Here We Go Again

Well, you knew it was coming, the lamenting, the second guessing of the air marshals actions in yesterdays shooting of the man who claimed he had a bomb. Look at some headlines: Sky marshals kill for first time (Times of London), US air marshal guns down passenger (Rediff), Bomb claim gets flier gunned down (Boston Herald), Air marshal guns down man at Miami airport (MSNBC).

Think there's not thinly veiled editorial comment in these headlines? They scream" innocent civilian slaughtered by hyper reactive and overzealous government thugs." That's what they're thinking, that's what they believe that's what they would really like to say.

Now that it is coming to light that the man was a few bricks shy and off his meds, the bleeding hearts will undoubtedly become increasingly vocal. Expect the usual suspects to bemoan the brutality and claim it's the fault of a paranoid and trigger happy governmental security force. No doubt some embecile will somehow try to make the case that it's Bush's fault.

From what I've seen, the air marshals acted absolutely appropriately. When the life of one individual is weighed against that of 100+, their course of action was clear, protect the greatest number of lives. To do anything less would have been ludicrous. They gave the guy an opportunity and, mental or not, he gave them no choice but to eliminate the threat.

If these marshalls are any indication of the force as a whole, I'm heartened. The thoughtful and decisive actions they took illustrate a highly professional group of men who have the priorities straight. Personally, I'll fly more comfortably knowing that guys like these are on the job.