Judith Miller, TWA 800 and the Death of Press Freedom

NewsMax ^ | 7/6/05 | James D. Sanders

[rlmorel]

"The head of the Fox News team in the field on Long Island was then approached by an American military officer who said there was a major screw-up..."


"The military officer, gold braid shining, approached the Fox Executive in the lower levels of the parking lot. "You have to give me that tape." he said. "It is for the good of the country. Besides, we know of various places you frequent that you might not like made public..." he added. Menacingly, the unidentified officer said "Hand it over now!" The sweating executive whined "But this is the only copy! Nobody else even has a copy of this tape! There aren't even any pictures out there!"

"We know that. Anyway, nobody is going to listen to the average citizen about what they did or didn't see." he said. Grinning, he added "You can do man on the street interviews with whomever you want, and we will do the same thing Clinton did to those women who accused him of harrassment! It won't go anywhere, so just give us the tape...we know you didn't even make any copies..."

[rodguy911]

"We were in the white house situation room when twa800 was shot down"

Wow, great post. Probably backed up by video tape as well. Betcha that tape is mighty hard to come by after this thread.

In the 50's and 60's before journalists became "Rock stars" confidences were held all the time. Even today many confidences are still held by journalists at all levels. Those of us who have held secrets small and large are disgusted and angry that the mighty few have besmirched reputations for the rest.

[wagglebee]

It's an interesting theory. My first reaction is that nobody would kill hundreds of innocent people simply to divert attention from themselves. But on further consideration, this is the Klintoons we're talking about. BJ and Hitlery viewed the American people the same way a medieval king viewed his subjects, we are all expendable in their eyes.

A year and a half later when the movie "Wag the Dog" came out, all of the talking heads were saying the idea that a president would start a war just to cover up a sex scandal was ridiculous. Then a few weeks later Lewinsky broke and BJ started bombing people.

[soupcon]

I've lived by the Smith Point bridge for the last three years now---St. George Drive, to be exact. The people here in Shirley are unshakeable in their view that it was indeed a missile. Almost everybody knows someone who saw Flight 800 being struck.

[aviator]

There are other nations that have naval forces capable of firing a missle. They can keep a secret.

[what's up]

the Supreme Court's removal of the First Amendment's Freedom of the Press

Does Freedom of the Press mean they never ever have to reveal sources, even in a criminal trial? I don't think so.

Freedom of the Press means they can print what they want about the Government. That's it.

[aviator]

When the cockpit panel was recovered from the water, it was noted that the center tank fuel pump switches were off. I still fail to understand how a center tank pump can start an explosion when there is no electricity to the pump.

[Criminal Number 18F]

How many 747's have been re-wired to remove this threat from the fuel tanks?

All of them! Every last one. As well as many other Boeings. Plus an entire wiring material that had been used for 30+ years is now banned.

At the cost of many millions.

At one time, when TWA 800 conspiracy stuff was very hot, I was tracking the number of AD's (Airworthiness Directives, like a recall, except the owner of the plane pays the cost) that came out of this investigation and it was something like 47.

If those ADs were for nothing, the airlines would not stand for it -- they are the ones left holding the bag.

There have also been operational changes. For instance, no one realized that the air conditioning units, which use the CWFT as a heat sink, would heat the fuel at altitude to the point where there was an inflammable mixture in the ullage of the CWFT (this was confirmed by flight test in an instrumented sister aircraft). SO now they manage the fuel in the tank so that there can never be a flammable mixture in there.

This also gave FAA impetus to research better means of fuel tank inerting. The military does it with nitrogen, which is costly and inefficient. The FAA has found some better ways, which will make everyone safer. There have been several other cases of fuel tank explosions in Boeing aircraft; this is not as unique a case as it looks (only in the casualty numbers).

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Ramius]

Thanks... your replies are well written and you sound like you've got the research to back it up. I'll pursue some of your links.

