You talked about some kind of handoff in post 792. To me that doesn't make sense. The guys following him up to the door need to follow him through the door. Or maybe I am just missing something here. But if what I am missing is diplomatic protocol or some such similar nonsense, then I must say that I think that is both ridiculous and dangerous for the President.
"The guys following him up to the door need to follow him through the door."
Do they? I don't know. I'm no armchair Secret Service agent. If so, then that should have been clearly agreed upon as an exception to the rule (and maybe it was, and the Chilenos forgot, or intentionally decided not to honor the exception).
But I'm still not convinced that agents outside couldn't have followed the President up to the doorway, covering his back, and stayed in place as the President went inside. Then the interior team, who would have already been in place waiting for the President--having swept the building and its occupants thoroughly--would have taken over.
But this is all Monday morning Treasury agenting. Or Sunday morning. I don't know what these guys deal with, or how they have to do their jobs. But the President should never be in danger, and that is the only job those guys have. If the dimplomatic protocol was going to put W in danger, then the President shouldn't have been there.