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A Korean Airlines Boeing 777 sits on the tarmac of Comox Airport after being diverted from Vancouver International Airport due to a bomb threat.
Updated at 5:43 a.m. ET: Two U.S. F-15s were scrambled to escort a Korean Air passenger jet to a Canadian military base Tuesday after the carrier's call center received a "credible bomb threat," NBC News reported. The aircraft later made an emergency landing.
Korean Air flight 72, which was en route from Vancouver to South Korean capital Seoul, diverted to the Comox base on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, the airline said.
"The (Korean Air) U.S. call center received a call that there was a threat on board the aircraft," Korean Air said in a statement. The threat was received about 25 minutes after the flight took off, The Associated Press reported.
NBC News reported that Canadian authorities had requested U.S. assistance to escort the flight back to Canada.
Two Oregon National Guard F-15s, which took off from Portland, Ore., intercepted the plane and shadowed it until it landed at the Canadian base, NBC News reported.
The plane, a Boeing 777, had 147 people including 134 passengers on board, the airline said.
"The airline will decide about the continuation of the flight after discussion with the airport and related authorities," Korean Air said.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Brian Massey told NBC News early Wednesday that cargo and luggage was being screened.
NBC News' Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube, Reuters, The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
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Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
Leave a Comment:
A bomb threat is a bomb threat. It is better to be guided by raptors than being inside a building.
Just to clarify: F15's are not "Raptors" they are designated as "Eagles". F22s are designated as "Raptors"
Wonder why they did not use Canadian Air Force ? Maybe they had the day off ?
They were probably already in American air space if they were 25 minutes into the flight. I don't know what Canada has stationed in the Vancouver area, but it probably had something to do with proximity to our National Guard as well as air space protocol.
They were out of notebook paper and rubber bands?
we called them. they put us on the waiting list.
What is an F15 going to do about a bomb on a plane?
I still do not understand what good fighters can do to "assist" at 30k ft? The only thing that could be done is to shoot them down. Yeah, I know, they can look in the cockpit , yada, yada, yada- but for about $40k expense for each jet, do the right thing and bill Canada, or better yet Korea!
Rick, I had the same question. Not like the aircrew went nuts.
If there was a bomb on-board you want the closest airfield that's outside a populated area (I doubt sending it back to the originating airfield qualified).
MM -
NORAD (North American Air Defense Command) protects our airspace . USAF and CAF share the duty. USAF was on alert at that time and place.
they have two options. Watch, or make it worse.
And, of course, that useless exercise costs us already thread-bare taxpayers a heap of money. And like others have said - where was Canada during this? Everyone hates the USA, until they're neck deep in a heap of do-do, then we're the beloved.
They did an awesome job of keeping that plane from exploding and showing the pilots how to land.
Some sensible answers regarding this problem. Also some ridiculous ones. Guess people have to find humor where they can.
The response, escorting that aircraft to a (relatively speaking) military airbase, in a fairly unpopulated area, does make sense. If it turned out there was a bomb, heaven forbid, it is better going off on the runway of a military airfield than a populated public, and international, airport, or worse yet, over the heads of hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of uninvolved people.
Whatever, it was still a positive outcome for a very negative situation.
The F-15's would have been flying a training mission sometime soon anyway. So it was not a waste of taxpayer money. The pilots received some training with an actual mission instead of just a scenario. They would have spent the same amount either for this or a purely training mission.
If the Canadian military base was an army base and not an air force base then they probably would not have fighters to respond. If the American Air National Guard base was the closest to the flight path then they would have responded. They escorted to a Canadian base so that their taxpayers could fund the investigation instead of "American taxpayers money being wasted to insure peoples safety".
The Bombs and Pills Little Kids keep coming No Time to live Easy No Time to be You'uuung..
It's simple. With a bomb, you can make the pilot do almost anything by threatening to press the button. Bomber tells the pilot to fly over downtown Vancouver, he's probably going to do it. Then boom. Fighters are there to keep the plane from doing anything like that. ATC tells the plane the stay away, plane doesn't listen, fighters are there to handle it.
Watch or make it worse?
So let me get this straight, you consider engaging a plane with a bomb and 100plus passengers making it worse than a plane with a bomb and a 100plus passengers nosing in to a population center and killing 10x the number?
What school did you go to?
Protocol requires a military escort if a civilian aircraft needs to enter military airspace, if I recall correctly. Plus, you don't want a jet with a possible bomb going off course accidentally. Finally, if it does blow up, you want to know exactly where it went down, not just where it went off radar.
