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Police, fire and other emergency vehicles swarmed around the White House in the predawn hours, with several clustered near the southeast entrance to the mansion as the NYT reports that a small aerial drone has been found on the grounds of the White House. Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, are on a three-day visit to India, but their daughters, Malia and Sasha, are in Washington. The report of a drone came at a time when other threats to the president’s family or their home have led to concerns about security but according to a White House spokesman the drone poses no threat. “As the Secret Service has more information about their investigation, about what they’ve been able to learn about this, they’ll share more information on this,” says White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. After daylight, more than a dozen Secret Service officers fanned out in a search across the White House lawn as snow began to fall. They peered down in the grass and used flashlights to look through the large bushes that line the mansion's driveway.
The incident is the latest in a string of White House security breaches that have led to questions about Secret Service effectiveness. Four of the agency's highest-ranking executives were reassigned earlier this month. Former Director Julia Pierson's was forced to resign last year after a Texas man armed with a knife was able to get over a White House fence in September and run deep into the executive mansion before being subdued.
(Score: 2) by lentilla on Tuesday January 27 2015, @04:53AM
The White House "locked down" because a toy aircraft flew over the fence? It's like the day we discovered that a billion dollar battleship could be destroyed using a dozen or so cheap aluminum runabouts. All we need to do to paralyse the seat of government is fly a dozen drones over the fence with some suspicious looking tubes attached with wires hanging out.
For the worst case, we must remember that the President is replaceable. The show will go on regardless. An enemy's only victory will be the paralysis they cause - and that is entirely up to how the situation is handled. We have only to fear fear itself.
(Score: 2) by tibman on Tuesday January 27 2015, @05:26AM
There is a line somewhere though. It's a bad idea to allow random drones to fly around the white house doing whatever they please. This will likely cause the secret service to create better plans to deal with these situations. Why the fire department showed up i have no idea. It looks like the secret service lost their shit and called everyone that was still awake at 3am.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 27 2015, @11:45AM
Once, yes. No more. Try that now and the cheap runabouts will be blasted out of the water half a klick away. New weapons tactics and procedures for dealing with unidentified low range intruders. Identifying how pirates work then disabling their supply process. This means destroying fishing boats used as way stations. Remember kiddies, it's only kinky the first time.