Politic ramifications cause Secret Service to back off:

[wsuffa]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/AR2006082401627.html

On Tuesday, the Secret Service asked Virginia officials if they would be kind enough to shut down all of the HOV lanes on I-395 from 1 to 7 p.m. the next day so President Bush could get where he needed to be...

(snip)

The request was made ahead of a fundraiser for Sen. George Allen (R) held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at a house near Mount Vernon -- a good hour's drive from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. during a typical rush hour.

(snip)

"There will be approximately 8,600 cars using the HOV lanes over a three hour period (4 to 7 pm). This equates to approximately 20,000 to 22,000 people. If the HOV lanes are closed, according to the District's estimate the back up of traffic in the general purpose lanes will not be cleared until 10 p.m."

(snip)

The efforts included calls to the Secret Service and to people in Washington who might be more politically attuned to the TV news contrast between Bush at a glitzy fundraiser and miles of red brake lights on the freeway.

And this is the only sort of thing that will bring the ADIZ to an end.

 

[Steve]

I luv it.

I'm waiting for the day when the ADIZ/FRZ implodes along the same lines.

 

[Darrell111]

Couldn't that shiny helicopter "Marine 1" take him where he needed to be? Guess I'm not as smart as the secret service so I'm sure they have their reasons.

 

[W.O'Boogie]

Couldn't that shiny helicopter "Marine 1" take him where he needed to be? Guess I'm not as smart as the secret service so I'm sure they have their reasons.

Mebbe they is tryin' to save gas?

 

[Darrell111]

Mebbe they is tryin' to save gas?

Or just likes being out in public with the people?

 

[mgkdrgn]

For those of you that don't live 'round here, the only =really= suprising thing in this story is that the SS -asked- if they could do this. Most of the time they just do it, what ever "it" is.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/AR2006082401627.html



And this is the only sort of thing that will bring the ADIZ to an end.

 

[Arnold]

Couldn't that shiny helicopter "Marine 1" take him where he needed to be? Guess I'm not as smart as the secret service so I'm sure they have their reasons.

According to the story, that is exactly what he did.

 

[CowboyPilot]

Couldn't that shiny helicopter "Marine 1" take him where he needed to be? Guess I'm not as smart as the secret service so I'm sure they have their reasons.

Secret Service has the toughest job in all of law enforcement. My agency didn't always get along with them, but I usually got along with most of the line animals and street agents.

The Detail teams absolutely have the toughest job of any badge & gun toter. Imagine training religiously, flawlessly to act without hesitation in a zero-warning situation in which job number one is to step on front of your principal to take a bullet or blast.

If you happen to NOT be one of the body agents on that particular assignment, you then have seconds, not minutes, but seconds to start scanning and communicating to find the threat/shooter/assailant in the crowd and neutralize the threat without harm to the innocent folks standing around the bad guy.

The USSS people have their basic academy at FLETC, same as we do. I met a lot of agents during my basic tour as a studnet at FLETC, then later as a firearms and unarmed combat instructor. They're good folks with one helluva tough job.

Frankly, I'm surprised they asked, as someone else stated. Difference between administrations.

-JD