And yeah - its not waste of government money, because the jets are all being used for training and re-training exercises all the time. And who says anything about it being on the taxpayer dime. They have reciprocity agreements with CAF - you know: you call me/I call you kind of thing. If you don't know details about how they operate or how the money is spent, you shouldn't be whining about what a waste of money it is.
Mario 69 is exactly right. Our airspace is patrolled by NORAD. In this instance American F-15s responded, probably because the plane was near American airspace. On another day it would have been Canadian aircraft. This has nothing to do with a "weak" Canadian air force. Canada's air force is one of the best in the world. Please get over yourselves and your superiority complexes.
Also, Scott #'s is absolutely correct as well. Our military is constantly training, patrolling, etc., so something like this is not exactly outside of the operational budget. Please also get over yourselves and your hyperbolic fears about money.
Still
How is this possible? Don't the Canadians screen everything like we do here? I would hope that all the checked bags were screened before the flight took off. Everything removed from passengers pockets, laptop in a separate tote, shoes and belts removed, hands above your head and cough, you know, the standard we go through in the U.S. that allows only people with defective crotch bombs get by.
It might be safer to just leave Canada via boat from now on. It's less expensive to have the Coast Guard intercept a boat rather than sending up our planes.
Just my little nonsensical two cents added to an already muddy comment section.
To those Americans/Canadians who complain...get a life and start creating positive energy instead of negative crap! We are friends and live in great countries end of story.
My question is they had 147 people including 134 passengers. Who were "these" people? Non paying illegals perhaps.
Hand,
Yes, they will shoot it down. Were this on option on 9/11, there would have been 100-200 dead passengers instead of 3000 other innocent people. On 9/11, the passengers died anyway. You might as well protect the people on the ground. The fighter jets are there to make it better . . . .
Master: Crew.
Glad a few posters finally stated the obvious that seems to have escaped serveral others -- if there's a bomb there could be one or more terrorists on board that could use the bomb as a threat to take control of the plane and fly it into buildings. The F-15s were there to cover the unforeseen. It's possible that there were indeed terrorists on that plane and the presence of the F-15s averted disaster.
We tried to call them but nobody knew how to speak "Canadian".
Isn't America the Worlds "big brother?" Who else would you call when there's trouble, either big brother, or the police, and Worldwide, America want's to be known as both.
NORAD is a joint Canadian/American operation. It has an American commander and a Canadian Deputy commander. Interceptor Aircraft are always on alert, and as far as the USAF, that may be AFNG, USAFR, or USAF. In this case it was apparently the Oregon AFNG that responded. As far is it costing money, so what, these guys fly training missions all the time. This time they flew a mission that involved an actual airplane to deal with, and the airplane they were escorting was provided "free" by KAL. Our guys received real life experience and all ended well. You need to get off the Canadian's ass, they do their part, and are a good and reliable ally.
The Canadian Airforce was not scrambled because all they could send were F/"eh"-18's
And the article mentioned that F-15's intercepted.
Effing-hosers eh?! But that's what this is aboot! Soory
I believe it is S.O.P.(Standard operating procedure)for that type of a bomb threat on planes once it is the air. I was hoping for more to this story but Nope,I guess it's News at 6 and 11. It is so that another 9/11 does not turn into another date to remember.
For those who believe that Canada should be billed for a military escort have short memories. On Sept 11th 255 flights from the U.S were diverted to Canada. Military escorts were used on many of those flights. Canada hosted about 40,000 passengers on that day at airports througout the country. Why don't Americans remember this? Short memories? Maybe it's because we don't have people in our country named Billie-Jean or Billy-Joe or Bubba or Jimbo.
We have a cat named Cindy-Jane does that count?
mike2010-1What you said there is something I did not know about. I am Alaskan-American, married to an Ontario woman for four years now. What I find hard to grasp is why some Americans dislike Canadians??? I would think that they would be glad not to be neighbors with Iran,Syria(I use these because of the hostilities they having within and from their neighbors and there like. The are very likely nice places in their own right.) I have really never met a Canadian that I did not like they are very friendly( Except in the cities around here Soo city,) everywhere else they are very gracious to people and hospitable. It is a beautiful country to drive through. I am just one Alaskan American stating his opinion. thanks for the info. voted up.EH! An I am in Ontario Canada now,We will be moving back to Alaska in a few months to stay until I retire. Then back to Saskatchewan. We hope
It's not so much that they dislike Canadians, they are just dicks is all - the kind of American who gives America a bad reputation. They refuse to be a team player with any other country and make themselves feel better by treating everyone who isn't like them like a dick.
ragagast
A big difference in Canadians and Americans is how radical and closed minded many of them are. I'm not saying everyone as I have many American friends who aren't and they agree 100% with me. All the issues going on in the U.S. and people seem to be fixated with issues that are irrelevent to attaining a substainable economy. Your economy could be in ruins and the main issues would be whether Obama is a Muslim or Romney is a Mormon or pro-life groups or gay marraige. The seperation of church and state will never happen and the next headline will not be about your economy but rather about some Senator or member of Congress who got caught having an affair.
