Inauguration Security Called Unprecedented

Inauguration Security Called Unprecedented





WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites)'s second-term inauguration is necessitating unprecedented security measures in the nation's capital, including an immense contingent of law enforcement personnel and high tech equipment, the director of the Secret Service said Wednesday.






"We don't want to leave anything to chance," said Ralph Basham, the Secret Service chief. "We want to make sure that everyone who comes to participate in these events" can do so in a "safe, secure fashion."


Though there have been heightened security measures in the Capitol and other Washington locations since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Basham said that "this is unprecedented when it comes to the level of security that will be in effect for the inauguration and those events that are surrounding it."


Authorities have received no specific threats with respect to Thursday's inauguration but are "prepared to deal with any eventuality," Basham said during an appearance on CBS's "The Early Show."


That was evident in the massive response to an incident Tuesday in which man upset over custody of his child threatened to blow up his van a block from the White House, prompting a 4 1/2-hour standoff with police.


The stand off ended peacefully — the man surrendered without incident — but not before hundreds of officers, snipers on rooftops, gun-drawn Secret Service agents, armored vehicle and hazard materials personnel responded to the Pennsylvania Avenue location.


Portions of several streets were closed during the stand off, creating traffic gridlock in downtown Washington — a preview, perhaps, of Thursday's inauguration and parade, when dozens of streets from the Capitol to the White House will be closed to traffic


Basham said that "prevention is the key" to the week's security measures.


In place are measures designed to eliminate confusion and duplication and make sure that a response to a threat or problem comes swiftly. All the federal agencies that deal with security, law enforcement and crisis response will be housed in a single Joint Field Office, which will command Coast Guard cutters and helicopters, canine bomb-sniffing units, customs aircraft, bicycle patrols, crowd control and a host of other security and law enforcement assets.


At a northern Virginia security center with 120 work stations and giant video screens, law enforcement and security personnel will be able to watch from cameras that monitor downtown Washington streets, keep track of aerial surveillance flights and check sensors scanning for evidence of deadly biological or chemical agents.


"It entails obviously a large contingent of law enforcement that is coming in from around the country to support our efforts here," Basham said. "We are applying every technology that's available to us."