corrente

And why is this day different from all other days? Anyhow:

The aide needed to know: Did Cheney want to give warplanes scrambled over Washington orders to shoot it down?

Cheney did not hesitate. He authorized fighter aircraft "to engage the inbound plane."

Perhaps in his haste to act — President Bush was in Florida at the time — Cheney might have shortcut White House protocol, the report said. The normal chain of command for military "engage" orders goes from the president to the secretary of Defense, and not through the vice president, it said.
(via LA Times)

They've messed up the chain of command again! More Fog Machine! For 9/11, just like Abu Ghraib, nobody can really be sure where the buck stops.

Although Cheney said he conferred with [Bush] before giving the order, the commission staff could not confirm that a phone call took place in that time frame. Several minutes after giving the order, Cheney informed Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that he had done so.

I guess this is why Bush and Cheney had to do their Mary-Kate and Ashley act before the 9/11 Commission (as Froomkin speculates).

"So we've got a couple of aircraft up there that have those instructions at the present time?" Rumsfeld asked.

"That is correct," Cheney replied. "And it's my understanding they've already taken a couple of aircraft out." That understanding turned out to be mistaken.

And Cheney's wrong about weapons systems again...

CHENEY TO BUSH: Isn't it bliss, don't you approve?

Sigh.