Inside the Beltway
By John McCaslin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES, May 14, 2004 

Shoot first

The director of the Federal Air Marshal Service is opposing a bill to speed up the arming of commercial airline pilots to protect the cockpit from hijackers.
But one of the lead sponsors says Thomas Quinn's concerns, voiced in an internal memo, are "ridiculous."
Among Mr. Quinn's concerns: The "pilot receives no training in interview techniques."
Reacts Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican: "We are not proposing they interview the terrorists as they storm the cockpit, let's get serious."
Another of Mr. Quinn's concerns: The "pilot receives no training in the laws of search and seizure."
Mr. Wilson?
"There won't be a search and seizure until after the shooting has occurred," he says. "Then law enforcement can come in and search the hijacker who has been stopped from hijacking the plane."