WAR GAME 5: GLOBAL GUARDIAN

WAR GAME 5: GLOBAL GUARDIAN
Adam Larson / Caustic Logic
They Let It Happen
Last updated July 27 2007

The Center for Cooperative Research patched together this description of the periodic exercise Global Guardian, directed from the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) center, a bunker set beneath Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska:

"[T]hree special military command aircraft with sophisticated communications equipment, based at Offutt, are up in the air the morning of 9/11. These E-4B National Airborne Operations Center planes—nicknamed “Doomsday” planes during the Cold War—are intended to control nuclear forces from the air in times of crisis. They are capable of acting as alternative command posts for top government officials from where they can direct US forces, execute war orders and coordinate the actions of civil authorities in times of national emergency. [...] Media accounts indicate Global Guardian is cancelled at Offutt shortly after the second WTC tower is hit (at 9:03 a.m.), with staff switching to “real-world mode.” However, even after Global Guardian is called off, the three E-4Bs remain airborne." [1]


The exercise's details and exact purpose remain vague, but it seems to be related to "Continuity of Government" exercises also carried out in the 1980s with E4-Bs and background officials like Don Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. [2] Whatever the exercise really was, it was it was “in full swing” when the attacks began. Researcher Mark H. Gaffney looked into reports of the mysterious white plane seen and filmed over Washington DC has shown that this was almost certainly a whie, 4-engine E4-B, presumably one of the Global Guardian participants, though there appears to be a massive cover-up of the plane, which apparently must remain secret even after being filmed in broad daylight. [3]

By 2006 anyway, GLOBAL GUARDIAN, along with a space-oriented APOLLO GUARDIAN exercise, are "conducted in conjunction" with the more well-known Vigilant Guardian Exercise. [4] VG was also in full swing on 9/11, so it seems they were allied at the time, officially or otherwise. Gaffney also found that the exercise's being conducted at that time really is an unusual coincidence:

"In previous years the military always staged Global Guardian in October or November; and the 2001 exercise was likewise originally scheduled for October, according to various reports. Curiously, however, for reasons never disclosed, the Joint Chiefs changed the plan and conducted the 2001 exercise during the week of September 11. The following year the date reverted back. The 2002 Global Guardian came off in October, as in previous years, and this has continued to be the case." [5]

Total Coincidences?
CCR: "The Federal Advisory Committee (whose chairman is retired Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft) is aboard one of these Doomsday planes, being brought to Offutt to observe the exercise. [...] a small group of business leaders are at Offutt Air Force Base for a charity fundraiser event due to take place there later in the day, hosted by the multi-billionaire Warren Buffett. When the attacks begin, these visitors are having breakfast with Admiral Mies, the director of Global Guardian. After the second WTC tower is hit, Mies excuses himself from the group, presumably to assist in canceling the exercise." [7] Later in the afternoon, President Bush and Air Force One landed at Offutt "as a security precaution." It was his second landing since leaving Florida, and he convened a teleconference with the National Security Council from there. [7]

Sources:
[1], [6] Center for Cooperative Research. “Before 9:00 a.m. September 11, 2001: Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, is Directing Global Guardian Training Exercise.” http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a900offutt
[2] "Between 1981 and 1989: Officials Airborne in Doomsday Plane." http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a81doomsdayplanes#a81doomsdayplanes
[3], [5] Gaffney, Mark H. "The 911 Mystery Plane - First in a Series." Rense.com. 4-5-7 http://www.rense.com/general76/missing.htm
[4] Global Security: Vigilant Guardian. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/vigilant-guardian.htm
[7] "Bush Reacts to Attacks, Moves to Nebraska." By Mike Allen. Washington Post. Tuesday, September 11, 2001; 4:36 p.m http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/articles/bush091101.htm

THE WARGAMES AND DRILLS (masterlist)

HOW COULD PEOPLE SO PREPARED FAIL TO STOP THE ATTACKS?

