Given the two red flags that had been thrown up previously, one would have expected that as a precaution a cement plug would have been placed somewhere in the wellbore as a secondary pressure seal before this primary pressure control system (heavy mud) was evacuated from the wellbore.

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The reason you want that flow to continue is it alleviates pressure on the wellbore.

WHITEHOUSE: Daily Press Briefing

We remain confident in our drilling expertise and company standards, which are built upon a foundation of redundant safety systems to closely monitor pressure within the wellbore.

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Obviously Thad Allen discussed the pressure test for the well and getting a sense and judging the intensity of the wellbore through pressurization, right?

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing