The Washington Post reported somewhat breathlessly this week that the White House had organized a shadow government, just in case someone should mount an effective strike on the nation's capital.
The administration has created a couple of command centers for crucial government operations and placed them in hardened secure facilities, presumably in the mountains along the East Coast.
Two things about the story. It's not really new. U.S. News reported it back in October, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer also carried descriptions of the centers, which had been functioning in some way for more than a decade.
Second, I'd be alarmed if we didn't have such an operation under way. The Cold War may be over, but it's obvious we have a lot of enemies, and they'd love to cripple the government. It's not only sensible but essential that we have contingency plans in place.
My only quibble is, the centers reportedly have archaic technical equipment, including clunky old computers.
Surely we can do better than that.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox