Now and then a news story comes along that raises more questions than it answers. This is one of those stories:
New Yorkers panicked at the site of a lowflying Boeing 747, followed by two fighter jets as part of a federal government photo opportunity over lower Manhattan on Monday.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8022881.stm
Everyone who heard about this immediately asked themselves, “What were they thinking?” which means that question had to have come up during the planning of this “mission.”
The director of the White House military office, Louis Caldera, took the blame, saying; “Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision.” OK so Caldera is willing to admit he made a colossal error in judgment, but think about it; dozens of people in the Defense Department, the FAA, New York Police Department, and NY Mayor Bloomberg’s office, not to mention the pilots knew this was going to take place AND they knew that it was going to be kept secret from the public and media.
It was a recipe for disaster and at least one person if not all of them had to know that. Odds are there was at least one guy, or gal, who asked Caldera; “Hey, do you think that’s such a good idea? What if…?
In that case, one can only surmise that Caldera responded something to the effect of, “I don’t give a flying f—k if the people are scared shitless, I want my goddamned souvenir postcards!”
And that…perhaps, is the untold story.