For those who comment what can the Air Force do - if there is a bomb on board, perhaps there could be a terrorist on board as well. Terrorist will try to crash plane into a building or populated area. Air Force has the option to shoot down the jetliner if pilot cannot comply to land at islolated area of military's choosing.
ragagast
Just out of curiosity, what state do you living in?
The large quesion is, where was Norad on 9/11? Two and a half hours after the WTCs were hit, they still didn't intercept the plane that allegedly hit the Pentagon. Wreckage of the plane could not be found. I believe they were told to "stand down". The 9/11 commission even said they believed the Pentagon lied to them about Norad's role on 9/11.
It was a false flag attack.
radagast, perhaps it is you who needs to "get over yourself". American and Canadian citizens are perfectly justified in questioning how their money is being spent. It's your comments that illustrate why every one thinks Canada is a joke.
greenbeagle13
Please don't confuse Canada with middle-eastern countries, most people in Canada don't hate the U.S. Canada is also one of the countries who joined the NATO forces in Afghanitan among others, and that cost them a lot of tax money too. Seriously greenbeagle, try to remember who are the enemies and who are the friends.
And here's the answer to your question, quoting Mario:
Mario 69
This post is in regards to the comments about tensions between the States & Canada due to me being a duel-citizen, HOWEVER I'm glad that the jet-liner was brought down to the ground safely whether it was the USAF or CAF...
I'm from Detroit MI & had to come stay on the west coast due to serious medical circumstances.....(the health care in B.C is also BUNK BROKEN & BUSTED. I've serious Crohn's disease with a temp loop illumostomy that has a 6mth interior/exterior shelf life & am going on month 36, I have received the ABSOLUTE WORST care in my life here...).....on the out-skirts of Vancouver (Vansterdam lol)...I have to say that as a Dual-Citizen that yes, there are quite a few Canadians who hold animosity towards American's (even though technically we are ALL AMERICAN'S [i.e. North America...]). I drove out here with my MI license plate, and ppl will scoff at you while at stop lights, give you dirty looks at the gas pumps or in the gas station when they see my MI drivers license, purposely drive like d!cks around you if they've seen I had a MI plate. Don't really understand it but it is what it is I suppose, I'll attribute some of it to the hard economic times. I can't say that everyone is like that b/c they aren't, there are quite a few very nice folks here in this country & I would much rather be brother countries (Canada & U.S) than the other countries that are war torn and terrorist ridden...Either way I will stand by both the United States & Canada b/c they are 2 great countries who may hold some differences but at the end of the day I am proud to say I'm from these 2 first world countries!! eh? hehe
Oh and on another note, I believe that this is just an east/west coast difference in lifestyles (this goes for both U.S. & CA), but to me it seems the mind-set on the west coast is much more myopically self-absorbed. Just my own opinion though :-).
My only question is why the US had to respond to this. This flight neither originated in nor was destined for the US, so why were US planes scrambled to intercept the flight. Why did Canada have to request US planes to respond to this??? Doesn't Canada have their own Air Force??? Did Canada not have any planes available??? Is the Canadian government going to reimburse the US for the cost of scrambling these F-15s??? The cost of operating these planes is tens of thousands of dollars for every hour of flight time. The US is not the world's police force, nor can we afford to be. I understand that we have mutual defense treaties, but other countries need to step up and take responsibility for protecting themselves and dealing with their own problems, or at a minimum start paying the costs.
The idiot who authorized the jet scramble should be fired.
Its probably considered a part of NORAD
I think it is great of the US to take it seriously and scramble jets. I come from Holland and Dutch jets respond to Belgian airspace problems the same as Belgian jets do the same to our airspace. It is called good cooperation at a time of need.
We were probably closer than our Canadian colleagues, and so could respond faster.
really this is what you're worried about? Not the fact that we had the opportunity to assist an ally and prevent possible death to others? The bill will be paid, they have ways to recover expenses like that or 'swap' whatever it is they swap. It's not like this is Pakistan or Iraq, or one of the other's where the money just disappears into thin air and we get nothing for it.
If you want isolationism, you should try N. Korea, I hear they are looking for able body easily brainwashed people.
