Security Dispute Dulls Luster of Bush's Trip to Chile (trip's bizarre end)

[quaoar]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/22/international/americas/22prexy.html

By DAVID E. SANGER and LARRY ROHTER
Published: November 22, 2004


ANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 21 - President Bush's visit to Chile ended on a bizarre note here this evening when the Chilean government disinvited more than 200 guests to a dinner with the president rather than let the Secret Service screen them for weapons on their way into the presidential palace.

Mr. Bush and President Ricardo Lagos of Chile did not mention the dispute when they gave a news conference at the palace this evening, with Mr. Lagos hailing the "modern and mature" relationship between Chile and the United States. "Most of the time we will be in agreement," he said. "Sometimes we won't."

On this trip, the disagreements were more visibly on display. On Saturday night, attending a dinner with leaders from the 21 countries that make up the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that was meeting here, Mr. Bush had to wade into a group of security agents to pull his lead Secret Service agent out of a shoving match with the Chilean police. The tape showing the president assuring the Chileans that his agent could come with him played over and over on television screens in the region this weekend.

By Saturday night - though it had not been announced - Chile had already begun calling the guests to the dinner planned for Sunday at La Moneda, the presidential palace that was the site of the coup that overthrew Salvador Allende on Sept. 11, 1973. The dinner dispute over the dinner on Sunday centered on the question of whether the Chilean guests would be required to go through metal detectors before dining with Mr. Bush, a standard practice for the Secret Service. The Chileans told Mr. Bush's delegation that the practice was humiliating. "Can you imagine someone like the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court having to submit to an inspection by gringo security agents in order to get into our own seat of government?" asked one of the disinvited Chileans, who spoke on condition that he not be named. "That's an affront no Chilean was going to tolerate, and Lagos had no choice but to act the way he did."

[Straight Shooter]

1. Thanks, george, for displaying your horrid Texan/gringo manners again

The Most Paranoid Man in the World insults his hosts.

I offer to Chile, its leadership and its people my humble apologies for sending this miscreant to your country as our representative.

[Rumba]

6. I'm not paranoid, everybody really does hate me

Gotta be on the SS's mind.

Oooh, SS... the leader's personal bodyguard is the SS... heard that before somewhere, I think...

[OldLeftieLawyer]

18. Aw, don't apologize

He's not my representative, and I know he's not yours.

The world knows he's a usurper.

The people who voted for Kerry are more pitied than anything else, I think.

He'll just keep pulling crap like this - paranoid, inappropriate, secretive, and insulting behavior - and then we'll have Dr. Strangelove melting down in the White House.

[Career Prole]

2. LOL! That headline kills me! "Security dispute dulls luster of trip"!

If I go on a trip and upon my arrival I find 30,000 people standing there screaming "You rotten bastard! You suck! Get the hell out of here, pig!!" and burning me in effigy, I'm thinking the luster's shot already...but maybe that's just me being too sensitive. :D

[quaoar]

7. That is indeed a bad headline

you have to get halfway into the story to find this graph:

Despite the economic closeness, Mr. Bush received what appeared to be a cool reception here. No crowds were on the streets to greet him as his motorcade sped through the city to the presidential palace late this afternoon, only small clutches of protesters.

[Career Prole]

11. I wonder which is bigger...a "small pocket of insurgents" or

a "small clutch of protesters". ;)

[Ann Arbor Dem]

16. Given that Larry Rohter has a byline on the story, I'm not surprised...

that the number of protesters would be characterized as a "small clutch." I cringe whenever I see his name. He's a hack. :mad:

[Career Prole]

20. America...the land where everything is hyped

except for the opposition.

[yardwork]

25. I wonder what really happened at this shoving match

No way did this happen the way it is being reported here. The president had to wade into a melee to pull out his security detail? No way.

It sounds to me like chimpy did something really inappropriate and this is being spun like mad.

[Lerkfish]

38. I thought the same thing...NO WAY Bush would go out of his way for

an underling. There had to be some other reason, and its being spun.

think about it. Why would chimpy do that?

