FIRST DAY JITTERS

SLINEY, LEIDIG, MYERS: THREE DEFENSE LINKS SWAPPED AT THE LAST MINUTE
Adam Larson
Caustic Logic/They Let It Happen
January 1 2007
Last Update: 3/19

9/11 was just such a weird day, who could think it relevant that among the other oddities of that morning The FAA was being run by a first-day rookie? Benedict Sliney was just getting his feet wet as the National Operations Manager when four civilian airliners were hijacked amid confused reports of about a dozen possible hijacks. While Sliney had superiors like FAA administrator Jane Garvey, he was called on to make major decisions that morning. He told the 9/11 Commission: “NORAD […] asked ME if I were requesting military intervention. And I indicated to NORAD that I’m advising you of the facts of this particular incident – I’m not requesting anything. I wasn’t sure I even had the authority to request such a thing.” [1] Perhaps he hadn’t watched the training video closely enough the day before.

But was the Chain of Command he and the others at FAA informing any better organized? The National Military Command Center (NMCC), beneath the Pentagon, is the command and control “nerve center” for the military leadership if America comes under attack. While this usually does not happen, the NMCC sits ready, watched over and coordinated by the Deputy Director of Operations (DDO) and is used for other activities requiring centralized coordination – like passing on requests for fighter assistance in case of a hijacking and, I’d guess, coordinating air-based War games, of which there were at least five on 9/11.

Then Captain Charles J. Leidig - acting NMCC Director for almost precisely the 90 minutes of the 9/11 attacks

Army Brigadier General Montague Winfield was originally slated to be in charge of the NMCC that morning, but the previous day he had decided to take some time off, asking a recently qualified but inexperienced rookie, Navy Captain Charles Leidig, to stand in as DDO in the morning. This is confirmed by Leidig’s own testimony to the 9/11 Commission. His written statement was the shortest they received at just over one page, large font, double spaced. It stated blandly “on 10 September 2001, Brigadier General Winfield, US Army, asked that I stand a portion of his duty […] on the following day. I agreed and relieved Brigadier General Winfield at 0830 on 11 September 2001.” [2] At that very minute, the first plane was right between its hijacking (about 8:15) and its impact with the WTC (8:46).

The remarkable request was presumably for some other, lesser, reason. But Leidig’s rookie status (only qualified to be DDO a few weeks earlier) and the emerging crisis did not interrupt the transfer and Winfield left. I can’t say whether this had any operational role in 9/11 or the lack of defense against it, or was related to the air-based war games that have been acknowledged, but both seem probable. And while certainly the timing of this admitted September 10 request is beyond coincidence, none of the involved parties have offered any explanation - it has remained both curiously open and unexplained.

But war games or no, Leidig’s job there wound up more than a drill. As the 9-11 Commission’s final report explained “the job of the NMCC in such an emergency is to gather the relevant parties and establish the chain of command between the national command authority […] and those who need to carry out their orders.” [3] This includes, among others, the Defense Secretary and JCS Chairman. Acting Joint Chiefs Chairman, Air Force General Richard Myers – like Leidig, filling in as of the morning of 9/11 – claims total ignorance of the attack until about 9:40, and the 9/11 Commission confirmed that he arrived at the NMCC and joined the conference in session just before 10:00, over an hour after the attack began and just as it was ending.

By the time Myers arrived at 10:00, regular DDO Montague Winfield had taken the center over again from Leidig, but Rumsfeld, the middle link in the “national command authority” chain Leidig was tasked with “gathering,” was still MIA. Winfield would later state “for 30 minutes we couldn't find him. And just as we began to worry, he walked into the door” at 10:30 – nearly a half hour after the attack was over. [4] While he’d been at the building all morning, officially he’d been too busy loading injured into ambulances for the TV cameras to take his part in the defense, though accounts of his whereabouts vary greatly.


