Posted on 11/09/2010 8:05:31 AM PST by Gennie
(CBS) A mysterious missile launch off the southern California coast was caught by CBS affiliate KCBS's cameras Monday night, and officials are staying tight-lipped over the nature of the projectile.
CBS station KFMB put in calls to the Navy and Air Force Monday night about the striking launch off the coast of Los Angeles, which was easily visible from the coast, but the military has said nothing about the launch.
KFMB showed video of the apparent missile to former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert Ellsworth, who is also a former Deputy Secretary of Defense, to get his thoughts.
Scroll down for KFMB video showing the launch.
Video here
"It's spectacular… It takes people's breath away," said Ellsworth, calling the projectile, "a big missile".
Magnificent images were captured by the KCBS news helicopter in L.A. around sunset Monday evening. The location of the missile was about 35 miles out to sea, west of L.A. and north of Catalina Island.
A Navy spokesperson told KFMB it wasn't their missile. He said there was no Navy activity reported in the area Monday evening.
On Friday night, Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, launched a Delta II rocket, carrying an Italian satellite into orbit, but a sergeant at the base told KFMB there had been no launches since then.
Ellsworth urged American to wait for definitive answers to come from the military.
When asked, however, what he thought it might be, the former ambassador said it could possibly have been a missile test timed as a demonstration of American military might as President Obama tours Asia.
"It could be a test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile from a submarine … to demonstrate, mainly to Asia, that we can do that," speculated Ellsworth.
Ellsworth said such tests were carried out in the Atlantic to demonstrate America's power to the Soviets, when there was a Soviet Union, but he doesn't believe an ICBM has previously been tested by the U.S. over the Pacific.
Officially, at least, the projectile remains a mystery missile.
“I am guessing it was a US military launch because I like Occams Razor so much.”
My guess as well but I wonder why their initial response is to deny a test.
Why the secrecy over a launch that is viewable by millions of Californians and then acted surprised when people ask questions?
Makes no sense.
I’d like to think that the simplest explanation is that there was a scheduled test, and that the wires got crossed in the request for the FAA NOTAM. The NOTAM is in error, and should have shown at DTG a day earlier than it did.
However, if we fired an SLBM, we’d have notified the rest of the world. The opposition has satellites too. We wouldn’t want them to see a launch they weren’t expecting. You’d think the russkies would be saying, “Da. We knew about that. Had our ‘fishing fleet’ there to take souvenir photos.”
But, I am also suspicious that our early warning infrastructure isn’t what it once was. Hard to know what to believe any more.
Uhhh, yes, we’ve noticed and find it alarming- unless he’s been told to STFU for now til the grownups decide what if anything needs to be done.
Interesting post (#14):
To: Auntie Mame
I saw it, video taped it. When I realized what it could do, I understand why the gov’t doesn’t want to comment on it. That’s all that I should say.
14 posted on Tuesday, November 09, 2010 8:18:15 AM by Restore
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The problem with our ABM system seems to be that this would be far too close to stop. We need them coming in from orbit, not being launched from under us.
Venezuela?
I don’t care what anybody says I always thought that was our first terror attack and they didn’t think we should know due to the shows weakness old school mindset.
If not, they just didn't care, and it simply needed to be launched.
Megyn Kelly just teased story on “possible accidental launch”...2:23 PM
Megyn Kelly saying it’s being reportd now this MAY have been an accidental launch..
Maybe we thought we were being attacked and we sent this out to answer the threat? And it turned out to be...a flock of geese?
TWA Flt. 800 comes to mind here. Many witnesses stated they ...Funny, none of the PILOTS in the air lanes that night behind TWA800 made those kinds of statements ...
Yep, looks like it now. I can also understand the delay in releasing the info on it. The bureaucracy and red tape regarding declassifying such things is intense. Just to get a sign off to calm people down could take days.
Yep.
Rush just linked missle lauch to very recent comments by Chinese general that it would be easy to take out LA with a submarine launched missile...12:58 EST
Right...I said traffic chopper in my original post.
Just heard on FOX. Homeland Security cannot verify that this does not constitute a threat since NORAD doesn’t know what’s going on.
Thanks Captain Obvious.
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