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President Bush Sends His Regards
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Originally posted by Not Me
It did happen; it just wasn't a British Airways plane. It was a charter flight of some sort. If you need the cite, I will find it after I eat something.
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Cite, please. Here's the latest I know of:
- Changing a Story on the Fly
By Ken Fireman
WASHINGTON BUREAU
Washington - The White House has changed one aspect of its account of President George W. Bush's surprise Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad: the spotting of Air Force One by a British Airways pilot.
Initially, according to accounts by journalists on the trip, White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett said the British pilot had radioed, "'Did I just see Air Force One?'" and that the pilot of Air Force One had replied, "'Gulfstream Five,'" a much smaller aircraft.
Yesterday, after British Airways had denied that account, the White House said the radio conversation actually took place between the British pilot and the control tower in London. The tower's response was apparently based on false flight plan information given to protect the secrecy of the trip.
The sighting of the presidential aircraft occurred just after daybreak Thursday off the western coast of England, the White House said. Bush has said he was prepared to scrub the trip if news of the journey had leaked.
A British Airways spokesman told The Associated Press that none of its pilots has come forward to acknowledge either making or overhearing the purported conversation.
Newsday, Dec. 3
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“It was fortunate that so few men acted according to moral principle, because it was so easy to get principles wrong, and a determined person acting on mistaken principles could really do some damage." - Larissa MacFarquhar
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