officials who provided details of the plan.

Without confirming details of the government-in-waiting, Mr. Bush told reporters in Iowa: "We take the continuity of government issue seriously because our nation was under attack. And I still take the threats we receive from al Qaeda killers and terrorists very seriously."

"I have an obligation as the president and my administration has an obligation to the American people to put measures in place that should somebody be successful in attacking Washington there is an ongoing government," Mr. Bush said. "That is one reason why the vice president was going to undisclosed locations. This is serious business. And we take it seriously."

Under the classified "Continuity of Operations Plan," which was first reported by The Post in its Friday editions, high-ranking officials representing their departments have begun rotating in and out of the assignment at one of two fortified locations along the East Coast.

The Post said the first rotations were made in late October or early November, a fact confirmed by a senior government official late Thursday.

Officials who are activated for the duty live and work underground 24 hours a day, away from their families, according to the Post. The shadow government has sent home most of the first wave of deployed personnel, replacing them most commonly at 90-day intervals.

A government official who spoke to The Associated Press said President Bush does not foresee ever needing to turn over government functions to the secret operation, but believed it was prudent to implement the long-standing plan in light of the war on terrorism and persistent threats of future attacks.

The team, drawn from every Cabinet department and some independent agencies, would seek to prevent the collapse of essential government functions in the event of a disabling blow to Washington, the official said.

The underground government would try to contain disruptions of the nation's food and water supplies, transportation links, energy and telecommunications networks, public health and civil order, the Post reported. Later, it would begin to reconstitute the government.

The government-in-waiting is an extension of a policy that has kept Vice President Dick Cheney in secure, undisclosed locations away from Washington. Cheney has moved in and out of public view as threat levels have fluctuated.

As next in line to power behind Mr. Bush, he would need help running the government in a worst-case scenario.

"We take this issue extraordinarily seriously, and are committed to doing as thorough a job as possible to ensure the ongoing operations of the federal government," Joseph W. Hagin, White House deputy chief of staff, told the Post, though he declined to discuss details. "In the case of the use of a weapon of mass destruction, the federal government would be able to do its job and continue to provide key services and respond."

According to the Post, the backup government consists generally of officials from top career ranks, from GS-14 and GS-15 to members of the Senior Executive Service. The White House is represented by a "senior-level presence," one official said, but well below such Cabinet-ranked advisers as Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Many departments, including Justice and Treasury, have completed plans to delegate statutory powers to officials who would not normally exercise them, the Post said. Others do not need to make such legal transfers, or are holding them in reserve.

The report said civilians deployed for the operation are not allowed to take their families and may not tell anyone where they are going or why.

The two sites of the shadow government make use of local geological features to render them highly secure, the Post said. They are well stocked with food, water, medicine and other consumable supplies, and are capable of generating their own power.
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Old 02-18-2004, 04:00 PM
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"Shadow Government" seems to be a tad melodramatic... it is our government leadership, and I surely DO hope they have some plans for protecting themselves in the event of serious unpleasantness, just like any "parental" units would do in normal private life.

They control the laws, the purse and command of the fighters... if'n it would not hurt anyone's feelings or upset anybody, I'd just as soon those folks DO have a VERY secure spot from which to operate, no matter which political party philosophy they represent.

I'm too dang old to care much about living forever anymore... mine has been a very fine and good and beautiful life. But, there are the young'uns to think of, so... :cl:
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Old 03-09-2004, 11:19 AM
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The "Shadow Government" seems to be made up of the top bureaucrats who have been running the day to day operations of the country all along. It sounds neat to think that our President and the Congress "Run" the country but they really don't. Politicians come and go every 4 years. The bureaucrats are in power for their entire working life span. It's the bureaucrats who decide how the laws will be applied and enforced.
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Old 03-09-2004, 12:38 PM
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I guess the good news in this story is that "aides" don't know everything. The military is at this site, not just "bureaucrats"

This plan and its location is not new but has been an availble option for years. Yes, it is secure.

Bad news is Daschle is a liar. Congressional members are included on the list of people to be evacuated to these sites if necessary.

The Washington Post Should keep their big fat mouths shut!
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Old 03-09-2004, 02:23 PM
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DJ & Murph -

What was it my old mind is recalling now... something about the Greenbriar Estate/Hotel or something? Got all built up for a VIP shelter, and then isn't any more... what all I have no idea... but it made a nice story
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Old 03-18-2004, 11:42 AM
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The Greenbriar was a pretty good thing until the Washington Post broke OPSEC, posted everything it knew about it and cost the taxpayers a few billion dollars because it was unuseable once the Post did it's job of exposing it. In my humble opinion, the Washington Post should have been shut down over that piece of work. I'm all for "Freedom of the Pres" but that does not include disclosing classified information dealing with National Security Issues. This country should have a National Secrets Act like the UK does and we should be sending violators away to the "Leavenworth Hotel" for a nice lengthy vacation making wall lockers, cots, desks and other furnature items for the military services. (Prison Industries)
We should also have a provision in our laws to imprision members of the congress who leak classified information. They should be immediately relieved from their office until an investigation is completed and if found guilty should get the book thrown at them.
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Old 03-18-2004, 01:19 PM
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I'm with that Murph, all the way... if such a thing happened (i.e leaking private info) in the private sector, that man would have a mighty hard time EVER finding suitable employment.

I always thought Greenbriar was a real fine concept...

Best thing is, for sure they went to "Plan B" immediately...
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Old 03-18-2004, 03:13 PM
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Joanne got real pissed off when she found out that if the US was under attack, I was to report for duty in the place that no known weapons could penetrate. Produced it's own power, had it's own water and waste treatment plant and enough food for everyone to last for a long while. Only went on alert once but our "government" was there and operating during that alert. Came out three days later. The alert was only a practice but that didn't appease Joanne.
I understand the place is closed now. Yeh, right!
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Old 03-18-2004, 03:50 PM
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Shoot Stick, quite a point you have made...

Dang, Lady Carol WOULD have mighty serious eyebrows raised (to say THE least) if I were to say to her, "Hon, I gotta go to Greenbriar for how long I have no idea, and where it is I cannot tell ye."

Whoa... that would NOT go over well...
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