Stratfor went on to question the credibility of official claims that neither the military nor civilian authorities had detected the object and that they had been unable to determine what it was. "The US operates constellations of satellites dedicated to detecting the slightest heat signature to be aware of any missile launch that may be happening that could affect the United States," Stratfor noted. "It is thus odd that no one from the Navy or Defense Department has chosen to share more details to prevent a host of conspiracy theories and fear-mongering such an incident could spark."
The web site continued: "Given US surveillance capabilities, it would seem that not only would the US military know that there was a launch, it would know what it was, where it came from and whether it posed a threat."
Another possibility broached by Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapani is unlikely. He speculated that if there was an object launched, it might have been done by a private entity.
"The launch of a rocket that size doesn't belong to any commercial entity without them issuing a press release," said Marco Caceres, an analyst with Teal Group Corp., a Fairfax, Virginia-based aerospace research firm. "It can't belong to anyone but the military."
Moreover, this would raise the question of how the largest military and intelligence apparatus in the world could have no knowledge of the assembly and firing of a large object off the coast of a major American city. Among the agencies that would be expected to have knowledge of such an event are the Navy, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, NORAD, NORTHCOM, the FAA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
There is another possibility that must certainly be drawing the scrutiny of intelligence agencies around the world: that elements in the military acted alone in firing a missile, doing so either without permission or by accident.
A further question is raised: Was the sighting on Monday part of a crisis event that is still in progress?
International intelligence and military officials are likely asking two further questions: Is the US military in control of its nuclear forces? Is the Obama administration in control of the military?
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