J'S in SD:Sit back and enjoy the flight JS in SD there could be many things we do not understand, about why things are done the way they do it; asking all those questions just confuses everything, are you trying to find some way to discredit the President, because they did what they did? it seems like you might be, trying to some how cast a doubt about how the country is being run by this administration! to discredit the President! did you know you were thinking that way? looking for anything and everything to use to try to make it seem like the President is not doing a good job???
Exactly right Dale.
I'll bet Romney would "scramble" a few luxury automobiles from his "auto elevator." That would show 'em, LOL.
Seriously though, do we REALLY want every other nation providing their own nuclear shield? Think about it.
JS, Because we are policing the World
NORAD response. North America... last time I looked Canada is in North America....just saying.
Exactly.
All your terrorist are belong to us.
I think it would depend on the air space the jet was in that would determine the interception by which country. Also, general cooperation through NORAD is a good thing. Further, Vancouver Island is right on the border with Canada and the USA.
I would be interested in finding out what a "credible" bomb threat is. Obviously, it's not some high school prank.
I hope all the passengers and crew are safe and well, and may continue on their journey without further ado.
I like to scroll through comments on stories like this to see if I can spot within 30 seconds the first person to shout, "How much did this cost?" or, "Who's paying the bill?!" Kind of a like a paranoid, misguided conservative I Spy.
To all of you who are bashing Canada for asking for our help on this and demanding that they pay us "back" may I remind you that the radar stations that have kept track of posible threats coming at the United States over the pole are in Canada. We are working together to keep the air space over North America safe for both nations.
Sure Ilya, they're just not that good at profiling.
The plane was probably near or over American airspace. If that thing goes off and rains on Seattle I wonder what the rhetoric would've been then.
Not much could have been done anyway except maybe a 5 minute warning.
JS, that question was answered prior to your question. NORAD, (North American Air Defense Command,) is manned 24/365 by US and Allied, (read U.S./Canadian/British) personnel. They send the nearest alert fighters to the site of the intercept. In this case, it was those Oregon Air National Guard F-15's that were the closest when the call was received.
As far as why anyone was sent, there are many reasons. Main one is to make sure the aircraft gets to the destination it is directed to, (in this case, that Canadian Air Force airfield.) The F-15 pilots contact the aircraft on a certain frequency, find out the problem, (if at all possible,) and then escort that plane to the place they have been told to land, and make sure there is no interference with that passenger plane getting there.
Regarding some rather inane comments seen previously, a very last resort, in an extreme case, would be to stop that plane from committing a 9/11 type attack.
"JS, that question was answered prior to your question."
Eventually you'll notice the timestamps.
"Regarding some rather inane comments..."
The takeover occurred when?
I wonder how many commenters can even find Canada on a map. One of my daughter's school mates (juniors in high school) thinks that the largest state is Canada.
Canada has come to the aid of the U.S many times. The closest canadian fighters would be cold lake Alberta. With the flight path of the korean plane it just makes perfect sense to call the U.S in for help / assistance the F15's were the closest at the time. We are friend's , allies . Help each other out in potential crises or crises situations.
As far as the costs go, Air Guard pilots have to maintain a certain number of hours of flight time. Most of that is done doing "drills" and "patrols", which is essentially them flying around for a few hours. Personally I would rather have to responding to a threat, even if it is a low probability threat, as that is a more realistic training exercise. In other words, our tax dollars are better spent doing stuff like this than it is doing the regular drills and patrols.
To all that are bashing Canada 'for not looking after their own problems' I'm pretty sure there's none of the people who were shown Canadian hospitality during the 9/11 attacks when all planes were forced to land in NA during that time. Many communities in Canada took in and fed and gave clothes, a place to sleep etc to all of those stranded air travellers. People opened up their homes and took in virtual strangers (some have become life-long friends due to this fact) and most of these travellers were American. How quickly they forget. That's what friends, 'allies' do, they help each other when the need arises. Do you think the Canadian government or it's citizens asked for payment because of all the planes that landed on it's soil, do you think the government asked for payment for all that it supplied to the travellers in need. Do you think for one second any Canadian that helped during that time asked for anything? And I can guarantee you of one thing, if anything ever happen to or in the US ever again Canada would be the first to step up and offer any assistance it could give.
So go on, keep bashing Canada over this one incident, it makes no difference because Canada will always be there for the US if the need ever arises again.
JS in SD, you sound like a liberal whiner...."Why do we have to do it....Not our problem...." Good thing our citizens mindset was not like that during WW1 or WW2.... There's a reason that they were the greatest generation.....Stand up and be proud, not bury your head in the sand mentality. Nothing personal JS, you have many good posts, I'm just venting a little.....
