Posted on 12/08/2005 5:01:27 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
December 8, 2005 - 07:56.
Has Katie Couric watched too many westerns? You know, the kind where the sheriff shoots the gun out of the bad guy's hand?
That would seem to be the case, based on the repeated questions she posed to a former air marshal in the wake of yesterday's shooting of a frantic passenger claiming to have a bomb aboard an American Airlines flight .
Katie's guest was former air marshal Tony Kuklinski, who stated that "by all accounts I've seen, what [the air marshals] did was necessary."
Katie wasn't so sure. "Do they always shoot to kill, Tony? In other words, I guess the average person [on the Upper West Side of Manhattan?] hearing this might think: isn't there a way where they could have shot this person and not killed him? Wounded him or incapacitated him in some way without killing him?"
Kuklinksi patiently and professionally explained that:
"law enforcement officials aren't trained to shoot to kill; they're trained to shoot to prevent the action from taking place. We're not trained to precision-shoot in the knee or in the arm or in the finger to prevent something from taking place. Your accuracy goes down, the potential for a stray bullet or a missed shot hitting a bystander goes up tremendously."
That wasn't enough to satisfy Katie:
"I know that last July, London police shot and killed a Brazilian electrician because they'd mistaken him for a terror suspect. It raises the question, should there be further training? Do you think that air marshals should be taught to shoot at a specific location on a body?"
One sensed Kuklinski's rising frustration. Yet he remained patient and polite, and gave what is really the key answer:
"Federal air marshals have one of the best training programs anywhere in the country. [Precision shooting creates] too much potential for secondary casualties. There's no time to sit there and take precision aim. [To attempt a more precise shot] - shoot him in the shoulder, shoot him in the leg - it may not prevent the crime from being committed.
It makes you wonder: what questions do you think Katie might pose if an air marshal, following her recommendations, shot a terrorist in the hand, who as a result was capable of detonating his bomb that in turn brought down a jumbo jet filled with passengers?
Katie-git-yer-gun ping to the Today Show/NewsBusters ping list.
L
Yesterday Wolf Ditzer was asking "Why didn't they use a taser?" and "Why are they blowing up that luggage?"
Katie has never even held one of those icky, scary gun things, because guns are so violent and she's such a nonviolent person.
Shoot him in the foot. He will be so upset about his ruined shoe, that he will quite forget about the bomb.
Al-Quatie is without a doubt the dumbest excuse for a morning "anchor" since Bah-wah Wah-Wah.....
RLTW
Better yet, what would Katie say when the bullet passed through the perps hand, and killed the nice little old lady behind him upon lodging in her brain?
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
"Katie Oakley"
LoL. That's funny
Leni
Yup, liberalism is a mental disease
just goes to show how far TODAY Show will go to stir up controversy. Making Katie look the fool is fine, if it might possibly arouse public anger at the shooting.
This man was a saint, a community volunteer, he didn't deserve to die this way, dontcha know?
Katie's questions were absurd, especially since we'd heard them all yesterday, by equally ignorant MSNBC news babes.
What he should have said was "..OK Katie..you and you daughters are on that plane...now do you want me to kill the bastard before he detonates the bomb, or try and wound him..?"
I think we need to open the lines of communication with suspected terrorists. I just don't think we've tried hard enough yet. Come on everybody, group hug!
These security agents used headshots for one reason.... if you shoot him anywhere else,he still has the ability and opportunity to detonate his bomb!
Any other questions,K-K-K-Katie?
"Center Mass of the target presented" That's what I've been taught and that's what I'll do if I have to. Basically it means aim for the center of the biggest portion of the bad guy that you can see. If he is facing me... I aim dead center chest. If he is bent down and charging... dead center of his bulk (head/middle of shoulder blades).
Well, the head sounds like a good start it the marshall is in a position to get a hit; otherwise whatever will kill quickly and certainly seems like the way to go.
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