Brent Barrett <75063.3305@compuserve.com> asks:
> If the Captain felt his ships and people were in danger and fired
> in perceived self-defense, then why on Earth would he feel the
> need to lie about it? Did he know that the Minbari were not a
> threat? If he did, why did he fire on them?
> Did he learn something between the time of the incident and the
> lie at the Earth base? Is this something that will be made clearer
> in the upcoming movie, or is it something you can comment on
> here?

The Minbari approached with their gun ports opened...but they
also hadn't locked on. They were a potential menace, but had not gone
into the territory of definite menace...and when they fired, it was
clear from the moment or two it took to respond that the Minbari ships
weren't ready to attack. So he chose to cover his butt rather than
take responsibility for screwing up a first contact situation and
plunging Earth into a war.

jms