The White House Situation Room — a space of great mystique and even greater secrecy — just got a $50 million facelift.
monitored the 2019 operation that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Where President Lyndon Johnson went over Vietnam War plans.The White House opened the classified space to a group of reporters this week for a rare visit to check out the new look. President Access is tightly controlled and generally restricted to the president’s national security and military advisers. Anyone listening in on classified briefings needs clearance. Even the contractors working on the renovation had to get temporary security clearances. Illuminated signs flash green for declassified and red for classified.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the White House did a significant Situation Room update, along with a broader upgrade to presidential communications on Air Force One and the presidential helicopter. Presidents used the complex for secure video conferences before such tech became more portable. The last renovation was in 2007.
Gustafson said the goal is to never need a complete gut renovation again. The new space was designed so panels can be removed and updated and new technology swapped in, usually with less space needs. A room once taken up by computer servers has become a smaller conference room. That took place around the corner from the JFK room in a smaller conference room that no longer exists. It’s been cut out entirely from the space and sent off to Obama’s presidential library, Gustafson said. In its place are two smaller rooms.
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