Posted on 10/03/2007 7:30:01 AM PDT by SmithL
OAKLAND -- Oakland International Airport officials apologized for prohibiting a planeload of U.S. troops, just back from Iraq, from entering the passenger terminal during a layover Thursday, prompting conservative pundits and bloggers to hold up the incident as an example of the "Left Coast" dishonoring soldiers.
"We apologize, I apologize to any members of the military that were on this flight and may have experienced some discomfort or perception of disrespect," said Omar Benjamin, executive director of the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport.
"There was no disrespect intended" when North American Airlines Flight 1777 was directed to wait two hours at a remote part of the airport, Benjamin said. The plane was on its way from Iraq to Hawaii.
Benjamin's apology came in the face of conflicting reports circulating across the nation painting the airport in the liberal-leaning Bay Area as a poster child for disrespect toward U.S. troops.
Although the airport said its decision was made "together with the TSA," the Transportation Security Administration denied playing a role.
"We didn't play any role in this," said TSA spokesman Nico Melendez, referring reporters to a statement posted Tuesday on the agency's Web site:
The statement said, "At no time were service men and women prohibited from entering the sterile (secure) area of Oakland International Airport by TSA personnel or regulations. Airport officials, the airline and ground handling company coordinated the arrival and all services associated with this flight."
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, airport officials said they did not realize that the soldiers had been screened during previous stopovers in Kuwait and New York. They also were unaware that some of the troops, reportedly Marines, had meant to see locals during their two-hour layover, said Deborah Ale-Flint, the airport's assistant director of aviation.
Hilltop Aviation, which was contracted to provide ground services for North American Airlines Flight 1777, had said there were weapons aboard the flight, the passengers had not been screened, and did not tell the airport "that some of the service men and women onboard anticipated meeting family and friends," Ale-Flint said.
"If this information had been shared in advance," she said, "there would have been a different outcome."
As evidence of that, Ale-Flint noted that Hilltop had made such arrangements for an earlier North American flight that same day, and those troops were permitted inside the airport.
Authorities familiar with those events confirmed that the other flight's passengers were screened and allowed into the airport's secure boarding area. They also said that TSA members advised airport officials on procedures for screening the second flight, if needed.
A woman answering the phone at Hilltop in Oakland said the manager of the office was the only person who could respond to questions about the issue, and he was out Tuesday and could not be reached.
The debate sparked by the incident has put Oakland's airport in the same political arena as Democrat and Republican jockeying to show who best supports and honors troops while debating pulling them out of Iraq.
Last week, Democrats, including Rep. Jerry McNerney of Pleasanton, blasted conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh for labeling Iraq war veterans who protest the war as "phony vets."
Now, conservative bloggers and pundits are pointing to Oakland, "not far from San Francisco," notes Fox News pundit John Gibson, as a place where "the welcome mat was not out" for Iraq veterans. Gibson, citing an e-mail from a chaplain who had been on the flight sent to neoconservative National Review writer Michael Ledeen, said that the exclusion was "not a security measure."
"This smacks of the bad old days in the Bay Area when returning Vietnam vets were spat upon," Gibson writes on the Fox News Web site.
Airport officials repeatedly said they had the utmost respect for the nation's military. They said many port and city officials had served in the armed forces, including the president of the port's board and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums.
A former Marine, Dellums issued a statement that U.S. troops "deserve only the utmost respect for their service to our country" and that he had asked the port "to look into these matters and work closely with airport personnel to ensure that this type of situation never happens again."
Maybe I missed it...why exactly were they held up?
Just over the bridge from San Francisco....hater of anything military.
The administrators of the Oakland Airport are a not patriots nor are they Americans. They’re scum-bucket, low-life amoeba that walk around posing as humans.
I accept their apology.
I believe the folks in Oakland are more patriotic than the homo’s across the bay.
But then my cat is more patriotic than the homo’s in San Fransisssyco. LOL
This is an obvious CYA moment for the airport ... they have done stuff like this before. An apology is NO WHERE near enough
And on snopes board and kos they are claiming it is a hoax.
If you read the TSA statement in the context of just their website, it reads like it never happened as well.
THE PASSENGERS HAD NOT BEEN SCREENED!?!? What the? Cute: Flight 1777...our Founding Fathers would be writhing in their graves.
and may have experienced some discomfort or perception of disrespect," said Omar Benjamin, executive director of the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport. "There was no disrespect intended"
Sounds like same ol’, same ol’...with apologies.
Why is it people can show their true colors, apologize, and think that everything will be passed over.
What morons. No guts. No truth.
THIS WAS NOT AN OVERSIGHT, AND NO AMERICAN WHO HAS AN OUNCE OF COMMON SENSE CAN SEE IT AS ANYTHING BUT A LEFTIST ASSAULT (AS USUAL) ON OUR MILITARY.
I like how the Oakland Airport tried to pin it on the TSA.
Just over the bridge from San Francisco
More importantly, one city south of Beserkeley, where I need to bring a passport whenever I visit, so I can re-enter the US when I leave!
Given who the passengers were that would have been the safest flight ever.
I wonder what Hilltop has to say about all this. I wonder if the airport tried to pin it on TSA, and upon seeing that fail, are gunning for Hilltop.
Posting it larger and in bold doesn’t make it true.
I’ve seen military-chartered flights and even USAF flights that were handled much worse. Any soldier who’s sat with his gear for six hours on the tarmac, in the sun, with no local facilities, will tell you that. Was the US Army and USAF conducting a “leftist assault on our military”?
Anybody who flies regularly knows that airports, airlines and the TSA are screwed up. I hate it, but I don’t take it personally.
We need to target our real enemies, not make up new ones.
