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Command Shifts Amid Fears of Terrorist Attacks on Ports

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Times Staff Writer

Reflecting growing fears that a major terrorism attack could come by sea, a top American naval officer officially took over the U.S. Northern Command on Friday, vowing to enhance maritime security nationwide.

Adm. Timothy J. Keating, who is replacing retiring Air Force Gen. Ralph Eberhart, said terrorists considered America’s ports vulnerable.

“It hasn’t received a lot of attention because of the way they came at us on Sept. 11,” he told reporters. “It may not be our biggest vulnerability, but it might be the way that terrorists think they might best attack us.”

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Northcom was established two years ago to coordinate domestic defense efforts alongside the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, which patrols the skies daily along with Canadian forces.

Keating took control of both commands in a ceremony here Friday attended by hundreds of military personnel and dignitaries such as Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Myers.

“The cold-blooded murder of 3,000 Americans and citizens of many other countries Sept. 11 put us once again in the middle of a war we didn’t go looking for, a war that came to us,” Wolfowitz said. “The defense of our homeland depends today on the work of Northern Command. This is a long, hard fight. But make no mistake, it’s a fight we will win.”

Wolfowitz said Northcom had been successful in keeping the country safe during events seen as potential terrorist targets: two State of the Union addresses, two national political conventions, the G-8 summit in Georgia and the funeral of President Reagan, along with other events.

Eberhart, a former fighter pilot who flew 300 combat missions in Vietnam, was lauded as a warrior and visionary. His work, Meyers said, had lowered the risk of nuclear, biological or chemical attack on America.

“Ed set the bar very high at Northcom,” he said. “Under his leadership, our nation is safer than it once was.”

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A few months ago, Eberhart warned that the next terrorist attack probably would come by sea because of porous security and the failure to ascertain the contents of the thousands of containers that flood into American ports daily.

In his farewell speech Friday, the general warned against complacency.

“What is important today is a future where we must not become apathetic,” Eberhart said. “Every time you are tempted to close your eyes, see those twin towers explode, see the scar on the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania.”

The choice of a naval commander to run an operation dominated by Air Force officers reflects the new reality of terrorism that could come from air, land or sea.

Keating is a former Navy fighter pilot who made 1,200 landings on aircraft carriers and flew combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. He also commanded forces in Bahrain, headed the U.S. Fifth Fleet and served as director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

After the ceremony, Keating said port security wasn’t as loose as some suggested.

“We have a formidable, layered defense in place that is active and effective right now,” he said.

“That’s not to say we won’t look at it carefully and make changes in the weeks and months ahead. There is a lot more going on right now than most of us know, and that’s important. We want to make sure the terrorists understand that they can’t hurt us there.”

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