Could Osama Visit Obama?

Now here's a suggestion for Osama bin Laden. Shave your beard, get a good haircut, rent a tux and show up at a White House State Dinner with a tall, elegant blonde in a very chi-chi evening gown. Make believe your names should be on the official guest list, slip past remarkably dumb security guards, be formally announced by a US Marine, enter the banquet tent, pose for pictures with Vice President Joe Biden and Rahm Emmanuel. Then surreptitiously pick up a dinner fork or knife from a table, sidle up to the President of the United States or even a Marine Guard and ...

If anybody included that scene in a Hollywood B-movie script, reviewers would reject it as ridiculously impossible and downright stupid. Yet not only did a social climbing horsey Virginia couple manage the other night to sneak past the supposedly toughest protective crew in the United States and slip into the State Dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, they mingled freely for some time with the crowd surrounding President and Mrs. Obama, not to mention our state guests, Prime Minister and Mrs. Singh.

To add insult to potential real injury, the gate crashing couple that sneaked into the White House is named Salahi - a decidedly Middle Eastern sounding family name. I know, I know - I'm profiling. OK, so what? How many terrorists who threaten to strike America of late have Italian or Kenyan names, how many of those imprisoned in Guantanamo are Bhuddists, Mormons or Hasidic Jews? Certainly "a Middle Eastern sounding name" should be a prime consideration when double checking on a guest whose name is not on the White House list -- even if it turns out the phony guests are Episcopalians.

We don't know very much about the smiling Mrs Michele Salahi - except that she used to be a cheerleader and is being considered for a part in a new reality show about Washington area housewives (oh Lord, another one?). Tariq has a log of dough, is involved with the US Polo Team (as well as a bitter family battle over a Virginia vineyard). There is also a Virgina-based Tariq Salahi who is a member of the board of the American Task Force on Palestine - a pro-Palestine lobby group. His picture looks amazingly like the Tariq Salahi who sneaked into the White House the other night.

More to come. PS The American Task Force on Palestine has suddenly removed Salahi's name and photo from their website! Surprised?

 

Comments

[jan4insight]

How would anyone know if "Osama" was with a tall, good-looking blonde - she'd be in a burqa!

Don't get me wrong, I'm as appalled by the security breach as anyone; I just don't think this hypothetical scenario is going to make much headway in addressing it.

[Richard Z. Chesnoff - Huffpost Blogger]

Trust me, if Obama shaved his beard and got a haircut, his companion would likely not be in a burqa! Anyway, it was just a joke to show how frighteningly ridiculous the security mishap was.

[Freesia2]

Well thank you. I'm trying to remember when I last felt so angry at a news item than I was when I heard this broadcast last night. Inexcusable. Unforgiveable. You mention forks, my mind went to broken wine glasses, hairspray bottles and lighted candles. This is just ...unforgiveable.

It's interesting my husband who has a cooler head than me wondered if it might have been actually a maneuver by the Secret Service to test their security for weak links. I liked the sound of that until I considered the way that might play for our Indian guests, with their own security concerns. It doesn't play well.

So now, if I'm reading this correctly, is Mr. Chesnoff suggesting some kind of scenario where perhaps someone else was testing it? Not like a stunt. Like a test run? You know what I mean.

I'm upset again. This has really enraged me. Our President is under 4 x the threats at all times and this was just flat out unacceptable.

[Gymyd]

My guess is they got to the gate, weren't on the list but based on their last name the SS at the gate didn't want to offend a middle eastern name....did they mention they also got keys to AF 1...my my.

[Intelligentia]

It's good that something like this happened to open eyes. This President is not well protected in my view. If he were, this couple would not have been so carvalier as to attempt the infiltration of the Presidential security. If the name is not on the list, it's not on the list. What type of physical security protocol did this securtiy detail fail to understand? How many levels of security do these people need to clear before the reach the President? It should be no less than three! tAmazing!

[Newboyx]

oops!