Michael Ruppert was among the first to draw major attention to the War Games of 9/11, a complex of drills in US airspace confusingly similar to the terrorist attack. These revelations, fleshed out for him by Barbara Honegger, formed what Ruppert called “in my opinion – the holy grail of 9/11 research,” noting how they seem to have scrambled the defense and were probably coordinated by a Maestro working for Dick Cheney. [1] The most high-profile breach of the subject yet was in March 2005 when Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), acting on Ruppert's tips, questioned Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Richard Myers on the subject. She asked Myers "whether or not the activities of the four wargames going on on September 11th actually impaired our ability to respond to the attacks." Myers of course insisted that they in fact "enhanced our ability to respond." [2] anyone who's looked at the details of the air defense that day knows how ludicrous this statement really is.

While still a mystery to the wider public, these curiously-timed drills have received much attention and discussion within the 9/11 Truth movement - Emanuel Sferios, as he questioned the faulty claims of Loose Change and the ilk on the five year anniversary, cited as continued strong evidence eclipsed by the crap “the simultaneous wargames that were taking place on the morning of 9/11, and that prevented NORAD from intercepting the planes before they hit their targets.” [3] For those unfamiliar, here is a basic run-down of what we know and how (this is only partly compiled at the moment and will be edited and expanded over time).

NORAD EXERCISES:
(NORAD = North American Aerospace Defense Command, a US-Canada treaty organization launched during the Cold War)
USA Today reported in April 2004 that NORAD had run exercises before 9/11 simulating suicide hijacking attacks: “one of the imagined targets was the World Trade Center. In another exercise […] the target was the Pentagon – but that drill was not run after defense officials said it was unrealistic.” Most of these drills imagined hijackings originating overseas and coming in over the Atlantic, but USA Today noted “there were exceptions in the early drills, including one operation, planned in July 2001 and conducted later, that involved planes from airports in Utah and Washington State that were “hijacked.” [4] This drill was “conducted later” than July 2001, but not after September 11, and the date is apparently classified. Could this actually be the template for one of the war games of 9-11 itself?


1 > OPERATION VIGILANT GUARDIAN: The ironically dubbed “Vigilant Guardian” was the first to be widely acknowledged. The exercise to simulate a “crisis to North American Air Defense outposts nationwide.” Three different accounts of first notification of a hijacking indicate that there may have been simulated hijackings in at least Vigilant Guardian.

2 > OPERATION NORTHERN VIGILANCE: An "out-dated" Cold War exercise set up in the arctic with Canadian assistance to watch Russian meneuvers across the North Pole and "deny" them this attack route. But by drawing fighter and attention north, it opened another attack route on the East Coast...

3 > OPERATION NORTHERN GUARDIAN: Also set up in the Arctic and apparently related to Northern Vigilance, mentioned in the Toronto Star alongside it. Otherwise no details I’m aware of and undeserving of its own post.

4 > OPERATION VIGILANT WARRIOR: Mentioned exactly once as far as I know, by former White House counter-terror Czar Richard Clarke in his book Against All Enemies. Should have included "live-flies," actual planes in the air (manned or under remote control) pretending to be hijacked for the benefit of effective training.

In summary, these four NORAD exercises may have helped “jump-start” response on 9-11 by:
- Drawing fighters and attention away from the East Coast,
- Confusing commanders with the similarity of the drills to the actual attack,
- Inserting false radar blips, at least during the crucial first phase of the attack that hit New York.
- Possibly contributing, with continued radar inserts, to the presence of “ghost planes” like the phantom Flight 11 that distracted fighters from Flights 77 and 93.
- Possibly confusing the sky with remote-controlled live-flies.

The 9/11 Commission, tasked with brushing up the Official 9-11 for the history books, addressed the war games briefly. In one of their hearings, Commissioner John Lehman described them as one of the “happy circumstances” of 9-11, yet their final report makes no mention of any of them.

Other Drills (non-NORAD):

1 > GLOBAL GUARDIAN: Conducted alongside NORAD's Vigilant Guardian, GG was directed from the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) center in Nebraska, and involved three E-4B National Airborne Operations Center planes, the “Doomsday” planes of the Cold War intended to control nuclear forces from the air in times of crisis. There are a also a couple of other bizarre coincidences surrounding Offutt that morning covered in the post.

2 > Unnamed NRO plane-into-building drill: First revealed in 2002 - National Reconnaissance Office - air-based recon via spy satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles. Corder connection?

