President Bush breaks up scrum
U.S. President George W. Bush, center left, reaches in to the crowd for his Secret Service Agent who was blocked from entering the Estacion Mapocho Cultural Center for the APEC Summit dinner, Saturday, Nov. 20, 2004, in Santiago, Chile. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
SANTIAGO,
Chile (AP) - President Bush stepped into the middle of a confrontation and
pulled his lead Secret Service agent away from Chilean security officials who
barred his bodyguards from entering an elegant dinner for 21 world leaders
Saturday night.
Several
Chilean and American agents got into a pushing and shoving match outside the
cultural center where the dinner was held. The incident happened after Bush and
his wife, Laura, had just posed for pictures on a red carpet with the host of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos
and his wife, Luisa Duran.
As
Bush stepped inside, Chilean agents closed ranks at the door, blocking the
president's agents from following. Stopping for more pictures, Bush noticed the
fracas and turned back. He reached through the dispute and pulled his agent from
the scrum and into the building.
The
president, looking irritated, straightened his shirt cuffs as he went into the
dinner. The incident was shown on APEC television.
"Chilean
security tried to stop the president's Secret Service from accompanying
him," said White House deputy press secretary Claire Buchan. "He told
them they were with him and the issue was resolved."
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11/21/2004