With the announcement last week that military air patrols would be discontinued
over major U.S. cities with the exception of Washington, we once again see two
things: (1) That both the United States Government and her people are quick
to forget from the lessons of the past, thus dooming the nation to suffer from
them once more as threatened by followers and members of al-Qaeda; and (2),
with Washington the only remaining city protected, that Congress and the President
care only about themselves and to hell with the rest of us.
Comedian Dennis Miller
What’s
more, on a recent episode of Dennis Miller Live (Dennis Miller, right)
on HBO, one of his guests was a former FAA
Inspector General who indicated in her interview that one of the airlines involved
in the attack on the World Trade Center was no longer allowing Sky Marshals
to fly in First Class. Given that United and American were the airlines affected,
and also given that American expanded the legroom in coach on their aircraft
last year and made themselves more customer-friendly, American is not the likely
culprit. United on the other hand, has not only remained obsessed with its bottom
line as it competes in the shadow of the world’s #1 airline - American and its
parent company AMR, United has also been scaling back on the rewards programs
it offers its frequent fliers among other areas it offers its customers. In
their effort to gain respect, they are only committing what amounts to business
suicide and achieving the exact opposite of their desired objective, and as
such, it is my belief that it is United Airlines that is no longer allowing
the marshals in first class, thus denying the pilots the protection vital to
the safe performance of their duties.
In
a recent conversation with a source at American (logo, left), I was informed
that their airline has not placed any restrictions on sky marshals
riding in first class for obvious reasons of safety and security. Like any company,
they seek to protect their assets - in this case their aircraft, their pilots
and crew, and most importantly, their passengers. Not allowing a sky marshal
in first class denies the marshals the ability to perform the duties for which
they were assigned.
IF IN FACT United Airlines is guilty of putting paying passengers in
first class in the name of fattening the corporate bottom line at the expense
of the sky marshals and ordering them out of a vital safety zone, then this
is what the FAA should do:
Go public with what United Airlines did.
REVOKE their landing rights at Reagan National
Airport in Washington DC, as sky marshals are required for all incoming flights
at that airport.
Prohibit assignment of any and all Sky Marshals
to all United Airlines flights and aircraft, whether owned or chartered by
that airline.
Once these measures have taken place, this
should effect either immediate correction or place United’s stock in free
fall to the point that perhaps it could be acquired by another airline.
While all of us have suffered by the events of 9-11, it does not give either
corporate America or our elected officials to continue to place us in jeopardy
or to knowingly place us as a people in jeopardy. As a people, it is not only
our responsibility to know how is endangering us, it is our duty to see to it
that we take whatever steps possible to reduce the risk to our family, ourselves
and our friends and others we hold dear.
While most of us have learned this lesson, our elected officials and officials
at United need to understand this if they are to ever earn and maintain our
trust ever again, which at this point, is not likely to occur anytime soon.
What’s more, the American people need to shake themselves from their comatose
apathy if they are to ever understand that they are still at risk.
Perhaps the saddest commentary on the American people would best be answered
by the question "What’s America’s greatest enemy - ignorance or apathy?" to
which the answer from most of them would be "I don’t know and I don’t care."
That alone says far more than we should have to endure and unless we awake
from our national stupor, we are doomed to national obsolescence.
Timothy Rollins
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