The POTUS spent the day in Mainz today. I am amazed the lengths the German government and Polizei have gone in order to secure the area. I really think it's a bit overdone.
Even though the President landed in Rhein Main and then flew by helicopter to Mainz, the Autobahn was completely shut down along the route. And the trains didn't run for a short period of time. Air traffic and airport were shutdown for an hour. (A total of 92 flights have been cancelled today because of his travel here - not enough space, delayed flights, etc.).
In the towns near were he's visiting, the owners were order to remove trash cans from the streets and empty their garages or allow the police inspect them. While the President is driving through or in the area, they were encouraged to not look out the windows or even open their windows.
I'm not really affected by any of the measures, but two of my co-workers live close to where he was visiting and their commute was/is affected. They had to leave home an hour earlier in order to get here. Many people living in the area who commute through there simply took the day as vacation.
For more information on the security measures, visit Jay's blog.
Is this normal for Presidential visits? Or is it just normal outside the US since 9/11? I can't imagine these kind of measures being taken in the US. Or maybe they are and I've just never heard of it before? Were these measures done at the request of the US Government or did the German government take them upon itself?
Posted by Jinglelady at February 23, 2005 09:02 PM | German Life | TrackBackI think it's way over done, and a waste of OUR (taxpayers') money. Laura flew into Rammstein (sp?) AFB on Tues and W could have gone with her (apparently Weisbaden airfield can't accommodate 747s) instead of causing chaos at the Frankfurt Airport. Not to mention people being prisoners in their own houses.
Whatever. It's over and done with.
Posted by: J at February 23, 2005 10:52 PMAs someone who doesn't live in the 'affected' region and moreso someone who doesn't care at all whether Bush is coming here or not, I thought it was really overdone.
I understand the need of security measures, but I wonder if they may have crossed a line here. So many people were (negatively) affected, so much money spent. For what, I want to ask. I didn't see Bush and none of the people who had to get up an hour earlier to get to work did.
And as little as I know about that stuff, I don't think that is normal for Presidential visits. And I don't think it should be.
I doubt it's quite normal...but then again, we're talking about one of the most hated presidents in the history of the United States. I've heard of other people in Germany, that were in crowds of protesters, but American, and felt chilled by how hated this man is. I'd say after his presidency, you'll probably not see the likes of THAT again for a good long time.
Posted by: Jenn at February 24, 2005 08:31 PMUnfortunately, this is typical behavior for most of the presidents, and if you're caught up in it, as we so often are along the east coast, your day is ruined. The fact that this one is hated so much makes it even worse when he stops traffic for hours, during rush hour of all times.
BB
Hated so much he won a second election. Riiiiiight
It's probably since Sept. 11 and yes, it does have to do with his unpopularity in Germany. But I found this from DW-World from Sept. 2004:
"Prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for three Iraqis belonging to the fundamentalist Ansar al Islam network suspected of planning an attack on Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi last Friday in Germany.
Following warnings from German intelligence agencies that three Iraqis living in Germany could be planning to assassinate Ayad Allawi while in Berlin, the prime minister’s agenda was changed immediately to heighten security."
So there may have been some intelligence on a specific attack on Bush, or it may have been after this attempt, they decided to bump up security when any head of state comes by.
Posted by: Amanda at February 25, 2005 01:48 PMThank you Amanda! I wasn't sure I should say anything re: Bush-hating, but I will now.
As for being "hated" so much, I'll agree the opinion about Bush is much worse here in Europe than it was for Clinton. However, I'll wager there were just as many Clinton-haters in the US then as there are Bush-haters now. It's just the other side of the coin. Right-leaning people hated Clinton, Left-leaning people hate Bush.
Posted by: Anna at February 25, 2005 03:05 PM