He apparently would prefer that they engage in "distracting" the hijackers (which wouldn't work, but it would look like they were actually doing something).
Me? If I were the OTC at Andrews, I'd've strapped on an F-16 and launched without weapons, and I wouldn't have considered ramming Flight 77, I simply would have done so.
These nitpicking arguments drive me nuts; these people did the absolute best they could do on that day, period.
People who question what they did hate everything anyway.