HOW SECURE ARE WE? L.A. STILL NOT SET FOR TERROR ATTACK.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Despite racking up a $786 million tab for homeland security since Sept. 11, 2001, serious questions remain about just how well-prepared authorities are to prevent or respond to an attack in Los Angeles County, according to audits and interviews with counterterrorism experts.

Most of the money has yet to be spent and officials complain that the federal government has been slow to fund programs that would improve security.

But strides have been made and Los Angeles, as a place that often faces natural disasters, benefits from skilled police, firefighters and other emergency workers.

Anti-terrorist efforts have also improved, with the FBI reporting it has twice as many agents working counterterrorism in the area as it did two years ago, as well as 30 CIA analysts in the county working to prevent terrorist attacks. Statewide, the FBI has 1,500 agents available.

``We have hardened up America as a target substantially, but that does not mean the threat has diminished,'' said FBI Agent Matthew McLaughlin.

``The threat still exists and people need to remain vigilant, aware of their surroundings and communicative with law enforcement because we are in this fight together.''

The city of Los Angeles has spent $138 million to boost security since the attacks and has developed plans to spend $148 million more.

The federal government recently provided Los Angeles International Airport with a $256 million grant to pay for the installation of a new baggage check-in system that will prevent long lines of people that could be potential terrorist targets.

The airport has already spent $90 million since the attacks for security and related improvements. Mayor James Hahn also has a controversial $9.1 billion plan in the works for LAX that he says would further improve passenger safety.

Los Angeles port security is higher than ever under the vigilance of the U.S. Coast Guard and Port Security as they continue to patrol and inspect incoming ships.

County government has spent $10 million of its general fund to provide security at county facilities and has already spent a portion of $144 million in federal grants for training, the purchase of protective gear and decontamination facilities and to hire extra homeland security workers.

Out of approximately 9,000 smallpox vaccination doses it received, the county public health department has administered vaccinations to 243 health workers, including 75 public health rapid-response team members.

``We've vaccinated fewer people than expected, but that's true nationally, and the response has certainly been far short of what the (Centers for Disease Control) had expected,'' Public Health Officer Dr. Jonathan Fielding said.

``I think it's essential we have enough workers vaccinated for our rapid-response teams. But I think it's most important that hospitals have a plan to mobilize and undertake vaccinations in the event it becomes necessary.''

McLaughlin said counterterrorism experts learned a great deal about terrorists' plans to conduct more attacks after the war in Afghanistan.

``We ended up deporting people when it became clear that they intended to commit further terrorist attacks in the United States,'' McLaughlin said.

Despite these obvious efforts to ensure the public's safety - and other behind-the-scenes programs - many still question how safe residents are.

In June, city leaders from around the nation told Congress that Los Angeles and other U.S. cities are only marginally more prepared for a terrorist attack than they were on Sept. 11, 2001.

Los Angeles Councilman Jack Weiss, a former assistant U.S. attorney and the council's point man on urban anti-terrorism efforts, said the city has up to $150 million in immediate homeland security needs, but has received only $40 million to $50 million from the federal government.

County officials have also complained that they have only received a portion of the promised funds.

``The city of Los Angeles is better-prepared, but much remains to be done,'' Weiss said. ``And without meaningful leadership from the federal government, it will be very difficult to make our major cities more secure.

``Many people forget that it took the Bush administration almost a year to realize that the Department of Homeland Security was a good idea. They resisted it at first. They are still resisting funding it in a substantial way and they have made it very difficult for cities to get reimbursement for necessary homeland security issues.''

As the two-year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon arrives Thursday, counterterrorism experts say the date is significant because past trends have shown that terrorists use anniversaries to carry out additional attacks.

Experts are now concerned that terrorists could zero in on infrastructure targets that are so vital that their incapacity or destruction would have a debilitating impact on the defense or economic security of the United States.

These include telecommunications, electrical power systems, gas and oil storage and transportation, banking and finance, transportation facilities, water supply systems, emergency services including medical, police, fire and rescue, and continuity of government.

