I was going to skip the mini-flap surrounding whether or not Bush aides were telling the truth about a British airplane seeing Air Force One on route from Baghdad during its secret Thanksgiving trip. The whole thing just seemed too silly to bother.
Yet, considering the frequency with which the White House has changed its story about this seemingly simple matter, I thought I’d give it some ink.
If you want to understand the controversy, the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank has a perfect rundown of the whole thing in today’s paper.
Here’s the deal in a nutshell…
On the way back from Baghdad, White House communications director Dan Bartlett told reporters that Air Force One had come within sight of a British Airways flight over the Atlantic. The British Airways pilot, Bartlett said, radioed to ask, “Did I just see Air Force One?,” and, after a pause, the Air Force One pilot radioed back, “Gulfstream 5.” After a long silence, Bartlett said, the British Airways pilot seemed to realize he was in on a secret and said, “Oh.”
It was just a cute little anecdote that reporters added to their stories for a little flare. No biggie.
The problem started, however, when reporters learned that British Airways said the communication never actually happened. The airline said it had two planes in the area at the time, but neither radioed Air Force One, nor did they hear any other planes contact Bush’s jet.
When asked for an explanation, the White House changed its original story and said a British Airways plane had the conversation with air traffic control in London, not Air Force One.
OK, story’s over, right? Unfortunately, no. British Airways told reporters that this claim was false as well. In fact, Britain’s National Air Traffic Services agreed that such a conversation simply never occurred.
Which brings us to the third explanation, which Milbank calls “Version 3.0.”
Press secretary Scott McClellan said that the aircraft inquiring about Air Force One was, in fact, “a non-UK operator.” The spokesman said there had been a British Airways plane “that was in the vicinity of Air Force One as it was crossing over for a good portion of that flight.” The presidential pilots thought the query “was coming from a pilot with a British accent, and so that’s why they had concluded that it was a British Airways plane.”
The White House released a statement from Britain’s air traffic service confirming that a “non-UK operator” radioed the control center in Swanwick, England, at “0930 Zulu” time to ask if the aircraft behind it was Air Force One.
That seems to check out, but mysteries remain. Who was this “non-UK operator”? And how is it that a British Airways plane could have been with Air Force One “for a good portion” of the flight if the president’s plane was averaging 665 mph — far beyond the speed of commercial aircraft?
I understand the White House lying about big things — weapons of mass destruction, taxes, unemployment, Medicare, the deficit, life-saving medical procedures, the environment, etc. — but it’s just sad to see administration officials fibbing about trivial matters like these. It’s as if they can’t help themselves.