t8 b19 miles kara trips fdr- conr -must answer- questions

8/14/2019 T8 B19 Miles Kara Trips Fdr- CONR -Must Answer- Questions

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CONR "MUST ANSWER" QUESTIONSSUMMARY: In my view there are three basic areas of interest at CONR; (1 ) Operationson 9/11; (2 ) Training & policies pre-9/11; and (3) Changes to NORAD and the airdefense structure sinc e 9/11. The outline below sets forth question fo r each. Emphasisshould be on the latter two , and on providing an overall context for us to write theoperational story of 9/11.

CONFIRM THERE ARE NO TAPES OR RECORDINGS FROM 9/11CONFIRM THERE IS NOT AN AFTER ACTION REPORTW HY NOT???I. OPERATIONS ON9/11 - KEYPOINTS(A) Shoot Down Order

(1) Time an d Channel: How and when did CONR leadership first learn of theshoot dow n order? If through the "chat log," did the leadership v iew suchinformation as notification (i.e., FYI) or as an actual order to take action? (Pinthem down on one or the other, or establish that there w as uncertainty an dconfusion.) If there w as uncertainty, what actions did they take to clarify thesituation? How\when did they obtain certain orders?(2) Details of Order/Rules of Engagement: Establish the specifics of whatCONR leadership believe d the y were tasked to do re the shoot down. What w asthe authorization an d authentication process at each level (pilot, controller,commander)? Was CONR involvemed in the formulation of the paper ROE thatwere ultimately circulated? If so, how we re those Rules deve loped? Prior to thecirculation of these ROE, what ROE were in effect?(3) CON R Understanding of NEADS Implementation: What was CONR'sunderstanding - at every level - of NEADS' implementation of the shoot dow norder? Did CONR understand that the order w as passed to the pilots? Did CONRapprove that "decision" not to pass the order to the pilots? If so, probe how theorder could have effectively been carried out - given the intense time constraintsof the day.(4) Change to Transitional ROE & Change to DefCon 3: What w as the effectof change in ROE from peacetime to transitional ROE? Whe n did it happen?Same for Change to DefCon 3....(5 ) Clarify Arnold Statement from May Hearing: Walk Arnold throughtestimony an d clarify what he meant by it. (He conflates a number of issues an dthat record needs to be cleaned up.) Moreove r, probe hi s understanding of theAndrews scramble an d General W herley's ROE. How\where did Arnold learn ofthis situation? Was he in contact w ith Andrew s on 9/11?


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(B ) NORAD Command and Control on 9/11(1) In general, what role did CONR play in the air defense operation on 9/11?W ho were th e key players and wha t did they do? Who was involved in the AirThreat Conference Call?

- Tracking Suspicious Aircraft: Does CO NR ha ve radar equipment andfeeds? If so, did CONR independently track any of the hijacked orsuspicious aircraft that day? If not, wh at was the internal system ofcommunication by which they received their information?(2 ) What was the role of CMOC? Who, when and at wh at level was therecoordination between CMOC and CONR? What was General Eberhart doing?(3 ) At any point during the day was there a conference (telephone or video) thatincluded the senior leadership of CMOC, CO NR and NEADs? If so, when andwhat was the subject? If not, why not?(4) Assets at non-alert facilities: Did NORAD launch assets from non-alertfacilities on 9/11? (I believe the answ er is yes) If it is possible to draw on assetsfrom other facilities (as was demonstrated) - why wa sn' t this an option earlier inthe day when the attacks were underway? For example, why couldn't NORADdraw on the Andrews assets instead of or in addition to Langley? Isn't it a fallacyto say (as NORAD has done in repeated public statem ents) that its asset force thatday was limited to 2 p lanes at 7 facilities?

(C) Coordination with the FAA & National Decision Makers(1) At the senior levels of CONR , who w as talking to the FAA? Who within theFAA was he/she speaking with?(2) At any point was there an "open line" between CO NR and the FAA ? If so,between wha t parties? If not, why not?(3 ) Notifications: Did CONR receive any notifications from the FAA re hijackedaircraft? Specifically, wh at was the source of the following:

C HAT LOG ENTRIES SOURCED TO R A D E S ? ? ? ? Where do thesecome from?- Flight 175: Source for Chat Log entry (Bates #15939) and NORADpress release that asserts "1243Z FAA NOTIFICATION OF UNITEDAIRLINES FLIGHT 175 POSSIBLE HIJACK FROM BOSTON -SOURCE RADES"


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Flight 77: Source of 0924 notification time that is contained in (1)NORAD t imeline an d presentation to Commission last May? What exactlydid they know about AA 7 7? Fact it was hijacke d? Location? If so, ho w ?-- Flight 93: How and when did CONR first learn about the hijacking ofU A 9 3 ?

(D ) Post 9/11 Representations Ab out "Day of ActionsI assume you hav e this covered. . . .

II. Training, Mission and Policies Pre-9/11(A ) Exercises

(1) Planning/ConceptionW ho from CON R was involved with conc eiving exercise scenarios? Didhe/she work from intelligence information, own imagination, or both?

(2) Exercises Prior to 9/11Ask each w itness if they have ever participated in an exercise invo lvingthe following scenarios:Training exercises inv olvin g shoot down orders:Training exercises involving hijacked aircraft on any type of suicidemissionTraining missions invo lving the N ational Capital RegionTraining missions invo lving actual coordination (a s opposed tosimulated)with an y level of the FAA (i.e., Centers, Tracon, HQ)

(B ) Quadrennial Defense Review(1) In co nnection with the QDR Secretary Rumsfeld has been quoted as sayingthat hom eland security was at the top of DoD's priority list.

Please describe N O R A D ' s (and specifically C O N R ' s ) involvement inthese discussions. W hat threats were envisioned? Prior to 9/11 what wereth e priorities?(2 ) To your knowledge in the context of these discussions or any other - priorto 9/11 did NO RAD ever consider th e threat to the hom eland posed by a suicidehijacking? Prior to 9/11, was there any planning or training within NORA D fo rsuch an attack?


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(3 ) If hom eland securi ty was at the top of DoD's priority list prior to 9/11 -an d if N O R A D was the primary (o r perhap s sole) Com mand w ith responsibilityfor safeguarding the nation prior to 9/11 - why was NORAD only equipped toprotect against Soviet long range bomber penetration of our intercept zone? (SeeMcKinley statement to Commission) Do you agree that N O R A D ' s mission w asthis limited?

III. Post 9/11 ChangesYipe! This is an area we ca n't ignore but have do ne very litt le wo rk on. Myunderstanding from informal conversations at FAA is that McKinley is at the forefront ofthe FAA/NORAD changes post-9/11. I wo uld inquire about th e following areas:

A . EquipmentHow is the radar wo rld different today? W hat is still outstanding?B. FacilitiesI 've seen in the press clips reports of some new secret fac ility that NO RA D usesfor hijack situations - maybe at CMOC? Perhaps Geoff could pull the clips andturn this into an intelligent question.. .C. Coordination with the FAA(1 ) Come aw ay with a list of concrete steps tha t have been taken to resolve theseproblems.(2 ) Ask witnesses to compare th e before an d after situation; raise specific issueslike th e terminology differences; probe w hy these existedD. ResultsRefer to recent press clip re intercept testing - things still not running smoothing.

(I believe th e clip referred to exercises over the NCA region an d statistics resame)IV . MISCELLANEOUSAtlantic City: Were there aircraft scrambled from Atlantic City on the morning of 9/11?If so , please provide details. If not , why was information fed into the Air ThreatConference Call - around 10:00 am - that NOR AD was generating fighter aircraft fromAtlantic City?After-Action Review: Ask each witness about their awareness o f documen ts producedpost 9/11 assessing and e valuating the air defense operation that day.Drug Interdiction: Probe N O R A D ' s involv em ent with drug interdiction prior to 9/11.How/when did that function become a part of its mand ate? To wh at extent was CONRinvolved in it?

t8 b19 miles kara trips fdr- conr -must answer- questions

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