``Since we have increased security at the airport, they may not go after the airport,'' said Elsa Lee, president and principal consultant of Advantage SCI, a homeland security and corporate security company in Redondo Beach.

``I think the targets that are going to be priorities for them are critical infrastructure, like communication companies, transportation systems and ports - anything that involves travel by land, sea and air.''

Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it remains concerned about al-Qaida's continued efforts to plan multiple attacks against the United States and its interests overseas, including commercial aircraft hijackings and attacks on critical infrastructure targets.

``Arrests over the past several months of key al-Qaida members around the world may have delayed or even disrupted some plans,'' Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said. ``Al-Qaida's primary intent is to conduct synchronized attacks against U.S. interests.''

Recent state and federal audits call into question the government's readiness to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.

A California audit released last month found the Governor's Office of Emergency Services has not ensured that state and local agencies are conducting terrorism readiness exercises and the state's 21,000 National Guard troops are not properly trained to respond to terrorist missions.

``With the exception of federally or state-mandated exercises associated with nuclear power plants and hospitals, the state does not presently have an established program to provide exercises to ensure that state agencies are prepared to respond to terrorist events,'' state Auditor Elaine M. Howle wrote.

In another state audit last month, Howle found the Office of Emergency Services, which coordinates responses to disasters and terrorist attacks with county emergency operation centers, does not regularly evaluate and update its emergency plan.

Howle said the office has not always identified the training its staff in the state and regional emergency centers need to do their jobs and the office needs to clarify its role in relation to the state's Office of Homeland Security to ensure that clear lines of authority exist.

``Similarly, OES does not enter key data into the Request Information Management System - a computer system it uses to track resource requests - that would allow it to determine whether resources that OES has asked for arrive at emergencies in a timely manner.

``Also, OES has had difficulty in acquiring and maintaining emergency response equipment due to what it asserts is inadequate funding, resulting in 26 percent of its fire engines exceeding their useful lives and other legislatively mandated equipment - heavy urban search and rescue vehicles and thermal imaging equipment - not being purchased.''

Sheriff Lee Baca, who chairs the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center and is the mutual-aid director for the county's emergency operations center, said he is prepared to direct resources in the event of a terrorist attack. He also said cooperative agreements between various law enforcement agencies to share information puts them in a much better position to prevent attacks.

Interagency partnerships have been formed between the district attorney, sheriff, FBI, California Highway Patrol, Secret Service, CIA and Coast Guard.

The county's Terrorism Early Warning group analyzes intelligence information and works closely with anti-terrorism operations at all levels of government. Terrorism liaison officers have been designated at every local law enforcement agency and sheriff's station in the county.

``From a national point of view, we are light years ahead of where we were on Sept. 11, relative to information sharing,'' Baca said.

``Our Terrorism Early Warning group is working diligently to harden targets and give us the proper skills between fire, police and medical that we need.''

Baca has lost $170 million in funds due to budget cuts in the last 18 months along with 1,100 personnel due to to attrition.

Weiss said the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multiagency group created to share intelligence between federal and local agencies, has been a key component in creating a better intelligence-sharing community.

Weiss said two major multiagency training exercises in the past year and another planned this week have helped properly train government workers.

``But this is just dipping your toe in the water for being prepared for a weapon of mass destruction.''

In terms of a biological terrorist attack, Fielding said he's been told that his agency is among the best-prepared in the nation. He's spent millions of dollars to renovate lab equipment and increase staff to be able to perform tests more quickly and strengthen surveillance systems and information sharing between hospitals and his office.

``If there is a case of anthrax or plague, as soon as a hospital finds out about it in their lab, we get that report, too,'' Fielding said. ``We have many people with two-way pagers, cell phones, shortwave systems and a system that automatically notifies people via fax, phone, pager and a variety of means until it reaches somebody.''

Thanks to the county's history of earthquakes, fires, floods and riots, Lee, the security consultant, said the county is one of the most prepared in the nation.

``I don't think I can answer whether they are 100 percent prepared,'' Lee said.

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com