Monday, Dec. 19, 1983
House Guards
More presidential security
When King Birendra of Nepal departed from the southwest gate of the White House last week after a state visit with President Reagan, his limousine was forced to make an abrupt turn to weave its way slowly past a narrow, 3-ft-high stretch of concrete block. The V-shaped barricades took the place of three sand-filled dump trucks that had blocked the gate after threats had been received from Shi'ite groups. These are only the latest in a series of security measures aimed at better protecting the President and fortifying the White House against possible terrorist attacks.
New safeguards were in operation when the President visited Indianapolis to address the National Forum on Excellence in Education. Every downtown intersection near the motorcade's route was blocked off with snowplows, dump trucks and empty buses. The Secret Service also has added a truck of machine gun-ready agents to every motorcade since the
March 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan. Even before a motorcade roars up to a presidential function, agents with metal detectors have carefully screened guests for weapons. Vigilance has also touched the President's weekend jaunts to Camp David; the helicopter departure time from the White House lawn is changed on short notice to make his movements less predictable.
Safety precautions are not limited to possible ground attacks. Presidents have been protected from an air attack by a cache of ground-to-air missiles that are hidden near the White House. From a command and control center in the Old Executive Office Building next to the White House, security officers closely monitor all aircraft using nearby National Airport; they have less than a minute to decide whether to fire if a plane deviates suspiciously from an established flight pattern. Officials refuse to say what types of missiles are used.
The Secret Service has seen its budget boosted since Reagan took office. The 1984 budget calls for more than $270 million, up $30 million from last year. Explains Chief of Staff James Baker: "The fact that we tend to be very responsive to their requests stems from the fact that we almost lost this President."
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