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It was somewhat shocking to watch the level of confusion in terms of what was going on, but when you see what information that they were dealing with, it makes sense.

I have not seen the film yet, but intend to as soon as I can (and I actually plan to pay for this one, not just "get it through other means...").

However, on this topic I actually have some personal experience to bring to the discussion. I drove an ambulance for a living in the mid 70s (professionally) as well as working in various volunteer emergency services capacities in the 60s, 70s and early 80s. A shocking level of confusion is 100% normal. It's why the jobs are hard and why these people train so hard. And, from what I understand, they did an amazing job. They figured out what was going on in minutes, given very incomplete and contradictory data, and then did yeoman's work getting the moribund defenses of this country (thanks to Bill Clinton and his traitorous minions) involved and moving against an impossible threat.

The term "soft target" isn't random or meaningless. We were not geared up for such an event because, as a free society, we could not be and still remain a free society. Given that, these people "done good." It's easy to look back and ask "why didn't they know what was happening?" We must push back hard against that notion every time it is raised.

One of the most interesting things I found out about this film this week is that the majority of the people in this film representing the FAA and NORAD folks who were on duty are being played by the real people themselves, reliving the experience as best as they can remember it. That strikes me as incredibly significant.

I'll be interested to hear what you think about the film. I believe that the possibility of taking focused, effective action decreases by the square of the number of people involved.

Anytime you have a committee or a beaurocracy involved, there are just too many points of view, each with a different life experience and often different set of facts. Achieving consensus becomes almost impossible esp when they are all worried about the second-guessers and Monday morning quarterbacks.

A single person, or small closely matched group can make decisions and act according to real-time data. That is one advantages that the terrorists have as they go about trying to beat our defenses. And the element of surprise and confusion helps significantly too.

At the lowest level, it is individuals and small bands of individuals that make the difference in many cases. And large warheads and planes to drop them from.

I look forward to your thoughts on the film.