if you think they should have "intercepted it" before it hit the Pentagon, and then what?I would expect the military planes to follow official procedures and guidelines in place ,when faced with a potential hostile aircraft flying in unauthorized airspace.
how everyone would have reacted? Our own fighter jets/military just shot down a cilivian aircraft with hundreds of innocent people on board.I am betting everyone(including me) would react in horror.
Your point is well taken. This is a horrific moral dilemma.
Slightly OT, but I can't help but think of a Star Trek episode where Spock and Kirk discuss putting the needs of the many over the needs of the few.
This is a no-win situation and will be again, if ever faced with this choice. Do we shoot down an airplane full of a hundred of innocents to save thousands?
If my baby was on the plane I would cry NO! If my baby was in the target, my heart would whisper "yes".
Did we know positively 100% without a shadow of a doubt they were going to use the plane as a weapon like in New York?Nothing is 100% certain. There are laws of probability however.
Your same question can be asked years later. Federal Air Marshals are on some flights, not all, so there is a potential for the exact same scenerio we faced on 9/11.
If a plane heads for the GG bridge, for example, do we know 100% the intent is to use it for a weapon?
What should we do?
AFter all, we'd have to have the intelligence to *know* those were terrorists and what they wereI am not sure if you've read the 9/11 REPORT: JOINT CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRY report, July 24th 2003?
http://news.findlaw.com/cnn/docs/911rpt/index.htmlIn particular Part 2: Narrative--The Attacks of September 11,2002.
A partitial TOC:
II. Pentagon Flight Hijackers Khalid al-Mihdhar, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Salim al-Hazmi.. 143
A. The Malaysia Meeting and Identification of Khalid al-Mihdhar and Salim
and Nawaf al-Hazmi First Watchlist Opportunity
.
.. 143
B. Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi Travel to the United States Second
Watchlist Opportunity
..
147
C. Khalid al-Mihdhar Leaves the United States and Nawaf al-Hazmi Applies for
a Visa Extension
148
D. The Attack on USS Cole and the Identification of KhalladThird Watchlist
Opportunity
. 148
E. The June 11, 2001 FBI/CIA Meeting and Khalid al-Mihdhars Return to the
United States
.. 150
F. The Watchlisting of Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi
151
G. The Search for Khalid al-Mihdhar
.. 152
H. The Case Against Bin Ladin
154
III. NSA Communications Intercepts Related to Khalid al-Mihdhar, Nawaf and
Salim al-Hazmi
.
.. 155
IV. Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar Had Numerous Contacts With an Active
FBI Informant
..
157
A. Background
. 158
B. Informants Relationship with Two Hijackers
159
C. Questions About the Informants Credibility
. 162
V. Associates of the September 11 Terrorists in the United States
. 168
Time, CNN and other news outlets have reported some of the terrorists used their real names when buying the tickets. This is one of the questions the 9/11 Family Steering committee has asked the governement to verify.
IF this was the case with regards to the plane which hit the pentagon, it would show up on the passenger list. Whenever we fly our names appear on such lists, controlled by the airlines. The government can request access to the lists at anytime.
OT: Didn't Jet Blue just get in trouble for selling their lists?
Let's face it, the terrorists that day weren't broadcasting what they were going to do.The official Congressional report does not support your conclusion. I urge everyone to read it, it is a vital piece of history.
There were intelligence,agency and government oversight failures(by previous and current adminstrations). Asking questions is the only way to assess what we need to do the next time this happens, so we will be better prepared to defend ourselves.
Maybe these guys would have chickened out?While it is hard for me to understand fundamentalist Islamic thought, there are people who train for years for "suicide" missions.
However they don't consider it as suicide as we define it. They believe they are martyrs and dying for Allah. They believe they will be rewarded in the after life by Allah for their actions.
We've see it in Israel for years.
Personally I think this is sick and deluded.
Would you, personally, have really been ok hearing that we shot that plane down?No. Nor will I be if we have to do it to prevent another attack.
I've seen the comments made that Bush actually "endangered" the children in the school because he didn't immediately leave the building.I think it was an extremely unwise choice.
I would say that the absolute safest people in America at that moment were within his vincity.I disagree. In hindsight we know nobody was targeting the President. At that moment, there was no way of knowing if he was a target or not. Nor was it certain only planes were being used for attack.
Planes are effective in destroying thousands, but if the intent is to take out one person, is there a better way?
We've heard stories about terrorist trying to get dirty bombs, anthrax and chemical weapons.
What if one of those were the choice to use against the president?
Or perhaps even more chilling, a suicide bomber?
We have also seen with past assassination attempts of presidents and other VIPS, crowded places are a popular MO.
The attempts on President Lincoln, President Kennedy, President Ford and President Reagan come to mind.
I would love to know what the official procedure the Secret Service is supposed to follow to protect the president when the country is in attack. HOWEVER, I realize this is and should be classified.
When he travels like that there *are* jets in the sky that would have unhesitatingly shot down any aircraft that entered the airspace above him.Again, assuming planes were the weapon of choice with regards to targeting him.
The hypothetical shooting down of an airplane targeting the President, btw, would as tragic as shooting down the planes which target populated cities.
Sadly there is no easy choice when faced with the choice of sacrificing the lives of the few for the good of the many.