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WAR ON TERROR
With 'war room,' Thompson hopes to show he's prepared
Command center at the ready in event of bioterror attack
By KATHERINE M. SKIBA [email protected], Journal Sentinel
Wednesday, December 4, 2002
Washington -- Unofficially, it's Tommy G. Thompson's "war room" - - 5,600 square feet at the Health and Human Services Department outfitted with the latest in communications gadgets and gizmos.
An anthrax attack? Smallpox? Botulism?
If doomsday happens, the cabinet secretary's command center will kick into high gear, allowing him to assess the scope of the problem and rush in resources.
"I want America to know that we are prepared," Thompson said Tuesday, showing off a 7-by-24-foot video wall and nine 60-inch plasma screens.
Computers, Avaya telephones (with Web access), a huge Hewlett- Packard printer -- these and other communications devices also are at his disposal.
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