I've had some long standing assumptions about the United States Air Force. One of them is that the service is prepared to defend this nation against all known and perceived aerospace threats.

Over the last several decades, American taxpayers have shelled out untold billions of dollars to ensure that the Air Force had the very best equipment and highly-trained personnel to accomplish its mission.

In July 2001, there was grave concern about a hijacked airliner being crashed into the site of the G8 summit in Genoa, Italy. People who can remember what they've read will recall that the conference site was ringed with air defense assets, including SAMS and AAA, to guard against this kind of threat, i.e. a hijacked civilian airliner being crashed into the conference site. President Bush, of course, was a participant in the summit.

As well, the Secret Service has long been aware of and concerned about the possibility that a civilian airliner could be hijacked from one of DC's airfields and flown into the White House, Capitol building, or other sites where the president or congress might be present.

In 1995, Phillipine authorities provided explosive intelligence garnered from the PC of our ol' pal Ramsi Yousef which outlined plans to hijack and blow up 11 jetliners over the Pacific. Other plans found on Yousef's hard drive included a plot to crash hijacked airliners into CIA headquarters and other national symbols.

In addition, we've all seen the footage of the (I believe) QF-4 drone being crashed into a section of nuclear reactor containment dome to test the structure's ability to withstand the impact of a crashing plane. It's no flight of logic, I believe, to assume that those conducting these tests did so with an appreciation of the threat posed by a hijacked airliner being crashed into one of our reactors.

In light of these facts, for General Myers, President Bush or anyone else in the defense establishment to assert in the wake of 9/11 that the terrorist attack blindsided American defense forces and caught us off guard is - to be kind - poppycock.

If, however, through incompetence, malfeasance, or sheer stupidity the Air Force was in fact unprepared for such an attack, then those responsible for the lack of preparedness should be hauled before a court marshall and made to answer for their criminal negligence.

That's what happened to flag officers Kimmel and Short who were the responsible commanders at Pearl Harbor.

Kimmel and Short had been kept in the dark and were innocent, but Roosevelt, at least, was smart enough to insist that the charade be complete.

sp