Scare Force One: all done?

A building can't change its mind, but "The White House," after declaring that no photos would be released, has decided to release a photo, that's one photo, from the NY City flyover. First the DC school voucher program, then the photos, you never know which way this White House is going to go. Seems to me the White House used to just sit there on Pennsylvania Avenue, and you always knew where it was. Not going anywhere. Coolidge in 2012! Yes, I know he's dead. But he was nearly that quiet when he was alive. A plus, in my book. Here's the photo:


Well then, that was certainly worth all the aggravation.

When you think of all the exciting photos they could have released, this is a bit of a letdown. Where are the fleeing crowds, the skyscraper close-ups?

The spin is to focus the news stories on the designated fall guy, Louis Caldera, who has resigned. LA Times story: White House aide out after $357,012 photo-op with Air Force One. The Guardian, with a cropped photo so the plane looks bigger: Aide who approved Air Force One flyover in New York resigns. The official report (PDF): Internal Review Concerning April 27, 2009 Air Force One Flight. (That URL looks generic; I wonder how long that report will be at that address. CBS News has another copy.)

The report has everybody pointing fingers at everybody else:

Ultimately, the Director did not notify Messrs. Messina or Gibbs about the flyover. 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 decide not to notify them. Instead, he suggested that it may have been an oversight. He noted that the Deputy Director had not told him (and he did not understand) that Air Force One would be flying over lower Manhattan at a very low altitude. He then stated that people frequently recommend that he notify Mr. Messina about certain events. Sometimes they are right; sometimes they are wrong. Finally, the Director stated that he was not asked to approve the flight. If he had been asked to make a decision, he would have received a formal package requesting his approval and he would have expected earlier and more extensive discussions with Colonel Turner and the Deputy Director.

We also asked the Deputy Director why he did not notify Messrs. Messina or Gibbs. He did not do so for two reasons. First, he believed—based on his discussions with Colonel Turner and the various emails he received—that experienced professionals had planned the mission, and they had taken necessary steps to ensure the public was notified. Second, he believed that the Director would pass the information up the chain of command. This was standard office procedure, and he believed the Director preferred it that way.

The conclusion:

In this memorandum—based on our interviews with the Director and the Deputy Director, as well as our review of the relevant documents—we have described the facts and circumstances that led to the flyover of New York City on April 27. The purpose of this review is to help you determine whether process breakdowns and/or errors in judgment may have contributed to the incident and how best to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future.

In addition, our review suggests that structural and organizational ambiguities exist within WHMO that at times affect the organization's ability to operate effectively. These ambiguities include the reporting relationship of the PAG to the White House and to the Air Force. For example, neither the P AG nor any other Air Force component notifies the White House about routine training exercises. And there are no clear procedures governing the approval process for the use of PAG aircraft, including Air Force One, for operations other than Presidential support. As a result, unusual missions such as the April 27 New York City flyover can be subject to confusion.

We believe that WHMO's general structure—and specifically, the reporting relationship of WHMO's operational units (such as the PAG) to the White House and to the Military Service Branches—should be examined. We recommend a comprehensive study resulting in recommendations to the President regarding these structural issues.

But it was all Caldera's fault, except that there are structural problems in the bureaucratic structure, which will surely be identified by the ace bureaucrats who will form up a commission to study the structure, and will be careful not to hire Louis Caldera again. It will be interesting to see where he winds up.

Is it all under the rug now? Or will there be further revelations, possibly even another photo? Keep watching the skies!

Thanks to Gerard Vanderleun, who has a Photoshop, and comments.

Update: There is considerably more discussion at Althouse: The Air Force 1 flight over NYC can't possibly have been made for the purpose of taking that photograph. And another post which I dare not name.

'Scare Force One' photos will not be released

Says the NY Post:

The $328,835 snapshots of an Air Force One backup plane buzzing lower Manhattan last week will not be shown to the public, the White House said yesterday.

"We have no plans to release them," an aide to President Obama told The Post, refusing to comment further.

The sole purpose of the secret photo-op, which sent thousands of New Yorkers running for cover, was to take new publicity shots of the presidential jet over the city.

The Times evidently did not find this fit to print. There's a paragraph linking to the Post item, buried in a roundup post on the City Room blog, and that's it. So far.

Taranto: "Apparently the Obama administration's policy is to release photos only when doing so might pose a danger to national security."

If indeed there are any photos. I could not figure out where the camera was supposed to be, and many of the commenters on the linked pieces likewise.

WTF? US Government tries to scare Manhattan to death

WSJ today:

Low-Flying Plane Over Manhattan Was a 'Photo Op'

NYPD Says It Was Told Not to Disclose Flight Information

A jumbo jetliner that serves as Air Force One, escorted by a military jet, flew over Lower Manhattan Monday morning, frightening office workers and causing evacuations in what turned out to be a publicity operation approved by a unit of the U.S. Air Force.

