|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Counter Terrorist Unit (also referred to as the Counter Terrorism Unit or CTU) is an intelligence organisation in the United States of America which works to investigate and prevent domestic and foreign terrorist acts within American borders. It is an elite branch of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Organization
CTU is based in Washington, D.C. but has several branches across the US. One branch which has possibly responded to the most immediate threats is the CTU Los Angeles which has had to respond to the attempted assasination of Senator David Palmer, a nuclear threat, a deadly virus and the abduction of the Secretary of Defense.
CTU is possibly under the control of the Department of Defense as several of the key CTU staff have often complained about taking orders from the Secretary of Defense.
The structure of the CTU organization consists of several levels with each level generally only working and communicating with the level above and below. The lowest level of CTU are Domestic units which generally are in each city, an example of this is CTU Los Angeles. Above them is Division Command, which oversees all Domestic Units in the area. Next comes District Command, which is responsible for all the Districts in a large area, presumably per state or large sections of the state.
Role
It is assumed that counter-terrorism efforts from other federal agencies have been greatly reduced and given to CTU. It is also assumed that there is a CTU Domestic Unit in every major US City, as well as Divisional and District Field Operations teams to cover less densely populated areas. CTU has basic powers of arrest, but as a federal counter-terrorism agency, many of its operatives show more leeway in how they arrest and question their subjects.
Division
All CTU branches are under the control of Division Command. Ryan Chapelle was the head of one branch of Division until Day 3 when Chapelle was killed. If Division believes that there is a problem inside CTU, they can order a lock-down, which halts all CTU operations.
CIA affiliation
It is not clear who operates CTU, but it has been suggested that it operates under the Central Intelligence Agency, which however seems unlikely because the CIA cannot operate within US borders.
It is possible that in the universe of 24, the law and the CIA's charter were changed at some point to allow them to operate domestically.
In the book, 24: The House Special Subcommittee's Findings at CTU the agency is repeatedly said to be a branch of the CIA. In fact, the book gives a small description of CTU that reads in full:
- Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) - Elite branch of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Counter Terrorist Unit operates domestic counter-terrorism divisional headquarters in major U.S. metropolitan areas. The purview of the CTU is to investigate the activities of domestic or foreign terrorists inside America's borders and to prevent terrorist attacks. CTU divisions are made up of investigative agents, intelligence agents, undercover operatives, crack tactical squads for major raids, and special agents to oversee unit activities. CTU is specifically set up to coordinate activities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department, and the Secret Service as well as local authorities. As a branch of the CIA, CTU operations are overseen by both Congress and the Executive Branch of the federal government.
And in various "24: Declassified" novels, there is a note preceding the story that reads in full:
- After the 1993 World Trade Center attack, a division of the Central Intelligence Agency established a domestic unit tasked with protecting America from the threat of terrorism. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Counter Terrorist Unit established field offices in several American cities. From its inception, CTU faced hostility and skepticism from other federal law enforcement agencies. Despite bureaucratic resistance, within a few years CTU had become a major force. After the war against terror began, a number of early CTU missions were declassified. The following is one of them...
However, it is unknown whether or not any of this is considered canon by the writers and producers of 24.
Domestic Branches of CTU
There are many Domestic Units of the CTU but several have clearly been more active than others. The following is a list of CTU branches seen or heard of on screen:
- CTU Los Angeles: A branch which has averted several large scale terrorist attacks.
- CTU San Francisco: A branch of CTU which found a vial of the Cordilla Virus. (Day 3: 11am-12:00pm)
- CTU New York: A branch of CTU which found a vial of the Cordilla Virus along with the New York Police Department. The vial was attached to a railing but was diffused. (Day 3: 11am-12:00pm)
- CTU Seattle: A branch of CTU which found a vial of the Cordilla Virus. (Conjecture) (Day 3: 11am-12:00pm)
- CTU Las Vegas: A branch of CTU which found a vial of the Cordilla Virus. (Conjecture) (Day 3: 11am-12:00pm)
- CTU Denver: A branch of CTU which secured a vial of the Cordilla Virus. (Conjecture) (Day 3: 11am-12:00pm)
- CTU Phoenix: A branch of CTU which secured a vial of the Cordilla Virus. (Conjecture) (Day 3: 11am-12:00pm)
- CTU Washington: A branch of CTU which found 2 vials of the cordilla virus. (Day 3: 11am-12:00pm) Alberta Green transferred to CTU Washington after the events of Day 1. (The House Special Subcommittee's Findings at CTU)
- CTU Boston: The branch of CTU where Curtis Manning originally worked.
- CTU San Diego: The branch of CTU where Howard Bern was sent to create an alibi after raiding the Chinese Consulate and being identified on surveillance film. (Day 4 2:00am-3:00am)
- CTU New Orleans: The branch of CTU that was contacted in order to check into the sudden disappearance of Robert Ellis, who was murdered during a telephone conversation with David Palmer and Jack Bauer.
For Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver and Phoenix, it is assumed that a Domestic CTU Unit found the vials of the virus but it does not specifically state so and Phoenix is only seen on screen and not spoken. Since these are large US cities, it makes sense that they would have a domestic unit.
See Also
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Day 4
- Domestic CTU Unit
- Los Angeles
- Division
- District
- CIA
- Ryan Chapelle
- Lock-down
- Jack Bauer
- George Mason
- Tony Almeida
- Erin Driscoll
- Michelle Dessler
|
|