Posted on 05/11/2005 8:56:13 PM PDT by Tulsa Ramjet
Bush not told about plane scare until after biking
Photo: Reuters Click to enlarge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush was not told for nearly an hour while he finished a bike ride about a breach in White House airspace on Wednesday that prompted the highest alert since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the White House said. The White House said the Secret Service held off informing the president because he was not in danger.
Bush was about a half-an-hour into his ride at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland when an unidentified Cessna airplane came near the White House, sending the Secret Service scrambling to evacuate Vice President Dick Cheney and move First Lady Laura Bush to a secure location.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president's Secret Service detail was informed about the plane at about 11:59 a.m., when the decision was made to raise the threat level at the White House to "yellow."
Fighter planes were immediately scrambled to intercept the plane, and the threat level at the White House was raised all the way to "red" before the "all clear" was given at 12:14 p.m.
McClellan said Bush was informed about the incident around 12:50 p.m. at the end of his ride. He left the reserve around 12:57 p.m. and returned to the White House at around 1:30 p.m., well after the security scare had ended. ADVERTISEMENT
"A determination was made that the threat posed no danger to the president since he was at an off-site location, and protocols were in place to protect people in the area of the threat," McClellan said. "Those protocols did not require any presidential authority."
"Given such circumstances and the fact that the plane turned away from the White House, the decision was made to inform the president upon conclusion of his bike ride," McClellan said.
Bush had left the White House at about 11:03 a.m. and had arrived at Patuxent for the bike ride at 11:34 a.m.
To me... That was the biggest screw up, If I was a terrorist, I would instruct a pilot to violate the White House Airspace and once everyone has been evacuated and instructed to retreat to Union Station, I'd blow up Union Station.
IMHO you win the "Thinkers" award for the evening :-)
"But if a small craft refuses to ID itself and there is an evacuation occurring, why not at least appraise him of the situation? No need to spirit him off somewhere. Just let him in on what's going on."
Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you. That's all that I wanted noted.
Your best post of the evening.... Welcome to Free Republic!
Mike
I agree. I was flamed last night for comments about Terri's case, so I'm keeping the Viking Kitties off my Nomex and Kevlar systems. LOL.
BTW, I'm to the Right of Ghengis Khan and El Rushbo.
I'm guessing that the same people who have their knickers in a wad over this had their knickers in a wad when Reagan didn't wake up the morning those Libyan fighter pilots got their butts shot down.
I was not making a comment about you but, tulsa ramjet.
I deal with FACTS, not conjecture. BTW, my perception is that you may want to go back to DU. However, that is my *opinion*, not a fact. LOL.
Exactly!
How Dare You! You right wing extremest anti-social security, right wing Judge supporting homophobe :-)
I know that buddie. We're cool. Ramjet is a lilly out of lyne. LOL. I think he needs to back up to DU. Then again, his hippie bus probably lost the reverse gear back in 1967.
Assuming it had a reverse gear even in 67.
Oh NO!!!!! In 1967 the only gear the Hippies ever had was "Reverse"
You're right. LOL!
Just exactly what "immediate action" would he have needed to take that wasn't already in progress?
Cool beans. You may want to straighten your bow tie, or join the SS, US military or the Feebies. Then we will all understand your logistics messages. You may want to have an exclusive interview with Helen Thomas. IMOHO
My opinion is that if the threat level hits RED, the President damn well better be notified immediately. After all, he's one of the very few people to get a full (or mostly full) intelligence report every morning, so he's one of the few that might be able to understand the significance of that red alert in full perspective. More importantly, some of the most time-critical decisions fall on his shoulder, so the more time he/she has to process information, the better.
Besides, the location of his VP was shifted on an emergency basis, and his wife was whisked away! I have a hunch/hope that President Bush feels the same way I do, and changes will be made.
It is too bad that some around here think that any commonsense questions regarding the administration are acts of high treason. They remind me of Portnoy (?) in "Animal Farm"....
"..his hippie bus"
1974 Monte Carlo
1983 Camaro
1988 Chrysler Lebaron
1996 Ford Expedition
2000 Chevy Suburban
2000 Cadillac Deville
Sorry pal. Your perception is imperceptive.
But in any event, it appears I can't get on track.
White towel.
"The Expedition first appeared in 1997 as a replacement for the full-size Ford Bronco. The 1997 Expedition was based on the contemporary Ford F150 pick-up truck and came with either 4.6 or 5.4 litre V8 engines. Both engines are very thirsty but provide plenty of torque making the Expedition ideal for towing. There was a choice of rear or four wheel drive and the Expedition can seat up to nine people. An all-new Expedition went on sale for 2003. The Expedition’s main rivals in North America are the Chevrolet Tahoe and Toyota Sequoia."
Google "1996 Ford Expedition" and you will find out that they didn't exist in 1996
I think you got him. Let's see if he has the balls to come back.
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