I remember during the Iranian hostage crisis that one of the employees of the US embassy was caught out of the embassy at the time it was taken over. He went to the Canadian embassy who took him in, gave him false Canadian papers and when the Canadian embassy was closed, took him with them. This was a brave act since, if they were caught, they could have been held hostage by the Iranians.
So for those of you who would like to bash Canada, get a life.
Glad everything turned out ok. Nothing wrong with letting the F-15 pilots go up and get a little "real world" flying as opposed to the usual training flights shooting each other with inert missiles while poppin off several grand worth of training chaff and flares.
JS- I agree. And what good are the fighters going to do anyway if the bomb goes off?
That's not their purpose. Their purpose is to shoot it down if need be.
Craig,
They would prevent the airliner from turning around and entering the US. Look at map and you will see how close Vancouver is to several major metropolitan areas (Seattle, Portland, etc).
But forget all of that, what would you have done?
Or if the aircraft is commandeered to be used as a flying missile against some high value target. Or the fact that if the threat was real and there was an incident you would have a set of eyes instantly available to evaluate the situation.
But THAT could never happen.These are the same people who whined about the lack of defensive aircraft being available during 9/11. Maybe some of these mopes think it would have been better to just let it fly along and hope for the best.
Once the flight was diverted the 15"s were used to keep the flight on it"s avenue of approach.
still beats me why a fighter escort is necessary for a bomb threat unless it was to take pictures IF the plane blew up
canary,
If the bomb goes off when the plane is above a populated area (say your house for instance), do you now see why it might be important to have F-15s shoot it out of the air above the ocean instead?? The passengers are dead either way, might as well save the people on the ground (and your house).
Yes, they will shoot the plane if they do not comply. They don't want the plane to fly into a building if terrorists are involved or other wackos. Many more people would be killed.
I would fully expect that other US specialists would also be brought in to interrogate, humiliate, and abuse every single person on board, and to steal their electronic devices as well. Canadians might not be as skilled at this sort of work.
goprodious: Seek a country where you will be more content to live in!!!
Go get a life (pun intended haha). That is just plain uncalled for....
It was a credible threat, but was it a credible bomb? There was no doubt about the threat -- they received it by phone. Do they ever take the time to consider the likelyhood that the threat itself is credible?
I suspect the now routine scrambling of jets was once a rare occurrance. Do they divert to the nearest airfield? Maybe. What if that is exactly what the attacker wants and is waiting at that alternate destination? Won't happen because the likelyhood of these types of threats is purposely blown way out of proportion by the fear-mongerers in the government.
The bottom line is that over-reaction is always the first reaction. Somebody jumps the turnstiles, close the airport for four hours. Find a screwdriver in the bathroom, cancel all flights and send everyone through the metal detector again.
Security theatre has run long enough. The clowns need to exit the stage and sanity must return.
Brian: The clowns are exiting the stage! there is only two left" the big one, and the little one! they might as well exit to" why waste any more time and money on this next election? President Obama is the clear winner!
Brian, my friend, it's always easier to be critical to a assumed 'over-reaction'. You'd also be one of the first to be critical if something happened and be asking where was the government/military to prevent this. I'd be much happier with an over-reaction than no action!!
No over-reaction here. No personal abuses. No body hurt. No complaints.
Brian you say over reaction? The victims of 9/11 say from their graves "you did not react fast enough and you killed us with your complacency". All depends on one's perspective now doesn't it?
Brian...you are the only clown who needs to exit the stage. Were you asleep or in a coma the day a Nigerian terrorist tried to blow up an airplane by detonating explosives in his skivvies over Chicago on Christmas Day a couple years ago? I suppose if that guy had succeeded you would be at the head of the line of a$$holes complaining why security was not enough. STFU moron.
Duh....US and Canada are part of NORAD.....Duh.
That's why US fighters were deployed to counter a Canadian threat.
Canadian pilots go to Colorado Springs, CO for training. They are the wildest partiers you have ever seen. They can drink, smoke and dance hours longer than all of us. lol
Don't forget about the conversion rate. Every hour in the US is like 7/10's of an hour in Canada. That's why they can party all night long. Oh wait! That's the money. Never mind.
Actually the Canadian dollar is worth more than the American dollar right now.
It wouldn't have been as funny the other way around. Don't be a party pooper ok. I'm giving you a check mark anyways.
May be someone's girl friend not happy and put the plane down or may be someone from Virginia Tech on loose
That comment is uncalled for. And no I am not a Tech fan, I am a UVA fan. I live in the area and saw what people went through, not good.
