9-11/Air Defence

 "Accident"
9-11/Air Defence (Cover up)

Date	2001-09-11
Perpetrators	NEADS, US Military
Interest of	Jochen Scholz
Description	46 mock hijack exercises were ongoing on the morning of September 11th and planes were unavailable, contributing to an unprecedented failure. Norman Mineta's testimony to the 9/11 Commission (simply ignored in their final report), implying a direct stand down order, would seem to explain the total failure of air defence around the Pentagon. Although standard operating procedure was not followed, those responsible were promoted rather than disciplined after the event.

US airspace defence on 9-11 was effectively stood down by a combination of drills, procedure changes and absenteeism.

Air defense mission

The air defense of a country is meant to be able intervene at all times when a critical situation in the airspace does occur.
From the earliest archive of NORADs "about-us" page on it's mission:

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a binational United States and Canadian organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America. Aerospace warning includes the monitoring of man-made objects in space, and the detection, validation, and warning of attack against North America whether by aircraft, missiles, or space vehicles, utilizing mutual support arrangements with other commands. Aerospace control includes ensuring air sovereignty and air defense of the airspace of Canada and the United States.

NORAD’s aerospace control mission includes detecting and responding to any air-breathing threat to North America. To accomplish this mission, NORAD utilizes a network of ground-based radars and fighters to detect, intercept and if necessary engage any air-breathing threat to the continent. These fighters consist of U.S. F-15s and F-16s and Canadian CF-18s. As a part of its aerospace control mission, NORAD assists in the detection and monitoring of aircraft suspected of illegal drug trafficking. This information is passed to civilian law enforcement agencies to help combat the flow of illegal drugs into North America.

It is beyond suspect, that drills should have intervened with systems and established processes in such a way, that it was not possible for the interceptors to reach the planes that went of course. The North American Air Defense was built up over decades by the best minds from the officers corps of the United States and Canada; so why should a system that is thought out like this not function on any particular day? Manipulation with intent is the better explanation here.

“The attacks against the twin towers started at 8:45 a.m. and four flights are diverted from their assigned air space and no air traffic controller sounds the alarm. And no Air Force jets scramble until 10 a.m. That also smacks of a small scale Air Force rebellion, a coup against the Pentagon perhaps? Radars are jammed, transponders fail. No IFF — friend or foe identification — challenge.”
Arnaud de Borchgrave,  Hamid Gul (September 26 2001) 

Change of Procedure

Mineta hints Dick Cheney knew about the incoming flight! What were the orders? If it was for a shoot down, why weren't the Pentagon, Capitol building and White House evacuated... What if the orders were to let the incoming aircraft hit? But, questions remain is Mineta was even there in the bunker. Why would Mineta lie.... what did Cheney do...?

ISGP questions

JVDH of ISGP had the following questions regarding the intercepting or failure to;

“According to mainstream information, QRA intercepts happened at a rate of almost 400 times per year in the early 1990s. After the reduction to 7 sites, each with two jets, in the late 1990s, they still occurred roughly twice per week right up to 9/11. What are the details of these intercepts with regard to protocol/chain of command and reaction time?

Who exactly was responsible for the failure to redirect QRA jets, normally aimed at planes coming in from overseas, toward threats emerging from over the mainland?

Why were no QRA jets available at Andrews Air Force Base, right next to the nation's capital, a primary target for every terrorist in the world? Terrorists of various convictions have tried to target the White House and other buildings with airliners and small airplanes since at least 1974. What message does it send to world when the world's greatest superpower leaves its capital without air cover?

NORAD's Langley interceptors accidentally flew east over the ocean while they should have been heading to the north-west, towards Washington, D.C. This was standard operating procedure when pilots were scrambled but not provided with a target. How could this mistake happen, as any commander at any level should be aware of this basic procedure? Who is responsible?

Why weren't the pilots of the Langley jets provided with information on their target? Who is responsible for that?”
JVDH,  ISGP (2015) 

The procedures to intercept airliners that went off-course were changed by the Bush administration in the run up to 9/11, to require personal authorization (most likely from Dick Cheney himself).

Mineta's Testimony

Norman Mineta's testimony to the 9/11 Commission is well worth a listen, especially as regards the total lack of air defence around the Pentagon.

Simultaneous Exercises

Full article: 9-11/Drills

As Michael Ruppert and Webster Tarpley have documented, on the day of 9/11, multiple exercises were ongoing on September 11, 2001, perhaps more than on any day before or since, including Operation Northern Vigilance, Operation Vigilant Guardian, Operation Northern guardian' and Operation Vigilant Warrior. Some of which involved the simulated hijacking of airliners, some of which involved the flying of many fighter aircraft far away from their normal locations on the East Coast of US.

 

Related Documents

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:Norad-911-Jochen Scholz	interview	30 January 2011	Jochen Scholz	Excerpted from a NuoViso interview with Lieutenant-Colonel Jochen Scholz of the German air force on 911 and the war on terror.
File:AdamMinetaClarkePaper.pdf	report	2006	Adam Letalik	Norman Mineta and Richard Clarke Contradict the 9/11 Commission Report
File:The mineta testimony.pdf	report	2005	Gregor Holland	9/11 Commission Report - one year later ... The Mineta Testimony: 9/11 Commission Exposed

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