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| Home Front: Politix |
| A Security Blanket for Pennsylvania Avenue |
| 2005-01-08 |
| Partygoers, Parade Watchers and Hotel Guests Will Face Multiple Screenings The Secret Service and D.C. police plan to erect roadblocks and screen pedestrians as far as three blocks from Pennsylvania Avenue in the tightest security cordon ever for a presidential inauguration, downtown businesspeople say. Property owners, building tenants and private security officials said they have been told that vehicles will be barred from the blocks surrounding the historic avenue, which President Bush's motorcade will travel before he is sworn in at noon Jan. 20 at the U.S. Capitol and afterward when he leads a parade back to the White House. ... An announcement on the restrictions is expected next week. Privately, officials have met with those who do business along Pennsylvania Avenue as they prepare for the event. The plans are fluid and could change depending on the government's threat assessments. Access to buildings in the area will be limited. Employees will have to present government-issued identification cards, hotel guests will be required to show their room keys, and others attending private inauguration parties must have their names submitted ahead of time to the Secret Service, several business owners and executives said. Tens of thousands of paradegoers also will be screened and directed separately to viewing spots. ... The pomp and pageantry of Inauguration Day has long been accompanied by tight security, such as the posting of snipers on rooftops and the sealing of windows on buildings facing Pennsylvania Avenue. Yet preparations this time far exceed those for George W. Bush's first inauguration four years ago. Security officials have refined practices used to defend against car or truck bombs and have improved their ability to screen people as they ratcheted up security at a series of major events since the 2001 terrorist attacks, such as the funeral last year for former president Ronald Reagan, meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and the presidential nominating conventions in New York City and Boston. Followed by the obligatory, "There is too much unnecessary security,it impinges on the right of the peepul to enjoy a parade" nonsense from one of our sillier politicians. I'm not sure which one, 'cause it didn't seem worth my time to read the full quotation. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |