US: President Bush will be inaugurated for a second term at noon today in a ceremony on Capitol Hill, followed by the traditional inauguration parade of military units and marching bands through the snow-swept streets of Washington to the White House.
Parade organisers say they expect 100,000 people to line the 2.5km route but unprecedented security and a heavy snowfall yesterday may keep numbers down at both the parade and other events including 11 inauguration balls.
Last night, with temperature dipping to minus 8 degrees, the President and First Lady Laura Bush were due to attend an open-air "Celebration of Freedom" on the Ellipse, a grassy area south of the White House, with performances by military bands and celebrities, followed by a fireworks display.
There was a moment of embarrassment for the President and First Lady on Tuesday evening when a rock singer used an expletive at a televised youth event, "America's Future Rocks Today". Brett Scallions, lead singer of Fuel, shouted from stage, "Welcome to the greatest f***ing country in the world," producing a gasp from the audience at the use of a word which invites huge fines when used on live television.
More than 100 blocks of city streets have been closed off to ensure security for the President and his party as they pass along Pennsylvania Avenue this afternoon.
A security fence has been erected around Lafayette Park, across from the White House, and manhole covers have been welded shut throughout the downtown area.
Security was tested on Tuesday evening when a man stopped a red van with Michigan licence plates during rush hour at the intersection of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue on the parade route, and threatened to blow it up. Several buildings were evacuated and streets closed off, causing traffic jams throughout downtown, and a motorcade escorting President Bush from an event elsewhere in the city was diverted to a different White House entrance. Snipers appeared on rooftops and secret service men with guns drawn cleared the streets. The van driver was upset over custody of his child and threatened to ignite himself with fuel, police said. The incident ended peacefully four hours later after police used a robot to bring a telephone to the driver and talked him into surrendering. An FBI spokeswoman said the man had claimed to have 15 gallons of gasoline and would blow it up if he didn't get his child back.
The intense security today will be enforced by 4,000 DC police, 2,000 more brought in from outside, and unspecified numbers of secret service and military personnel with high-tech equipment.
Mr Ralph Basham, head of the Secret Service, said, "We don't want to leave anything to chance. We want to make sure that everyone who comes to participate in these events can do so in a safe, secure fashion."
While the Homeland Security Department has stated it has no credible information of threats to inauguration events, anti-aircraft missiles have been deployed within range of the Capitol, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles Army Avenger missile systems based on Humvees, according to the Washington Times, and the military has also deployed F-16, F-15 and support aircraft and radar and communications systems. It quoted an official threat assessment report that "the inauguration may be an attractive target if al-Qaeda has made a strategic decision to show that it has the ability to disrupt the American democratic process". The report said al-Qaeda had studied the use of limousines as car bombs.
Thousands of anti-war protesters are expected to demonstrate in Washington and other cities today. An anti-war group is taking legal action against the National Park Service in Washington for the "unprecedented exclusion of the public" from parts of the inaugural parade route which are reserved for ticket-holders screened by the Bush-Cheney inaugural committee.
In a speech to thousands of military personnel on Tuesday, Mr Bush said his second inauguration should serve as an inspiration to emerging democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"A presidential inauguration is a testament to the power of democracy, a symbol of our confidence in the popular will and a sign of hope for freedom-loving people everywhere," he said.