Military's decision to shut down NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain foolish + short-sighted

RFFM.org ^ | July 29, 2006 | Daniel T. Zanoza

[Daniel T. Zanoza]

Anyone over the age of twenty has scratched their heads regarding some actions taken by the United States government during their lifetime. A recent report published in the Denver Post, ["Military to put Cheyenne Mountain on standby" dated 07.27.06 http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_4103478] is another one of those times. The U.S. military has decided, for lack of better words, to decommission NORAD's (North American Aerospace Defense Command) Cheyenne Mountain facility. The site was part of a global wide early warning system which had the potential to track inbound nuclear threats to the North American continent during the Cold War. Construction of the Cheyenne facility, which is set deep inside a mountain southwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was completed in 1962 at what was then a staggering cost of $142 million.

NORAD technicians would monitor giant screens, surrounded by the best in high-tech electronics, in an effort to protect Canada and the United States from a nuclear sneak attack. The base was considered one of the most impregnable military fortresses in world history, but government officials have decided to put Cheyenne Mountain on what they call "standby status." Confused? I am. With all the threats America may face in the 21st century, this seems hardly the time to take a step backwards when it comes to making sure Americans are secure. I fully understand, at the present moment, it does not appear the Russians will be launching any full-scale nuclear attacks against the U.S. And, since the Chinese have now become one of America's best trading partners, although most of that trade is to the disadvantage of American workers, a Chinese nuclear strike does not seem likely either. But anyone who studies history should know world politics can change in the blink of an eye.

Let's look at Russia, for example. Russian President Vladimir Putin seems determined to take that nation back to its totalitarian era. This descendant of the KGB is said to long for the days when the former Soviet Union held super power status. The generals in the Russian military also would like to see the country regain its place as one of the world's great military powers. Anyone watching the situation in the former Soviet Union could hardly say the country is rushing towards full-blown democracy. Indeed, all signals point to the opposite.

If that threat were not enough, the Chinese government's aspirations may be even more sinister. Though our military leaders in Washington, D.C. may have forgotten, China is still a Communist nation, populated by 1.3 billion people, who see Mao Tse Tung as a hero and not the murdering butcher he was.

Then, there is the debate over the small island nation of Taiwan. America has a treaty to defend that bastion of liberty which sits just miles from the Chinese mainland--a China that has sworn to reunite its country by bringing Taiwan under its Communist control. In less than a day, the U.S. military could find itself face to face with the prospect of Armageddon.

Now, I haven't mentioned the "crazy man" in North Korea or the millions of Islamic fascists who would love to destroy an American city or two, but they don't have the capability to put a thermo-nuclear device atop an ICBM (inter-continental ballistic missile) and deliver it to a U.S. doorstep. However, the Russian and Chinese threats are still very real and dangerous and should be considered as such.

It is said those who forget history are likely to repeat it. Thankfully, Americans do not have to remember a nuclear war. One of the reasons that image was not seared into the minds of our nation's people by a fireball hotter than the Sun, in part, was due to the fact the people in Cheyenne Mountain were there 24/7 in the effort to protect us. Now it will only take millions upon millions of dollars to shift NORAD's personnel and equipment to close by Peterson Air Force Base. And when the Chinese are threatening Taiwan, I suppose it'll take the same tens of millions of dollars to get Cheyenne Mountain up and running again and off "standby status." Apparently, military officials are gambling we will have the luxury of time--if we need to prepare for the unthinkable.

[ncountylee]

The Chinese, no doubt, are very pleased.

[JennysCool]

Cheyenne Mountain would never have been shut down unless there was already something generations ahead completed and in operation. And quite secret.

This is like when a hitherto shrouded-in-secrecy aircraft is finally unveiled -- which means the engineers long ago moved onto something even more eye-popping.

[loreldan]

Weeellllll, we're going to need those funds to give incentive to Hezbollah/Lebanon to sign up to a "ceasefire". Forgive my cynicism; I'm in a bad mood.

[RightWhale]

Cheyenne Mountain is no longer needed.

[travelagent]

I so agrre with you...No way they shut it down without a new state of the art facility. Because they have this (and it should be secret) they have closed it.

just my opinion..

[Little Ray]

Nah. The Stargate project just needs more room...