[Peach]

According to three media sources - one deep inside NBC on July 17, 1996, when missile-fire brought the giant 747 down - in the hours after TWA Flight 800 was shot down a bidding war ensued for a video showing missile-fire bringing down TWA Flight 800. The bidding went above $50,000, at which time, the Fox News team, New York, was blocked from further bidding. The video ended up in the hands of NBC, where it was confiscated by the FBI.

I had always heard that a videotape was available, but then the matter was dropped and I never heard the video mentioned again. Until now.

Slick Willy really did a good job covering up the acts of terrorism that would have certainly pushed the country into a war.

[Criminal Number 18F]

Ron... one CIB guy to another (mine was easier than yours)... I respect you a lot, but Craig Livingstone was not worth killing anybody over, let alone hundreds of 'em. If Clinton needed a diversion, he had plenty of foreign places to shoot at.

The people on the jet were killed by a bunch of bad luck and unforeseen circumstances. People like it to be a conspiracy because that ties up all the loose ends (if something contradicts the theory, the evidence was fixed... or the witness gotten to... or something).

Ask the people on the aviation threads around this place, I know aircraft.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Peach]

I was watching ABC's This Week when Stephanopolis et al were discussing the incident and I believe terrorism in general. George, who was IIRC Clinton's press guy at the time, clearly said "We were in the White House situation room when TWA800 was shot down.."

I was watching that show when Stephanopolis said that. And I believe it was John Kerry who was interviewed once and slipped that this was an act of terrorism as well.

[savedbygrace]

Connecting the dots very nicely.

[rlmorel]

True enough. But "who" would commit such an act of war? (I know, I know...the French...)

I shouldn't be so disrespectful. This stuff is just too Black Helicopter for me. I am one of those...as much as I HATE the Clintons and what they did to our country, I don't think he really fired those missles just to distract from his domestic problems.

That said, they may have viewed it as a nice side effect.

[Pittsburg Phil]

Why the surprise over a federal government cover-up on Flight 800?

Look at that white-wash investigation that dip s**t former Republican Sen. Danford did on Waco.

And when W. Bush came into office, why was there no investigations in all the criminality and possible treason by the Clinton/Gore Administration? On filthy hand of the political establishment seems to wash the other, eh?

[The Duke]

Nothing to see here...

...move on!

[Criminal Number 18F]

When the cockpit panel was recovered from the water, it was noted that the center tank fuel pump switches were off. I still fail to understand how a center tank pump can start an explosion when there is no electricity to the pump.

Good question, and the best theory (there's no solid proof) is that because of the decayed mylar insulation on the wiring, higher voltages from elsewhere in the plane's circuitry jumped to the pump wiring or (more likely) the fuel level sender unit wiring.

But the exact cause of ignition remains a mystery. There are several possibilities, but none of them is a solid lock. The official investigation admits this.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Haru Hara Haruko]

I don't happen to believe AC, but AC has adequate reasons to think that way. As opposed to, say, the exploding fuel tank fairy. Read the report about how they tried to reproduce it: It says fuel does not explode under those conditions.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

TWA Flight 800's going down the night before cancelled CRAIG LIVINGSTONE's nationally televised Senate testimony on National TV.

3 weeks later, and away from TV Cameras this time, CRAIG LIVINGSTONE pleaded the 5th to protect HILLARY instead of naming HER as the one who hired him as White House Security Chief in order to get her those pesky FBI Files on Republican Leadership and those sitting in Congress.

Two weeks after the Downing of TWA Flight 800 we also saw the CLINTONS on TV entering an Olympic Stadium acting like innocent Royalty ...just yards away from where someone just happened to plant a diversionary bomb under an NBC TV Camera Tower before they got there.

"It's the TV, Stupid, no matter who pays for it" = CLITNON M.O.

...still.

.

[pineconeland]

In all probability, 9-11 would never have happened if the New York Times had merely done the job the Founding Fathers assigned. In the aftermath of TWA 800, with a fully informed citizenry, America's masses would have demanded real protection based on real facts, not federal propaganda.

Exactly right