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Fleischer dodges WND query on armed pilots
Josey1
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Fleischer dodges WND query on armed pilots
Kinsolving presses spokesman by citing action of El Al security guard
Posted: July 12, 2002
5:40 p.m. Eastern
Editor's note: Each week, WorldNetDaily White House correspondent Les Kinsolving asks the tough questions no one else will ask. And each week, WorldNetDaily brings you the transcripts of those dialogues with the president and his spokesman. If you'd like to suggest a question for the White House, submit it to WorldNetDaily's exclusive interactive forum MR. PRESIDENT!
By Les Kinsolving
c 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
At today's daily White House news briefing, the first question posed to Presidential Press Secretary Ari Fleischer came from John Cochran of ABC, who asked:
Q: If the Senate should pass a bill on guns in the cockpit, the way that the House has, would the president veto it? Would the president veto the bill as passed by the House?
FLEISCHER: John, the president's view is that what is important is to provide the maximum safety for passengers in the air, and that's why under his proposals the Transportation Security Administration has beefed-up screening, has reinforced cockpit doors and has taken a series of measures to improve safety. The president relies on the judgments of the experts about whether or not allowing pilots to be armed comports with the safety requirements the president seeks. So there's no change in the president's position from what he's talked about before.
Q: So he is opposed to guns in the cockpit?
FLEISCHER: The president makes his decisions based on what he believes promote the most safety aboard an aircraft. And based on the advice he's got from his advisers, he believes that arming pilots in the manner described does not promote safety.
Near the end of the briefing, after repeated Fleischer needlings about where I was seated (but no recognition for questions), he finally recognized WND for the following question:
WND: I've heard almost no White House objection to the El-Al Israeli security officer who shot and killed that Arab murderer in the L.A. airport. And since an overwhelming majority of the president's fellow Republicans in the House just voted in favor of stopping the disarmament of our airline pilots, my question is, is there any chance the president will now stop listening to Democrats Mineta and Magaw and give our pilots the same right as that Israeli security officer in the L.A. airport?
FLEISCHER: Lester, you must have been so busy marching up and down the aisle, you missed Mr. Cochran's question, which was the same question with a little bit different -
WND: I heard it. This is a variation of that.
FLEISCHER: Yours are always variations of other people's questions.
WND: No, they are not. In keeping with the president's statement that we are at war, not only with terrorists but those countries that harbor terrorists, wouldn't that be more clearly demonstrated if we had U.S. Special Forces join the most recent Israeli army occupation, which has resulted in no more suicide bombing?
FLEISCHER: No.
Was my question the same as John Cochran's? I think not - not at all. What I think is that if President George W. Bush succeeds in keeping our pilots disarmed and terrorists capture a civilian plane with a disarmed pilot - and F16s shoot it out of the sky - this utter disaster could cause Bush to be a one-term president.
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28265
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Kinsolving presses spokesman by citing action of El Al security guard
Posted: July 12, 2002
5:40 p.m. Eastern
Editor's note: Each week, WorldNetDaily White House correspondent Les Kinsolving asks the tough questions no one else will ask. And each week, WorldNetDaily brings you the transcripts of those dialogues with the president and his spokesman. If you'd like to suggest a question for the White House, submit it to WorldNetDaily's exclusive interactive forum MR. PRESIDENT!
By Les Kinsolving
c 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
At today's daily White House news briefing, the first question posed to Presidential Press Secretary Ari Fleischer came from John Cochran of ABC, who asked:
Q: If the Senate should pass a bill on guns in the cockpit, the way that the House has, would the president veto it? Would the president veto the bill as passed by the House?
FLEISCHER: John, the president's view is that what is important is to provide the maximum safety for passengers in the air, and that's why under his proposals the Transportation Security Administration has beefed-up screening, has reinforced cockpit doors and has taken a series of measures to improve safety. The president relies on the judgments of the experts about whether or not allowing pilots to be armed comports with the safety requirements the president seeks. So there's no change in the president's position from what he's talked about before.
Q: So he is opposed to guns in the cockpit?
