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Old August 5th 05, 03:11 AM
Larry Dighera
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On Fri, 05 Aug 2005 00:40:15 GMT, Jose
wrote in ::

Why do you think [the DC ADIZ] was implemented?

To "do something".

You don't believe that the DC ADIZ was created as a 'friend or foe'
buffer zone so that innocent citizens aren't mistakenly shot down?


No.

It has a nice plausible ring to it (btw, I do consider the FRZ part of
the ADIZ), but I don't think it was created for this purpose at all.

It does not accomplish this purpose.


I disagree. The DC ADIZ provides an opportunity for the military to
intercept flights that violate it before they might enter the FRZ
within which lethal force may be exercised. If the DC ADIZ (or
something similar) did not exist, there would be no opportunity to
determine how much of a threat those flights might be, and the
military would have no other option but to shoot them down. So while
the DC ADIZ does nothing, in my opinion, to make DC more secure, it
may provide some measure of mitigating erroneous shoot downs of fellow
airmen.

To do so it would have to be a hundred miles across. Maybe more.


The DC ADIZ, at it's present size, seems to have been effective so far
in preventing erroneous killing of wayward, non-treating flights. If
it did not exist, I could easily see unidentified/unauthorized flights
that penetrate the FRZ being downed by mistake.

At least, in a free country where we don't shoot on sight (and so far,
we have not shot on sight - how free the country is is subject to debate).


You mean like the CIA did in Peru:

http://www.november.org/razorwire/rzold/24/24002.html

CIA helps Peruvian jet shoot down Christian missionaries over
Amazon

The Peruvian anti-drug tactic of blowing suspected drug smuggling
planes out of the sky aroused little notice in the press or
elsewhere as long as the victims were presumed bad guys. Since
April 20th - when a Peruvian pilot guided to his target by
contract employees of the CIA in a plane leased from the Defense
Department attacked a civilian Cessna and killed a US missionary
and her infant child - the airwaves have been filled with mutual
finger-pointing and hand-wringing as Peru and the US each seek to
assign blame to the other. ...

Perhaps this incident made it obvious to our government, that it might
be prudent to attempt to ascertain if the aircraft in question is
'friend or foe' _before_ shooting it down, and inspired the DC ADIZ.

It does not even remotely address the actual threat that was
demonstrated, nor the likely most damaging threats that could be
implemented.


I agree; the DC ADIZ does nothing to make DC more secure. It's the
Stinger SAMs that are supposed to do that, apparently. But that's
another issue entirely, in my opinion.

And inside of ten years, when terrorist operatives already
have ATP licenses, are air traffic controllers, and work the baggage
areas at major airports, it won't even matter.


I don't think it matters now. If an unidentified aircraft is
intercepted in the DC ADIZ, and it appears to be hostile or capable of
carrying out a terrorist mission, when/if it penetrates the FRZ I'm
confident it will be shot down.

In my opinion, it was designed to reassure the public that they should
be scared, but that the government will protect them.

Jose


I think the DC ADIZ was imposed to prevent the TSA/CIA/... form making
a mistake, that could turn the nation against further unconstitutional
acts in the name of security against terrorist attacks.

Don't get me wrong. I don't believe the FRZ is an effective measure
against all hypothetical attacks on DC. Further, I feel that our
government putting it's citizens in the cross hairs is repugnant in a
free society.

What would you propose in place of the DC ADIZ and FRZ?