Posted on 05/09/2009 4:30:54 AM PDT by Beckwith
A White House military aide who authorized an Air Force flyover of New York that caused panic among some people in the city resigned on Friday.
Louis Caldera said in a resignation letter to Obama that the controversy over the mission -- a photo shoot of a jumbo jet used as Air Force One with the Statue of Liberty in the background -- made it impossible for him to lead the White House Military Office (WHMO).
White House officials said the flight was designed to update the official photo of the plane, known as Air Force One when the president is aboard.
The flight over lower Manhattan for a photo shoot scared some New Yorkers who remembered the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 involving hijacked airliners that destroyed the World Trade Center. Many people panicked and evacuated office buildings when the planes flew over -- as low as 150 feet.
Caldera had approved the mission. His resignation came on the same day Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a letter to Senator John McCain that the photo shoot cost U.S. taxpayers as much as $357,000.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs (Gibbels) said Obama had accepted the resignation. Obama had been described as furious when the incident occurred on April 27 and demanded a review.
Isn't that tidy -- Louis Caldera is responsible -- but responsible for what?
Louis Caldera is responsible for "approving" the flight. No need to look any further. Caldera is responsible -- off with his head -- move on!
However, none of this answers the key question -- WHO REQUESTED THE FLIGHT?
Start with Caldera's boss. Who does Caldera work for -- and who does that guy work for -- and who does that guy work for. Somewhere up that food chain is the genius whose brainstorm is responsible for this clusterflop -- that person is the "Requestor" or "Initiator" -- that's the guy that is really responsible.
When the flight was a "Go," the WHMO Deputy Director sent an email to the Director, saying the flight would receive some "local press," but the White House shouldn't catch any questions about it. The email also suggested notifying Jim Messina and Robert Gibbels.
The flight then flew into history.
The White House (read Rhambo) investigated the flight and The White House Counsel's Office (Gregory Craig) produced a report, "Internal Review Concerning April 27, 2009 Air Force One Flight." (It's interesting this report uses the "Air Force One" designation, as the aircraft is only referred to in this way when POTUS is on board. Is Craig suggesting that Obama was on the flight?)
The report (I could access only the first 3 pages of the .pdf file for some reason) says that the Deputy Director of the WHMO "suggested that when the plan was finalized, the Director MAY want to inform White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Jim Messina (not the singer). The Deputy Director believed that Mr. Messina would want notice because the plan involved the use of the Presidential aircraft and because it was unusual."
Note, the focus of this report is on the WHMO, the initial flight planning and the subsequent processes and reviews that resulted in the flight. Nowhere in the "official" report is there any mention of the person or persons who initiated the request for the flight mission that was ultimately "approved" by Caldera.
And, it doesn't answer the secondary question -- WHO WAS ON BOARD? Any honest investigation would provide the flight and passenger manifests. Neither of these are addressed in the report (whitewash).
A Reuters news article said the report of the review, mentioned above, said ultimately Caldera did not notify relevant White House officials about the flyover in advance.
"When asked why he failed to do so, he did not offer a coherent explanation. He stated that it was not a conscious decision -- he did not intend not to notify them," it said. "Instead, he suggested that it may have been an oversight."
An oversight? I just find that statement to be unbelievable.
Caldera had previously apologized for the April 27 incident, saying, "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision (approving the flight). While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."
And like a good little Obot, Caldera fell on his sword.
The White House Military Office (2,300 managers and staff) knew about the flight, and so did the Department of Defense, and Andrews Air Force Base, and the Air Mobility Command, and the Presidential Airlift Group, and the 89th Airlift Wing, and the Federal Aviation Administration and air traffic control representatives in the New York are, and "federal, state and local authorities."
It seems everyone in the government knew about the "secret flight" except Obama and his senior White House advisers. Sgt. Schultz ("I know nothing") would be proud.
Of course Obama was furious when the incident occurred. It hit the fan the day before his 100th day's celebration and victory speech, dramatically affecting the news.
