Run Senator! Get your ass outta here.

Adam and Joe at Captiol Hill. House of Representatives to the left. Senate to the right.

A little while ago, I saw some footage that CSPAN had of the Senate and House of Representatives yesterday when they had to evacuate as a result of a violation of the restricted air space around the national capitol region. I have never seen politicians move so fast. If only they could do that with their work. The last time I was in Washington was in spring ’01. Since the September 11^th attacks, I wonder if we would have been able to do half of what we did. It just seems that there is so much tension and security there, that it would have taken out some of the fun and freedom we had.

Casper, (guy I can't remember), Captain P., Bernadette, Joe, Adam, and I at the Capitol, overlooking the Mall.

Take for instance, the Capitol. Aside from the security check points at the entrances, and the occasional off-limits corridor, we pretty much were allowed to go where we want. Joe, Adam, and I actually snuck off and went into some committee rooms, House side, and what not. We just opened the doors and said “excuse us” if there was anyone there.

Sneaking around...

During the time we were on the hill, the Senate and House were in session. To get to the visitors gallery, we needed to have passes. You’re supposed to get your Congressman or Senator (depending on which house you want to visit) to mail you a pass but you can also just stop by their office, if they happen to be open, and get them. The Capitol has its own underground rail system that connects it with the House and Senate office buildings. We just went down to the basement and hitched a ride to one of the Senate buildings. Because we are Michigan citizens, we had to get our Senate passes from Senator Levin’s office. We got it, but then Adam decided to see if we could get one from Senator John McCain. We went to his office and talked to one of his office aides who just merely asked if we were from Arizona. We said “yes,” and he pulled them out and gave it to us. So much for “We do not lie…” portion of the Air Force’s Standard of Conduct. Before we left, Adam just had to ask if we could mee Sen. McCain. As expected, he wasn't available.

My pass from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Then there was of course, our tour of Andrews Air Force Base (where the F-16’s that intercepted the Cessna originated) and saw the executive fleet—minus the modified 747’s that are most recognized as Air Force One. Then there was our tour through the Pentagon.

Adam and Joe near a bleached out "Restricted" sign near one of the Air Force's awesome planes.

Anyways, getting briefly back to the reason why I posted this. I do know that there are procedures for responding to various threats. There is a reason why you can't see quality sattelite photos of Washington. I would be interested in knowing just exactly what protocols there are. But at the same time, I wonder if they are really effective. Sure, this Cessna was intercepted and waved off, yet if it had actually been a terrorist, could that person have successfully plowed into one our nation's monuments or government buildings? A plane managed to crash into the White House complex during the Clinton administration. Where was the protocol then? Where was it on 9/11 with the Pentagon? How much has it improved since 2001? Granted, I'm curious about things that are need to know, but I still can't shake the feeling that crashing a jet into the Capitol is still quite easy to do. Of course, if I was al Qaeda, I wouldn't use the same tactic twice. But still... With the air traffic around Dulles and Regan National, it just seems that the restricted air space is still too small to allow interceptors the time to intercept, determine the threat, and take necessary action. You get a fast enough plane, and they aren't going to bother with interceptors... they are going to fire missiles.