Formal interagency coordination is managed at the National Security Council (NSC), which also sponsors a number of interagency working groups on certain terrorism matters. The directive was primarily focused on crisis response to terrorist incidents abroad. The strategy consists of three main elements: (1) reduce vulnerabilities and prevent and deter terrorist acts before they occur; (2) respond to terrorist acts that do occur—crisis management—and apprehend and punish terrorists; and (3) manage the consequences of terrorist acts, including restoration of capabilities to protect public health and safety, essential government services, and emergency relief. The strategy incorporates the need to deal with terrorist’s use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) with nuclear, chemical, and biological substances across the three main elements. For crisis management, the PDD also discusses interagency, multidisciplinary Domestic and Foreign Emergency Support Teams, DEST and FEST. Key Federal Agencies Involved in Combating Terrorism

Many intelligence, policy-making, law enforcement, defense, and regulatory agencies are involved in implementing the national policy to combat terrorism. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to review U.S. efforts to combat terrorism by specifically looking at programs and activities to (1) prevent and deter terrorism; (2) respond to terrorist threats or incidents; and (3) manage the consequences of a terrorist act, especially involving weapons of mass destruction. Intelligence Agency Cooperation

To enhance the processing, analyzing, and distributing of intelligence information, more than 40 federal agencies, bureaus, and offices have joined the Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism  (see table 2.1). The intelligence community disseminates threat warnings through various channels. These teams can provide special training or assistance to plan or implement a drawdown or evacuate post personnel. Interagency tabletop exercises are conducted under the Interagency Terrorism Response Awareness Program. For a terrorist incident, PDD 39 directs FEMA to (1) appoint an officer to direct the federal consequence management response, (2) issue and track the status of consequence management actions assigned to federal agencies, (3) establish the primary federal operations centers, (4) establish the primary federal centers for information, (5) designate appropriate liaisons, (6) determine when consequences are imminent that warrant consultations with the White House and governor’s office, (7) consult with the White House and governor’s office, and (8) coordinate the federal consequence management response with the lead state and local consequence management agencies. The President and Congress have tasked FEMA and other agencies to assess the capabilities of state and local authorities to respond to terrorist incidents.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed U.S. efforts to combat terrorism, focusing on federal agencies' programs and activities to: (1) prevent and deter terrorism; (2) respond to terrorist threats and incidents; and (3) manage the consequences of a terrorist act, especially involving weapons of mass destruction.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) under sponsorship of the National Security Council (NSC), various interagency groups have been formed to coordinate the efforts of the more than 40 federal agencies, bureaus, and offices that combat terrorism; (2) the intelligence community also has an Interagency Intelligence Committee on Terrorism; (3) these interagency groups and committees meet to coordinate policy, plan interagency activities, share intelligence and other information, and coordinate responses to certain crises; (4) many programs and activities have been developed or used to carry out the three elements of the U.S. strategy for combatting terrorism; (5) key federal efforts to prevent and deter terrorist acts include gathering, sharing, and disseminating intelligence information on terrorist threats and keeping foreign terrorists and materials from entering the United States; (6) federal efforts to respond to terrorist incidents and to manage the consequences of terrorist incidents include designating lead agencies for crisis response, establishing interagency quick-reaction support teams, creating special operating teams or units, developing contingency plans, and conducting interagency or single agency training and exercises; (7) for both crisis management and consequence management, federal efforts include special teams and units to deal with weapons of mass destruction, whether they are nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons; and (8) federal agencies are also involved in programs to assess the capabilities of state and local jurisdictions to immediately respond to and manage the consequences of domestic terrorist incidents involving weapons of mass destruction and provide them training and assistance.