When the "Free World's Leader" visits, people lose
their freedom!
"EAST Germany is sealed off again with barbed wire, tanks, warships and fighter planes. It is not the return of communism but the arrival of President George Bush that is giving Germany a taste of the Iron Curtain once more.
The security concerns surrounding the World Cup pale compared with the ring of steel and firepower thrown up to protect Mr. Bush in a country where 84 per cent of the population loathe him...........
But nothing is ever simple when the most powerful individual in the world also ranks among the most reviled. Security operation costs have already soared from a budgeted ┬г8 million to ┬г16 million, and they continue to rise. A planeload of Secret Service agents arrived last week to co-ordinate Operation Ironclad тАФ the codename of the operation to protect Mr. Bush.
Stralsund, the Baltic coastal town known for its herrings and biting cold winters, resembles the armed camp it was during 40 years of the Cold War.
About 40 tonnes of barbed wire have been erected around the hotel in nearby Heiligendamm where Mr. Bush is staying. Welders have sealed 400 drain covers in case bombers plant explosive devices in them. Another 1200 manhole covers in a 16-kilometre radius from his hotel have been treated similarly.
During the Cold War the Baltic Sea was a no-go zone dominated by security forces determined to stop people fleeing to the West. Until tomorrow night it is out of bounds inside a radius of about 80 kilometers. Boats risk being gunned out of the water by 11 naval speedboats, 15 patrol boats and 28 high-speed inflatables. Fishing boats and pleasure craft have been ordered to stay at anchor.
In the middle of the old town of Stralsund, where Mr. Bush will dine with Dr Merkel today, all residents have had to move their cars to a special area 11 kilometers from their homes. The police are running a special bus service for residents to and from their cars. But when they are in their homes from midday they are prisoners until nightfall. They are forbidden to open windows, walk outside or receive visitors.
About 12,000 police are on duty тАФ four times more than were at the 64 World Cup games. Several hundred of them are SEK marksmen trained by Britain's SAS and sited on rooftops and other strategic points.
Social democrats in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, whose national party rules in coalition with Dr Merkel's conservatives, have declared Mr. Bush an unwanted visitor.
They have organized anti-Bush demonstrations for his visit, but they will get nowhere near the man they hate."
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/ger ... 40850.html
How can anyone claim with a straight face that Bush is the "Leader of the Free World" when such extraordinary precautions have to be taken to protect him from the citizens of his "allies"?
