What kind of protection are you going to have for a jetliner on a suicide mission?

Independent investigator and researcher John Judge is one of the co-founders of the National Coalition on Political Assassinations, which is responsible for getting the "JFK Records Act" passed. Judge's work has resulted in the release of over six million documents, the largest in U.S. history.

Judge began very simply, stating there most certainly was a point at which it was clear the United States, and particularly Washington, D.C., were under attack. That point was 9:05 a.m. on Sept. 11. That was the point at which a shoot-down order for Flight 77 was issued. Oddly, the plane continued unmolested towards the most restricted airspace in the world for 40 minutes before hitting the Pentagon. During this time Washington, D.C.'s Channel 8 broadcast that the plane was heading there and many government buildings were evacuated.

Judge quotes a Pentagon spokesman as saying that there was no mechanism to respond to this type of event. Yet Judge, a lifelong Washington, D.C. resident, says he is personally aware that fighters routinely intercept commercial planes that are only slightly off-course to escort them out of the area. No thinking person can believe that the largest, most powerful, and most sophisticated military in history has no way to protect its own headquarters.
The Andrews Air Force Base website changed after 9-11 to erase information about their combat readiness. Judge went on to list the active military bases that had the ability to respond to Flight 77's approach to Washington, D.C. He listed the 121st Fighter Squadron of the 113th Fighter Wing, 321st Marine Fighter Squadron and the 49th Marine Air Guard. These three groups are based at Andrews, only 10 miles from the Pentagon. Yet the fighters that were launched against Flight 77 were scrambled from Langley Air Force Base, 140 miles away. Doing the math, Judge said, shows the fighters flying at sub-sonic speeds. He also reminded the audience that Anacostia Naval Air Station, the home of the District of Columbia National Guard, is right near the Pentagon as well.

Another source of protection for Washington, D.C. could have been provided by the 177th Air National Guard stationed at Pomona, N.J. This base could have provided coverage for both Washington, D.C. and New York yet was instructed to cease routine sorties two weeks prior to 9-11. Judge also quoted a Pentagon official who referred him to a New York Times article stating that on Sept. 8 half of U.S. fighters were taken out of service. A personal friend, whose son is stationed at Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod, Mass., told Judge that fighter pilots who specifically requested permission to attempt the interception of Flight 77 were called back.

Securing the skies of North America is our top priority.

NORAD maintains a robust defense against asymmetric air threats to the U.S and Canada with a series of alert fighters, tankers and airborne early warning aircraft cued by interagency warning and networked surveillance radars.  NORAD also operates an Integrated Air Defense System consisting of ground-based air defense capabilities in the U.S. National Capital Region.