Liars. Caught again. Excuses made. Excuses accepted by the MSM whine bag socialists. But the fact remains, liars. Phony American Troop supporters.
Bull Sh!t
This is the 2nd time it's happened there.
They reported this on FOX last night... but there was no apology from Oakland. The story simply ended with Brit saying that the charter didn’t go through the ‘correct proceedures’.
My take: the whole region in Northern CA is a hotbed of Commies and socialists who hate the military. Worse, they are all in local gummint and run the airports too. The airport officials need to face the patriots that they insulted in order to apologize correctly (they will never have the guts to do so).
And TSA shoved it right back on the Airport: "We didn't play any part in this."
Every time I see that Bud commercial I get tears!
That is my all-time favorite ad. Thanks for posting it. BTW, the other day I saw some pictures of the Bangor Airport greeters meeting a planeload of troops, and in one of them, a large, muscular soldier was given a hug by a tiny, white haired lady - his hand was nearly as large as her back - and she was hugging him for all she was worth. Some Americans know how to honor our troops, and actions speak louder than all the pseudo apologies in the world.
My son LIVES in the area. The contempt shown by the people there for the military is well-known. You can rationalize all you want, but the reality seen by those who know the area smacks of an intentional slap-in-the-face to the Iraq veterans returning in Oakland.
Great. TSA officials can be among the first witnesses for the plaintiffs....
Oakland Airport Outrage (Marines not allowed in the terminal)
"We apologize, I apologize to any members of the military that were on this flight and may have experienced some discomfort or perception of disrespect," said Omar Benjamin, executive director of the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport.
A non-apology apology. It figures....
Then entire population of Oakland, to the person, is anti-military? Your son may live in the area, but I’ve travelled extensively in both military and civilian capacity and I’m not inclined to immediately conclude “conspiracy”.
I know the area has its share of lefties, but I require more proof of a deliberate slap before I start crying foul aned calling the media.
Again, I’ve seen much worse from our own military, in terms of transportation foul-ups.
I just find it easier to believe that they (airport, airline, TSA) are unintentionally incompetent rather than intentionally beligerant towards are troops.
Here’s the quote I was looking for:
“Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity.”
I think you’re in denial of the Kalifornia Kulture, but that’s your opinion. I seldom give any slack to Leftists in that neighborhood who have no use for the military whatsoever, but if you wanna defer to ascribing the action to incompetence, so be it.
The U.S. Army and the airline should apologize to these returning heroes for making them go through Oakland, instead of a normal city that resects our troops. Any way you cut it, Oakland sucks and so does the Oakland Airport Authority.
Always get something in my eye when watching that commercial
This a$$wipe doesn't get it. It's not just the Marines he messed with, it was the perception given to the world of the airport's civilian administration's intent and attitude toward the military. Damage already done, Mr. OMAR Benjamin, and YOU know it!
And did any one of these civilian decision makers get fired? Disciplined? Did they order them to military sensitivity training? Of course not.
They did exactly what they (Oakland)intended but are only playing word games now that public opinion is biting them in the butt.
I believe it is normal for a planeload of Marines returning from deployment, on charter flights, to each be carrying his/her weapon. But seems like a phone call or two could have cleared up some of this and not caused them to miss seeing family and friends at the layover.
It shouldn’t be “normal”. THEY SHOULD ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET FOR THESE MARINES. My blood is still boiling over the treament these Marines received. Shame on all the personnel at that terminal. I would have kissed their boots. God bless them all.
The top management at the Oakland airport needs to be fired and replaced by patriotic Americans, who should then weed out the rest of the treacherous a$$h*les employed there.
I am not saying it was a good reason to detain them or anything...yes I agree about the RED CARPET treatment would be the right thing to do.
My son, Cpl in USMC, returned from Iraq last week... so I share your feelings.
Another screw-up by Chernoff’s organization.
HE should be fired.
Gates (SecDef) should be SCREAMING at him for the way Chernoff’s department treated the soldiers.
I won’t hold my breath on that one. Gates didn’t even have the onions to renominate Pace for two more years as Chairman.
Amen. This whole issue is nonsense, and the kind of thing we ridicule DU and Kos for taking up when it goes the other way. Not Free Republic's finest hour.
Uh huh. I live in the area and your assertion is total BS. Tell it to the giant crowds who are going to come out this weekend for Fleet Week to watch the Blue Angels.
LIARS....Oakland got caught...bet it’ll never happen again...so we’ve stopped this US Airport and if there are others....we’ll get ‘em too. After this...bet NO other airport pulls this kinda crapola...to our TROOPS...
Brings to mind when I returned from the Nam. Nothing was opened (especially the saloons). We amused ourselves by watching toilets flush.
TSA's accomplishments to date:
1) harassing ordinary Americans, especially those least likely to be terrorists
2) allowing countless dangerous objects/materials through security checkpoints when individuals really try to test the system and sneak it through
In short: TSA is an unmitigated failure. Drop it.
There is no excuse for this disrespect. Pardon me while I go vomit, again. Apology not acepted.
This apology should be painted on a 2x4 and shoved up Omar's ass.
It sounds more like a denial of the event, than an apology for the event.....
"any" --- ALL of the troops on that flight were denied access to the terminal interior and the comfort or services available within.. Oakland Airport "curbed" our troops, as one would their dog...
"may" --- May, hell -- EVERY military passenger would have been a hell of a lot more comfortable INSIDE with those who came to visit them or to avail themselves of a bathroom or a bite to eat or a drink or whatever..
"May", my ass.... DID was the correct term in this case.
"perception" -- PERCEPTION! You silly bastard! REALITY is the operative term here...
You can bet your last dollar that if this were a planeload of imams, the red carpet would be rolled out and the key to the city handed over with alacrity.
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