Not HSD

Who decides whether an aircraft violating the ADIZ over Washington, DC, should be shot out of the sky?

Not the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, the authority will rest solely with the Pentagon and, ultimately, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The question came up after the May 11th incursion by a Cessna 150 to within about three miles of the White House. The incident forced the evacuation of the White House, Supreme Court and Capitol.

As ANN reported a week ago, Customs and the Coast Guard, both factions of the Department of Homeland Security, had bickered about who had the authority to order a lethal intercept. In the end, it appears, neither agency will have that choice.

"I can tell you in principle that both Cabinet officials believe that when it comes to a decision to shoot down an aircraft, only one person should have that authority to avoid an unintended conflict of judgment," Assistant Defense Secretary Paul McHale told the Washington Post. "And that person should be the secretary of defense, accountable to the president. "It's a basic military principle to achieve unity of command... particularly in a life-and-death situation."

Still, neither Rumsfeld nor DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff have signed off on a formal agreement stating that the Pentagon has sole authority in decisions whether to shoot down ADIZ encroachers. McHale said that agreement was expected to be signed shortly.

DHS is still responsible for ordering a response to ADIZ incursions, according to Chertoff's chief military advisor, Rear Admiral Timothy Sullivan. But under the coming agreement, only NORAD could actually order pilots to open fire.

FMI: www.dhs.gov