Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

AP:

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.

NORAD, a joint U.S. and Canadian command, was set up in the 1960s to monitor the skies for threats like missiles, aircraft and space objects.

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.