[saigon68]

44. THEY LOOK PISSED OFF.

[Career Prole]

49. Pretty much, yup...but what the hell, it's just a clutch of 'em.

And a small one at that. So family-friendly there were kids and an appearance by Jingo the Clown!
(I love that evolution poster behind Jingo!)

[saigon68]

54. THE CHIMP and THE CHIMPANZEE

Precious.

[bunny planet]

15. Thanks for making me LOL

:) ;) ;-) :D }( :9 B-) :7 :hippie: :party: :headbang:

[Career Prole]

19. You're sure welcome...

...and welcome to DU! :toast: :hi:

[Dem2theMax]

26. lmao! I LOVE what you wrote. Ahhh, I needed a laugh like that.

Thanks! :)

[Career Prole]

41. My pleasure!

:toast:

[drdtroit]

52. ROFLMFAO!!! n/t

[CHICKEN CAPITOL USA]

3. Good-more countries need to stand up to these JERKS-he's not my president

I'm an American--Smirk doesn't represent me or anyone I know--
not my president-
Kick his ass out of every dinner party in the World! maybe he'll get the point-

on edit: portrait of a dumbass

[bunny planet]

17. and keep refusing to serve the alkitwinsters in NYC restaurants

[amber dog democrat]

31. same here

Not my president either. just a fascist cretin hopefully un welcome where ever he goes.

[RivetJoint]

32. Okay, let's be realisic here

If Shrub is not the President, who is? I mean who else has the world recognized as our President and treated as such?

[TahitiNut]

4. Typo. They meant "Bluster".

Bluster, blunder, bully, prance, preen, smirk, and behave like the total fascist frontman he is.

[LeighAnn]

5. Making Friends All Over The Place

Talk about your paranoia, can you imagine not sitting down to eat unless everyone who eats with you walking through a metal detector? Surely he has food tasters, too.

[thecrow]

8. Why didn't they just...

UNINVITE THE SHRUBSTER?????
Then they could have still had their party and only Senor Shrub and his entourage would have been left out.

Meanwhile ol' shrubbie has the worst handle on foreign policy!!
These people are so embarrassing to our country.
Didn't they *know* what the security setup would be BEFORE THEY ENTERED THE COUNTRY???
<ahem>
Excuse me.
I feel better now.

[Spazito]

9. Here's a great pic from another thread, kind of says it all imo

[cubsfan forever]

37. Yessir! Running away again!

Those folks on the steps look "mitey danjerus" don't you think? Poor little Commander FullDiaper, the RW has to go to such great lengths to make him appear "brave." What a COWARD! :puke:

[arikara]

47. Kind of looks like he's prancing down

to rescue his security detail from those evuldewars...

LOL

[peacetalksforall]

10. Don't the Chileans know that they are dealing with the god of

fundamentalists?

fyi - Chileans have class. They are gracious, refined, and mannerly throughout the country.

[Chimpanzee]

22. I lived there 2 years - wonderful people

[arcane1]

12. dammit, where is this video??

:shrug:

[Rose Siding]

13. Bush knew beforehand about the security guard trouble

snip>
In a videotape of the incident, which played over and over throughout the region on Sunday, it appears as if Chilean security officials tried to restrain Mr. Bush before they recognized him - perhaps thinking he was another member of the Secret Service detail. One of Mr. Bush's aides said that the president had been alerted before the incident that there was some disagreement with the Chileans about whether the detail would be allowed to enter the dinner.

It's like him to deal with it after the scuffle begins.

[Octafish]

14. "He who does not trust enough will not be trusted."

"The Tao" Translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English.

[Seabiscuit]

21. "dulls luster"??? ROTFLMAO!!!

Since when could any sane person describe any trip Dubya took as having "luster"????

:wtf:

What linguistic cesspool does this crap come from?

[schrodinger_I]

46. He has gravitas!!!

EOM

[Eurobabe]

55. lulls duster

eom

[truthisfreedom]

23. bush shouldn't travel. he's an embarrassment to himself.

he's made so many enemies through his bizarre, radical stances that he's not safe anywhere!

[daleo]

24. Bush is supposed to visit Canada in January

It will be tough to match the Chileans in the "luster dulling" department, but I hope we can do it.

