Posted on 07/11/2003 9:42:53 AM PDT by I_Publius
Bush Press Plane Stowaway Raises Security Scare
(2003-07-11)
ENTEBBE (Reuters) - A stowaway flew from South Africa to Uganda on the press plane accompanying President Bush on his visit to Africa and entered the compound where Bush met Uganda's president, U.S. officials said.
U.S. Secret Service agents conducted a security sweep on the plane after the unidentified stowaway was detained and removed from the compound on the shores of Lake Victoria where Bush met President Yoweri Museveni Friday.
"He did not have a credential. He did not have a passport. He has nothing," said White House travel office official Curtis Jablonka.
He said the chartered United Airlines Boeing 747 carrying about 130 members of the press, White House staff and Secret Service agents had been "thoroughly swept." The Secret Service typically provides security oversight for the delegation.
"There was no indication the stowaway came within sight of President Bush," Jablonka added.
A reporter from the American Urban Radio network, April Ryan, said she encountered the man at the hotel used by the press in the South African capital Pretoria Friday morning.
"He said 'I'm going with you to Uganda"' said Ryan, who added that the man described himself as a reporter from Soweto but did not appear to have any credentials.
She said her press pass was checked prior to boarding one of the buses taking delegation members to the airport. An official stopped the man at the door of the bus but allowed him to enter when he said he was with the press.
Ryan said she lost track of the man after that until she saw security officers drag him away shouting at the Ugandan resort complex.
© Copyright 2003, Reuters
Regards, I Publius
The horse orders a beer.
A few minutes later, John Kerry walks in and sits at the bar. The bartender walks up and says "Hey pal, cheer up. Why the long face?"
I'll stop if you guys will donate and get us over our fundraising goal
Somebody's not doing his job. Funny, maybe. But good grief.
Or the guy who showed up in Queen Elizabeth's bedroom late one night to have a chat with her?
So9
I had misgivings about the President globetrotting in that part of the world and it appears my fears are justified. Heads need to roll on this one!
Read the article again. He didn't board the president's plane. He boarded the press plane. The president wasn't on that plane.
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