South Korean students engage in anti-North Korea/anti-Kim Jong Il guerilla street theater protest in Seoul.
(gearing up for the next probable "Axis of Evil" fight)
Posted on 05/04/2003 9:16:09 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo
Title: "Bush Makes Hairy Landing on Aircraft Carrier for End of War Speech"
MAY 04, 2003 22:08
by Jung-Ahn Kim of DONG-A ILBO DAILY, Seoul, Korea (credo@donga.com)
U.S. President George W. Bush landed on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Wearing a pilot’s uniform, Bush showed two thumbs up like a pilot returning from a mission which he had successfully completed. Seeing their president`s hand gesture, the solders cheered with glee. President Bush then, during a speech to the sailors, announced the official end of the Iraq war.
A Republican political specialist defined President Bush`s announcement, which was aired on May 2, as "one of the greatest moments during his presidency."
The New York Times, which had maintained a critical view of the Bush administration and its war on Iraq, acknowledged the tremendous publicity effect the event had for the president. The paper commented that no president would have ever dreamed of giving the speech Mr. Bush gave on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier.
To successfully create a historical event, U.S. officials racked their brains and decided on the best situation in which the president would give his speech.
The biggest problem was whether President Bush, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat of the anti-submarine bomber fighter S-3B Viking, could safely land on the deck of the carrier. The Viking, in a very close call, attached to the fourth and last tether cable on the flight deck. If the plane had missed, the Viking would have had to return to the air for another landing attempt. Or, it could have dropped into the ocean. Watching the risky landing, the White House Secret Service and Navy officials were clinging to the edges of their seats.
White House officials had another reason to worry. Although President Bush boasted about his air force background in the Texas National Guard, his aides were not completely assured of its success.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, when asked on Thursday by reporters how they could tell if the plane was being flown by the President, said that if the flight came straight down, it would probably be flown by a Navy pilot; otherwise, the decision would be left up to their imagination. Fleischer`s joke caused a bit of concern on the part of White House staff over the president`s flying ability.
The White House spokesman and his team devised an elaborate plan in order not to repeat President Bush senior’s failure in reelections despite his victory in the first Gulf War. Each and every public move on the part of President Bush junior has been calculated and directed by the team. According to Reuters, the landing was also a drama that was borne out of fine calculation.
In line with the old adage, "like father, like son," President Bush senior parachuted out of a plane in 1999 to celebrate his 75th birthday.
South Korean students engage in anti-North Korea/anti-Kim Jong Il guerilla street theater protest in Seoul.
(gearing up for the next probable "Axis of Evil" fight)
the solders cheered with glee.
Odd. I'd not have expected to find many soldiers on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
030501-N-6020P-017 Pacific Ocean (May 1, 2003) -- President George W. Bush successfully traps aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in a S-3B Viking assigned to the Blue Wolves of Sea Control Squadron Three Five (VS-35) designated "NAVY 1". President Bush is the first sitting President to trap aboard an aircraft carrier at sea. The President is conducting a visit aboard ship to meet with the Sailors and will address the Nation as Lincoln prepares to return from a 10-month deployment to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Gabriel Piper. (RELEASED)
030501-N-6817C-087 Pacific Ocean (May 1, 2003) -- President George W. Bush poses with Sailors for a photo on the flight deck after a successful trap aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in an S-3B Viking assigned to the Blue Wolves of Sea Control Squadron Three Five (VS-35) designated "NAVY 1". President Bush is the first sitting President to trap aboard an aircraft carrier at sea. The President is conducting a visit aboard ship to meet with the Sailors and will address the Nation as Lincoln prepares to return from a 10-month deployment to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Tyler J. Clements. (RELEASED)
...the fourth is the first tether a pilot comes to ..the NYTimes made the blunder in reporting...the others just copied the story.
The ENTIRE headline is bogus!Bush Makes Hairy Landing on Aircraft Carrier for End of War Speech
Incorrect. The four arresting wires are numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 from aft to fore. The number four wire is the last wire the plane can catch, not the first. Spend some time on a CVN and learn something so you won't repeat your own blunder.
Sadly, lots of journalists and the general public make this mistake. The Navy has Sailors and airmen. The Army has soldiers. The Marine Corps has Marines and the Air Force has airmen. There is no such thing as airwomen or midshipwomen. When in doubt, you can refer to them as troops.
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