Petersen said that is "not what was intended, and it is not legally possible. That door has been slammed shut."

The commission's refusal to close Cannon and also Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota was one of many instances when it went against Pentagon recommendations on facility closures.

South Dakota political leaders argued that closing Ellsworth would cost more than 4,000 jobs, about 10 percent of the local area's total.

The commission Friday also deliberated the fate of dozens of Air National Guard and Air Reserve bases just as a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled the commission didn't have the authority to deactivate the 111th Fighter Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard without the approval of that state's governor.

The commission has until Sept. 8 to submit its final report to the White House. President Bush must either accept or reject the commission's list within 15 days. The president can send the list back once for revisions. Once the president accepts the list, Congress has 45 days to accept it or reject it, but it can't make any changes.

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Contributing: Drew Brown, Knight Ridder Newspapers

E-mail: spang@desnews.com