[lbo-talk] Re: Is Berlet Combat Ready?

[Joseph Wanzala]

To quote the inimitable Donald Rumsfeld: "Absence of evidence is not 
evidence of absence."

Chip Berlet from Democracy Now! transcript:

"Well, they are combat-ready. That means that unit of
the military could be sent into combat -- somewhere
between 24 and 72 hours. There is no evidence, and to
this day there is no evidence that there were jet
aircraft, fueled up, warmed up, ready to go at Andrews
with fighter pilots sitting in a ready room ready to
take off."

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5215957/
Commission investigates response by U.S. air defense
system

The Associated Press
When the Sept. 11 terrorists struck, the United States
and Canada were defended by 20 fighter aircraft,
arrayed in pairs in 10 locations, said Lt. Col.
Roberto Garza, a NORAD spokesman. They were kept armed
and fueled, with pilots nearby, ready to take off in
less than 15 minutes.