NEW YORK (AP) -- The chief of the New York Police Department says city police could take down a plane if necessary.
Well now. There are two ways for New York City to take down a plane in flight... One is to have its very own a jet fighters to shoot it down, the other is a SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile),fired skyward by one of New York's best and brightest.
Oh hell yes. Let's think this through. A cop looks up into the sky and sees a jet liner headed for the Chrysler building at 500MPH. Since New York City doesn't have its own Air Force equipped with modern jet fighters armed with air-to-air missiles(which would be sitting out on the tarmac somewhere unfueled, unmanned, unarmed and unprepared), our cop will no doubt radio somebody somewhere who has the SAMs under lock and key, tells them of the incoming aircraft, who in turn tells him him they need confirmation before they authorize their perhaps military-trained rocketeers to start filling the New York sky with missiles.
By now - of course - that aircraft has already hit the building. When our hawkeyed cop spotted it, it was just seconds away from its target.
Hmmm. Who are the NYPD rocketeers to shoot at now?
But wait, you say. New york has its National Guard. Give me a freaking break. Like every other National Guard, they have obsolete and poorly maintained equipment, useless in any emergency requiring a fast response. And... Their on-site personnel consists mostly of overweight pot-bellied retired military and youngish, underpaid office jockeys who joined the National Guard for the few bucks a month they get. Besides, 99% of their personnel are in Iraq or Afghanistan anyway.
Oh wait... Maybe New York City is constructing a radar system that will spot a suspicious aircraft out a bit further than the Hudson River, to be manned by more of New York's finest 24-7, no doubt extensively trained by the FAA to be competent Air Controllers, and under rigid Union control.
Scenario:
RADAR DUDE :Mr. bigshot union boss, we have an aircraft headed for the Chrylser building! We need to shoot it down!
MR. BIGSHOT UNION BOSS: No no no... This is an ideal time to squeeze the city for more pay and benefits!
Hmmmmmm. So a NYC Air Controller manning NYC's non-existent all new and modern (spelled expensive) radar system spots an incoming aircraft - one of hundreds daily - and decides that this particular one is going to hit the Chrysler building. Sound the alarm. Inform the superiors, who - of course - are going to need verification.
Now suppose - just suppose - some total idiot in the NYC hierarchy of bosses (of which there are many) decides to authorize the NYC rocketeers to shoot down the approaching aircraft.
Where in hell did New York get the authority to shoot down anything? Much less a commercial airliner full of citizens? Who gave NYC the authority to do such a thing? That fool Obama, or one of his idiot flunkies at the White House?
Bottom line... If the NYC government has taken steps to provide itself with the ability to shoot down what they may believe to be a suspicious aircraft, they have gone far over the line and should be tossed out of office.... NOW, before they do something really really stupid.
Could New york's leaders actually convince themselve to do such an insane thing?
Yes.
.
1 comment:
The most viable scenario is that so much time would be wasted among the various levels of bureaucracy by those who "didn't know anything about it" (didn't want to get involved/be responsible if anything got fucked up) that the plane would already have crashed into the building before the "Fire!" order could be given by someone competent.
Government in general - and bureaucracy in particular - is FULL of Papists glad to take the bow when something goes right, but reluctant to do much of anything til then out of fear something could go wrong.
And lest we forget, "First Responders" counterpunch: Usually by showing up long after the fact and writing up a report about it...Another good name for them is HISTORIANS.
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