U.S. might suspend fighter jet patrols

PAULINE JELINEK, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- The military has flown more than 13,000 fighter jet patrols over U.S. cities since Sept. 11 at a cost exceeding $324 million. Now it wants to cut back.

The round-the-clock patrols designed to deter terrorists might be straining planes and personnel, the Pentagon said Monday.

Four months after the airliner attacks, any decision on ending or changing the patrols might come down to a calculation of how safe Americans would feel with the change, some officials say.

Part of the homeland defense efforts called Operation Noble Eagle, the flights began after hijackers crashed jetliners into the Pentagon and World Trade Center. U.S. fighters have been flying over New York and Washington since then.

Other patrols fly from time to time over other major metropolitan areas and key sites, and jets are on alert at 30 bases to scramble if called. The combat air patrols are the first of their kind over the United States since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

Officials have been looking to cut back on the program for some time, knowing from the outset that the high-tempo use of manpower and equipment couldn't be kept up with the existing people and budget, one defense official said, commenting on condition of anonymity. Now that four months have passed and aviation security has been improved somewhat, some wonder if it might be time to start rethinking the patrols, the official said.

Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke declined to confirm that Monday, telling a Pentagon press conference that talking about details of the program could give "an advantage to those who might want to do us harm."

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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