How Local Emergency Managers Have Responded to the Paris Terror Attacks

LAS VEGAS—In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris, the nation’s local emergency managers are gathered in a “Paris” ballroom (at the hotel in Las Vegas). While the location was a coincidence, a focus on responding to acts of terrorism is by design.

Al-Qaeda’s quest for “spectacular” attacks on the homeland has morphed into ISIS’ more pragmatic goal: to terrorize by any means possible. And the terrorists who struck Friday in Paris achieved that goal as grief and fear have gripped that city.

Emergency managers are keenly aware of the implications of terrorism and the terror threat, as it is an abiding aspect of their jobs.

Protecting American Soft Targets

Friday’s attacks demonstrated how “soft targets” (those locations where ironclad security is either not feasible or desirable) are in the crosshairs.

As I watched a marathon that brought 45,000 runners and thousands more spectators to Las Vegas, it was clear that the large crowds were similar in many ways to those targeted by terrorists in Paris.

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