FLEISCHER: The president makes his decisions based on what he believes promote the most safety aboard an aircraft. And based on the advice he's got from his advisers, he believes that arming pilots in the manner described does not promote safety.
Near the end of the briefing, after repeated Fleischer needlings about where I was seated (but no recognition for questions), he finally recognized WND for the following question:
WND: I've heard almost no White House objection to the El-Al Israeli security officer who shot and killed that Arab murderer in the L.A. airport. And since an overwhelming majority of the president's fellow Republicans in the House just voted in favor of stopping the disarmament of our airline pilots, my question is, is there any chance the president will now stop listening to Democrats Mineta and Magaw and give our pilots the same right as that Israeli security officer in the L.A. airport?
FLEISCHER: Lester, you must have been so busy marching up and down the aisle, you missed Mr. Cochran's question, which was the same question with a little bit different -
WND: I heard it. This is a variation of that.
FLEISCHER: Yours are always variations of other people's questions.
WND: No, they are not. In keeping with the president's statement that we are at war, not only with terrorists but those countries that harbor terrorists, wouldn't that be more clearly demonstrated if we had U.S. Special Forces join the most recent Israeli army occupation, which has resulted in no more suicide bombing?
FLEISCHER: No.
Was my question the same as John Cochran's? I think not - not at all. What I think is that if President George W. Bush succeeds in keeping our pilots disarmed and terrorists capture a civilian plane with a disarmed pilot - and F16s shoot it out of the sky - this utter disaster could cause Bush to be a one-term president.
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=28265
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
-- Sen. Johnson Refuses to Support Senate Bill
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102
Springfield, Virginia 22151
703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
(Friday, July 12, 2002) -- South Dakota Rep. John Thune was instrumental in getting a meaningful armed pilots bill passed in the House of Representatives this week.
The original bill would have applied to only 2% of the pilots and would have been in effect for just two years. Rep. Thune, along with Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) offered an amendment to eliminate the 2% cap and make the program permanent. The amendment passed 250-175.
A similar bill, S. 2554, has been introduced in the Senate, though South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson refuses to cosponsor the measure.
The Senate bill, sponsored by pro-gun Senator Bob Smith (R-NH), currently has 14 cosponsors. Action on the measure could occur before the August recess.
ACTION: Please contact Rep. John Thune and thank him for taking the lead in strengthening the armed pilots bill. You can reach him by e-mail at jthune@mail.house.gov or by phone at 202-225-2801.
Also, contact Senator Tim Johnson and urge him to cosponsor the Smith armed pilots bill (S. 2554). You can send an e-mail to tim@johnson.senate.gov or call him at 202-224-5842.
--- Pre-written messages ----
Dear Rep. Thune,
Thank you for taking the lead in strengthening the armed pilots bill that passed the House this week. Your amendment makes the bill meaningful by applying it on a volunteer basis to all commercial pilots and making the program permanent.
Sincerely,
Dear Senator Johnson,
I am disappointed to learn that you haven't cosponsored S. 2554, a bill to arm pilots.
A large majority of pilots support having the ability to act as the last line of defense against a terrorist takeover of an aircraft. Before the government orders a commercial aircraft shot from the sky by an F-16 fighter jet, pilots deserve to have a final chance to save the lives of their passengers and crew, in addition to untold thousands of innocent lives on the ground.
I urge you to cosponsor S. 2554.
Sincerely,
http://www.gunowners.org/ssd0202.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
WASHINGTON - Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., has a reputation for sticking to his guns.
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For the Herald-Journal
WASHINGTON - Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., has a reputation for sticking to his guns.
A strong opponent of free trade and media mergers, the 80-year-old senator and past South Carolina governor is not afraid to stand alone in support of - or in opposition to - high-profile legislation.
In the next few weeks, some senators, gun activists and airline officials are betting that Hollings won't ease up on his stance against the latest anti-terrorism bill, which is gaining momentum on Capitol Hill.
Hollings is one of the key opponents of Senate legislation that would give all airline pilots the right to carry firearms in airplane cockpits. The House easily passed a bill this past Wednesday that would allow all U.S. commercial pilots to voluntarily carry handguns or non-lethal stun guns in their cockpits after undergoing training.
