President George W. Bush's administration will brief president-elect Barack Obama and his team on contingency plans in case of an international crisis after his inauguration, the White House said Wednesday.
"We want to provide them, especially in the first few weeks, the basis for which they can have some information to make their decisions," said spokesman Gordon Johndroe. "This is a menu of contingencies and possible options. It is not exhaustive, it's not exclusive, and it's not prescriptive."
Johndroe confirmed a report in The New York Times that memorandums to Obama will cover several crisis scenarios including a North Korean nuclear explosion, a cyberattack on US computer systems, a terrorist strike on a US site overseas, or instability in the Middle East.
Each contingency plan outlines options Obama can consider.
Johndroe also said the administration is working to "make sure career officials are in place and ready to respond to a crisis should one occur early on in the next administration before appointees are in place."
The plans were recommended by the commission that investigated the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The commission noted problems during the hand over from former president Bill Clinton to Bush, and in its report on the attacks called for a better handover process.
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