What’s Really Going on with the Air Force One Photo-Op? (Operation Dumbass)

What exactly is going on here?

The $328,835 snapshots of an Air Force One backup plane buzzing lower Manhattan last week will not be shown to the public, the White House said yesterday.

“We have no plans to release them,” an aide to President Obama told The Post, refusing to comment further.

The sole purpose of the secret photo-op, which sent thousands of New Yorkers running for cover, was to take new publicity shots of the presidential jet over the city.

“The photos . . . are classified — that’s ridiculous,” Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., said.

Making these photos (if that’s what they’re trying to hide) inaccessible will be legally problematic for the Obama administration.

First of all the President CAN NOT classify anything he wants.

Executive Order 12958 details the rules for classifying anything.

Section 1-4 details the kind of information that can be classified and what category such classification would fall into.

Sec. 1.4. Classification Categories.

Information shall not be considered for classification unless it concerns:
(a) military plans, weapons systems, or operations;

(b) foreign government information;

(c) intelligence activities (including special activities), intelligence sources or methods, or cryptology;

(d) foreign relations or foreign activities of the United States, including confidential sources;

(e) scientific, technological, or economic matters relating to the national security, which includes defense against transnational terrorism;

(f) United States Government programs for safeguarding nuclear materials or facilities;

(g) vulnerabilities or capabilities of systems, installations, infrastructures, projects, plans, or protection services relating to the national security, which includes defense against transnational terrorism; or

(h) weapons of mass destruction.

Perhaps I’m missing something but publicity photos of Air Force One scaring the shit out of thousands of people in NYC doesn’t seem to fit any of these categories.

But wait; the Executive Order goes even further; it specifies what CAN NOT be classified.

Sec. 1.7. Classification Prohibitions and Limitations.

(a) In no case shall information be classified in order to:
(1) conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error;
(2) prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency;
(3) restrain competition; or
(4) prevent or delay the release of information that does not require protection in the interest of the national security.
(b) Basic scientific research information not clearly related to the national security shall not be classified.

Trying to classify (or otherwise keep from the public) the information about Operation Dumbass seems to be in particular violations of Section 1.7.a.1,2 and 4.

Having said all of this, the photos are NOT the issue here. If the blogosphere raises enough hell, the Obama administration will release some boring photos of AF1 flying over NYC and will never be asked to answer what was really going on.

This is a people issue, not a photo issue. Here is what I’d like to know specifically:

Who was onboard the 747?

Every single person and their specific reason for being there?

A list of every person that visited the 89th Airlift at Andrews AFB during the 72 hours prior to the launch of Operation Dumbass?

If it really was just a photo-op, then the only harm is realizing that our President is a dumbass.

If however, this was a flying “Lincoln Bedroom”, Barry has got a big frigging problem!

Category: Politics