The bill has moved to the Senate, where Hollings, the chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, has not put it on the committee's agenda for discussion. A similar bill to arm pilots, sponsored by Sen. Robert Smith, R-N.H., also has been referred to Hollings' committee.
As Commerce Committee chairman, Hollings has ultimate authority over when a bill is discussed, marked up or voted on before it can move to the full Senate for a vote. Hollings' spokesman Andy Davis said the senator would be willing to hold a hearing on the bill, although committee members have not requested one.
"He doesn't see it as the right policy," Davis explained. "He knows the primary responsibility of the pilots is the safe operation of the plane, not policing."
Robert Jeffrey, a government professor at Wofford College, said the
ability to stifle a bill is typical for committee chairmen, but it is especially significant for Hollings.
"It's an example of how committee chairmen can exercise their weight, but Hollings is a big player," he said. "He seems to have a free hand to do what he wants."
Dr. Joe Dunn, the chairman of the political science and history department at Converse College, said Hollings' power and seniority allow "his will to prevail."
"Most senators don't want to stick out their necks," Dunn said. "But Hollings is a maverick, and he has very strong viewpoints on subjects which do not necessarily have an ideological consistency. There is a great deference for seniority."
By opposing guns for airline pilots, Davis said, Hollings is not taking an anti-gun stance, although the pro-gun lobby, led by the National Rifle Association, supports the bill.
The senator, rather, thinks the House bill "does not make long-term good policy sense" because it takes away control from federal air marshals, Davis said.
Davis pointed out Hollings' belief that putting weapons on airplanes could create greater safety concerns.
"We're trying to make aviation security system more secure, and we are putting time and effort into making sure that weapons don't get on the plane," he said. "But it's ironic that we have legislation to put them on there."
In addition, he said, Hollings is abiding by the Senate's decision last year to grant the Department of Transportation discretion over airline security measures. The Transportation Department opposes arming pilots.
So does Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the ranking minority member of the Commerce Committee who has not always agreed with Hollings, but who has worked closely with him through the years.
Tommy Watson, the chief of police at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, said federal air marshal control should be the government's top safety concern.
"You want the driver to drive, and if you need someone to secure the aircraft, you need a security officer there," Watson said. He also is concerned about pilots walking through airports with firearms, particularly since states have different laws about carrying weapons.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., is uncertain of the House bill's fate in the Senate.
"Now that we have reinforced cockpit doors and put sky marshals on flights, Senator Daschle has some concerns" about the House bill, said Jeff Nussbaum, a spokesman for Daschle. "Senator Daschle would like to hear more advice from experts in the field and the administration before making any decision on what action the Senate should take."
Some pilots' unions, however, are impatient with political maneuvering.
"If Senator Hollings wants to roadblock this, we will find a way around it," said Robert Sproc, an American Airlines pilot and a member of the Allied Pilots Association who works in Miami. "The lives of our pilots and passengers are too important."
Sproc cited a recent CNN poll that claimed 67 percent of Americans favor arming pilots.
Sen. Smith, along with the14 co-sponsors of his bill, plans to bypass Hollings by attaching the bill as an amendment to legislation already scheduled for Senate debate, such as the defense appropriations bill or the Homeland Security bill, according to Lisa Harrison, a spokeswoman for Smith.
John Mazor, a spokesman for the Airline Pilots Association, is confident the Senate will pass the measure.
"The overwhelming support for this in the House has shown that there is strong public support," he said. "Anyone who takes the time to examine all the information comes to the conclusion that arming pilots is prudent and effective."
Converse's Dunn said that if Hollings prevails in what likely will be an unpopular stance, his track record shows that he should be able to withstand the political consequences.
"For people who don't like Hollings' politics, they still seem to understand that his seniority and power quite often serve South Carolina," Dunn said. "He's an institution and even his strongest enemies understand the power of the institution."
http://www.goupstate.com/docs/News/gen/11231.asp
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
"The powers delegated by the proposed constitution to the federal governmentare few and defined, and will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace negotiation, and foreign commerce"
-James Madison