Washington, D.C.
For two years before Sept. 11, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) practiced responding to terrorist attacks in which hijackers tried to fly airliners into U.S. targets, USA Today reported this week. In one drill, the target was the World Trade Center. In another, it was to be the Pentagon, until Defense officials scratched that scenario because it was “too unrealistic.” NORAD spokesmen said none of the exercises matched 9/11 exactly; for instance, the fictional terrorists took off from abroad, while the real ones hijacked domestic flights. President Bush has said that prior to 9/11, he never envisioned airliners being used as missiles. The White House said it had not been aware of the tests by NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canadian operation.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Netherlands split on WFH for sex workersSpeed Read Councils concerned over 'nuisance' of at-home sex work, but others say changes will curb underground sex trade
-
'He adored Trump, and then rejected him'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
The Thursday Murder Club: who's in the film and what we can expectSpeed Read Author Richard Osman reveals starry cast set to play his 'septuagenarian sleuths'
