04/28/2009 10:15 am
POV
Brian Williams Slams Air Force One's New York Flyby
NBC's Brian Williams wants to see heads roll for Air Force One's New York flyby yesterday.
© AP
New Yorkers are still fuming over an Air Force One backup plane’s worrisomely low flyby over downtown Manhattan yesterday. The military said the incident was nothing more than a photo shoot, but New Yorkers had flashbacks of 9/11, when two planes flew into the Twin Towers.
As many people wonder why this event would go down with no warning, NBC’s Brian Williams has penned a blistering criticism in which he insists "someone should pay for this":
This was dangerously mishandled. As I said the other evening at a gathering of New York City firefighters: Even after all these years, among many New Yorkers, 9/11 still feels like it was about ten minutes ago. The pit is still there, though it’s now a construction zone. The losses don’t go away. No one is bringing my neighbor back to me. I will drive by his house on my way home from work tonight, and he won’t be there. We still look up at the sky (in ways we never did before) when we hear low-flying aircraft, and we still worry. Lower Manhattan is no place for an unannounced low-altitude jumbo-jet-and-fighter-jet flyover.He also wonders why the flyby would be done during Monday morning rush hour, not on a Saturday, when people could have gone down to see the plane fly by the Statue of Liberty: "I understand the need for pretty pictures of the aircraft against a dramatic backdrop … but why was it staged during Monday morning rush hour? Why not make it a public event?" Our sentiments exactly, Mr. Williams!
Someone should pay for this.
- Email this Post
- login or register to post comments
44 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment
That was a stupid thing to have done with the public not knowing it was a "photo shoot", seems very insensitive with not much thought put into that side of it. I don’t know if an apology will be enough in this case.
I am glad to see that most are in agreement that this was the worst photo opp ever and why not let the people of NY know so they could all watch and be a part of it. I was glad to hear that who was behind this got his a$$ chewed out.
I’d sure like to know who thought it was a good idea, and who signed off on doing it without notifying the mayor and first response teams in NYC. Who could have been that thoughtless?
Then I’d sentence those responsible to stand in the WTC footprint and be buzzed by planes. Then they should be fired.
And I still don’t get the purpose of the photo op anyway. What the heck was it supposed to promote? Maybe the perpetrators of this horrible idea are leftover Bush-ites still infected with the Bush "any means to an end, even if it’s cruel" mindset. Whoever they are, we don’t need them in any kind of decision-making capacity.
Kate ——I was with you 100% until you started the "Bush Rant". Did it ever occur to you that this was approved by someone in the NEW "beloved" White House". Until you start ranting about Bush just remember that this decision had to be signed off on by someone in the rank and file of the "today" Washington. It’s unbelieveable that even the Mayor of New York knew nothing about the event because his aide "forgot" to tell him. Could it be that someone in Washington "forgot" to tell the powers that be and they "forgot" to convey the message. Yesterday someone asked Gibbs in a press conference about the incident - he stumbled and mumbled his way through 7 agonizing minutes. Someone must have known - you don’t just take Air Force One up without security clearance. There is a log. Someone had to ask the White House if the President was going to use Air Force One on that particular day. Everything else is secondary!
I was not an avid Bush supporter or a" leftover Bush-ite still infected with the Bush "any means to an end, even if it’s cruel" mindset - I just happen to find your remark ridiculous and offensive. And, I think there are others on this site who will agree with me.
I do agree with you that "whoever they are we don’t need them in a decision making capacity".
Someone will "fall on their sword" to protect someone. Can we just have one day where something "doesn’t" happen.
deber b —It is my understanding that during the Bush Administration the position of "Director of White House Military Office" was held by a Military person. As it should be. The security for Air force One is extremely "military". The President flies to foreign countries. On his "Goodwill" tour he went to Iraq. It stands to reason that military clearance and secrecy is #1. There are reams and reams of paperwork involved. The plane is gone over and tested and re-tested.
When Obama became President they took the position away from the military and handed the job to Louis Caldera an Obama appointee. He is nothing more than a political hack from California. So a civilian was at the helm to protect the President and, yes, his family, and anyone else flying on the plane. So, taking something else away from the military. I’m sorry but I am totally confused by the ignorance and stupidity of this move. And, for a photo-op.
You truly can’t make this stuff up!
Yes there are ! Both are always at the ready. Both are always maintained. In fact when the President is on one they usually fly the second Air Force One. That way the ‘bad guys’ don’t know which plane carries the President.
But, in this case, neither plane should have been used for such a stupid idea. I remember being in NY on 9/11 - I can well understand why the people of NY are angry. I still find it hard to believe that some "putz" dreamed up this idea. What a crock!