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.

[Happy2BMe]

Ping on #96.

Diogenesis captured the vidclips of President Bush coming to the aid of his SS agent (personal bodyguard) while hilean security officials tried to separate the two - ping.

(Thanks, Dio.)

[null and void]

That SS agent looks familiar. I may have met him here in San Jose (CA) when he was on lunch break with two of his buddies...

[Happy2BMe]

correction:

".. while Chilean security officials tried to separate the two - ping."

[JonDavid]

This was posted on another thread:

Just announced: The USSS demanded that Metal detectors be used for ALL entering dinner tonight, and the Chile President *Didn't want to subject his guests to that* so they scaled back the meeting to those already "swept"

I'm sure others wiil add details

[null and void]

Dubya should start packing, and I don't mean his suit cases.

Are you sure he isn't???

[El Gato]

Well, while he wasn't physically born in Texas, IIRC, his parents did live here when he was born, so I think you could say he was virtually born in Texas. Barbara just went back east to have her babies, since that's where her and George H.W.'s families lived. My in-laws did the same thing, starting about the same time. Their trip wasn't nearly so long as that of the Bushes, but my wife was born in her mother's home town, rather than where her parents lived at the time, which was in a different part of the same state.

[thackney]

thanks for the ping

[JeffAtlanta]

Just announced: The USSS demanded that Metal detectors be used for ALL entering dinner tonight, and the Chile President *Didn't want to subject his guests to that* so they scaled back the meeting to those already "swept"

Which is exactly my point and invalidates your assertions. If the USSS feels that the President is in the least bit of danger, they will remove him from the situation. Its not the President's call - its the USSS.

The USSS obviously felt that the incident yesterday was not an assasination attempt or they would have removed him from the event as they have done with the dinner. Why would they let him stay at an event where he had to save himself from assassination?

[El Gato]

The way the Chilean guard's head is turned, he might be thinking "Oh Sh*t, I think we just stepped on it, with golf shoes."

[BibChr]

I'm amazed that there's evidently no place online to simply SEE the video. Not CNN, ABC, Fox, MSNBC -- big surprise, I couldn't even see that CBS mentioned the incident.

Dan

[zlala]

Thank you for posting the link to the video. It's even more powerful watching it, than looking at the pictures. God bless Pres. Bush, he is a man of convictions and action!

[GW and Twins Pawpaw]

I was under the impression the Bushes moved to Midland after GW was born. Since GW is the oldest, I am also assuming the rest of their brood are Native Texans. Mebbe I am wrong...

[JonDavid]

You still don't get it. President Bush has very, very important one on one meetings with world leaders (Russia, China, Japan, etc.) At this point in time he feels that these meetings must go forward even with potential security threats.

[berkeleybeej]

Pulling out a weapon in that situation could have easily started a fire fight and the president could have easily been hit in the subsequent confusion. Think about it this way, how would the USSS react if the bodyguards of a visiting leader pulled a weapon on them?

How refreshing - some common sense!

[El Gato]

I want to know why the agent(s) were far enough away from the President to be separated from him.

It looks like the agent in question was supposed to go into the building with the President. In one picture he can be seen standing by the door as the President and Mrs. Bush enter with the Chilean President(?). The story says that the Chilean guards then closed in behind the dignitaries and blocked access to the door. It's probably just a mis-communication, but at this point it's hard to tell.

[TexKat]

State dinner for Bush cancelled

By Alan Clendenning in Santiago

November 22, 2004

AN elaborate state dinner tonight for US President George W. Bush was scrapped after US and Chilean officials failed to agree on security measures at the presidential palace, Chilean media reported.

The decision came last night only hours after Mr Bush intervened in a confrontation and pulled his lead secret service agent away from Chilean security officials who barred his bodyguards from entering a dinner for 21 Pacific Rim leaders.

Mr Bush and Chilean leader Ricardo Lagos instead were to hold an informal working dinner tonight following the close of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, leading Chilean newspaper El Mercurio reported today.

White House deputy press secretary Claire Buchan confirmed the dinner had been downgraded to a working dinner, but did not provide additional details. The White House had been calling the originally planned event a "social dinner".

"There are always issues that are worked out with the host government," White House press secretary Scott McClellan added. He declined to discuss the matter further, referring reporters to the Chilean government.

The newspaper, citing high-level Chilean sources, said Chile was unwilling to accept security measures sought by the US secret service for today's official dinner in Santiago's ornate presidential palace.

The measures included a demand that all guests for the official dinner pass through metal detectors at the La Moneda palace, but the demand was rejected by Lagos, the newspaper and radio reports said.

Chilean media said the state dinner had been planned for 200 guests. About 20 will attend the working dinner, to be held in Lagos' private dining room in the same building.

Last night, several Chilean and American agents got into a shoving match outside the cultural centre where the dinner was held.

Mr Bush and his wife, Laura, had just posed for pictures on a red carpet with Mr Lagos and his wife, Luisa Duran.

As Bush stepped inside, Chilean agents closed ranks at the door, blocking the president's agents from following. Stopping for more pictures, Mr Bush noticed the commotion and turned back. He reached through the dispute and pulled his agent from the scrum and into the building.

The president, looking irritated, straightened his shirt cuffs as he went into the dinner.

[IrishCatholic]

My take on this is this is simple. This was a quick incident. The full speed video shows it took less than a minute. So what you see the President do was instinct and instant analysis of the situation. How the President reacted was a measure of the man.
The president, escorting his wife and meeting a foreign president was involved in that moment. He heard a commotion at the door and observed his secret service agents in a scuffle. It appeared that his agent was in trouble. He immediately moved toward the threat. This was done to put himself between the threat and his wife. He also moved to the threat because of the fact his subordinates were involved and as their commander he was responsible for them too. Such a move could have cost him his life. Such a consideration wasn't even on his radar. He moved to help his agent and seeing it wasn't a lethal threat reached in and extricated his man. Even the Chilean security recognized immediately his authority because the secret service was allowed through. There is no doubt that all the arrangements had been coordinated before as the secret service always coordinates and knows ahead of time what happens. This was a stunt on behalf of the Chileans.
The President shut it down. He did it by leadership. He did it by instinct. He did it by command presence. To this man the words honor and integrity are not a campaign pledge, they are a matter of personality. What you saw was the measure of the man. Now you know why the left liberals hate him so much. It is envy. He lives up to the ideals he preaches. No wonder the military and those that still value the concept of liberty and honor love him. He is a man to follow.

[JeffAtlanta]

You still don't get it. President Bush has very, very important one on one meetings with world leaders (Russia, China, Japan, etc.) At this point in time he feels that these meetings must go forward even with potential security threats.

The USSS will not allow him to attend any meetings or events where they feel that he is under threat. What is the point of going to "important one on one meetings" if the president is going to be assassinated?

If the threat of assassination was strong yesterday rather than just a misunderstanding, the USSS would have removed him from the situation and the POTUS would have complied. He would not have made the USSS look like asses like Kerry did.

[SearchMaster]

If anyone has found a picture of Dubya actually pulling the agent thru the crowd, or being in the middle of the crowd, I would like some for my collection.
I have gone thru every page of this thread, and several news articles and still can't find any.

Thnx in Advance

[Lijahsbubbe]

I remember noticing this agent in the Baghdad pictures as well. He was always near the President. Good memory!