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Published on Tuesday, January 11, 2005
in the Kansas City Star, MO
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - President Bush's second inauguration will draw unprecedented wartime security, from airspace closed to all but government aircraft to screening everyone, even parade-goers, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge promised Tuesday.
While the inauguration marks the first such gathering in the nation's capital since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Ridge said intelligence forces have picked up no specific threats aimed at such a tempting symbol of American democracy.
"We wanted to ... assure all of you that the local, state and federal government is as prepared as possible to thwart any attempts at disruption of this celebration of democracy," Ridge said in a news conference on the National Mall.
He was surrounded by troops with night-vision goggles, chemical-response teams showing off their gas masks and a half-dozen bomb-sniffing dogs - all, Ridge said, aimed "to thwart terrorists and to protect the hallmark of our democratic and constitutional traditions."
When Bush raises his hand to take the oath on Jan. 20, members of Cabinet, Congress and the Supreme Court, foreign dignitaries and 250,000 other people will be gathered on the West Front of the Capitol. Another half-million will be waiting along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route.
About, 6,000 police from all over the country as well as federal agencies will fan out over the inaugural sites. Florida Highway Patrol will send a contingent on its first-ever security mission outside the state, said Lt. John Bagnardi, who will lead the group.
"It's nice to be involved in something of this magnitude - to showcase your agency in front of the world and to be exposed to this type of security on such a large scale," Bagnardi said.
Florida troopers get lots of opportunities to work with Secret Service when the president or presidential candidates come to the state because of the state's political stature.
But, he said, one thing they're not quite prepared for is the bitter weather expected in Washington. "Our uniforms are not that conducive to that hard, cold weather," he said, noting Highway Patrol had ordered uniform sweaters and plan to pack long johns.
Ridge said that intercepted intelligence information last year indicated a potential terrorist attack during the election year. But now "the decibel level is down," so the nation's security threat rating will not be changed. Still, he said, this inauguration will have unprecedented security.
Some of the measures include: monitoring ventilation systems of hotels, keeping 24-hour surveillance of all facilities involved in the festivities, using portable x-ray machines to check delivery trucks and even requiring parade-watchers to go through security checkpoints.
As Ridge spoke Tuesday, a convoy of recreational vehicles was parked behind him - each one a mobile command center for a different agency.
Charles Ramsey, chief of police for the District of Columbia, said his agency was ready for protesters, although they don't know how many to expect. "I know we'll have a few. We'll handle it."
The military will have 2,500 troops working on security and another 4,700 performing ceremonial roles and ready to jump in if there is an emergency, said Army Maj. Gen. Galen Jackman, who commands the military district here and will escort Bush down the East Front of the Capitol to review the military units before the parade.
"I don't think people will notice an encampment mentality," he said, noting many of the security measures will be invisible.
Jackman said that although the security is tighter than any previous inauguration, it is comparable to recent events such as the Republican and Democratic national conventions and the funeral for former President Ronald Reagan.
Jackman said the inaugural crowd will be smaller than the May gathering for the dedication of the World War II Memorial.
The Reagan funeral included a security scare that caused a panicked evacuation of the Capitol when the military became alarmed by an unknown airplane approaching Washington. The plane, carrying Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, turned out to be traveling legitimately but with a broken transponder.
William Shumann, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the FAA knew Fletcher's plane was not a threat, but a lack of communication between the FAA and the military led to the misunderstanding.
That won't happen again, he said.
In addition to the usual no-fly zone that extends nearly 16 miles in every direction from the Washington Monument, the FAA on Inauguration Day will enforce a separate ban on private aircraft within 23 miles of the three major airports in the region - Reagan National, Dulles International and Baltimore-Washington International. And exemptions for elected officials will be canceled that day.
Private donors pay the tab for the $40 million in balls and other festivities. But the security costs fall to the government.
Washington Mayor Anthony Williams has complained that his city is not getting enough help with its $17.3 million in costs.
Ridge said he's not sure how many millions all the security will cost.
"It is the greatest manifestation as to who we are and what we stand for in our country," he said. "And whatever we need to do to ensure the safety of the participants and the citizens of the city around the inaugural, we will do."