It would seem by some of the respondents to this article, some may not have a military background. However, as Christopher Mohr stated, it's just quite possible our response base was in a better location to respond quicker than our Canadian neighbors. Who's to know where that flight may have been headed if there was in fact a threat? Just because it departed from Canada to South Korea, what's to say it couldn't have been diverted and headed back towards the U.S. (I can't believe any of you have already forgotten 9/11. A plane can be diverted toward the U.S. from anywhere.)? As also noted, NORAD (North American Air Defense Command), which is still a joint Canadian/U.S. military command, has the responsibility to protect all of North American from intrusion The command, which is located in Colorado, has the responsibility to scramble interceptors, closest to a possible threat. The base from where those planes were scrambled are under the command of NORAD.
Please use a bit of common sense and research before posting such negative comments. One doesn't really have to have a military background to know why this action was taken.
Or maybe Canada is broke...too. Only they refuse to borrow any more...you know, good business sense.
We have planes but cannot afford to fly them...let obama spend his "stash"...
No, our banks are in fine shape. we didnt listen to Regan in the 80's and deregulate everything.
Can't blame your obama for the current situation you folk face seeing as you chose that path back during the Regan years...
just saying.
I hope Obama does donate the surplus of his huge coffers to the U.S. Treasury. That's patriotic!
Couldn't help yourself could you. Bash the president when it is completely irrelevant. Perhaps if you had a life, you might not be so negative.
Canada had the good sense to cut spending when they ran a deficit. DUHH! Wonder how they came up with that and wherever they discovered the idea, please, please, please, inform our government. They sure don't listen to us.
I am hopeful, not bashing. Its a good use of his huge surplus campaign coffers. Life is good in Nebraska.
Mario 69,
You call it hopeful, others say you're dreaming. Do you really think the dems will contribute 1 cent of their war chest to the country? HA!
A patriotic dream for our country is a good thing. Please share.
Guess where NORAD's backup facility is? Ohhhhh wait for it - CANADA.
If the GOP were serious about reducing the debt they would concede this election to Obama,and donate the money they will spend to pay down the deficit, and start to work with the President to help his administration fix this economy, and work together to create millions of jobs!
One thing they could do is to pass a bill requiring everyone to pay a certain amount of cash money on the deficit after they work out a formula to or that would eliminate the deficit, on a sliding scale, many could afford to pay fifty thousand dollars and never even miss the money, banks and corporations could pay one million dollars cash, and never miss the money this could be done to get this country back on track faster, and it should be done!!!
What in the HE11 are you talking about! Are you going to give 50 Thousand Dolars toward the deficit? I bet not! And you think a company is giving the money? No chance. Companies do not pay expenses, taxes or anything else. It is paid by the people who buy, borrow or do business with that business. In other words, all the money is still coming from John Q Citizen. They just raise thier prices, interest rates or whatever to bring in the money to pay those taxes. YOU are included in that equation when you buy or borrow anything.
What the hell does this have to do with the subject of the story?
Dale: or the President could have had a budget since he got into office and pwned both houses of Congress for the first two years of his term. Just say'n.
As for your other "idea": per capita that's $49,991.90 as of right now. You can send your check to:
Gifts to the United States
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 East-West Highway, Room 622D
Hyattsville, MD 20782
...so far, Warren Buffet's contribution has been $0.00. Ditto Obama, Michael Moore, Nancy Pelosi...
Dale...best thing we could do is impeach this sorry a$$ of a president...stop the bleeding and let the adults take over...
before it's too late.
Dakle and Bulldog
Goes both ways, keep relevant and don't feel you have to trash the president or make irrelevant comments about the GOP just becasue you got up this morning. How about a real comment about the story?
Dale,
Although He is not very good with money, I have turned over my share of the deficit bill to the Lord. People seem to think they get good results turning other things over to him so when your plan is put into action, just contact the Lord for my share.
In case you were wondering...these aircraft were directed by "WADS" which is the Western Air Defense Sector. It is part of NORAD and is located on the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, WA. The F15 Eagles that were scrambled to intercept the aircraft belong to the 142nd Fighter Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard. These aircraft stand on alert at their base in Portland and are the only aircraft that are available to be "scrambled" (take off within a few minutes notice) on the west coast between Alaska and No. California. These fighters are sent to ensure the subject aircraft does not approach a "critical target" (Yes, they would shoot it down if necessary)... As far as Comox on Vancouver Island...I've been there and it's remote enough while having facilities to handle this situation.
