Reply #16: All branches of government evacuated. The President is not informed?

[Nordic65]

(Sorry for reposting my own post from another tread)

RED ALERT (it doesn't go any higher than that) - The White House (including his wife for some 30 odd years and the mother of his children), The Capitol (both houses of Congress) and The Supreme Court are evacuated. All the Principals (except those at The Pentagon) are sent on their way to secure locations (even house minority leader Pelosi), and the President of The United States is not informed?

Aside for the fact that he, the President, was not in any personal danger, RED ALERT is an indication that somehow, some were, somebody actually felt that the present situation warranted a response akin to a big, fucking imminent terrorist attack on Washington DC. But he was not informed.

One possible answer is a temporary loss of communication between The White House and the President riding his bicycle (not very likely). Another, maybe more plausible, is a very bad call on the part of his entourage, to not inform the President.

Both options are equally disturbing for one fact, and one fact only - a whopping lack of chain of command. There is, in no way possible, that all options of response to this perceived threat excluded the involvement of the President. It's simply not believable. But still, he was not informed.

As it turned out, there was no danger. But who could have known? Once the really big, red, "expect the worst", alarm-button was activated, all options was laid on the table. And, as 9-11 showed, time is the single most important ting that you cannot waste in a situation like that.

Nobody, but nobody, knew for sure that this was a false alarm until the "All clear" was declared after some 10 - 15 minutes. By that time downtown DC could have been reduced to nothing more than a piece of rubble. Sure, there must have been standard operating procedures in place to allow action without the Presidents consent in such emergencies. But even so, to not inform him as soon as possibly, seems to me, like a total breakdown of the concept of responsibility.

One might ask; Why even bother to have a President if you don't even care to inform him of a possible imminent terrorist attack against his own residence?

Another valid question to ask is; What, if anything, warrants the attention of the President of The United States? Facing, in lieu of 9-11, a perceived clear and present danger to Washington DC, including all the major institutions of government, and you let him cycle on into the sunset as if nothing matters.

Who is this guy?