Would Mohamed Atta object to armed pilots?
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In a new safety initiative, the Department of Transportation
has instituted an affirmative-action program for Arabs interested
in pursuing careers in aviation. Transportation Secretary Norman
Mineta explained the security advantages of the program, saying,
"surrendering to discrimination makes us no different than
the terrorists."
Since you can't tell these days: This is not, in the strict sense,
true. It is true, however, that the department has prohibited
pilots from carrying guns and has rejected the idea of a "trusted
traveler" program. In fact, it's not doing anything to make
the airlines any safer. This should come as no surprise, inasmuch
as Mineta recently said he was unaware of any "specific"
threat against aviation.
They hate us. They're trying to kill us. They use airplanes as
weapons. If Mineta doesn't talk to his boss, can't he at least
read the papers?
In congressional testimony last week, Mineta mercifully spared
the senators a recap of his experience in a Japanese internment
camp and allowed his assistant, longtime Bush crony and ATF apologist
John Magaw, to explain the department's
key security improvements. The reason Magaw decided to prohibit
pilots from having guns is – and I quote – "they really need
to be in control of that aircraft."
This is literally the stupidest thing I've heard in my entire
life.
It is like saying women walking home late at night in dangerous
neighborhoods shouldn't carry guns (or mace, for the gunphobic)
because they "really need to be getting home." If the
undersecretary for transportation security thinks we need to debate
whether pilots "really need to be in control of the aircraft,"
someone other than him really needs to be in control of airline
security.
The scenario under which a gun might become useful for a pilot
is this: The hijackers have penetrated the locked cockpit and
thwarted air marshals, passengers and crew. It's going to be difficult
for the pilot to fly the plane after the cockpit has been stormed
by Arabs. Whatever could go wrong at that point – a wounded passenger,
a hole in the side of the plane, terrorists wresting control of
the gun – is better than the alternative.
Ah, but Magaw is worried that the terrorists will now have a
pistol. Think of havoc they could wreak with a gun. Of course,
they'll also have a Boeing 767 careening at 480 miles per hour
toward the nearest landmark building. Magaw seems to think the
real danger is that terrorists will shoot at the White House from
a window, not that they'll fly the plane into it.
Magaw is the worst kind of government bureaucrat. He defends
fascistic government abuses – but the trains still don't run on
time. Fascism is at least supposed to keep the citizenry safe.
As the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Magaw
famously justified an unprovoked government assault against Randy
Weaver and his family, culminating in the murder of Weaver's wife.
In testimony before a Senate committee investigating the raid
at Ruby Ridge, Magaw stubbornly refused to admit the ATF had done
anything wrong whatsoever.
Indeed, he even refused to acknowledge a jury verdict finding
that the government had entrapped Weaver. Of the jury's verdict,
Magaw said: "Do you believe Randy Weaver – or do you believe
the federal agents who have sworn to tell the truth and are carrying
out a career in this government?"
If only airline pilots worked for the government! Then Magaw
would not only allow them to tussle with terrorists, but they
would also be free to gun down innocent Americans without criticism.
(The Senate report found Magaw's testimony not credible and recommended
abolition of his entire agency.)
Magaw's other airline safety improvement was to reject the idea
of a "trusted traveler" program, which would allow passengers
to avoid three-hour airport security lines after submitting to
an intrusive background check by the government. As reported by
the New York Times, Magaw spurned the trusted traveler idea on
the ground that "he is not sure who could safely be given
the card."
I don't know, how about ... NO ARABS? (Religion-of-Peace Update:
As they prepare to stone a rape victim to death in Pakistan, the
latest suicide bombing in Israel claimed the lives of a grandmother
and her 18-month old granddaughter.)
Amazingly, President Bush has actually found someone even dumber
than Norman Mineta to secure the nation's airlines. The secretary
of transportation is the only person on the face of the globe
who thinks the airlines face no terrorist threat, and his deputy
– by his own admission – hasn't the first idea which airline passengers
can be "trusted."
If these guys were doing their jobs right, Congress would be
reining them in, civil libertarians would be screaming, and professional
ethnic complainers would be holding candlelight vigils and singing
"We Shall Overcome." Instead, Congress is forced to
pass laws overruling Mineta and Magaw, civil libertarians are
scratching their heads wondering why profiling is prohibited,
and professional complainers are sending them flowers.
Maybe somebody else should be doing this job.
written by Ann Coulter, well-known
for her television appearances as a political analyst, is an attorney
and author of
"High Crimes and Misdemeanors." about Bill Clinton.
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