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Generals get power to decide shootdown
09/28/2001
By PAULINE JELINEK WASHINGTON — Two Air Force generals have been authorized to order the
military to shoot down any civilian airliner that appears to be threatening U.S.
cities, Pentagon officials said Thursday. Seeking to reassure America's travelers of their safety, Secretary of Defense
Donald H. Rumsfeld said: ``There are a lot of safeguards in place.'' He said he had crafted the new rules of engagement for military pilots with
Gen. Henry H. Shelton, who is retiring as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
``The last thing in the world that one of them wants to do is engage a
commercial aircraft,'' Shelton said. ``And so don't get the impression that
anyone who's flying around out there has a loose trigger finger.'' Rumsfeld was asked if Americans should be worried about the policy since
passengers could be trying to overcome a hijacker as people attempted on the
plane that crashed in Pennsylvania Sept. 11. That was the only one of four
hijacked planes that did not hit a terrorist target. ``The rules of engagement are addressed on a continuing basis with a great
deal of care and sensitivity to all of the points that you've raised and others
have raised,'' Rumsfeld said, refusing to provide details. ``And I can assure that they are under continuous review and given the
carefulest consideration. And it seems to me that is the same kind of assurance
that the American people get with respect to a lot of things that the Defense
Department's involved in.'' White House spokesman Scott McClelland said that every attempt will be made
to follow the chain of command from the commander in chief on down before any
order to down a plane is issued and the decision would be made only by very
senior-level officials. ``It's an enormous burden to make that decision. As an absolute last resort,
the most senior-level official at the absolute last moment of decision would
have the authority to make that decision,'' McClelland said. He said the
circumstances for the decision would have to involve a plane headed nose down
and posing a threat to the safety of Americans ``These are different times we're living in now. It's a different world,''
McClelland said. Michael Perini, director of public affairs for the North American Aerospace
Defense Command, stressed that only under the most extraordinary circumstances
could the generals act without having consulted with the president, secretary of
defense or other higher-ups — only as a last resort and only if there simply was
not enough time to consult. From NORAD offices in Colorado, Perini said he could not discuss a specific
situation in which the regional commanders might take such action because it
would reveal too much about military planning for the defense of U.S. airspace.
The move follows revelations by Vice President Dick Cheney that in the hours
after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President
Bush had ordered the military to intercept and shoot down any commercial
airliners that refused instructions to turn away from Washington. After receiving warnings that commercial planes had veered off course,
military fighter jets scrambled over Massachusetts and Virginia on the day of
the terrorist attacks. But they were unable to respond in time, officials have
said. Maj. Gen. Larry K. Arnold at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., would have
authority to order the downing of a threatening commercial flight over the 48
contiguous states. Lt. Gen. Norton A. Schwartz at Elmendorf Air Force Base,
Alaska, would have authority for Alaska. Hawaii is covered by the U.S. Pacific Command. Officials would not comment
Thursday on how the new rules might be implemented there. Following the terrorists' attacks, Rumsfeld ordered fighter jets at 26 bases
nationwide to be prepared to take off on 10-minute notice. Reserve units have been called up to supplement the effort in which F-15s and
F-16s fly 24-hour patrols over dozens of American cities. On the Net: Department of Defense www.defenselink.mil
Associated Press Writer
