THE PROFESSIONAL VACATIONERS

The following is reported in the on-line version of India Today:

US President Barack Obama’s trip to India is set to be the biggest ever by any US president in terms of the protocol and logistics.

Headlines Today accessed the details of elaborate arrangements that will be in place to guard Obama during his three-day trip beginning on November 6. He will be accompanied by US first lady Micehlle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha.

The US president will make a historic trip to the Taj Mahal along with his family on November 7. His visit is historic in terms of logistics which is the largest ever for a visiting US president.

The presidential entourage will have 40 aircraft, including the Air Force One that will ferry the president. There will be six armoured cars, including the Barack Mobile, a Cadillac.

The secret service will set up two command posts in Delhi and Mumbai which will act as the communication nerve centres. These centres will keep an eye on each movement by the president with real time satellite monitoring.

Three Marine One choppers will be reassembled in India to ferry Obama and his family. These helicopters will also assist in evacuation in case of an emergency. Moreover, 30 sniffer dogs will be put on service to boost the security arrangements during Obama’s visit.

With security arrangements that would be more consistent with official state visits, except that this dwarfs any visit by any previous US president, Mr. Obama will meet with business leaders in Parliament House complex for a first-ever teleprompted, forty-five minute speech. It has also been reported that Michele will meet with some workers, including some from Mumbai’s sex industry, at the invitation of an unspecified NGO.

Other details of the Obamas’ two day visit to India come from the Economic Times.

To ensure fool-proof security, the President’s team has booked the entire the Taj Mahal Hotel, including 570 rooms, all banquets and restaurants. Since his security contingent and staff will comprise a huge number, 125 rooms at Taj President have also been booked, apart from 80 to 90 rooms each in Grand Hyatt and The Oberoi hotels.

[An official] said, “Obama’s contingent is huge. There are two jumbo jets coming along with Air Force One, which will be flanked by security jets. There will be 30 to 40 secret service agents, who will arrive before him. The President’s convoy has 45 cars, including the Lincoln Continental in which the President travels.”

Since Obama will stay in a hotel that is on sea front, elaborate coastal security arrangements have been made by the US Navy in consonance with the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. “There will be US naval ships, along with Indian vessels, patrolling the sea till about 330-km from the shore. This is to negate the possibility of a missile being fired from a distance,” the officer said.

The President will be accompanied by his chefs, not because he would not like to savour Indian cuisine, but to ensure his food is not spiked.

The cost incurred by the professional vacationers now infrequently inhabiting the White House will of course be borne by the American taxpayers, once again. There is no precedent for such needless obscene opulence in the face of the economic hardships that almost all Americans are dealing with daily.

It really is vulgar and rude of the Obamas’ to spend our money on such a trivial trip, but we should be getting used to it by now. We have never seen a president and first lady, along with family and friends, party with taxpayers’ money like these two. This is a president of “no you can’t” when it comes to rights of citizens, but “yes I can” when it comes to helping himself to the power and wealth that rightly belongs to us, WE THE PEOPLE…

Colaboracíón de Ángela E. Barragán