Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Dunedan
They're specifically trained to identify and neutralize concrete, actual threats: not angry protestors.
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Therein lies the conundrum. Unfortunately, we don't live in a world were lemony gumdrops fall from the sky, and happy furry fuzzy bunnies bounce from carrot patch to carrot patch all the live long day. A person with nefarious intentions is not going to be wearing a sign around his neck that says, "Hey, check me out, I'm a real, concrete threat!!!".
Given the circumstances, I don't think that taking heightened security measures to mitigate risk during this extremely visible and historical event is unreasonable. That said, I have a hard time believing that people are being instructed to "not look at the President." There seems to be alot of overreaction to this claim. It appears that the bandwagon Bush-haters have swallowed this bit hook, line, and sinker without applying the same standards of skepticism that they apply to everything else (i.e. - the threat of Al Qaeda). If it does turn out to be true that people can't look at Bush during the inauguration, then I will be the first to gleefully join in the ridicule.