« Don't Mess With W's Agents | Main | Washington State Governor »

November 21, 2004

More Problems in Chile

What is going on with the Chilean security officials? First, they try to deny George W. Bush's Secret Service agent from following Bush into a building lastnight. Now, we find that a state diner set for Sunday night has been cancelled because Chilean security officials were unwilling to accept Secret Service security measures:

The dinner planned for Bush and 200 others by Chilean President Ricardo Lagos was reportedly scrapped after Chile was unwilling to accept security measures sought by the U.S. Secret Service, including a demand that all guests pass through metal detectors.

Leading Chilean newspaper El Mercurio reported that the disagreement led Bush and Lagos to instead hold a small "social dinner" with a handful of aides from each side.

On Saturday night, Chilean security barred Bush's bodyguards from accompanying the president into a dinner for Asia-Pacific leaders. As a pushing and shoving match ensued, Bush strode over to the melee, reached into the group and pulled mustachioed agent Nick Trotta out by the lapel and into the dinner.

Trotta has been taking good-natured ribbing for having to be rescued by the man he's charged with protecting.

The melee and Bush's intervention, caught on tape by the official television camera of the Asia-Pacific Economic cooperation summit, was replayed incessantly on American stations. "Bush the Brave," said a Fox News Channel crawler promoting the upcoming footage.

Though clearly pleased at the macho image Saturday night's events painted of their boss, the White House kept its comments understated. "The president is someone who tends to delegate, but every now and then he's a hands on kind of guy," Bush press secretary Scott McClellan said.

As for the dispute over Sunday's dinner, the White House remained mostly mum, merely confirming the event had been downgraded.

It should have been cancelled, and perhaps the president should be pulled out of Chile.

This is crazy.

The President of The United States, in time of war, is visiting Chile and they try to block his protective agent from following him, and then won't agree to the security level that the Secret Service insists is necessary at a state dinner.

What are the Chileans thinking?

UPDATE: The Washington Times has a good account of the president's rescue of his Secret Service agent lastnight. (Hat tip: Powerline)

Posted at 11:52 AM Pacific