In the Aug. 21 Cape Gazette, there was a photo display of the Ocean City Air Show held Aug. 15-16 which I attended along with reportedly “tens of thousands” of people. (See capegazette.com/node/206883)
Two of the planes featured were the F-16 Viper and F-22 Raptor which showed incredible power, maneuverability, high speed and noise in an impressive military show.
Watching it, though, made me think back to the events of 9/11, unbelievably, 19 years ago this year. What stands out to me and remains unanswered is the lack of effective air defense in probably the most heavily fortified airspace in the world - the corridor from D.C. to New York.
To review, here is author/researcher Paul Schreyer’s (Journal of 9/11 Studies) summary from 2012 of what occurred (and didn’t) that day:
• The key people responsible for managing a hijacking were absent from their command posts right in the crucial hours.
• Important telephone and radio connections didn’t work until after the attacks were over.
• A hijacked plane disappeared in a radar gap, and nobody is willing to explain.
• A wargame projecting a hijacking was taking place simultaneously.
• The airbase that should have protected the capital was not able to send fighter jets within an hour of time.
• Interceptors from alert bases were scrambled with unexplained delays and then diverted several times.
In short, a whole set of highly improbable events occurred simultaneously on that morning. From a scientific point of view, these anomalies need further investigation. It is not credible that Bin Laden was responsible for these anomalies, nor that they were sheer coincidences.
The 9/11 Commission Report is incomplete; some call it a whitewash. Among the omissions, it doesn’t mention the multiple explosions in both towers that many firefighters and police witnessed which contributed to their disintegration. It omits the sudden seven-second, free-fall of the 47-story, high-rise World Trade Center 7 at 5:20. And, it doesn’t even have an index to search topics or names!
The budget for the 9/11 investigation was initially only $3 million (grew to about $15 million) with a short 18-month time limit for nearly 3,000 killed. In comparison, the Challenger space shuttle accident initial CBO investigation cost estimate was $40-65 million (probably more) for only seven killed with no time limit.
Yet, we’re told to “Never Forget” 9/11, but we obviously have.