So here is the graphic representation of Leidig’s unorthodox stand-in shift and the results of his work to “gather the relevant parties” during the 111 minutes that hijacked attack craft were attacking the heart of America’s financial and military might. By whatever confluence of factors, the room was kept vacant of upper leadership until Leidig relenquished control and the attack ended. We should be left wondering why the parties weren’t gathered, what was so special about Leidig that he had to be there to fail to gather them, and who knew the day before just how badly he would fail when inserted in the morning?

Leidig did try to do things on his own as Myers and Rumsfeld kept their distance, initiating a phone bridge and significant event conference at 9:29, a line that the 9/11 Commission clarified did not have FAA on it. One minute later, Leidig announced that he was just told American 11 was still airborne. [5] It was also precisely at 9:30 that the Langley fighter pilots finally took off, and so Leidig gave them this new ghost target, which wound up distracting them from the very real Flight 77 as it closed in on his own location and entered radar screens again. The fighter pilots were never informed of the attack plane until after they saw smoke rising from the Pentagon after 9:37. The Commission admitted the FAA was not on the line with Leidig, but blames them anyway: “we have not been able to identify the source of this mistaken FAA information,” and left it at that [emphasis mine]. [6]

Since that day, Leidig has been promoted – first to Commandant of Midshipmen in September 2003, then to U.S. Defense Representative to the Pacific micro-states. Later he assumed command of U.S. Naval Forces Marianas and Navy Region Marianas and advanced to Rear Admiral status. Leidig is recipient of numerous service medals over his distinguished career, none specifically for his service on 9/11, of which his official Navy bio makes no mention whatsoever. [7]

[After I posted this, it occured to me to state I'm not accusing Adm Leidig of anything in particular, nor Sliney, Myers, or even Rumsfeld individually. I only present this in the public interest to help clarify the record - nothing personal.]

Sources:
[1] National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Panel one, Day two of 12th public hearing. Staff statements on the military and civilian aviation authorities. Washington D.C. June 17, 2004. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/archive/hearing12/9-11Commission_Hearing_2001-06-17.htm
[2] Flocco, Tom. "NMCC ops director asked substitute on 9-10 to stand his watch on 9-11.” Prison Planet. June 18 2004. http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2004/061804askedsubstitute.htm
[3] 9/11 Commission Final Report. Page 37.
[4] Thompson, Paul and the Center for Cooperative Research. “The Terror Timeline.” New York. Regan Books. 2004. Page 456.
[5] 9/11 Commission Final Report. Page 37.
[6] 9/11 Commission Final Report. Page 26
[7] Commander Naval Forces Marianas: Rear Admiral Charles J. Leidig. US Navy bio. http://www.guam.navy.mil/bio_adm.htm

PSYCHIC RUMSFELD'S WANDERINGS

Even as he did nothing about it, the Defense Secretary apparently developed a clairvoyant connection with the unfolding attack (at least according to Rumsfeld and a lackey). Just minutes before the first plane hit the World Trade Center, and apparently unaware of any hijackings in progress, Rumsfeld was talking about terrorism and the future of the Defense Department at a meeting in the Pentagon. He later told CNN’s Larry King that he had said “there would be an event that would occur in the world that would be sufficiently shocking that it would remind people again how important it is to have a strong, healthy Defense Department that contributes to - that underpins peace and stability in our world.” [1] According Representative Christopher Cox, who was present, Rumsfeld said at 8:44 “let me tell ya’, I've been around the block a few times. There will be another event.” He then repeated it for emphasis, “There will be another event.” Two minutes later he was vividly proven correct when American 11 hit the North Tower.

