Posted on 04/28/2009 2:57:15 PM PDT by Fred Nerks
A perfect storm of idiocy led to a frightening 9/11 flashback for thousands of New Yorkers Monday when a jumbo jet and an F-16 fighter jet buzzed lower Manhattan without warning. (video -- flyby) (video -- panic) (video -- Ground Zero)
A "furious" Mayor Bloomberg denounced the dunces who dreamed up the stunt.
Bloomberg said, "Why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo-op right around the site of the World Trade Center catastrophe defies imagination. Poor judgment would be a nice ways to phrase it, but they did. I also think that once they had told us, we should have done a better job. Had I known about it, I would have called them right away and asked them not to. It is the federal government and they can do in the end what they please, but I would have tried to stop it. I don’t know there’s a lot else to say other than they shouldn’t have done it."
An Obama administration official said the mission was classified "Top Secret." "The mission was to send [the aircraft] up to get a picture of it flying around the Statue of Liberty."
By day's end, an obscure City Hall deputy named Marc Mugnos, took the hit in New York City and Louis Caldera, the director of the White House Military Office, was identified as the White House's scapegoats for the stunt.
The planes appeared on the horizon around 10 a.m. and sent a chill through the city. Flying in as low as 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet above New York City, they circled the Statue of Liberty before flying over Manhattan, Staten Island and New Jersey. Before they vanished, hundreds of frightened people had jammed emergency phone lines, and thousands of terrified people evacuated from buildings in the city and across the river in New Jersey.
"People came pouring out of the buildings, the American Express Building, all the buildings in the financial district by the water," said Edward Acker, a photographer who was at the building, 3 World Financial Center. "And even the construction guys over by 100 North End Avenue area, they all got out of their buildings. Nobody knew about it. Finally some guy showed up with a little megaphone to tell everyone it was a test, but the people were not happy. The people who were here 9/11 were not happy."
Mr. Acker added: "New York City police were standing right there and they had no knowledge of it. The evacuations were spontaneous. Guys from the floor came out, and one guy I talked to was just shaking."
"I was crying and praying to God to forgive me my sins because I thought I was going to get killed," said Kathleen Filandro, who fled from One New York Plaza when she spotted the planes.
"It's like someone coming up to you, sticking a gun to your head for 15 seconds, walking away and hearing 20 minutes later it was an undercover cop posing for a photo," said Wall Street worker Bill Privett. "I am still shaking," he said.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs appeared taken aback as reporters peppered him with questions about the incident.
"I have no information beyond what I saw" on news reports, Gibbs said at his afternoon press conference.
A "Top Secret" photo opportunity using Air Force One and an F-16. This is a laugh riot. Obama has no hesitation unclassifying and releasing the nation's "Top Secret" documents, to the benefit of our enemies during wartime, but keeps secret a photo op for the purpose of making souvenir tie-clasps. Obama proves he is a genius with this stunt -- a first-class commander-in-chief.
One observer suggested that Obama might want to do a photo op with a Ryder rental truck in Oklahoma City next.
And who takes the hit? Some guy nobody has ever heard of. If you believe approval for this idiocy was made by a low-level bureaucrat, I have a bridge to sell you. I'll bet it takes twenty-six pounds of documents to get clearance for Air Force One -- just think about it -- the White House, the Pentagon, the Air Force, Andrews Air Force Base, the flight crew, the ground crew, the tactical fighter support, the Secret Service, the FAA, etc, etc, etc. -- when asked about the stunt, Obama's Press Secretary lied and said, "I did not see that before I came out here." -- The AP's Jennifer Loven shot back, "Well, it's been in all the stories all day."
I wonder what the auto CEOs who got their asses chewed out by Obama for using their private jets to fly to Washington think of this stunt -- and then, there's the cost in dollars and cost to the environment. For souvenirs, the cost was enormous. It costs $60,000 per hour to operate Air Force One, plus the operating costs for an F-16 escort -- we're looking at a quarter-of-a-million dollars, and up -- for a photo!
Wouldn't PhotoShop have been cheaper? It's not like Obama isn't familiar with the popular graphics editing program.
Well that was an excellent analysis of yesterday’s crazy stunt. Heads should roll over that, but unfortunately, the wrong heads are the ones rolling down the hill.
“Worst. White House. Spokesman. Ever.”
Ditto.
Never once in his career has he ever criticized a Democrat for anything ~ until now.
It's possible he'll finally get smart and start asking for counsel from Conservatives who can explain all this nonsense to him.
The content of the communication between the tower, the pilot of the airforce jet and the Presidential aircraft is what we need to hear. I suspect the airforce jet/s were there to direct/demand the ‘wayward’ aircraft to return to base immediately.
This was a deliberate act of terrorism committed by *The Terrorist N Chief* Squatting in the White House.
This was a deliberate act of terrorism committed by *The Terrorist N Chief* Squatting in the White House.
Think we stand a chance of hearing that? I want to know who was on that plane and who’s idea this was in the first place and who knew about it.
I also heard on the news something about it not only being a photo-op but that it also was done so that the pilot could get some more practice and log hours.
Someone needs to Photoshop Obama standing at the foot of Lady Liberty with a mini airplane remote control in his hand. (THE SOB)
“Wouldn’t PhotoShop have been cheaper? It’s not like Obama isn’t familiar with the popular graphics editing program.”
Very funny
And that's why it had to be a secret? I'm not buying it. What weak excuses for a totally irrational act, that terrified thousands of people.
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If it was using 'Air Force One' as a callsign, then the Prez was on it. File a FOIA request for the transcript of the ATC communications and for a copy of the flight plan and look for the VIP codes. Then you'll know.
Great punchline, isn't it?
Major misuse of the system if this was a photo-op, and not some joyride for Obama buddies in conjunction with aircrew training.
“And that’s why it had to be a secret? I’m not buying it. What weak excuses for a totally irrational act, that terrified thousands of people.”
The comment I heard wasn’t saying that that was an excuse for the secrecy. They were just reporting that some pilot was getting some air time practice. Don’t even know if it was true, but Fox News is what I watch so I know I heard it there.
IMO, there is NO excuse for that stunt. None. Nada. Zip.
It will interesting to see what diversions the current oligarchs have planned to divert attention as the cap and tax and single payer healthcare laws are passed into our coffins. There will have to be diversions of attention assigned to the fifth column enemedia, it's just a matter now of which diversions Axelrod wills en=d to the sycophantic scum in media.
Is it possible for a FReeper in the US to do this?
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