But he knew nothing about it -- nor did any other "responsible" person in and around the White House -- just Caldera, even though the report contains several mentions of Jim Messina, whose boss is Rhambo -- and Rhambo's boss is Obama -- that's two degrees of separation.
Nah, that would be Medusa I if she was on board. Or does Hillary already have that as her plane’s call sign?
Some of the speculation about the “Venus 1 Heavy” call sign appears to be cleared up at this site:
But the red tail on the F16 is still an open issue.
The point is, every manufactured “scandal” that occurred during the Bush years “went all the way to the executive office” according the Democrats running the press. In the Clinton, and now Obama years, nothing goes past the gardener.
The "Venus 1" call sign of AF(x) was probably from "Venus One" communications
which was apparently linked to the script of the movie,
"taking off", caught by FReepers above in second plane terrorizing New Yorkers.
Best guesses for the Flight Manifest might be below:
Sitting in his office, on the phone with the director, who was on the ground in NY with a camera crew, filming the reactions of the public.
(Just one possibility)
“Lucasfilm has just announced the cast of ‘Red Tails.’ The World War II saga will star Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard.”
Not so far fetched if one considers George Lucas’ contributions to Obama ($33,100) on July 25th, 2008.
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=CA&last=lucas&first=george
The Saga of Air Farce One:
http://www.theobamafile.com/ObamaAirFarceOne.htm
“The same office that requested it when Bush 43 was elected. Also the same office that requested it when Clinton was elected.”
An office is an intangible.
A person “requested” the mission.
That person had to have a lot more “juice” than Louis Caldera.
That person had to have a lot more “juice” than Louis Caldera.
That person was probably a medium to low grade clerk that works in the office.
Your focus is on the “approval.”
The question is who “requested.”
No Air Force general can move Air Force One without the knowledge of the White House. There was a thread here the week this happened and a FReeper (sorry I forget his/her name) posted the regs.
There is another article that says those planes from the AL ANG are on loan to the DC ANG. The question that needs to be asked is why are they in DC?
The words, “initiator” , “requestor” and “approver” have very specific meanings.
In order to schedule this mission, there were probably a dozen, or more, “approvers as the "request" moved down and then back up the chain of command.”
Caldera had final “approval” of somebody’s “request.”
The point I'm making is that someone had enough juice to “request” a $350,000 flight mission.
How many people in the White House have $350,000 in their budget to spend on a joyride?
The key to understanding this fiasco is understanding how the budgets and the bureaucracy work.
“What is dangerous about flying 150 feet above the highest obstacle?”
If you have an emergency, you don’t have enough altitude (and time) to react and perform emergency procedures. Refer to the recent US Airways ditching in the Hudson River. The guy was climbing through 3,200 feet when he hit the birds and his engines flamed out. That barely gave him enough time to find a spot to put the plane on. That was a small Airbus. A gigantic 747 at 150 feet AHO does not stand a chance if its engines quit.
In the Army we did a lot of low level and nap-of-the-earth flying. But that was over unpopulated areas. A heavy airplane crashing somewhere over lower Manhattan would be - and has been - a catastrophe.
The requester was most likely a sub committee of the presidential transition team. I worked for a vendor dealing with Executive Office of the President in 1993 supplying computers and software. I PERSONALLY built the first Mac that went into the White House for Hillary. I spent many long hours dealing with the GSA and other departments within the EOP during the Clinton transition. Bonehead things often just fell across my desk that were clearly just copies of things requested at the beginning of Bush 41. Computers and things that weren't even made any more. Obviously, just rubber stamped.
I think the reason only one photo was released, will be because the “subject” of most of the photos or film will be AF1 flying in close formation with the “Red Tail” jet.
That was the entire point of the flyover, IMHO. Probably to put at the end of the “Red Tails” movie.
Why indeed.
Somebody needs to ask the WH about ANY connection between AF1 and Red Tails.
Get the denial on the record.
We also need complete manifests of all passengers, and all of the photos/film taken of AF1 and the F-16 red tail on that day.
Exactly.
Oh, I'm sure there is.
Problem is, 'those' reporters want to keep their jobs, and their families, their money, and keep breathing.
I would only be shocked if the didn't.
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