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terrorism preparedness. In the area of planning, for Kasprisin, Kenneth S. “Impact of Terrorism on District of
example, FEMA published, in cooperation with the Columbia.” FDCH Congressional Testimony, November
FBI and other key agencies, the 2001 U.S. Govern- 2, 2001.
ment Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Ward, Richard H., and Cindy S. Moors, eds. Terrorism and
the New World Disorder. Chicago: Office of Inter-
Operations Plan (CONPLAN). CONPLAN outlines a
national Criminal Justice, University of Chicago, 1998.
federal strategy and an interagency coordination and
Waugh, William L. Terrorism and Emergency Manage-
management structure in anticipation of or following a
ment: Policy and Administration. New York: Marcel
domestic terrorist threat, particularly one involving
Dekker, 1990.
weapons of mass destruction. FEMA created the Rapid
Response Information System, a database that contains
an inventory of key federal assets available for state
and local disaster response efforts. FEMA also parti- FEMA. See FEDERAL EMERGENCY
cipates in interagency activities that provide security MANAGEMENT AGENCY.
and the appropriate level of preparedness at important
events that may be targeted by terrorists, such as inter-
national conferences or the Olympic Games. 15 MAY ORGANIZATION
FEMA develops, delivers, and financially supports
terrorism-related courses for state and local emer-
gency management personnel and first-responders, The now defunct 15 May Organization, an
particularly fire specialists. Many of the training exer- Iraqi-based Palestinian terrorist group, was led by
cises FEMA teaches are simulations of realistic crisis Muhammad al-Umari, aka Abu Ibrahim or “the bomb
scenarios, such as No-Notice Exercise Top Officials man.” It became known for carrying out several high-
(TOPOFF) 2000, a training mission that included two profile airplane bombings during the 1980s, often
concurrent scenarios of a chemical attack in a metro- recruiting couriers to plant nitroglycerin or dynamite
politan area on the East Coast followed by a biologi- beneath jetliner passenger cushions.
cal attack in the Midwest. Future training scenarios The 15 May Organization first came together in
will include lessons learned from actual terrorist 1979, splintering from Wadi Haddad’s Popular Front
attacks, such as the possibility of loss of senior staff for the Liberation of Palestine–Special Operations
immediately prior to or during a disaster. Group. It was always a small group, only garnering
To enhance coordination of all federal programs 50 to 60 members in its heyday. The 15 May Organ-
dealing with weapons of mass destruction conse- ization, named for the day that the state of Israel
quence management, FEMA set up the Office of came into existence, was never part of the Palestine
National Preparedness (ONP) in May 2001 at its head- Liberation Organization (PLO), according to the U.S.
quarters and added an ONP element to each regional State Department. The group was based in Baghdad
office. FEMA’s director is a member of the Office of and operated in the Middle East, Europe, and East
Homeland Security. Asia before disbanding. Iraq provided the 15 May
Organization with logistic and financial support, as
See also BUREAU OF ALCOHOL,TOBACCO AND FIREARMS;
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION; HOMELAND SECURITY, well as a safe haven.
OFFICE OF; OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING; SEPTEMBER 11 The group became infamous for many bombings
ATTACKS; WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBING (1993) during the 1980s, beginning with a hotel bombing in
London in 1980, attacks on the airline El Al’s Rome
Further Reading and Istanbul offices, and attacks on the Israeli
embassies in Athens and Vienna during the following
Allbaugh, Joe M. “Terrorism Preparedness.” FDCH year. The 15 May Organization is perhaps best known
Congressional Testimony, May 9, 2001.
Baughman, Bruce. “A Review of Federal Bioterrorism Pre- for its attack on a Pan Am jet flying from Tokyo to
paredness Programs From a Public Health Perspective.” Honolulu on August 11, 1982 in which 15 May oper-
FDCH Congressional Testimony, October 10, 2001. atives planted a bomb on board and the resulting blast
Decker, Raymond J. “FEMA Continues to Make Progress killed a Japanese teenager and wounded more than a
in Coordinating Preparedness and Response.” FDCH dozen other passengers. In 1988, Greek authorities
Government Accounts Report, April 4, 2001. arrested top 15 May operative Mohammad Rashid