After spending a lot of money on renovation, how has the White House Situation Room transformed?

The White House Situation Room (WHSR) was established in 1961 in the basement of the West Wing of the White House.

Movies and spy novels depict the WHSR as the only place where US presidents meet with their aides to make top-secret decisions about a crisis. In reality, it is a suite of rooms that White House officials claim is "the most secure in the world ."

The Situation Room was last upgraded in 2006, before being closed for a year for a $50 million overhaul. The overhaul paid special attention to sophisticated communications equipment and technology to prevent eavesdropping by America's adversaries.

The White House Situation Room was recently overhauled by President Joe Biden. Photo: Reuters

"Walking into the newly renovated Situation Room is like stepping into the set of a Hollywood horror movie," The New York Times commented after reporters toured the room midweek.

In the windowless basement, one floor above the Oval Office, the US president's oversized swivel chair faces three large screens that can "monitor secret operations around the world".

There are also clocks inside the Situation Room that display real-time in cities around the world, including Teheran, Iran, and Kiev, Ukraine, so aides always know the time no matter where the US president is.

The walls of the WHSR are lined with precious woods, concealing what White House officials describe as the most sophisticated technology in the US arsenal to keep the room secure.

The main conference table in the newly renovated White House Situation Room, also known as the John F. Kennedy Room. Photo: Reuters

It was the intelligence arms race that led President Biden to approve the Situation Room upgrade.

In fact, computer monitors and servers that seemed modern in 2006—a year before the iPhone was announced—are now old and outdated. Signal blocking technology needs to be modernized in an era of high-tech competition with China and Russia.

“You have to constantly upgrade to keep up with foreign competitors. The overhaul has brought the Situation Room to the highest standard today,” said Marc Gustafson, the top official in charge of the WHSR overhaul.

President Joe Biden cut the ribbon and held the first meeting in the new Situation Room on September 5, 2023, just two days before departing for a trip to India and Vietnam.

US President Joe Biden cuts the ribbon to inaugurate the newly renovated White House Situation Room on September 5, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Supervisory Floor

The brain of the Situation Room is the largest room here, called the Watch Floor. This room's walls are mounted with a series of large flat screens, on which a lot of data is displayed, such as videos, social networks, maps and intelligence reports from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Department of Defense ... as well as news reports from many major media agencies.

In the room there are 3 rows of desks, which are the workplace of 17 officials from government agencies, military, intelligence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Ministry of Homeland Security...

The day shift runs from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by the night shift. These people are responsible for alerting the president and his staff to any crisis that may arise. If North Korea launches a missile in the middle of the night, it is the Watchdog Level that wakes (usually) the president’s national security adviser.

The Surveillance Level also provides security for incoming and outgoing calls to the White House.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su-quoc-te/duoc-chi-dam-de-cai-tao-phong-tinh-huong-nha-trang-lot-xac-ra-sao-2023090910040277.htm