Posted on 01/03/2002 1:10:30 AM PST by kattracks
The sems to be a certain arrogance inherent in belonging to such an elite unit.
-btw the arab-american agent was identified as being a 7 year veteran of the secret service (ie: hired by clinton).
I've never flown Northwest; based on this tale, I shall avoid it just as I avoid American Airlines.
Of course, once upon a time, on Delta, I was a less-than-model passenger...
The aircraft captain had been a USMC pilot (light colonel, commanded a squadron). He had, while I was on wheels watch at MCAS El Toro, laid an A-4M Skyhawk onto its belly tank.
This was despite my hitting the wave-off lights, firing a Very Pistol, and bellowing into the radio, "GEAR! GEAR! WAVE OFF!"
He said he didn't hear my radio calls and seen the warning signals because of a loud horn going off in the cockpit. (The horn in question was the one that sounds when you're about to land with the gear up.)
So, with three drinks in me, and in full view and hearing of the first class cabin, I ask him: "You gonna remember to lower the landing gear this time, Ace?"
As I recall it, there was some kind of political spat between her government and the Sikhs. Her Sikh bodyguards killed her.
Why we have any muslims guarding our President is a mystery to me.
Why should an American Airline pilot risk his life and the lives of all his passengers trusting someone he doesn't know just to avoid a charge of "racism?"
Seems to me that everybody is still alive, while the AA pilot knows coworkers that aren't. Some perspective here would be useful.
Sorry the SS guy didn't have compassion for his fellow American who has really good reasons to be very frightened of making a fatal mistake.
However, it appears to me that this is a case of a SS agent who felt the regs shouldn't apply to him. He, after all, guards the President.
When the pilot, who is on a hair-trigger regarding security anyway, began to question him, he got his back up, instead of trying to understand what was going on and working with the pilot.
Having taken a stand, the SS agent felt that the massive chip on his shoulder would force the captain to back down.
When the agent blew his cool (to which there were witnesses), he began to back himself into the corner in which he now finds himself.
Instead of apologizing, (to which the pilot would have responded with an apology), he escalates what was a simple misunderstanding by going to CAIR and hiring the premier government ambulance chaser!
This agent has already embarrassed himself and the President, and is intent on embarrassing him further by pressing American. American must feel fairly confident in its position: it would be a PR disaster for this airline to be found discriminating against anyone by ethnicity. AA has put the pilot's report on its website. There are witnesses, who apparently corroborate the pilot's story.
The SS agent should cut his losses by letting this quietly drop. He will lose in court. And Bush should fire him, as he has no need for a hothead on his personal security force.
Exactly. This guy's after money.
I seem to have no problem with allowing the security people to wipe my train case checking for drug residue and walking three times through the metal detector, removing my belt and my shoes, to clear. And all with a cheerful smile and concern for the people trying to do their job. I do not try to make things go slower by getting full of attitude.
Yes, I think some compassion for our fellow Americans who are trying to avoid fatal mistakes and save lives is in order for all Americans during these times. And maybe it is time for some humility, granting that what they are trying to do, even if they are cranky or frightened and over-officious, is more important than what you are trying to do.
I was in favor of the Fed until I heard about his formal civil rights complaint. He needs to understand the exigencies of war--including ethnic profiling, military tribunals and the like--not act like he has been placed in a Japanese concentration camp for the duration.
My bottom-line point is that if he were more concerned about our dreadfully serious wartime status and less concerned about his own ethnicity, he would just shut up and write it off as just "one of those things."
And President Bush needs to face the fact that he is inadvertently feeding this bad spirit by continuing to talk about how lovely Islam is. No matter how he slices it, the public knows better. The realize that most of the Muslims in the world are still pleased about the events of 9/11. When our President seems to be naive about the implications of this, the President's naivete makes folks like airline pilots redouble their efforts not to get people killed through through their own naivete. They will err on the side of caution. Bush's reassurances will mean less than nothing.
Sounds to me like he did fill it out right the first time.
Well the Captain didn't have the luxury of knowing everything we know now. He had to make a decision quickly. considering he was responsible for the safety of the passengers and crew, he made the right call. He had a man with a loaded gun whose credentials were not in order. He was taking off from a DC area airport on Christmas. The man was a particular age and looked to be of Arab descent. The man was travelling alone. He had been bumped (they thought) from a previous flight. The man failed to fill the paperwork appropriately TWICE.
All this about whether we think the Captain made the right call - when it doesn't matter. What matters is that it IS THE CAPTAIN'S CALL. Punishing the captain for exercising his judgement is not what we want to start doing. For if this occurs, no pilots will ever exercise judgement because there will ALWAYS be someone ready to sue him.
Sure be PC, and have people die? Not in my world. Courts will never have it. Flag me when the court rules.
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