Flaps62,
"for you to say that this type of comment and response should cause us to look at the place our profession has in the modern world would be ridiculous if it were not so laughable
Eh? Why? A critical eye towards what one does is surely no bad thing.
"Try telling all the people who have carried the burden of Ops for the last 6 years that we are in a position where we can consider losing assets and highly trained people on 1 target, however valuable."
Well guess what, I'm one of them. So don't bother with the sanctimonious lecture.
Now - you decide. Is 1 aircraft and 1 pilot more or less valuable than the lives of the thousands that might die in any terrorist attack using aircraft on Canary Wharf or any other mass casualty scenario? Should you not at least consider the question rather than dismiss it out of hand? Is there a different answer if the target is a pickup with an AQ leader in the back? Probably, but why? Do you know? We live in a different world where terrorists seem unafraid to die and we need to know what the implications are. I am sure the AVM would not ever plan such a response, but he is definitely justified in getting his audience at the conference to think about it.
If we cannot contemplate some potentially serious and real issues in what we do, for fear of upsetting the intellectually challenged and myopic out there, then we are worse off.