Unlike other accounts of the historic attacks on 9/11, this discussion surveys the role of the world’s most advanced military command and control plane, the E-4B, in the day’s events and proposes that the horrific incidents were the work of a covert operation staged within elements of the U.S. military and the intelligence community. Presenting hard evidence in the form of proprietary photos taken from raw footage filmed by CNN, the account places the world’s most advanced electronics platform circling over the White House at approximately the time of the Pentagon attack. The argument offers an analysis of the new evidence within the context of the events and shows that it is irreconcilable with the official 9/11 narrative. "A fine and important book." —Noam Chomsky, author, Failed States on Dimona, the Third Temple? "Extremely well researched and written." —Daniel Ellsberg, former American military analyst and RAND Corporation employee, on Dimona, the Third Temple? "A thrilling ride through the dawn of Christianity." —Marie D. Jones, author, Looking for God in All the Wrong Places on Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes Mark H. Gaffney is an environmentalist, a peace activist, a researcher, and the author of Dimona, the Third Temple? ; The First Tree of the Day ; and Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes. His articles and essays have appeared in numerous journals, magazines, and newspapers, including Atlantis Rising . He lives in Chiloquin, Oregon. Dr. David Ray Griffin is a professor emeritus at the Claremont School of Theology, a codirector of the Center for Process Studies, and the author of The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions , Debunking 9/11 Debunking , Deep Religious Pluralism , and The New Pearl Harbor . He lives in Santa Barbara, California. The 9/11 Mystery Plane and the Vanishing of America By Mark H. Gaffney Trine Day LLC Copyright © 2008 Mark H. Gaffney All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-9799886-0-8 CHAPTER 1 Overview of the Official Story The official 9/11 narrative did not emerge in its present final form all of a piece. The official story is the product of evolution and underwent two major revisions. The military announced the first revision a week after the attack. The 9/11 Commission unveiled the second in its final report, released in July 2004. Dr. David Ray Griffin has argued persuasively that both revisions were attempts to salvage the official conspiracy theory. Before we proceed, it might be helpful to review how this process unfolded. We start, of course, with the events themselves and the raw news coverage on the day of the attack, especially the riveting television reports, which exposed NORAD's failure to intercept any of the four allegedly hi- jacked planes. At first, of course, the nation was understandably in a state of shock, but within days the full magnitude of the U.S. military's failed response began to sink in. On September 13, 2001, General Richard Myers, acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, admitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee that the first Air National Guard fighters had not arrived to defend Washington until well after the Pentagon strike, roughly 90 minutes after the first sign of trouble aboard American Airlines Flight 11. During all of that time the nation's capital had been exposed — undefended. Myers' testimony caused huge problems for the military because NORAD's failure went beyond negligence and looked like a deliberate standdown, which, if true, was treason. Days later, on September 18, 2001, the Pentagon attempted to shield itself from mounting criticism by announcing the first revised timeline, essentially placing the blame for the massive breach of security on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Joint Chiefs claimed that the military was unable to respond in a timely manner because the FAA failed to notify NORAD about the hijacked planes until too late. As 9/11 commissioner Bob Kerrey later pointed out, this first major alteration in the story occurred immediately after Pentagon generals (probably including Myers) briefed President Bush on September 17, 2001. His point was that the White House obviously had instructed the Joint Chiefs to change their tune. This first revised timeline stood for almost three years, but suffered from the serious problem of being improbable. Why? In the first place, because there is nothing unusual about the FAA's scrambling of NORAD fighters. The procedure is routine. If a commercial or private aircraft deviates from its scheduled flight -path by as little as two miles, or if there is a loss of radio contact, or if its transponder stops transmitting, FAA air traffic controllers will first attempt to contact the pilot and remedy the problem. Failing this, the standard FAA protocol is to request immediate assistance from NORAD. Furthermore, if there is any doubt, FAA policy is to assume the worst and declare an air emergency, which m