MICHAEL BRONNER the editor/commentator of these transcripts seems to miss the main point of what was illustrated, once again, about NORAD, as a result of NORAD's actions during 9/11.  They are inept.  They make huge mistakes.  In the heat of any real life action they don't know what they are doing or what is going on.  The lesson is taught to us over and over, that our military is not meant to provide "national security" but to provide for imperial extension and that organizations such as NORAD often serve propaganda purposes that are exposed as illusions in real life situations.  Now, I don't think that NORAD is any more inept or clueless than any other large military-bureaucratic organization.  In fact, they probably blunder around less than most large human institutions.  But the myth of NORAD, and similar modern military organizations, is that they are well oiled machines that are able to respond to every contingency with accuracy.  In fact they are no more a well-oiled machine than, France's army during World War II, just to pick one pre-computer example. NORAD's function has always been two-fold economic and propaganda transmission.  NORAD was a vital part of the military-industrial complex and served the purpose of justification for more and more high-tech economic transmission from tax payers to industry.  Also during the cold war NORAD played two very important propaganda purposes: The secondary propaganda purpose was aimed at the population at large, providing the public with a representative organization for the myth that a nuclear war can be won.  But the primary propaganda purpose of NORAD was focused on the military itself, (especially its, Air Force officers) and related national security organizations, providing ideological justification for the whole idea of continental security, what is now called "homeland" security.  The whole intellectual game theoretic and nuclear war survivalist culture of these national security organizations revolved around NORAD and its representation as the perfect tool.  In reality all the actual wars were being fought in other people's homes and surviving a nuclear war is a bad joke.  The current NORAD tapes are only another illustration of why our military was never constructed to provide for "homeland security" (a fascist sounding phrase, in my ears), but rather to serve an economic purpose and the  propaganda cover, for our imperial military.  Jerry <div>On 8/20/06, Michael Pugliese <<a href="mailto:michael.098762001@gmail.com">michael.098762001@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/">http://www.vanityfair.com/</a> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/features/general/060801fege01">http://www.vanityfair.com/features/general/060801fege01</a> 9/11 Live: The NORAD Tapes How did the U.S. Air Force respond on 9/11? Could it have shot down United 93, as conspiracy theorists claim? Obtaining 30 hours of never-before-released tapes from the control room of NORAD's Northeast headquarters, the author reconstructs the chaotic military history of that day—and the Pentagon's apparent attempt to cover it up. VF.com exclusive: Hear excerpts from the September 11 NORAD tapes. -- Michael Pugliese ___________________________________ <a href="http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk"> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk</a> </blockquote></div> -- Jerry Monaco's Philosophy, Politics, Culture Weblog is Shandean Postscripts to Politics, Philosophy, and Culture <a href="http://monacojerry.livejournal.com/">http://monacojerry.livejournal.com/</a> His fiction, poetry, weblog is Hopeful Monsters: Fiction, Poetry, Memories <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/users/jerrymonaco/"> http://www.livejournal.com/users/jerrymonaco/</a> Notes, Quotes, Images - From some of my reading and browsing <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/community/jerry_quotes/">http://www.livejournal.com/community/jerry_quotes/ </a>