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 dont know theres a lot else to say other than they shouldnt 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.
I/WE KNOW NOTHING!
Watching the raw video from the AP, I am reminded of the day I was traveling up I-85 when President Bush was going to make an appearance in Charlotte. As luck would have it, we would hit Charlotte the same time AF-1 landed.
We started seeing fighter jets near Greenville SC. They came in & out of our visual range while we were driving north. By the time we hit the NC/SC state line, we always saw at least one in the air. It was as if they were establishing a perimeter and making sure the inside stayed closed to air traffic. We also noticed that we did not see any passenger jets in the air, unusual because of the airports we passed going north.
It worried us because we didn’t know about Bush’s visit until we picked up a Charlotte radio station. AF-1 crossed 85 right over us. [I swear I saw President Bush return my wave, LOL!]
Granted, odumba was not on the plane the other day. Still, I would think extra precautions regarding air space would be taken because if the plane was one that is used as AF-1, it has the defensive technology even if Odumba was not on it.
love it.
thx.
Makes sense to me.
Though I was well trained and worked in drug abuse prevention in the Navy . . . I haven’t had to deal with it for more than 20 years.
Now, locally, there’s pot and meth of significance. Horrific stuff. One student even brazenly chose two articles justifying pot on medical grounds. Sigh.
Most of us remember what happened on 9-11. This administration just remembers a bright sunny day....
Like he couldn?t have logged hours in a rural area? Does his training include making dangerous turns close to buildings in a metro area?
Caldero has a strange past. He is also linked to financil debacles.
http://bellalu0.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/louis-caldera-white-house-military-office-man-of-the-day/
Hey, at the very least they'll have to Photoshop out all the birds the herd of fleeing tourists are probably flipping them.
I observed Ovomit apologizing for the unannounced fly by. He appeared to be SMUG! His eye lids were droopy! He in no way appeared to be stunned or sincere. He was arrogant!
My wife called me at work right after she saw it and she said it looked like he was trying to start laughing.
Your wife is very observant. Obama enjoyed the entire fiasco. The man committed an act of terrorism with AF1 against the American people. PURE AND SIMPLE.
Can’t find a link to it online anywhere, I will try to catch it on TV tonight. I’m fed up with him.
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State. - Joseph Goebbels
Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play. - Joseph Goebbels
Whoever can conquer the street will one day conquer the state, for every form of power politics and any dictatorship-run state has its roots in the street. - Joseph Goebbels
Here's what someone needs to do.
Then have the lawyer call the facility manager at New York Federal Aviation Administration Terminal Radar Facility,
Now the information will be protected for at least six months.
Follow up with your lawyer making a written request for the same information,
and have him file a Hazardous Air Traffic Action Report.
This should get the ball rolling,
But this will cost money, for legal fees,
and I can't help you with that.
These are the same folks that ridiculed President Bush for his referencing 9/11 when he acted against our Islamic enemies.
These are the same people that voted for both Kerry and Obama.
These are the same people that enabled the Congress and Senate to be infiltrated with Socialist Ideologues that spend night and day dismantling our Military and supporting causes that rob this Nation of its freedom and traditions.
My Uncle's best friend, a Port Authority Police Officer, was killed in Tower One on 9/11 while trying to evacuate the building. The fact that the Media shuns those images while promoting the Poser Obama as almost Godlike, makes me physically ill.
I stole the picture and will now steal Robert “GIBBELS”.
Thanks for the ping.
Many of us withing minutes of the reports of Air Farce One were wondering if some big shot lefty Follywooders were on the plane.
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