US President Barrack Obama arrives on July 25, 2015 at the State House in Nairobi. As his trip comes to an end on Sunday, the scope and scale of the security mobilised to protect him remains a spectacle. AFP PHOTO | SIMON MAINA
In Summary
- And protecting the world’s most powerful man comes with disruptions and a show of might, as has been witnessed in Kenya with road closures, the presence of American military hardware and large numbers of Secret Service agents.
- The exercise-loving president, meanwhile, can also use an on-board gym; the plane’s medical suite can also function as an operating room while its kitchen remains stocked with more than 2,000 meals.
- Nairobi is seven hours ahead of Washington DC and President Obama and his team will have to deal with jet lag while in Kenya, a biological drag occasioned by the time differences as the body tries to adjust.
It takes a whole lot to keep the US
President safe at home, and the spectacle rises when he travels abroad —
at a cost of millions of dollars. The Washington Post reported that
when he last travelled to three African countries two years ago, it
could have cost up to $100 million (Sh10 billion) to cover the trip.
And
protecting the world’s most powerful man comes with disruptions and a
show of might, as has been witnessed in Kenya with road closures, the
presence of American military hardware and large numbers of Secret
Service agents.
But this is not unique to Kenya.
When,
for example, President Obama visited Sweden in September 2013, there
was a huge outcry from residents over inconveniences in the traffic flow
and disrupted telecommunication.
Then Mayor Sten
Nordin’s office reminded the Swedish that much as they had hosted many
foreign heads of state, America’s commander-in-chief was an exception.
US SECRET SERVICE
The
burden of keeping the American leader safe falls primarily on the
shoulders of the US Secret Service, and as Joseph Petro, head of global
security for Citigroup, put it to The Guardian, a UK newspaper, the
challenges facing the service today are unlike any period before.
“As
the first black president, he creates a whole other set of issues for
the Secret Service to deal with,” said Mr Petro, a former Secret Service
agent.
The President and First Lady Michelle Obama are
usually joined on such foreign trips by a team of doctors, several
chefs and White House staff members.
The White House
medical unit that is always on stand-by in case the President falls ill
comprises nurses, surgeons and other medical professionals. It also has a
supply of the President’s blood group in case of an emergency.
A senior military officer, carrying codes necessary to launch a nuclear missile attack, always accompanies the President.
Air Force One, the presidential jet, is said to be the most secure aircraft in the world.
Acting
as the President’s “office in the sky”, the aircraft’s wings are
reported to be armour-plated and capable of resisting a nuclear blast
from the ground.
Its fuselage is clad in special
shielding that protects vital communication systems and its occupants
from radiation, while its electronic defence systems are capable of
jamming enemy radar.
The 4,000 sq ft, three-floor
Boeing 747 is also fitted with 85 secure satellite telephones, ensuring
the President can remain on top of any crisis in a “mobile command
centre” in the event of an attack.
MARINE ONE
The
exercise-loving president, meanwhile, can also use an on-board gym; the
plane’s medical suite can also function as an operating room while its
kitchen remains stocked with more than 2,000 meals.
On stand-by to fly him on short hops is Marine One, his personal VH-3D helicopter.
Marine
One — the helicopter carrying a US president — always flies as part of a
convoy of identical decoy aircraft from the 19-strong presidential
fleet.
The helicopter only lands once they have all reached their destination, a strategy meant to confuse potential attackers.
It
is capable of firing specially-designed flares that can divert
heat-seeking missiles amid any potential sophisticated terrorist attack.
“When
the President travels, the White House travels with him — from the cars
he drives, the water he drinks, the gasoline he uses, the food he
eats,” Mr John Barletta, a former Secret Service agent who organised
overseas visits, told the BBC.
According to the Secret
Service website, teams of agents travel in advance and conduct site
surveys, which assess needs for manpower, equipment, hospitals and
evacuation routes for emergencies.
Before the President
arrives, “intelligence information is discussed and emergency options
are outlined… Checkpoints are also established and access to the secured
area is limited”.
American security agents coordinate with local law enforcement agencies.
“The
assistance of the military, federal, state, county and local law
enforcement and public safety organisations is a vital part of the
entire security operation.
“During protective visits,
Secret Service and local law enforcement personnel form a network of
support for members of the detail working in close proximity to the
protectee,” the specialised agency says.
ANALYSIS
A
Secret Service command post acts as the communication centre for
protective activities, monitors emergencies and keeps all participants
in contact with one another. After the visit, agents analyse every step
of the protective operation, record unusual incidents and suggest
improvements.
Ex-Secret Service agent Dan Emmett, who
served on presidential detail at various times during the
administrations of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush,
told the Daily Beast in an interview that it takes enormous effort to
work in foreign countries.
The author of Within Arm’s
Length: The Extraordinary Life and Career of a Special Agent in the
United States Secret Service, Mr Emmett said members of a US
presidential security detail are carefully chosen, not just highly
trained.
“When they come on board, all new agents start
at a field office. You don’t start at protection. That comes later,
once you’ve proven yourself in terms of work ethic, your ability with
firearms, your ability to think on your feet, your ability to actually
show up on time — once all those things are factored in, you might get a
chance to go to presidential detail.”
The actual
protective detail gets to the host country about two weeks in advance
but there is yet a team that travels before that to iron out issues
about visas, passports, weapons permits, hotels and so on, according to
the former agent.
“Because in addition to bringing over
the security detail with the President, you’re going to probably have
at least 100 agents from all around the country that are going to go as
post-standers.
“You have to have a place to store the vehicles because they come over separately on an Air Force transport.”
JET LAG
He
noted the staggering logistics overseas. “In order for it to all work
perfectly and go smoothly (as, to outsiders, it appears to go), there’s a
great deal of preparation and coordination between the Secret Service
and the security and intelligence services of the host country.”
It’s
also a high-level stress assignment. “I don’t have any real fond
memories of foreign trips. A foreign vacation can be a lot of fun,
because you plan it; you go where you want. A foreign advance is totally
different. You’re going a country that, in a lot of cases, you would
not want to visit on your own. And you’re working so much of the time,”
he said in the Daily Beast interview.
Apart from the
time difference, sometimes eight to nine hours, there is
unpredictability in seemingly ordinary things, like eating and sleeping.
“You’re
just burning reserve power a lot of the time, just driving on
adrenaline and willpower alone, trying to get these things done,” he
said.
Nairobi is seven hours ahead of Washington DC
and President Obama and his team will have to deal with jet lag while in
Kenya, a biological drag occasioned by the time differences as the body
tries to adjust.
And it costs millions of dollars and a marshalling of massive resources to get the most powerful man to visit a foreign country.
No comments:
Post a Comment