[Maximilian]

Max, you've joined the tinfoilers, and the Jersey Girls, in thinking that we should have been able to scramble aircraft on 9/11, when, in fact, nobody knew what was happening.

Wait a second. Isn't our national defense system supposed to be able to scramble a plane within 5 - 10 minutes anytime a plane is hijacked for any reason? Shouldn't all 4 of those planes have had fighter escorts long before they reached their targets? We didn't need to know that it was Islamic fanatics on board. (But in fact we did. The airlines had the names available before they hit the WTC.) Just the fact that the planes were hijacked should have sent the system into action immediately. Where was our defense when we were actually under attack?

[Skywarner]

:Isn't our national defense system supposed to be able to scramble a plane within 5 - 10 minutes anytime a plane is hijacked for any reason?"

Do you also have an official source for this one?? I am still waiting for your official source in regards to your previous statement that no air cover was in the air for several hours after the 9/11 attacks...

Again, I ask you, were those two F-16's on afterburner that I saw peeling overhead that morning at about 9:20am just a figment of my imagination? Your earlier statement infers that they were.

This exchange is beginning to grow tiresome - I can smell some ZOT! in the air. ;-)

[sinkspur]

Isn't our national defense system supposed to be able to scramble a plane within 5 - 10 minutes anytime a plane is hijacked for any reason? Shouldn't all 4 of those planes have had fighter escorts long before they reached their targets?

No, and no.

Just the fact that the planes were hijacked should have sent the system into action immediately. Where was our defense when we were actually under attack?

Nobody knew we were under "attack".

The Jersey Girls would love to have you on their side.

You'll be lonely over there, however, with their hysterics.

Calm down, and stop looking at 9/11 with 9/12 eyes.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Before you make such outlandish assumptions and take the liberty of stating them as facts, it would be helpful if you knew something about what you are talking about beforehand.

To begin with, there was no protocol for the Air force to immediately scramble fighters in the event of a Civilian Aircraft hijacking. The only protocol in place at the time was that fighters give escort to Government transport aircraft like Air force One, etc...

There was also, no indication that terrorists were planning on crashing the aircraft into the Twin Towers. By the time the Air force was ordered to scramble, the towers were already hit and it was after the fact.

Lastly, here you go again trying to stir up your usual hyperbole, as if you have a need to go against the grain. In my Military years, we had a way of dealing with people like you. We called it a "blanket" party. Looks like you need one of those.......

[M1Tanker]

Though I am a ground pounder, I seem to recall the USAF funding for ready interceptors cut and regulations put in place restricting their use in the late 90s. This caused an uproar in the armed forces, but was silenced with a few forced retirements and such.

As it was, the USAF/ANG took unarmed planes and loaded them up and launched them in record time. It was mistake from the previous administration to take down the interceptor flights (no Cold War you know..bad PR to have fighters ready to go) and create confusing rules of engagement for the pilots. These mistakes were corrected, but if we all had forsight as well as we have hindsight, we would have read the signs that said "the Japanese will attack Pearl Harbor at x time, in y formation with z number of planes" and we would have arrayed our aircraft and ships differently.