PDX airport is shared with an Air National Guard base. There was a DL MD11 flight that I took a dozen times a few years ago which was invariably accompanied by a pair of F15s -- presumably doing training with a nice big target. This was pre-9/11 days so it was an unusual sight, also interesting to see the huge difference in flight characteristics.

LH is offering some very cheap fares out of PDX at times, so they clearly aren't sold out year round (and they have some UA feed potential). Oneworld or Skyteam would have no hope of running flights to Europe profitably. Look at how sparse the service to Mexico is (no flights to Cancun, but AS has a flight to Cabo, keeping the airport international).