Richard Tafoya
Apr 27th, 2009, 06:07 PM
Tribune newspapers:
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/04/white_house_apology_af_one_pho.html
The low-flying journey of the United States of America jumbo-jet that serves as Air Force One when the president is aboard -- there are two -- created quite a stir today when the big blue bird, sans president but trailed by fighter jets, swept over the Statue of Liberty.
It was a military "photo-opp,'' the Federal Aviation Administration said, and it had been coordinated with many local, state and federal agencies.
It was an outrage -- a callous insult to the people of New York -- many of whom panicked at the sight over a city still traumatized by the hijacked airliners that attacked the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, the way Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saw it.
"To think that the FAA would plan such a photo shoot and not warn the public, knowing full well that New Yorkers still have the vivid memory of 9/11 etched in their minds,'' Schumer said. "In New York, of all places, to not warn the public that one of the largest jets in the country tailed by a fighter jet is going to fly low over their communities defies logic and borders on simply being cruel."
"It defies the imagination,'' New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
The White House at first indicated it didn't know anything about the photo opp -- but later in the day, Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office, said this about the flight of the presidential aircraft, sans president, over New York:
"Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision. 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."
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/04/white_house_apology_af_one_pho.html
The low-flying journey of the United States of America jumbo-jet that serves as Air Force One when the president is aboard -- there are two -- created quite a stir today when the big blue bird, sans president but trailed by fighter jets, swept over the Statue of Liberty.
It was a military "photo-opp,'' the Federal Aviation Administration said, and it had been coordinated with many local, state and federal agencies.
It was an outrage -- a callous insult to the people of New York -- many of whom panicked at the sight over a city still traumatized by the hijacked airliners that attacked the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, the way Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saw it.
"To think that the FAA would plan such a photo shoot and not warn the public, knowing full well that New Yorkers still have the vivid memory of 9/11 etched in their minds,'' Schumer said. "In New York, of all places, to not warn the public that one of the largest jets in the country tailed by a fighter jet is going to fly low over their communities defies logic and borders on simply being cruel."
"It defies the imagination,'' New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
The White House at first indicated it didn't know anything about the photo opp -- but later in the day, Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office, said this about the flight of the presidential aircraft, sans president, over New York:
"Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision. 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."