The Navy has ordered a pair of aircraft carriers to depart the Norfolk, Va., Naval Station and deploy off the coast of New York City and Washington, D.C., to provide air cover to both cities in case of new threats following terrorist attacks today.
Analysts said the deployment is akin to the kind that military officials would order in a war zone.
The order came in the wake of terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C.
Two airliners were flown into the trade center’s 110-story twin towers around 9:00 a.m. Eastern this morning. About an hour later, another airliner was flown into a helipad near the Pentagon, causing collateral damage to a part of the Defense Department structure that had just been remodeled.
A fourth airliner crashed about 80 miles east of Pittsburgh. Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, speculated that the fourth airliner was enroute to Washington, D.C. – perhaps the Pentagon – and may have been shot down by U.S. fighters to avoid having it crash into the heart of the nation’s military machine. Federal officials flatly deny that U.S. planes shot down the airliner.
Navy officials did not comment on the deployment. The USS Nimitz, USS Eisenhower, USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS George Washington, and USS Harry S. Truman are all based at Norfolk.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials have closed the nation’s borders with Mexico and Canada.
Also, while officials have not said where President Bush is meeting with national security advisers, they did say he is “safe.” Other experts say he is likely meeting with officials in bomb-proof shelters.
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