The lining 'em up against the wall was stretching it a bit, I'll admit.

And, here was a case where a large airplane, FROM CHINA, was OFF-COURSE, and NEAR a LARGE BUILDING standing on US SOIL.

I suspect, had you been there, with your zero tolerance policy, you would have shot the thing down. If you could have.

Been a hero. A silly hero. Just as silly as shooting down a motorized glider, with known contents, when the pilot was negotiating with the ground.

Why ensure the worst-case scenario, that is, the airplane crashing into a downtown area midst the overspray of whatever they shot at it.

The F-16s would have a very hard time getting that glider. An attack helicopter could, easily, but an F-16 would have trouble, as would the people on the ground as the fighter made it's passes.

I don't think you would have shot 'em after they landed. Maybe jailed the crew for a couple of months while probing al-Qaeda (I wonder what that means in whatever language it is) connections, etc.

Arf (God, I hate it when I put my foot in it like this!)