At 9:36, Rumsfeld was aware there was an attack underway, but reportedly knew nothing of flight 77 heading straight for him. At that time, the Secretary was still in the Pentagon, now hanging out alone with Representative Cox. According to the U.K. Telegraph, the men were watching TV coverage of the smoking towers in Manhattan when the old man said “believe me, this isn't over yet. There's going to be another attack, and it could be us.” “The next minute, just seconds later,” Cox recalled in a press release, “Flight 77 hit the Pentagon.” Cox, for one, was left with no doubt who was in charge, and urged Americans to “listen and unite” behind the President and Rumsfeld. [3]

Action Rumsfeld, dead center (screen shot, America Remembers)

But Rumsfeld didn’t seem to do anything useful with his alleged psychic powers. After his magic show for Cox, he left his 4th floor office and went outside. The Secretary wandered around to the blast site on the other side of the monstrous building and started helping the wounded, well in view of the television cameras. That’s great that he wanted to help, but paramedics get paid to do that. He gets paid to be link #2 in the national defense chain of command in a wartime emergency, and one who had recently upgraded his responsibility for just this sort of event. He could have helped the grounds crew mow the grass as well, but that didn’t have the same propaganda power as helping the bleeding and dying.

Besides, near the ambulances would have been a dangerous place for the Defense Secretary to linger – as a self-described scholar of such things, he should have known that terrorists often conduct a second strike right when the rescue workers show up. While his security personnel were reportedly not pleased with this decision, Rumsfeld himself almost seemed to know that wasn’t part of the plan. He remained there for about fifteen minutes, by most accounts, until his security detail rushed him away.

Richard Clarke offers a different, more logical account. Clarke claims Rumsfeld was in on his Counter-terrorism conference when it started, between 9:10 and 9:25. As he entered the Video center with its bank of television screens, Clarke “could see people rushing into studios around the city,” including “Rumsfeld at Defense.” [4] Upon receiving word the Pentagon was hit by a plane, Clarke noted “I can still see Rumsfeld on the screen, so the whole building didn’t get hit.” [5]

But the 9/11 Commission, based on Rumsfeld’s testimony, concluded the secretary was in his office, getting his daily intelligence briefing as the attack began. After he was interrupted to be told a second plane had his in New York, “he resumed the briefing while awaiting more information. After the Pentagon was struck, Secretary Rumsfeld went to the parking lot to assist with rescue efforts.” [6] This leaves very little time either for Clarke’s teleconference or a meeting on “the future of terrorism and the Defense Department.” These accounts simply don’t add up.

But we know where he wasn’t. Some officials had already gone down to their battle stations in the NMCC bunker even before the Pentagon was hit (which was already more than a half-hour after everyone knew we were at war), and others joined them around 9:45 and after. By 10:00, Montague Winfield had taken the NMCC over again from Leidig, and would later state “for 30 minutes we couldn't find [Rumsfeld]. And just as we began to worry, he walked into the door” at 10:30. [7] Top-notch 9/11 researcher Paul Thompson wondered “shouldn't Rumsfeld have reported to the NMCC long before? For nearly an hour, apparently no one knew if he was killed in the Pentagon explosion or not.” [8] Up to this point, he actually knew very little of the response going on. The 9-11 Commission’s final report noted “Rumsfeld told us he was just gaining situational awareness when he spoke with the Vice President at 10:39.” [9] The last hostile aircraft had crashed thirty-six minutes earlier.

[1] CNN. “Where were You on 9-11?“ Larry King Weekend. September 7, 2002. Accessed November 12, 2004 at: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0209/07/lklw.00.html
[2] Cox, Christopher. “Chairman Cox's Statement on the Terrorist Attack on America.” Press Release. September 11, 2001. http://cox.house.gov/html/release.cfm?id=33
[3] Langley, William. “Revealed: what really went on during Bush's 'missing hours'” The Telegraph. December 16, 2004. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml? xml=%2Fnews%2F2001%2F12%2F16%2Fwbush16.xml
[4] Clarke, Richard. against All Enemies. Page 3.
[5] 37. Clarke. Pages 7-8.
[6] 9/11 Commission Final Report. Page 37.
[7] Thompson, Paul and the Center for Cooperative Research. The Terror Timeline. New York. Regan Books. 2004. Page 456.
[8] See [7]. Page 456.
[9] See [6]. Page 44