[MaineDem]

33. I think he's going to Canada next week

"They"'ve already decided that he won't speak to Parliament because "they" don't want him to be heckled.

He should be heckled a lot more than he is.

[daleo]

48. That soon, eh?

Yikes! The propaganda machine will be going full speed on both sides of the border soon.

[lies and propaganda]

27. What are they not down with loyalty pledges? n/t

[bahrbearian]

34. That a good one LOL

[burrowowl]

28. I like the spin the NYT puts on it

"Mr. Bush had to wade into a group of security agents to pull his lead Secret Service agent out of a shoving match with the Chilean police. The tape showing the president assuring the Chileans that his agent could come with him played over and over on television screens in the region this weekend."

Bu$h "had" to wade in .... He didn't have to do damn thing ... 'waded into' might have been more objective.

Looks like Bu$h hasn't read Emily Post (editor of an ediqutte books for youngsters).

[quaoar]

42. It was also the biggest non-story of the week

Why is it news that Bush made sure his Secret Service agent got through the police line?

[loudsue]

29. I can't help but be curious: Could there have been an assassination plan?

As much as the world HATES the bush mafia, I wonder if the reason they didn't want to submit to our brown-shirt type screening is because someone in Chile was supposed to whack him? I wonder if the SS maybe had a line on some such thing?

Why haven't any of the newspapers asked that question? Maybe because they don't want to give any other countries any ideas? I dunno, but the whole issue seems like it's missing a few critical pieces. It had to be known in advance, either by the Chilean Pres. or by bush's SS detail that there wouldn't be any metal detectors. Didn't bush's SS call for that detail in advance? It's not logical to think that they didn't. And if they DID set it up in advance, I can't help but wonder why it wasn't done, or at least re-negotiated before hand.

:shrug: Just doesn't make sense to me.

:kick:

[amber dog democrat]

30. I am going to refrain from elaborating

beyind saying " who knows ? " My real thoughts would be saililng close to the wind
But no I also think he was in no danger. It was just arrogant fascist bushism going on here. Nothing more.

[Dover]

39. I think Bushco assumes (and rightly so) that he's in danger wherever he is

They or their hosts have had to spend tons of money for security wherever Bush, Cheney and the rest go...both abroad AND at home.

[Bridget Burke]

43. Wouldn't they have mentioned it? It's an excuse....

Remember how we were told that Air Force One was a target on 9/11 in order to excuse Chimp's cowardice. Remember him leaving that Florida classroom & zig-zagging around the country to save his worthless hide? Later, word got out that there was no plot against AF1. Of course, the media did not investigate.

I'm sure his people are kicking themselves. They could easily have said they'd heard of a plot. But, no. Just old chicken George, once again.

[sam sarrha]

35. He needed a 'Food Taster', guess he thinks that they may be still pissed

off from us overthrowing their country and murdering Tens of Thousands of Innocent civilians in the hayday of Hennery Kissenger and the CIA.

[papau]

36. the heyday of Henry Kissinger and (some in) the CIA is NOW

:-(

[sendero]

40. Oen can't help but..

.... wonder why all the trips and how surprised that Bush** must be that he is not getting the warm welcome he expected.

"I have a mandate, a mandate I tell ya!".

Advice for Mr. Bush** - the world thought you'd be gone by now so they were willing to humor you. That's over. Deal with it.

[Terran]

45. We're off to a bang-up start, aren't we?

More more more of same, coming up.

[maddezmom]

51. Canada's next IIRC.....then on to Europe!!!!

the foreign press is going to have a field day...more "bushisms" forthcoming. :crazy:

[wildwww2]

50. How does the most evil man in the world have luster? Blood luster?

He and his cabal are blood lusters. Now that I would agree with.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[winston61]

53. what about D.C.?

How about when there is a state dinner in D.C.? Do the big shots have to got through a metal detector to get into the White House? To go to another country and insist that they submit to your security demands was insulting, in the worst of taste and now that I think of it, typically paranoid Bush and republican. I say Viva Chile! Send the little cowboy man home.