Wall-to-Wall Security For Obama

In becoming the first African-American to reach the White House, Barack Obama has just as well become one of the most exposed personalities at the moment. Throughout the campaign, the candidate has benefited from an impressive security detail, dedicated in protecting him until his inauguration on January 20th. The security services are following neo-Nazi and white supremacy groups very closely.

Special situation, special measures. In his first speech as the president-elect on Tuesday, Barack Obama was surrounded by a bulletproof plexiglass wall. And for good reason: the former senator from Illinois is exposed to danger now more than ever. His historic role as the first African-American president of the United States makes him an ideal target for multiple fringe groups, notably those with a white supremacist ideology.

He will be the most guarded president in all U.S. history. No doubt that his protection will be as important as his presidency. Barack Obama has been placed under Secret Service protection as early as May 2007, over 16 months before being elected as the 44th president of the United States. In normal circumstances, a candidate’s protection is only arranged 120 days before the election. He and his family, along with Vice-President Joe Biden, his wife and his children, are actually protected 24 hours a day by elite armed teams of the United States Secret Service (USSS), a branch of the department of Homeland Security. In all, more than 5000 Secret Service agents will be responsible to assure the security of the new president and his entourage. An impressive organization that leaves the new president little freedom. Contrary to Nicolas Sarkozy for example, the American president can’t escape it. It’s his assembled protection who gets all the rights, not the inverse.

It must be said that the risks are many. In a country where anyone can get a gun and 4 presidents have already been assassinated (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy), the stakes are considerable. And the daily threats that his predecessors knew have been ratcheted due to his skin color. No fewer than 500 death threats have been investigated by the Secret Service, who is focusing squarely on neo-Nazi and white supremacy groups.