Posted on 11/21/2004 9:42:16 PM PST by Former Military Chick
SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 21 -- For President Bush, it must have been like going out without his wallet. He turned around and the presidential shadow -- his Secret Service agent -- was gone.
Moments later, Bush single-handedly rescued the agent from a boisterous scuffle between U.S. and Chilean security forces. The role reversal became the talk of an international economic summit that was studded with bizarre incidents in which diplomacy took a beating, in some cases, literally.
And in a final summit twist, Chilean authorities canceled an elaborate state dinner for 200 that had been planned for Sunday night as the summit's climax after President Ricardo Lagos would not agree to the Secret Service requirement that his guests pass through metal detectors. The event was downgraded to a small working dinner for the two presidents and their staffs.
The incident involving the bodyguard Saturday evening began when Nick Trotta, the number two agent on Bush's security detail, opened the door of a black Cadillac limousine for the president and first lady Laura Bush when they arrived at a former train station that was the site of the closing dinner of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Bush and the first lady walked into the beaux-arts banquet hall, and Chilean officers, who appeared to be waiting for the moment, stepped in front of Trotta, blocking him from entering.
U.S. officials said Chilean police had been chafing for a week about a demand by Secret Service agents that they control the president's space, even when he was on sovereign turf. Now, it was payback time.
In the fracas that ensued, amid a flurry of half nelsons, one Secret Service agent wound up jammed against a wall. "You're not stopping me! You're not stopping me!
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I am one of the "cognizant." I agree with you, Joanie. This wasn't a simple mistake, there was something much more troubling going on there.
Just like the other things you mentioned, the media isn't covering this like they need to. The Wisconsin killings of the five hunters and the NBA fight have gotten twenty times more coverage. They are important, but not as much as this.
Thanks for your "two cents." Your comments are worth a lot more than that. ;)
You two are not alone in your suspicions. I posted this earlier this morning at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1285162/posts?page=304#304
From this morning's powerlineblog.com
Dafydd ab Hugh writes:
Judging from your comments, I don't think you guys realize the seriousness of what happened in Chile. Let me put it into perspective: the president has been marked for death by hundreds of terrorist groups; he is in a foreign country, one where there have been near contintuous riots against America and against him, personally, over the Iraq War; as he's walking into a banquet hall, the local police intentionally cut him off from his security detail.
If the first thought that popped into your mind when you heard about that was not "assassination," then your mind is still laboring in a pre-9/11 world.
It's entirely possible that rather than "rescuing" his detained Secret Service detail, Bush in fact saved his own life. If there was a plan, if this wasn't just a random act of rudeness by the Chilean police (why would they do that?), then Bush's quick thinking may have forced the would-be attackers to abort the operation.
This little incident needs a thorough and complete investigation by Chile, as well as by the CIA. The incident the next day -- where the Bush team demanded everyone at the next banquet pass through metal detectors -- shows that they had the same thought I did (and we all should have had); the fact that Chile refused, even to the point of scuttling the party, is troubling, to say the least.
There are a lot of people out there who want to see George W. Bush dead; alas, there are a lot of heads of state who would not shed a tear. In this day and age, when armed local cops intentionally cut the president off from his security detail, that should be taken as no less a violent act that when an anti-aircraft missile battery "paints" an American plane with fire-control radar.
Joanie, you can bet the SS is taking this incident VERY seriously. The hell with the media. Security is going to be beefed up and nothing even slightly out of the ordinary will be overlooked, especially during the upcoming trip to Canada. Bush is hated in Canada almost as much as he is in Europe.
Everything you said is so true and we all should be thinking that way. But you know as well as I do that most people don't have the knowledge to put it all together.
Most people define terrorism in narrower terms than they should and Bush is the biggest obstacle to the terrorist's success. I hope and pray he lasts his four years.
