Sean Duffy's 'laughably improbable' answer for airspace shutdown raises new questions
By: Travis Gettys (Raw Story)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy offered an explanation for the unprecedented closure of the airspace over El Paso, Texas, but it's not satisfying his critics.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a 10-day shutdown starting in the predawn hours Wednesday morning but then abruptly lifted the closure shortly before 9 a.m., and Duffy provided a public statement about 40 minutes later to explain the moves.
"The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion," Duffy said, using the acronym for the "Department of War." "The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region. The restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming."
CNN's Pete Muntean had reported before the shutdown was lifted that the FAA felt that civilian air safety could not be guaranteed due to unspecified military operations at nearby Biggs Army Airbase, which Duffy seemed to confirm without providing additional details, and his statement raised new questions.
"Why would that necessitate a ten day closure, and why is the [temporary flight restriction] in [New Mexico] still active?" asked X user Steve, a self-described right-leaning independent.
"No problem with this. EXCEPT. Announcing for 10 DAYS is a problem," opined X user Michael Passons, a former Marine and self-described conservative. "Why did that happen?"
"By swiftly, you mean ~3 hours later?" challenged TheIntelFrog military aircraft tracker account. "So these drones were detected and just loitered for 3 hours waiting for DoD to respond? If the threat is over, why is the TFR that was published with the same parameters as the one over El Paso still active?"
"So whoever decided the 10 day timeline to take down some drones are either incompetent or planned something major," speculated the OSINTranger account.
"Now the administration is contradicting the first explanation that it was a test," noted author Tyler King. "Claiming now they closed the airspace for ten days because they shot down some cartel drones. Which just sounds laughably improbable."
"I'm sorry but I dont believe this," joked Media Matters' Andrew Lawrence. "I think Trump woke up extra senile and decided to bomb Mexico and then, I dunno Papa John or Brett Favre or someone talked him out of it."
"FAA shuts down El Paso Airport because of security concerns about testing of a secret DoD anti-drone device, apparently because they failed to communicate with DoD," sighed journalist and attorney Scott Horton. "A perfect demonstration of how Hegseth and Sean Duffy work together."
"Despite his bullshit about sweatpants and pull up bars Sean Duffy does seem to have a vague sense that one of his jobs is keeping airplanes in the air, while Hegseth is just a pure maniac," added Bluesky user Evelyn Custom Text.
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"We had to shut down the airport in order to save it", /s
[ ✘ ] FAA abruptly lifts order halting El Paso flights; Trump official says Defense Dept. disabled Mexican cartel drones
BTW, it's FORT BLISS - not some "Biggs".
'Course some "Democratic lawmakers" bitched 'bout it - they need the face time.[ ✘ ]
The Biggs Army Airfield is located on the Fort Bliss military base.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biggs_Army_Airfield#:~:text=Biggs%20Army%20Airfield%20(IATA%3A%20BIF%2C,base%20in%20El%20Paso%2C%20Texas.
And the people who live there and work there call it Ft. Bliss.
Simple reality
(KBIF) Biggs Army Airfield (Fort Bliss)
Biggs Army Airfield
Biggs Army Airfield is a military airport and is home of the United States Army 1st Armored Division
Location
Biggs AAF is located at Fort Bliss in El Paso, El Paso County, Texas.
Typical military confusion. When on active duty, my Dad was the CO of Sherman Army Airfield located on Ft. Leavenworth, KS.
But, no one called it "Sherman Army Airfield" - it was always the airfield at Ft. Leavenworth.
El Paso has a population size in the top 25 in the country and they were going to shut down the airport for 10 days because the Defense Dept and the FAA had communication problems?
Heads should roll.
Maybe they were planning an invasion of Mexico....
That's right out of the James K. Polk playbook.
Which has no basis for the reality of National Security and having to shoot down cartel drones flying over a very public airport.
You are too aware...
Read 1.1 - why should "heads roll" when there is/has been a potential issue to security from the cartels in and around Juarez and cartel drones have already been shot down?????
Because to most liberals, cartel drug runners are in the grouping of people that they have protected for years....others include illegal aliens that are murderers, rapists, child molesters, etc.
You know the cartels (child sex traffickers, human smugglers) wanted dementia boy and cackles to win. They were making record profits under those two clowns.
Gossip is that the number of Reaper drones stationed at Biggs has increased, the 1st Armored Division Aviation Brigade has been engaged in low level night training, and, perhaps most telling, E-18 Growlers have been positioned at Fort Bliss. Seems as though preparations are underway for an incursion into Mexico to attack the cartels.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has been warning about Mexico's national sovereignty for a while. But, at the same time, Sheinbaum has been cracking down on the cartels. The Mexican government has extradited 37 cartel members to the US and has been shutting down drug operations. The cartels have been ramping up attacks across the border using gunfire and drones, perhaps hoping to trigger a US incursion. The cartels may have escalated the situation beyond Sheinbaum's capacity to respond.
Besides, what better way to divert attention from Trump's various and sundry screw ups than starting a war? Sean Duffy may be in trouble for attracting attention to the operation. Unless Duffy intended to give the press a heads up. Trump's administration is beginning to look a little frazzled so who knows what's going on.
wag the dawg might possibly come to mind, no...?
You almost have to try to build an administration this incompetent and this full of shit. Even by accident, randomly choosing people to do the work, you should be able to do better than this. This is what happens - now we know - when you build your whole fucking government around loyalty to the dictator.
Acted how? Did you shoot it down? Why aren’t we hearing how it was addressed? You sink a boat in the Caribbean, and you can’t wait to show us the video. But this remains a mystery. Was the drone “addressed” in US airspace? Or Mexican airspace?
The mayor of El Paso says he found out about the closure on social media, after the fact.
Show us the link for that comment John. All of the comments already listed are from "X box" users - and they are all dubious.
Not surprising. He’s a Democrat and he’s black, so that’s two strikes against him.
You should know by now that I do not post things out of the blue.
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson expressed his frustration and disappointment over the FAA's decision to close the airspace over El Paso International Airport. He stated that he learned about the closure on social media, which was a significant delay in the communication process.
Natasha Bertrand is the Defense Dept. correspondent for CNN.
Well, that shows you can't believe what she sez either - CNN????
BTW, it's the War Department - which she probably wouldn't know. Above her pay grade.
Every non Maga cult person in America calls it the Department of Defense
Because that's it's official name. It takes an act of Congress to change the name of an agency. People who actually paid attention in school know that
He probably calls it the Gulf of America as well.
Act of Congress???
Show me.
Mea Cupa - Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 gives congress the authority to establish agencies, AND it gives the President the authority to name the head of the agency with approval of the Senate.
The structure of federal agencies must comply with the requirement that the President appoint officers, subject to Senate confirmation, although the appointment of inferior officers may rest with the President alone, department heads, or the courts
Apology extended.
The only people that i have seen upset are drug addicts whose drugs are getting shot down and liberal fucktards who need something to whine about, they won't be happy until a commercial airliner sucks a drown into it engine and crashes into the city so they can complain that trump didn't close the airport.
You don't seem to understand how big a deal it is to close an airport in a major city for 10 days.
It was closed for a few hours FFS, at least try to be honest here.