Our speedboat of the apocalypse returns, still managing to cause a stir

THE amazing thing is that they did it twice.

The US armed forces had, just a few months ago, scared the hell out of New York by sending the president’s plane, Air Force One, flying low over Manhattan while doing unusual manoeuvres as part of a photo shoot. Fears of hijacking and other possibilities filled the minds of watching New Yorkers. Even those not watching got scared as the media got on to the story.

Last week, on the anniversary of the worst attack on American soil, 9/11, the Coast Guard in Washington generated another wave of fear by undertaking an exercise near the bridge where President Obama’s motorcade was due to pass. CNN and other media, on emotional red alert because of the possibility that Al-Qaida might choose this day to prove to the world that they hadn’t gone away, reported that an attack of some kind was happening. Ronald Reagan National Airport was closed. Flights were disrupted.