Air Force One’s joyride

Last updated on: April 30, 2009 at 5:00 am by Gene Veith

New York City was terrorized when they saw the big aircraft followed by F-16s buzzing the city. It was just Air Force One getting publicity photos. But it has come out that the federal officials who planned the flyover

knew it might cause panic and even threatened to prosecute local officials if they didn’t keep it secret:

Federal officials knew that sending two fighter jets and Air Force One to buzz ground zero and Lady Liberty might set off nightmarish fears of a 9/11 replay, but they still ordered the photo-op kept secret from the public.

In a memo obtained by CBS 2 HD the Federal Aviation Administration’s James Johnston said the agency was aware of “the possibility of public concern regarding DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft flying at low altitudes” in an around New York City. But they demanded total secrecy from the NYPD, the Secret Service, the FBI and even the mayor’s office and threatened federal sanctions if the secret got out.

We mustn’t blame President Obama, who didn’t know about it and who was reportedly furious about the stunt. But it does reveal something about what it will be like as government bureaucrats acquire more and more power. They are often insulated from ordinary people and ordinary concerns and sometimes behave with an imperial arrogance.

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