Is Christmas in peril? Posswibly so. Santa does enter US airspace from the North Pole region, traditionally an area of concern during the Cold War. In spite of any transcendental qualities Santa possesses, he's still very visible to radar; any two-bit meteorologist-wannabe at any podunk station in America seems to be able to track him on the eve of December 24th, and has ever since radar became available to local TV stations. If Santa has a stealth mode, he'd better be using it.
The US Air Force is on alert in many areas, such as New York and Washington, DC, ready to shoot down any suspicious aircraft. Does Santa file a flight plan? Does he even have a flight number? Doubtful. Since Santa flies *everywhere* on Christmas Eve, chances are he'll encounter US military craft more than once. If you see reindeer parts and/or gift wrapping spread across your lawn in very small pieces, you'll know why.
Of course, Santa's evasive maneuverability is theoretically infinite, given that he can be in any part of the world at any given time of night. How this is implememnted is unknown, so it's very possible that Santa is adequately secure for Christmas Eve 2002.
Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy Solstice, and Festivus for the Rest of Us!
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