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City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan
<br />Part I Basic Plan
<br />2.4.2 Weapon of Mass Destruction/Terrorism
<br />Terrorism is defined as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a
<br />government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
<br />Terrorism is not an ideology; it is a strategy used by individuals or groups to achieve their political goals. No areas
<br />in our country are truly secure or resistant from either domestic or foreign terrorist agents. Terrorism affects us
<br />through physical injuries, property destruction, economic losses, fear and psychological trauma, and erosion of
<br />faith in government. This is accomplished by creating a mass casualty event and/or causing substantial damage to
<br />critical infrastructure, using Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) devices or agents. In addition to loss of life
<br />and property destruction, a WMD incident in the City of Santa Ana would cause severe disruptions to schools,
<br />businesses, government services and travel within the City, resulting in a severe economic and psychological
<br />impact to the City and region.
<br />Terrorism and WMDs emerged as significant threats in the United States in the 1990's. In February 1993, a truck
<br />bomb was exploded in the parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people, injuring
<br />more than 1,000 and requiring the evacuation of more than 50,000. This bombing was carried out by several non -
<br />US citizens with grievances rooted in the Middle East Palestinian conflict. In April 1995, two US citizens and
<br />former US Army soldiers with grievances against the federal government destroyed the Alfred Murrah Federal
<br />Building in Oklahoma City with a truck bomb, killing 168 people and injuring more than 500 others.
<br />The September 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks on New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in
<br />Washington DC, utilizing hijacked airplanes as weapons, not only established terrorist attacks as a permanent
<br />threat within the United States, but also established that terrorist attacks can rise to the level of disasters, with
<br />casualties and losses equivalent to major earthquakes, tornados or hurricanes. The attack killed almost 3,000
<br />people (including more than 400 firefighters and police officers), injured thousands more, and caused immediate
<br />financial losses and costs over $200 billion dollars. The attacks paralyzed travel, commerce and government
<br />functions in New York City and Washington DC for days; paralyzed air travel throughout North America for
<br />days; and created substantial and permanent new security burdens on airlines and their passengers.
<br />Terrorist Groups and Motivations
<br />The threat of both domestic and international terrorist groups and organizations has substantially increased from
<br />several decades ago. Terrorists espouse a wide range of causes. They can be for or against almost any issue,
<br />religious belief, political position, or group of people of one characteristic or another.
<br />The US Department of Homeland Security reports that Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) such as the Islamic
<br />State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda continue to inspire and encourage followers to conduct attacks against
<br />the West. FTO propaganda encourages attacks against law enforcement and government personnel in the US,
<br />including online publications and video messages calling for individuals to strike police, security, and intelligence
<br />members, as well as their "treacherous agents", in addition to multiple soft targets. These calls for attacks can
<br />motivate Homegrown Violent Extremists (HVE) or FTO-inspired individuals to attempt attacks locally. FTOs
<br />highly encourage followers and potential HVEs to use simple attack tactics such as vehicle ramming, small arms
<br />gunfire, and the use of edged weapons (blades, knives, axes, etc.), which take little to no preparation but can result
<br />in serious injuries or fatalities, especially in places of mass gatherings. Additionally, there are new terrorist tactics
<br />emerging within the United States of individuals who are unaffiliated with a terrorist organization but who act
<br />alone or in small groups, such as the San Bernardino active shooter attack in December 2015.
<br />The US Department of Homeland Security defines Sovereign Citizen Extremists (SCE) as groups or individuals
<br />who facilitate or engage in acts of violence directed at public officials, financial institutions, and government
<br />facilities in support of their belief that the legitimacy of US citizenship should be rejected; that almost all forms
<br />of established government, authority, and institutions are illegitimate; and that they are immune from federal,
<br />state, and local laws. SCEs believe they personally can ignore laws and act according to their own sovereign
<br />citizen ideology. Consequently, when SCEs perceive government representatives directly infringing on their rights
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