Passive Voice, Usage Uncertainty Cause NYC Terror!

“‘The FAA notified the New York Police Department of the flyover, telling them photos of the Air Force One jet would be taken about 1,500 feet above the Statue of Liberty around 10 a.m. Monday. It had a classified footnote that said ‘information in this document shall not be released to the public or the media.’”

There’s the rub, or two of them: passive voice [‘be released,’ (who—FAA or police— shall not release?), maybe complicated by a ‘shall’ vs. “will’ distinction.

There’s an old joke, where the Irishman cries for help: “I will drown and no one shall save me,” and the Englishman mistakes this for a suicide resolution.

I guess we can be thankful that the event coordination was good enough that USAF fighters did not scramble, take down Air Force One, and then engage the escort in a dogfight around the Statue of Liberty.