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      DENVER (AP) - A first-of-its-kind hijacking exercise involving
the U.S., Canadian and Russian militaries went so well that a
similar drill is planned for 2011, an American officer said.


      Jet fighters from Russia and the North American Aerospace
Defense Command pursued a small passenger jet playing the role of a
hijacked jetliner across the Pacific and back during the August
exercise. The aim: To practice handing off responsibility for a
hijacked jet between Russia and NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canadian
command that for decades devoted its efforts to tracking Soviet
forces.


      Officers reviewed the exercise in November at NORAD headquarters
at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. The verdict: It "was pretty much
carried on flawlessly," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Lee Haefner,
who was the lead planner.


      NORAD and Russian officers will meet in Russia in February to
begin planning a second exercise, Haefner said.


      Whether that comes off depends on what happens in U.S.-Russian
relations and internal Russian politics, said Alexander Golts, a
prominent military analyst in Moscow. The first hijacking exercise
was initially planned for 2008 but was postponed when U.S.-Russian
relations soured in the wake of Russia's war with Georgia.


      Russia could scuttle another exercise if its leaders are unhappy
for any reason with western nations, Golts told The Associated
Press in Moscow. Cooperation could also falter if Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin or President Dmitry Medvedev decide to take
anti-West positions during the 2011 election campaign.


      "There's no doubt that this exercise can be the victim of
anti-Western moods," Golts said.


      The fact that the first exercise happened at all is a sign that
U.S.-Russian relations are slowly improving, said Kevin Ryan, a
retired U.S. Army brigadier general who is research director for
the Belfer Center at Harvard University's Kennedy School.


      "If things continue to improve, (future exercises) can actually
by themselves begin to produce more trust and confidence between
the militaries and afterward between the political leaders," Ryan
said.


      Andrew Kuchins, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington, D.C., said the August exercise
wasn't a "game-changer" but was important if Russia and the West
want a working security agreement to combat hijackings or other
acts of terrorism.


      "You have to actively do things concretely together and not
have just a rhetorical security partnership," Kuchins said.


      Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this
report.
      

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Science

A first-of-its-kind hijacking exercise involving
the U.S., Canadian and Russian militaries went so well that a
similar drill is planned for 2011, an American officer said.

US, Russia plan more anti-hijacking exercises

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