Dick Cheney kontrollerede NORAD

Påstand

Vicepræsident Dick Cheney havde kontrollen med NORAD den 11. september 2001. Dermed havde han magt – og brugte den – til at forhindre, at NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Command, greb ind og stoppede de kaprede fly.⁰

Baggrund

Påstanden stammer flere steder fra, blandt andre den fremtrædende amerikanske radiovært og konspirationsteoretiker Alex Jones.¹ Mike Ruppert, stifter og redaktør af websiten “From the Wilderness”, der ofte omhandler konspirationsteorier, har i sin bog, “Crossing the Rubicon”, tilsvarende skrevet:

This press release was issued May 8, 2001, about a month prior to the change in NORAD’s intercept protocols. While a bit vague in some areas, it does establish certain things. Dick Cheney was charged to oversee the creation of an approach that was “seamlessly integrated and harmonious.” He was also placed in a supervisory management role over the activities of the entire effort, which were operational under FEMA’s supreme command. “Planning and training” were specifically addressed so this would automatically include war game exercises like Tripod II and all the NORAD/Joint Chiefs wargames of 9/11: Vigilant Guardian, Vigilant Warrior, Northern Vigilance, etc.²

Michael Kane har skrevet om “Crossing the Rubicon”:

On May 8, 2001 – four months prior to 9/11 – the president placed Dick Cheney in charge of “[A]ll federal programs dealing with weapons of mass destruction consequence management within the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies…” This included all “training and planning” which needed to be “seamlessly integrated, harmonious and comprehensive” in order to “maximize effectiveness.” This mandate created the Office of National Preparedness in FEMA, overseen by Dick Cheney. 15 Dick Cheney was placed directly in charge of managing the seamless integration of all training exercises throughout the entire federal government and all military agencies. On 9/11 Cheney oversaw multiple war games and terror drills, including several exercises of NORAD, the Air Force agency whose mandate is to “watch the sky.”³

Fakta

NORAD Før den 11. september 2001 var NORADs primære opgave at overvåge luftrummet udenfor USA og Canada for at opsnappe og identificere missiler og bombefly på vej mod amerikansk og canadisk luftrum, fortrinsvis fra Sovjetunionen og senere Rusland.⁴ NORAD havde ikke til opgave at overvåge hverken det canadiske eller amerikanske civile luftrum. Heller ikke den del af den civile luftfart, der omfattede internationale ruter, blev anset for at være en trussel og var derfor heller ikke omfattet af NORADs direktiver. Det var først efter terrorangrebet, at NORADs direktiver blev udvidet til også at omfatte den civile luftfart:

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the AWC’s mission of Aerospace Warning and Aerospace Control has expanded to include the interior airspace of North America.⁵

Ydermere var det de amerikanske luftfartsmyndigheder (Federal Aviation Administration, FAA) der i tilfælde af flykapring skulle kontakte NORAD, der så kun var autoriseret til at sende jagerfly op for at eskortere det kaprede fly til en sikker landing i en lufthavn, som FAA direktiv 7610 på det tidspunkt foreskrev:

7.1.4 Control responsibilities for U.S. Airspace

1. When hijacked aircraft is within FAA radar coverage, escort aircraft shall be controlled by the appropriate FAA facility.
2. When a hijacked aircraft is not within FAA radar coverage but within military radar coverage, escort aircraft may be controlled by the military for the escort phase only.
3. When escort aircraft are under military control, separation between the escort aircraft/hijacked aircraft and other IFR traffic is the responsibility of the FAA. Separation shall be provided through the application of appropriate altitude reservations as required.
4. When escort aircraft is under FAA control, standard air traffic control separation shall be applied. In no case shall any clearance or instruction to the aircraft compromise ATC standards.
5. When tanker aircraft are employed, the designated tankers and escort aircraft shall be under FAA control, and appropriate aerial refueling procedures shall apply.⁶

Office of National Preparedness Det føderale koordineringsbureau for naturkatastrofer og menneskeskabte katastrofer, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) tager sig af nationale katastrofer, som for eksempel orkanen Katrina i 2004, og oliekatastrofen i Den Mexicanske Golf i 2010. I 2001 blev FEMA ledet af Joe Allbaugh. Han blev i maj samme år udnævnt til at lede det nyoprettede Office of National Preparedness med direkte reference til vicepræsident Dick Cheney:

Therefore, I have asked Vice President Cheney to oversee the development of a coordinated national effort so that we may do the very best possible job of protecting our people from catastrophic harm. I have also asked Joe Allbaugh, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to create an Office of National Preparedness. This Office will be responsible for implementing the results of those parts of the national effort overseen by Vice President Cheney that deal with consequence management. Specifically it will coordinate all Federal programs dealing with weapons of mass destruction consequence management within the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies. The Office of National Preparedness will work closely with state and local governments to ensure their planning, training, and equipment needs are addressed. FEMA will also work closely with the Department of Justice, in its lead role for crisis management, to ensure that all facets of our response to the threat from weapons of mass destruction are coordinated and cohesive. I will periodically chair a meeting of the National Security Council to review these efforts.⁷

Det nyoprettede organ skulle altså træne til og forberede sig på katastrofer. Der er intet i meddelelsen, der blot antyder, at NORAD skulle være omfattet. NORAD er en militær organisation, hvor FEMA er en offentlig administrativ organisation.

Logik

Forestillingen om at vicepræsidenten i en krisesituation giver NORAD ordre til, at man ikke forsøger at forhindre et terrorangreb, er helt ude af trit med virkeligheden. Præsidenten, og i særlige tilfælde vicepræsidenten, giver ordrer til de øverste generaler. Vicepræsidenten ringer ikke og har ikke ringet direkte til radaroperatører og flyveledere for at sige “Dette er Dick Cheney, du beordres hermed til ikke at gribe ind overfor de kaprede fly.” Den slags hører hjemme i billige knaldromaner og B-film fra Hollywood, ikke i den virkelige verden. Det er i strid med formålet med konspirationen, at det netop er FAA der kontakter NORAD, hvis FAA direktivet alligevel var sat ud af kraft. Det er ulogisk at Dick Cheney skulle have beordret militæret til ikke at gribe ind for de tre kaprede flys vedkommende, Flight 11, Flight 175 og Flight 77, og samtidig, som en anden af konspirationsteoretikernes påstande hævder, beordret militæret på vingerne for det fjerde kaprede flys vedkommende, Flight 93, som endda skulle være skudt ned.⁸

Konklusion

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Kilder

0. Wargames Were Cover For the Operational Execution of 9/11, Alex Jones og Paul Joseph Watson, opdateret 20 september 2004, PrisonPlanet.com:

   “In May of 2001, by presidential order, Cheney was handed direct control of all wargame and drill operations. This meant he was solely in charge of the overlapping NORAD drills and wargames on the morning of 9/11, that prevented Standard Operating Procedure from being implemented, and any of the hijacked planes being intercepted.”

1. Alex Jones, Wikipedia.
2. Crossing the Rubicon, Mike Ruppert, side 414
3. Crossing the Rubicon, Simplifying the case against Dick Cheney, Michael Kane
4. NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Command
5. FAA Order 7610: Escort of hijacked aircraft
6. NORAD, Air Warning Center
7. National Communications System Volume IV, Number 7
8. Flight 93 blev skudt ned

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