Thank you for your perceptive comments. I also feel that this "incident" is not quite as simple as it might appear.
some interesting comments on this theme, from The Guardian/UK:
The tensions surrounding Mr Bush's double visit offered a vivid symbol of the toxic state of relations between the United States and Latin America. The continent has taken a sharp turn to the Left since Mr Bush first came to office in 2000, with spiralling economic woes being blamed by locals on outside forces, including globalisation, reforms urged by the International Monetary Fund and the aggressive and predatory business practices of some Western banks and businessmen.
Dislike and suspicion of Washington has swept Latin America, fuelled by the rhetoric of populist political leaders, anger at the Iraq war, and historical resentment at US backing for dictatorial anti-communist regimes during the Cold War.
To many in Latin America, the palace of La Moneda is first and foremost the place where the Leftist president, Salvador Allende, took his own life with a machinegun during the successful coup by Gen Augusto Pinochet, a coup that was welcomed, if not actively supported, by the United States.
Mr Bush is also accused of neglecting Latin America since September 11.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/11/22/wchile22.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/11/22/ixhome.html
Thanks for the link. This Dafydd ab Hugh is on the ball.
You can say that again. Bush may be the most hated man in the free world, and the more hate the bigger the target on his back. The Secret Service needs to beef up presidential security---and they need to do it as of yesterday.
Dafydd (pronounced DAH-veth) ab Hugh is a science fiction writer.
Uh-huh.
I know what I think that *means* and I know you're thinking the same thing, too.
"And any American who has not had that instinctual thought cross his mind over the last twenty-four hours is not as cognizant as he needs to be of the ever-present threat, pervasiveness, and immoral, obsessive nature of the international terrorist ‘crusade’."
Or [nearly] as cognizant as they feature themselves, *period*. ;^)
"We all need to realize that this ‘odd’ incident may well have represented step one in a possible assassination attempt."
Yea, I believe so.
And if there were any doubts?
How 'bout the "private" jet that crashed as it landed to pick up this POTUS for some kind of thing in Argentina?
Do you believe in *coincidence*?
I don't.
Methinks it more plausible that jet crashed too soon to accomplish what it'd set out to accomplish, eh?
And any American who has not had that instinctual thought cross his mind over the last twenty-four hours is not as cognizant as he needs to be of the ever-present threat...errr, sorry Angel.
Just another example, I guess.
...of GMTA. ;^)
Chile may have wanted Bush to look like a jerk, but instead, he looked like the only adult there. For them to quarrel about US security concerns is insane. Chile, as host country, should do all they can in the way of security, then, if a guest needs more and expects to do their own thing...esp. if that country's been attacked and three thousand of its citizens are dead, Chile should enough to stand aside. They looked like a third world country...unfortunately.
GW didn't wear a 'smirk'. He looked annoyed that Chilean security had acted like asses, and he'd had to step in and settle the matter, yet satisfied that the episode was over. If, God forbid, the secret service had been kept out and GW had been assassinated, how would Chilean security and their journalists feel? Humiliated forever? Shamed beyond belief? These people should grow up and face reality.
The reason other countries loathe GW is that he's a strong, capable leader, and the US is the world's only superpower. It's like hating the Yankees win eight world titles in a row. The rest of the world wants to see the US brought low, and that would have happened under Kerry. Other countries should be as lucky as we are...and have leaders like GW.
I'm not an assassination expert but I've seen this scenario played out so many times in the movies and news stories that there was no doubt in my mind what was intended...And that would have been a Bobby Kennedy incident with a crazed, unknown gunman...
I believe the small business jet that crashed in Houston was about to pick up the president's father, former president George H. W. Bush. Our current president always travels in a large Air Force jet, usually a Boeing 747 unless that plane is in the hanger for maintenance.
Come to think of it, you're absoultely correct.
Now that I think of it though, ABC News radio neglected to specify whether it was "H" or "W" they were talking about in the report I heard.
Naturally I assumed it was out POTUS as I worked.
So typical of our quisling lamstream.
Still, even it it was 'H' it'd have been a big coup for *someone*.
...to knock 'em off.
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