Shuttle Cover-up? There was one odd item in the Washington Post story Sunday about the shuttle crash. White House Chief of Staff Andy Card was up at Camp David with the president. They had originally planned to have British Prime Minister Tony Blair up there, but the foggy conditions prevented helicopter flights. So Friday afternoon the two leaders had their meeting in the White House residence instead.
Then the Bush party went up to Camp David for the weekend. Saturday morning, according to this story, Card was "watching NASA TV at Camp David when the accident occurred." He then immediately went over to Bush's cabin, Aspen, and told the president what happened. The fact that the White House chief of staff is even watching the landing of a space shuttle on a Saturday morning - while at Camp David in the middle of the Iraq crisis - raises a big red flag. Was he previously informed that NASA was worried about tile damage from the launch? How much internal chatter about a risky landing was there? Did NASA expect trouble on an otherwise routine landing? How many other officials suspected trouble Saturday morning? Did NASA tell the astronauts and their families of the extra risk with this landing? These and many other questions are hanging in the air as NASA tries to figure out what happened. It seems possible that right after the launch NASA officials grew worried that there may have been serious damage. Perhaps they then had high-level meetings about their worries and, as a potential CYA measure, informed Andy Card. It is odd that the White House chief of staff would watch a shuttle landing. Such a routine event - early on a Saturday morning, in the midst of Blair, U.N. inspections, Colin Powell's upcoming intelligence revelations to the Security Council - seems to be something that a White House big shot would pay no attention to. If he had a heads-up that something might have been amiss, then we need to be told. And it will come out - eventually. Haven't we all learned that cover-ups are huge mistakes? It is always better just to square with the people. NASA has a wonderful safety record over 40 years of manned space flight. They now need to also have a wonderful candor record. xponent More Crap From Newsmax Maru rob ________________________________ You are a fluke of the universe. You have no right to be here. And whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
