Bush comes to aid of Secret Service agent

AP ^ | 11/20/2004 | AP staff

[wjersey]

President Bush stepped into the middle of a confrontation and pulled his lead Secret Service agent away from Chilean security officials who barred his bodyguards from entering an elegant dinner for 21 world leaders Saturday night.

Several Chilean and American agents got into a pushing and shoving match outside the cultural center where the dinner was held. Bush noticed the fracas after posing for pictures on a red carpet with the summit host, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and his wife and first lady Laura Bush.

[Barlowmaker]

I really have come to admire and treasure the sublime gestures of President Bush. Nothing could have shouted "President Uribe and the Colombian people are important to America, you are safe and secure, and here's the proof" like the President of the United States appearing openly and securely next to the Colombian leader as equal partners in prosperity and peace.

That gesture meant everything to Uribe's political standing, and it was an immeasurably vital event to affirm authentic confidence, pride and morale among the Colombian people.

That's how you groom trusting allies and loyal partnerships. Nobody has ever done it like W.

[KittyKares]

I got this from World Net Daily (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41664):

"[Dr. Jack] Wheeler explains that Chilean officials attempted to block Secret Service agent Nick Trotta from protecting the president.

Writes Wheeler: "The attempt was a clear double-cross, because all security arrangements are made and agreed upon for the POTUS (President of the United States) between the Secret Service and host country security well in advance and etched in stone. The Chilean police knew and agreed that Trotta would be with the president, yet they blocked him in a complete surprise.

"Far worse than this was Chilean President Lagos' refusal to have guests at a State Dinner go through a metal detector. No one attends a function with the POTUS, either here in the U.S. or anywhere in the world, without going through a metal detector, and this was agreed to way beforehand in Santiago. At the last moment, Lagos refuses – then cancels the dinner when the Secret Service won’t budge."

Available only to subscribers of To the Point, Wheeler's piece, entitled "Chavez in Chile," goes on to explain the connection to Chavez.

"Ricardo Lagos is a left-wing anti-American socialist whose hero is Salvador Allende, who almost turned Chile over to the Soviets, and a great friend of Hugo Chavez," Wheeler writes. "Was there a plan to slip a firearm into this dinner in Santiago and assassinate GW? No one in Washington is sure – but there is a very frightened and angry buzz of worry that there might have been."

[To Lurk or Not to Lurk]

That's how I viewed it.