Thu, Sep 01, 2005
Not HSD
Who decides whether an aircraft violating the ADIZ over
Washington, DC, should be shot out of the sky?
Not the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, the authority
will rest solely with the Pentagon and, ultimately, Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
The question came up after the May 11th incursion by a Cessna
150 to within about three miles of the White House. The incident
forced the evacuation of the White House, Supreme Court and
Capitol.
As ANN reported a week ago, Customs and the Coast
Guard, both factions of the Department of Homeland Security, had
bickered about who had the authority to order a lethal intercept.
In the end, it appears, neither agency will have that
choice.
"I can tell you in principle that both Cabinet officials believe
that when it comes to a decision to shoot down an aircraft, only
one person should have that authority to avoid an unintended
conflict of judgment," Assistant Defense Secretary Paul McHale told
the Washington Post. "And that person should be the secretary of
defense, accountable to the president. "It's a basic military
principle to achieve unity of command... particularly in a
life-and-death situation."
Still, neither Rumsfeld nor DHS
Secretary Michael Chertoff have signed off on a formal agreement
stating that the Pentagon has sole authority in decisions whether
to shoot down ADIZ encroachers. McHale said that agreement was
expected to be signed shortly.
DHS is still responsible for ordering a response to ADIZ
incursions, according to Chertoff's chief military advisor, Rear
Admiral Timothy Sullivan. But under the coming agreement, only
NORAD could actually order pilots to open fire.
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