I guess I am missing the logic...someone claimed there is a bomb on board the plane, therefore we should send up fighter planes in case we have to respond to this threat that the plane might explode by....shooting more explosives at the plane so that it explodes. Because people who claim bombs are on planes with anonymous telephone calls really might be planning to crash the plane into an urban area. Makes all kinds of sense............
Perhaps we'd be safer if two fighter jets followed EVERY passenger plane. You never know when we might have to blow one up.
What if the plane was hijacked and they just advised their was a bomb threat so they could return to Canadian or US Airspace. By the time everyone caught on the plane would be in a building in the US or Canada. Luckily you are NOT in charge of our National Defense.
The fighters aren't meant for the people on the plane, they are mean't to shoot the plane down and protect the people on the ground. Who's to say the plane wouldn't have turned around on it's own and attempted to crash in a baseball stadium or something.
Once again we have a bomb threat from a plane. When will the madness stop? I'm certainly glad we had a base close enough to intercept that plane, and head it back to that base in Canada.
Were we lucky? I dont know yet? Is there really a bomb? We dont know that yet either. If there had been a terrorist on board, the flight would probably not have turned back.
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
It wouldn't do to have NORAD Biden their time instead of launching. Tee, Hee!
Thankyou Worldvoyager, you are 100% correct. The military is responsible for the safety of our airspace so let them do their job. We all should just say thankyou, good job.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Less than 25 minutes from Vancouver = less than 25 minutes from Seattle = about the same distance to Portland. There's more population between those two American cities than there is in Vancouver, BC. Yes, it was at least as much, if not more, of a security interest to America as it was to Canada.
Fighters armed with missiles aren't too keep the bomb from blowing up. The missiles are to stop the plane before it blows up over said population centers. Harsh reality, I know...
Rickeroo
What is an F15 going to do about a bomb on a plane?
Rickeroo, what they would do is shoot the plane down if the pilot did not do exactly what he was told to do. This is the new reality since 9/11. Better 147 + crew than a whole building full of people (remember the world trade center oh ye of short memory)?
Suppose they had a suitcase nuke on board and demanded a low level flight over a large city? Shoot the plane down over an unpopulated area or the water if possible. Like One really fed up boomer said, better 147 people + crew than a building or city.
Not sure why you don't understand the purpose of fighter jet escorts. It would have been a life saver if the same precaution was used on 9/11. It's not to protect the plane but the people on the ground. They scrambled jets when Payne Stewards plane went off course in the 1990's to protect people and assets on the ground in the even he was going to crash near a populated area. This has been standard protocol for NORAD since it was created. It just puzzles me as to why the protocol wasn't followed on 9/11.
Not sure why it's not understood why jets were a waste of time and money. It's been protocol since NORAD was created. They intercepted Payne Stewards plane in the 90's to prevent collateral damage when he crashed. The didn't have to shoot him down as he crashed in a rural area. The same protocol is in place for high-jacked planes and bomb threats. People were extremely mad that the protocol wasn't followed on 9/11 as was I. Many lives would have been saved that day had it been followed. It still puzzles me why it wasn't.
I don't think they had time to react. Using a plane as a flying missile had not been done before.
Personally, I can't imagine the reaction of the American population had the fighter jets gotten there in time to shoot down the 9/11 planes before they got to the twin towers. Just look at the crazy conspiracy theorists now when we KNOW the terrorists flew the planes into the buildings. Imagine the scenarios they'd create if those planes had been shot down before they hit the towers? They could say the terrorists would never have really flown into the buildings, they were only going to threaten to to extort ransom money. That the planes were shot down by Bush's government unnecessarily, killing the passengers and anybody on the ground that was hit by the debris. And then going into Afghanistan to get Bin Laden afterwards...God can you imagine the outcry? And how could you argue against that denial if it never happened, before or then? It's horrible that it happened, but at least we have physical evidence to prove the theorists have their heads up their a$$es.
The F-15s are already fueled and paid for, as well as the salary and benefits of the flight crew / ground personnel. The planes are going to fly regardless......... so why does this bug anyone ? This IS the mission of the ANG.
Yes, it is soo good that someone has a front row seat to the airliner blowing up. Or maybe their orders are to shoot it down? What good could they possibly do if there IS a bomb on board? Stupid response.
So true! If ANG works anything like my old navy fighter squadron, we were allocated so much fuel per year as part of our squadron's budget. When we went to war, fuel was provided as part of the mission.
If we had a republican administration - those jet fighters would have been scambled away from the jet.
