…Mais est-il si bien protégé, après tout ?

Une lectrice attentive (nous la remercions) nous signale, sitôt lecture faite de notre Bloc Notes de ce jour sur la sécurité d’Obama selon le New York Times, qu’il existe sur le terrain de la campagne électorale quelques indications alarmantes. Celle-ci, par exemple, venue du quotidien de Fort Worth (Texas), le Star Telegraph, via UPI le 21 février. Courte dépêche, que nous donnons pour l’essentiel.

«The Secret Service told Dallas police to stop screening for weapons while people were still arriving at a campaign rally for Barack Obama, a report said.

»Police stopped checking people for weapons at the front gates of Reunion Arena more than an hour before the Democratic presidential hopeful appeared on stage Wednesday, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported. Police said the order to stop using metal detectors and checking purses and laptop bags constituted a security lapse, the newspaper reported.

»Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence – who heads the department's homeland security and spécial operations divisions – told the Star-Telegram the order had been intended to speed up seating of the more than 17,000 people who came to hear the candidate speak.

»Lawrence said he was concerned about the large number of people being let in without being screened, but that the crowd seemed ''friendly,'' the newspaper said. Several Dallas police officers – speaking on condition of anonymity because the order came from federal officers – told the newspaper it was worrying to see so many people get it without even a cursory inspection.»

Mis en ligne le 26 février 2008 à 16H04