Posted on 02/03/2003 12:34:49 PM PST by Pokey78
There was one odd item in the Washington Post story Sunday about the shuttle crash. White House Chief of Staff Andy Card was up at Camp David with the president. They had originally planned to have British Prime Minister Tony Blair up there, but the foggy conditions prevented helicopter flights. So Friday afternoon the two leaders had their meeting in the White House residence instead. Then the Bush party went up to Camp David for the weekend.
Saturday morning, according to this story, Card was "watching NASA TV at Camp David when the accident occurred." He then immediately went over to Bush's cabin, Aspen, and told the president what happened.
The fact that the White House chief of staff is even watching the landing of a space shuttle on a Saturday morning - while at Camp David in the middle of the Iraq crisis - raises a big red flag.
Was he previously informed that NASA was worried about tile damage from the launch?
How much internal chatter about a risky landing was there?
Did NASA expect trouble on an otherwise routine landing?
How many other officials suspected trouble Saturday morning?
Did NASA tell the astronauts and their families of the extra risk with this landing?
These and many other questions are hanging in the air as NASA tries to figure out what happened.
It seems possible that right after the launch NASA officials grew worried that there may have been serious damage. Perhaps they then had high-level meetings about their worries and, as a potential CYA measure, informed Andy Card.
It is odd that the White House chief of staff would watch a shuttle landing. Such a routine event - early on a Saturday morning, in the midst of Blair, U.N. inspections, Colin Powell's upcoming intelligence revelations to the Security Council - seems to be something that a White House big shot would pay no attention to.
If he had a heads-up that something might have been amiss, then we need to be told. And it will come out - eventually.
Haven't we all learned that cover-ups are huge mistakes? It is always better just to square with the people.
NASA has a wonderful safety record over 40 years of manned space flight. They now need to also have a wonderful candor record.
C_E
ROUTINE??? With 10 times the security due to Ilan Ramon?
LeBoutiller is an imbicile.
"Is this true, Dr. Venkman?"
"Yes, it's true...this man has no dick"
As someone once noted after one of the many train derailment/terrorism-end of times threads;
"If jumping to conclusions was an Olympic sport, Free Republic would win the Gold every year."
From New York's sixth district, according to his bio.
He got elected as a Republican in Queens? The same district that elected Floyd Flake?
Or Nassau? (Plenty of Republicans in Queens, BTW. All those tax-paying home owners.)
Within hours of this terrible disaster there were some on FR claiming that the disaster was the result of NASA’s incompetence, that the disaster was avoidable and that the cover up had already began. They have offered up memo’s, doctored photos and wild rumor as evidence.
In order to be true than we must also assume that the seven astronauts who died were fools or somehow duplicitous in their own deaths. Are we expected to believe that the knowledge of a few rumor mongers on the internet is greater then that of those who flew on Challenger?
Are we to believe that these seven astronauts were not aware of the foam problems on the shuttle program or the effects of budget cuts on the program? Are we to believe that they were foolish enough to fly a platform into space that was doomed from the beginning as some on FR claim?
If we accept their speculation then we must also assume that their fellow astronauts, walking the woodlands of east Texas looking for their remains, will not seek to discover the real cause of their deaths, but will work to cover up for NASA. Do you really believe this?
Is this what we’ve come to on FR? This doesn’t just smear NASA, it smears the seven brave people we honor today.
I'm just curious if you also think it's an insult to homicide, robbery, or assault victims when their family and friends exercise their God given talents to investigate who
carried out those crimes, when the police are unable to asertain who did it? In this instance we have an agency that has two vested interests, full disclosure and the
welfare of the agency itself. Why it would be an insult to the astronauts to make sure they weren't short-changed in the process, is beyond me.
I have seen the product of your logic before. It's generally interesting, but seldom very sound. Don't give up.
Within hours of this terrible disaster there were some on FR claiming that the disaster was the result of NASA’s incompetence, that the disaster was avoidable and that the cover up had already began. They have offered up memo’s, doctored photos and wild rumor as evidence. In order to be true than we must also assume that the seven astronauts who died were fools or somehow duplicitous in their own deaths. Are we expected to believe that the knowledge of a few rumor mongers on the internet is greater then that of those who flew on Challenger?
Are we to believe that these seven astronauts were not aware of the foam problems on the shuttle program or the effects of budget cuts on the program? Are we to believe that they were foolish enough to fly a platform into space that was doomed from the beginning as some on FR claim?
If we accept their speculation then we must also assume that their fellow astronauts, walking the woodlands of east Texas looking for their remains, will not seek to discover the real cause of their deaths, but will work to cover up for NASA. Do you really believe this?
Is this what we’ve come to on FR? This doesn’t just smear NASA, it smears the seven brave people we honor today.
You find this embarassing? This is the product of your logic? I do feel sorry for you.
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