To a fighter pilot, the tanker "driver" is his/her best freaking friend. I'd call that "mates" when the gas gauge gets low (like it frequently does in "go fast" planes). I seem to remember the fighters from Ottis having to keep the speed down for just that reason.
"chicks in tow"
I showed the photo to show how close fighters can get. We were intercepted by an F-14. We were reading the paper on the way to the PI from Okinawa. The F-14 moved in front of the wing and pulled near the cockpit watching while we were not. When we looked up, the F-14 split-s away; never talked, never seen again. Must of been a carrier group in the area.
Here is a big chick in tow...
The military always follow the "orders". It is funny they are arguing if Cheney said "shoot down", they the military stands down. The fact is some would use what Cheney said as permission, assume it is NCA, and take action. As most people understand, in emergencies the military can take action. Yes, it was not policy, not procedure to shoot down hijacked airplanes, and I can't think of why you would based on the old paradigm (why do i dislike that word?) of hijacking. On 911 the planes were not hijacked, they were terrorists weapons, the passengers were already planned to be murdered, and some were already dead when the terrorist requisitioned the planes by murder. This is clearly a time to take action if you are in a position to do so. The Passengers of Flight 93 took action because they figured out 911, something some people have a problem doing after 10 long years.
I know this sound stupid, but if I was authorized to shoot down a plane, given an order, I would first try to get the passengers to attack the terrorists. If you see a crazy pilot out the window, making wild hand signs, ....
...
"Saturday, Jan. 11, with the president's permission, Cheney and Rumsfeld call Bandar to Cheney's West Wing office, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Myers, is there with a top-secret map of the war plan. And it says, 'Top secret. No foreign.' No foreign means no foreigners are supposed to see this," says Woodward.
...
Hmmmmm!
Let me see, we are planning a war, we are using a base in Saudi Arabia, we have troops in Saudi Arabia. Saudis are allies, and you come up with this as your evidence of What? This kind of logic, born out of ignorance, is reflective of your falling for 911 truth claims years in the past. jimd is not helping you, he is misleading you.
When we launch a war next to an ally, we tell them the plan. If you are confused about Iraq, the idiot was shooting at us for years after the first gulf war in 1991!; maybe you missed that war. If you were fooled by the political claptrap, don't be, Iraq has nothing to do with 911, more than indifference. Saddam did not take out UBL, Iran did not take out UBL. I was in the first gulf war, the Saudis were are allies, we shared the war plan, they were in the war plan. Did the Saudis have a role in the Iraq war? You know how much fuel it takes to fight an Air War? Any figures? Got some real facts?
You cherry-pick your way to delusions, without analysis, put together crazy claims of treason. Or was that jimd? Your conclusion is poppycock, what Woodward says is hearsay, and it makes sense to show our allies the war plan since their support is required. Like 911, you are going off half cocked, full of fantasy, low on knowledge. I like fantasy, your fiction will not earn a Pulitzer, your exposing fraud, will not earn a Pulitzer, you made it up.
If there was treason based on what you have; showing the war plan to Saudis is not a fact to use, not evidence of treason, it is evidence you have no knowledge. BTW, the president is the boss, he can pretty much do what you think he can't, then you turn it into nonsense.
I can see with your logic, the Prince would say, no plan, no base, no support - go away