This week President George W. Bush kicked off a state visit to the United Kingdom. With him traveled an unprecedented and excessive security force. Critics believe that the president is using security concerns as an excuse to quash protests. Bush’s security extravaganza seems excessive, especially as a response to concerns about protests. Bush is a visitor to Britain, and he should not forget that. While security is necessary, the force used should not be so excessive that it inconveniences an entire city while offending most of the host country’s population.
The security measures, estimated to cost the British people over $8.5 million, include over 14,000 police officers in addition to over 700 United States Secret Service agents. Their procedures call for creating a “mobile bubble” around Bush. Officials have cited concerns about terrorism, but have also focused on the planned mass protests against Bush and the war in Iraq. Security procedures were even rumored to include measures shutting down cell-phone service in the vicinity of Bush’s travel routes.
While security is a valid concern, the amount of security needed on a visit to a country that is normally considered “friendly” to the United States is alarming.
Furthermore, the use of his “mobile bubble” as a way to distance himself from protesters is disappointing. Perhaps Bush feels that if he does not see protests, then they do not exist. This is, however, not the case. Bush also cancelled a planned address to Parliament, with an aide citing concerns that members might heckle the president. For a president who likes to think of himself as a “tough talker” to reel in fear of a few heckles from the former colonizers is deliciously ironic.
The President is a guest in the United Kingdom, a country that has stood with us through an incredibly unpopular war. Surrounding himself with a dissent-proof curtain and essentially ignoring those who disagree with him is not the correct way to handle such a situation. The President should instead address Parliament and the British people, acknowledge that there are those who oppose the war, while at the same time making his case for the continued occupation.