Both the U.S. and Canada is under NORAD. That means we scramble jets to help Canada and they do the same for us. All of you who are so worried about the money are forgetting about the thousands of U.S. citizens who were fed, clothed, and sheltered in the wake of 9/11 by the Canadians. Hundreds of flights that were flying from overseas and were past the point of no return were not allowed to enter US airspace. That means that a great many of them were diverted to Canada. Some of those planes could have been hijacked, but Canada accepted them for us anyway.
If you see your neighbor's house on fire, you help out. You don't wait for him to give you something for it or demand payment afterwards.
And for all of you talking about the deficit, (which really has nothing to do with this) you don't seem to realize that it is TRILLIONS of dollars. That's trillions with a "t". Taking more from people is not going to ever do anything to lower it. The only thing that will ever get it under control is to cut the size of government by a third. Even if you took ALL the money from EVERYONE in this country who makes over $100,000 per year it would still leave a budget deficit of 1.65 TRILLION dollars just for this year. And next year, all those people who you stole all the money from would be broke and could contribute nothing. You people act like tax bumps are all we need to save us. But that's only peanuts compared to what we need. If you took every penny of Exxon's profit for a year, it would pay down .2% of the federal deficit. It would also put Exxon out of business, so those jobs and future revenues are gone. A trillion is a billion times a thousand. A billion is a million times a thousand. It's a really big number.
Do we need more taxes? Maybe. Our corporations have the highest tax rates in the world, and that's not counting what they have to pay to match the tax contributions of all their employess. But I guess we could tax them more and send more of them overseas. I could afford to pay a little, not much, but a little more in taxes. But none of that will make a difference unless we drastically cut the size and scope of our government. If you talk about raising taxes without cutting the government then you are just fantasizing.
I'm sorry the Canadians may be a group of fine people but it is doubtful that anyone expects any meaningful or significant aid from our beloved northern neighbors. Whatever token aid you sent should have been retained in Canada.
Dog_Blue,
I bet Canadians wish you'd said that before they spent billions in Afghanistan, the billions fighting the needless U.S. war on drugs, accepted bottom dollar prices for their oil in return for capital investment, or housed the expansive, and expensive air training range for U.S. and international aircraft in Northern Canada.
Luckily, most Canadians and Americans are quite happy with the long friendship, alliance, and neighbourly assistance both ways, without condescension.
The American company General Electric (GE) with a ten billion dollar profit, pays no income tax.
Its CEO, Jeffery Immelt, is a "special " advisor to President Obama.
Does anybody else see a problem with this?
So, what do the F-15's do about the "bomb"? Watch as the plane disintegrates? Shoot it down with a missile? Such a stupid response.
If ordered by the POTUS or his designated command and control official who has been granted said authority they will shoot it down.
The F-15s do nothing about the bomb................ isn't that a given ? The ANG can provide the exact beginning and end coordinates of the debris field, size and location of largest cabin pieces, chance of survivability and pinpoint the location of detonation on aircraft. Yes, they can also bring the plane down if ordered. There is upwards of 48,000 gallons of fuel on board that 777.
credible threat ? My ass. This is the us government playing around and scaring the south koreans after the rocket scare the south koreans are inflicting on japan .... .... Doesn't anyone see that ???? Amazingly gullible american population. Everybody is more concerned with the details instead of the big picture. ... The second comment was correcting the inaccurate article ... raptors vs. eagles .... ridiculous. You missed the point most of you. The point is that the us government will stoop to ANYTHING to purvey its evil..... Those lilly white old men are NOT. They are zionist jews controlling you ..... This was JUST an example ...
Conrad,
You're clueless man........Clueless........Need to stop shaving your head...
Out...
Conrad, what are you smoking. South Koreans threatening Japan with missiles? Don't you mean the North Korean leaders, who are starving their own people to protect their own selfish power lifestyle?
As far as the rest of your ramblings, sorry, you sound a lot like a lot of other "conspirancy theorists."
You are aware that South Korea and North Korea are two different countries right? Stop talking about things you know nothing about.
Conrad,
Glad you cleared that up for us. Go to your front door, the medical team is just arriving. They have your special sport coat with the long sleeves that you love so much.
Hey Connie, get your aluminum foil hat back on, the voices are controlling you again... do do do doooo (Twilight Zone music cued)
Does Canada have armed forces?
Yes they do. They are also very tight with our military and train together all the time for whatever may come our way.
Out...
Dog_Blue, yes the Canadians have some very good soldiers, sailors, and airmen.
and their own regimet of Black Watch, with real pretty kilts.
@ dog blue,
To date the three longest confirmed sniper kills in Afghanistan were all by Canadian shooters. So yeah I'd say they have a VERY capable military.