AP: Report: Military Closing Mountain Complex

Report: Military Closing Mountain Complex

The Associated Press
Friday, July 28, 2006; 4:49 AM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The military is virtually closing the secretive defense
complex carved into Cheyenne Mountain that for decades has monitored North American
skies for threats, a newspaper reported.

The Denver Post reported late Thursday that the North American Aerospace Defense
Command operations center will be moved to nearby Peterson Air Force Base, which is home
to the U.S. Northern Command created after the Sept. 11 attacks.

-snip-

Adm. Tim Keating, who commands both NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command, said the
government's best intelligence "leads us to believe a missile attack from China or
Russia is very unlikely."

That, along with the emergence of varied terrorist threats such as suicide bombers,
"is what recommends to us that we don't need to maintain Cheyenne Mountain in a 24/7
status. We can put it on `warm standby,'" Keating told the newspaper.

-snip-