3 > TriPOD: Trial Point of Dispensing, drill for bioweapons attack, lower Manhattan, sheduled for 9/12/01, but had its center set up with FEMA people on 9/11. The TriPOD center, as it turns out, served perfectly as the base to run response to the WTC collapse. How convenient. The main question remaining is - what type of FEMA people were there?

4 > TIMELY ALERT: Force Protection exercise, Army, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Allegedly related to 9/11, but apparently not. But then again... (link coming soon)

5 > Alleged Drill at Pentagon - plane-into-building, Mascal connection, Arlington Fire Dept. Bush expected there - Secret service at Helipad. Honegger and allegations of drill based on Fort Monmouth contingent and Burlingame connection.

Wargame One: Vigilant Guardian

OPERATION VIGILANT GUARDIAN: The ironically dubbed “Vigilant Guardian” was the first to be widely acknowledged, notably in the BBC’s excellent 2002 documentary Clear the Skies. The exercise, as the official one-paragraph web page explains, was a regular, yearly exercise designed to simulate a “crisis to North American Air Defense outposts nationwide.” [1] As a result of Vigilant Guardian, according to NEADS Commander Colonel Robert Marr, “The fighters were cocked and loaded, and even had extra gas on board.” [2] Exact details remain classified, but it was a multi-day exercise, already going on for at least a day as the attacks began.

Three different accounts of first notification of a hijacking indicate that there were to be simulated hijackings in at least Vigilant Guardian: Major General Larry Arnold said “the first thing that went through my mind was, is this part of the exercise? Is this some kind of a screw-up?” [3] Sergeant Jeremy Powell at NEADS, where Vigilant Guardian was being carried out, was contacted by Boston Flight Control at 8:38 am. The Boston controller told him there was a hijacked plane headed to New York. Powell responded “is this real-world or exercise?” He received the answer “no this is not an exercise, not a test.” [4]

The most relevant account is that of Lt. Colonel Dawne Deskins. As NEADS regional overseer of Vigilant Guardian, she should have understood better than anyone what to expect from the drill. Newhouse News Service reported her response to the crisis: "At 8:40, Deskins noticed senior technician Jeremy Powell waving his hand. Boston Center was on the line, he said. It had a hijacked airplane. “It must be part of the exercise,” Deskins thought. At first, everybody did. [After clarifying with FAA] Deskins ran up a short flight of stairs to the Battle Cab and reported the hijacked plane real world, not a simulation.” [5]

Name Meaning: “Vigilant or Amalgam means it is a HQ NORAD sponsored exercise. Guardian means it is a multi-command CPX, or command post exercise (no live-fly). So on 9/11, NORAD was conducting a NORAD-wide, multi-command, command post exercise with no live-fly." - Major Don Arias, NORAD press spokesman who was on duty and involved in the response the morning of 9/11, to Mike Ruppert. As reprinted in Crossing the Rubicon, page 368.

Sources:
[1] http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/vigilant-guardian.htm
(the original page had this quote, but by 2006 the page makes no mention of a crisis but explains it is now "conducted in conjunction with USCINCSTRAT-sponsored GLOBAL GUARDIAN and USCINCSPACE-sponsored APOLLO GUARDIAN exercises. The exercise involves all HQ NORAD levels of command and is designed to exercise most aspects of the NORAD mission.")
[2] Scott, William B. “Exercise Jump-Starts Response to Attacks.” Aviation week’s Aviation Now. June 3, 2002. Accessed April 27, 2003 at: http://www.aviationnow.com/content/publication/awst/20020603/avi_stor.htm
[3] ABC News. “Terror Hits the Towers: How Government Officials Reacted
to Sept. 11 Attacks.” September 14, 2002. Accessed at: http://abcnews.go.com/onair/DailyNews/sept11_moments_1.html
[4] 9/11 Commission Final Report. Page 20
[5] Hart, Seely. “Amid Crisis Simulation, 'We Were Suddenly No-Kidding Under Attack.'” Newhouse News Service. January 25, 2002. Accessed May 7, 2003 at: http://www.unansweredquestions.org/timeline/2002/newhousenews012502.html