At around 10 a.m. EDT, a Boeing 747 was seen accompanied by an F-16 fighter jet flying low over the southern tip of Manhattan and at one point seen circling the Goldman Sachs Tower in nearby Jersey City, N.J.

The circling planes were part of a "photo op," a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

The larger plane was one of two highly customized Boeing 747-200 series aircraft that serve as Air Force One when the commander in chief is on board. Technically, "Air Force One" is the call sign of any Air Force aircraft carrying the president. But President Barack Obama wasn't aboard the plane Monday.

The "aerial photo mission," conducted by the Air Force's Presidential Airlift Group, was supposed to be in the area of lower Manhattan and New Jersey for around 30 minutes.

It involved one 747 and one F-16 fighter jet, said Vicki Stein, an Air Force spokeswoman. "You would have to ask the White House the specifics on the mission," Ms. Stein said. The plane is part of the Air Force's Presidential Airlift Group, stationed at Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base.

The New York City Police Department said Monday that the flight was authorized by the FAA for the vicinity "with directives to local authorities not to disclose information about it," according to an email advisory from Paul J. Browne, deputy commissioner of the New York City Police Department.

The low-flying 747 sent workers worried about a repeat of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks fleeing their offices in the New York City area.

Traders bolted from the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange after seeing the jets. The exchange, which sits on the east bank of the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan and is blocks from the site of the terrorist-destroyed World Trade Center, didn't order an evacuation.

People trading oil, natural gas and other commodities on the Nymex floor apparently took no chances. A Nymex security official was "literally standing, holding his hands up in a calming gesture. Guys were running right past him," said Pete Donovan, a vice president at Vantage Trading in the crude-futures ring.

But several buildings in the area were ordered evacuated, although workers quickly returned after it became clear that the flyover was a planned event.

Lower Manhattan tenants and landlords said they weren't informed of the flyover until after it happened. A spokesman for World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein, who owns several properties near the site of the 2001 attacks, said in an email that the firm got no information ahead of time.

Construction workers fled the 43-story headquarters for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., currently under construction across the street from the trade center site. Gia Moron, a spokeswoman for Goldman, one of the largest businesses in Lower Manhattan, said: "We did not receive a heads up. Our security officers were advised after it happened."

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates bridges, tunnels and airports in the area, said initially the agency had no knowledge of the low-flying plane, according to a spokesman. But a Port Authority executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the agency was still investigating, said the Port Authority's security staff were told of the photo shoot at least by Monday morning and possibly as early as the weekend.

White House deflects questions.

Readers' comments at WSJ.

NY Times says "White House Apologizes for Air Force Flyover," with same facts as everyone else. The fall guy has been found, to "take responsibility." Which means taking blame; there's no responsibility anywhere in government. Commenters seem to think it's a bigger deal than the correspondents do.

Premeditated, using the President's plane. What's the point of the shock treatment? What's the point of the "directives to local authorities?" Incompetence and insanity at high levels.

So was it for money, or for fun? Was Soros shorting something today, and not getting enough of a drop out of the swine flu scare? Or was this done just to watch 'em scurry? Cowardly American capitalists, afraid of a couple of airplanes! Or, possibly, a joyride for some FOB? (How about that? Friends of Bill, Friends of Barack, comes out the same. We need a new one, to be able to tell them apart. Friends of Obama would be FOO. The middle name, that's only to be used abroad, to show that change has come to America, and we are now so much like our enemies that we no longer have to fight, but can discuss terms instead, so FOH wouldn't do.) The descriptions of the maneuvers by commenters make it sound like a joyride. Sharp turns, circling buildings, the triple field goal between the buildings in Jersey City, and so forth. Will we ever find out who was on the plane?

Reynolds has more, more, and more, including a link to Cuffy Meigs's photo set: Obama Tortures 9/11 Victims. Another, with an MSNBC video. And another, and another ("Is it too early to call it 'Planegate' yet?").

Ace has a post or two on this, also. Althouse has a post, and a post with a poll.

On Tuesday, an editorial from the NY Post: Plane Dumb.

A possible movie tie-in? The Obamans are clueless enough to go for this.

Later Tuesday: A training mission? See the screencap? image of a fax? at GretaWire. Well, training in the sense that it wasn't combat. Includes a cost estimate, based on cost-per-hour figures averaged over the life of each type of airplane, so the numbers being bandied about are pretty loose.

AP: White House will probe presidential plane PR stunt. Yeah, right.

At American Digest, Vanderleun has We Need a White House "Stupid Service" and The Wind in the Heights.

A couple of Photoshop contests, at Free Republic and the NY Daily News.

People are calling this "Scare Force One."

Update May 5: Scare Force One Photos Wont Be Made Public. If there ever were any photos. Via Reynolds.